Raptors TV broadcast thread

[RandomGuy]

Actually, a maple leaf IS their logo. The real answer is because more people wanna watch hockey. A lot more people.

Yeah I know, was just fooling around. I foresee basketball becoming as popular as hockey in Canada, soon, like in 4 years, when your NT will start winning medals and Raptors will become an contender.

[white men can't jump]

Everybody needs to quit whining. The nba is a niche sport up here so what. I still get all theinfo on the team I need. There Is a reason the leafs get more coverage, can u guess what that reason is?

I didn't think that's what this thread was about actually. Nobody expects bball to get equal or more coverage than hockey.

Has anyone noticed how poorly timed replays are on Raps broadcasts? Where sometimes we miss entire sequences?

What about poor cuts? And I don't just mean the Milwaukee game. Every now and then, for a replay, or at a whistle, or whatever (luckily most at least happen at or around a dead ball), the broadcast will cut at the wrong time.

What about the quality of broadcasters? And I don't mean our commentators, but can anyone explain why Rod Black, who clearly has no fucking clue about bball and is easily one of the worst sports broadcasters in Canadian history has become the host of Raps pregame, halftime and wrapup segments? As well as occasional courtside reporter?

Then there are glitches as well....the score guys not properly adjusting the graphic...How many times has the score changed, they put up the wrong one, it seems to freeze for a minute, then they have to take it down completely and put it back up again?

Honestly, it's like the Raps broadcasts are done by the worst personnel possible.

And then you get simple things...like being bumped from their own scheduled slot on main TSN for rain delayed NASCAR. Not a late-running live event (in the sense of the actual race going late). The race didn't start until after the Raps game would've ended. They could've easily bumped their pointless recorded footage of old NASCAR highlights to TSN2, instead of bumping the Raps game. Then they could've made the switch again at halftime, or as it turns out, not missed a beat and gone back to the feed after the game.

These are the kinds of things that irk fans. No one cares about coverage compared to hockey. People are tired of poor quality work on their broadcasts, and inexplicable second class treatment compared to other niche sports.

[octothorp]

I grew up in a small prairie town so I get why curling has an ingrained popularity. When you're in high-school, you play basketball, volleyball, baseball, and maybe track-and-field (the only sports where there was any organized level of competition available), and a couple guys played hockey, for which they had to go to larger communities. But once you turned 18, curling was the only option for continuing to do some competitive sport in town. This is the case across much of the prairies, to varying degrees, and people are crazy-passionate about it. People understand the strategy to a very high level, and the game lends itself well to a 'what would I do differently' viewing experience. I'm not going to debate the athleticism of it, as I don't see how it's relevant.

One problem with so many sports is that Canadians watch as long as Canadians are involved. And as soon as the Canadians are out, viewership plummets. Curling tournaments and CFL are two sports where Canadians are going to be in it to the end, and the NHL as well if you're looking at the players, not the teams (which TSN relies on when they need to cover non-Canadian teams).
It also has a high degree of everyman appeal: the majority of Canadians are going to relate to a guy from a typical Canadian family who works in a boring day job and curls in his spare time; more than they're going to identify with an uber-athletic, millionaire kid from Compton. And that's unfortunate on a lot of levels.

[KeonClark]

They've got maple leaf in their logo?

Actually, a maple leaf IS their logo. The real answer is because more people wanna watch hockey. A lot more people.

[RandomGuy]

Everybody needs to quit whining. The nba is a niche sport up here so what. I still get all theinfo on the team I need. There Is a reason the leafs get more coverage, can u guess what that reason is?

They've got maple leaf in their logo?

[KeonClark]

Everybody needs to quit whining. The nba is a niche sport up here so what. I still get all theinfo on the team I need. There Is a reason the leafs get more coverage, can u guess what that reason is?

[DanH]

Yep. Done with cable. Just canceled it. Ballstreams for me.

[Nilanka]

You don't even need to try something in order to intelligently comment on it.

None of us have ever stepped foot onto an NBA floor, but according to Mr. Archibald's logic, this forum should be shut down.

EDIT: I've never ran for office. I guess that means I shouldn't be voting :|

[Axel]

All sports are games. Don't kid yourself. Golf might be the MOST athletic sport there is. The body control and timing needed is one of the most difficult physical movements possible. A golf swing moves faster than any other movement in all of sports. But it's just a skill with no athleticism? Try something before you make judgements.

I'll start at the end, with the bolded statement. You are incredibly naive and ignorant to think that everyone who criticizes something hasn't tried it before. That seems to be your constant defence, yet is entirely an ignorant assumption on your part. I've played golf, I've played curling, and many other games.

All sports are games but not all games are sports. Golf requires a lot of skill to be good at. Body control, which is really a subset of dexterity is a physical skill, same as balance, and hand-eye coordination. Same as curling, pool, darts, and bowling.

[RobertArchibald]

It's sad the treatment that basketball gets in Canadian media (speaking specifically to showing games and hi-lights). I am constantly frustrated that TSN will show hilights of 6 hockey games (including the battles of Columbus vs Carolina) before they show Raps game coverage. Heck, even Leafs practices on non-game days often get in ahead of the Raps game hi-lights.

I agree with Nilanka's view that curling is not a sport. It's a game. Sports involve both skill and athleticism, while games are skill based. I also put golf in this category. Games can be very difficult to master (like golf and curling), but that doesn't make them a sport. TSN should focus on sports. TSN2 (like the ESPN model previously mentioned) can show the games when applicable.

All sports are games. Don't kid yourself. Golf might be the MOST athletic sport there is. The body control and timing needed is one of the most difficult physical movements possible. A golf swing moves faster than any other movement in all of sports. But it's just a skill with no athleticism? Try something before you make judgements.

[ebrian]

Dang, I was hoping to see the response for a picture of a curler doing something athletic..

Thanks for the alternative though. LOL

[Axel]

I don't think anyone's debating why TSN does what it does.

For me, it's more a question of "why do viewers give TSN a reason to do what they do"?

Agreed. No one is questioning the motives of TSN. Perhaps their integrity, credibility, and core function, but never their motive.

[Nilanka]

I'm sure the folks at TSN constantly struggle over this dilemma. What's more important:

a) delineating between what is a game and what is a sport
or
b) making money

It's an agonizing decision.

I don't think anyone's debating why TSN does what it does.

For me, it's more a question of "why do viewers give TSN a reason to do what they do"?

[3inthekeon]

I'm sure the folks at TSN constantly struggle over this dilemma. What's more important:

a) delineating between what is a game and what is a sport
or
b) making money

It's an agonizing decision.

[Axel]

It's sad the treatment that basketball gets in Canadian media (speaking specifically to showing games and hi-lights). I am constantly frustrated that TSN will show hilights of 6 hockey games (including the battles of Columbus vs Carolina) before they show Raps game coverage. Heck, even Leafs practices on non-game days often get in ahead of the Raps game hi-lights.

I agree with Nilanka's view that curling is not a sport. It's a game. Sports involve both skill and athleticism, while games are skill based. I also put golf in this category. Games can be very difficult to master (like golf and curling), but that doesn't make them a sport. TSN should focus on sports. TSN2 (like the ESPN model previously mentioned) can show the games when applicable.