Updated at bottom.
I've complained about TSN being very Toronto-centric in my NHL draft diary but today's headlines really annoyed me. Here's a list of all the links to stories on TSN's main page this morning:
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Canucks' Burrows slams referee after loss to Predators
Serena Williams dominates in Sydney to win 2010 debut
Veteran sumo wrestler Kaio notches record 808th win
Weber's game-winner leads Predators to road win over Canucks
Anderson makes 44 saves as Avs drop Flames in shootout
Pacers rally from 23 points down to stun Raptors
Maynard beats Diaz in Ultimate Fight Night main event
Monday, January 11, 2010
Serena Williams dominates in Sydney to win 2010 debut
Huge night by Nash helps Suns hold off Bucks
Pound: Figure skating a 'nightmare sport'
Wilson may shake up Leafs' lines to help Kessel out of slump
Walling: Saint Mary's to welcome Danton
Fast Break: Rautins says Bosh is the best Raptor ever
McGwire admits to steroid use during 1998 home run race
Report: Blue Jays scouting Delgado in winter league
McGwire's original testimony before Congress in 2005
Fleury apologizes for ripping Flames on his blog
Coveted LHP Chapman signs 6-year deal with Reds
Coyotes' Jovanovski suspended 2 games for elbowing
Bucks lose Redd for remainder of the season
Rangers, Guerrero agree on one-year deal
Double Play: McGwire deserves to be forgiven like Rodriguez
Blackhawks extend president McDonough through 2016
Stronger, Higher, Homer? Simpsons go curling
Canada names its Olympic long track team
Seahawks make it official with Pete Carroll
Flames host Avs, Canucks battle Preds in Monday action
Danton cleared to attend St. Mary's; expected to play hockey
Lindsey Vonn dimisses the hype
Eagles say McNabb will return for 12th season with team
Langenbrunner picked as USA's captain for Vancouver
Mark McGwire's full statement
Streaking Canucks gain ground in TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings
Canadian foursome set to tee off on PGA Tour in 2010
Heavy rain closes Olympic host mountain
Razor's Edge: Red Wings a model for resiliency
Watkins, Bowman, Chiu top Als' list of potential free agents
Texas Longhorns top men's hoops poll for the first time
Flashback: Beckie Scott waited to receive gold
Bosh, Raptors start brief road swing in Indy on TSN
More Wizards meet authorities about Arenas investigation
Six-goal week earns Canucks' Burrows first star honours
Chisholm: Of Bosh, Turkoglu, and the NBA trade deadline
Hall tops Seguin in Central Scouting mid-season rankings
Doughty piling up points since Team Canada announcement
Armstrong: Five improvements for Raptors to take next step
Jones versus Vera set for main event of UFC Fight Night 21
Tiger-Cats ink Peter Dyakowski to contract extension
Pens go for consecutive wins in clash with Wild on TSN2
Jayson Williams pleads guilty to '02 shooting; to serve time
Mavericks acquire Najera from New Jersey
Man U aims to reduce massive debts with bond sale
Bus attack highlights security concerns ahead of WCup
Sutter furious at laser pointer wielding Canucks fan
Cullen: First Fantasy Puck Mail of 2010
Schumacher's return to F1 begins with drive of GP2 car
Tom Hicks' son resigns as director of Liverpool
FIA to appeal court's decision to overturn Briatore's ban
Report: Canadians Stout, Goulet added to UFC 113 in Montreal
Henin pulls out with injury; upsets rule Monday in Sydney
Monfils withdraws from Sydney tournament
Lightning beat Devils in completion of suspended game
Henderson unifies lightweight title at WEC 46
Dansby's fumble return in OT helps Arizona to record victory
Noticeably absent is a story about a 4 point (FOUR!) game by Mr. Guillaume Latendresse of the Minnesota Wild. Gui! had a hand in every goal scored by the Wild last night. You'd think that in a country obsessed with hockey this would be headline news. Especially considering the network aired the game and Gui! is a Canadian boy. But it's not and I'll tell you why. It's the Toronto Sports Network and he's French (yep, I went there)!
First, the Toronto bias.
TSN needs room on its site for stories about who Phil Kessel's linemates are going to be, why Chris Bosh is the greatest Raptor of all time, who the Blue Jays are scouting and something about Homer Simpson. As if a story about who will be playing on a line with a guy on one of the worst teams in the NHL is bigger news than a guy who notches 4 points in a game and is a part of every scoring play. A 4 point night is nothing to scoff at and should be an entry on your site the day after it happens. You even showed the game, you must have had reporters on hand.
I'm tired of TSN calling itself Canada's National sports leader. It is Toronto's sporst leader. At least Sportsnet has 4 different channels based on region. TSN has 2 stations, but focused on Toronto. While RDS is obviously biased towards Montreal it is a French speaking station; it should be biased towards Canada's only French based team.
Now, the French Bias. This was covered by Bob Sirois in his book Le Québec mis en échec: la discrimination envers les Québécois dans le LNH (Quebec bodychecked: discrimination against Quebeckers in the NHL). Mr. Sirois contends that prejudice is alive and well in the NHL and he points this out with the lack of esteem held for French players when compared to anglophone peers.
You think Sirois' crazy? Again, the Latendresse story was not included in TSN's links. Also, have a look at all of the hockey related news above and see if you can find a French name. You can't. I understand that Fleury is a French based name, Theo is not French.
If it weren't for its grapple on sports in Canada, I'd be done with TSN. As it is now I watch RDS almost exclusively for games and news updates and will no longer visit TSN on the web. Frapper la rue TSN.
Update
Alex Burrows is from Quebec. His story is the first on the list above. However, his story is a story of a vendetta between him and a referree. The ref, Stephane Auger, was also involved during the Shane Doan racial slur. It all smells a tad funny, and while I'm not entirely sure what to think of it, since both Burrows and Auger are from Quebec, I still think it's incredible there was (and still) no mention of Gui!'s 4 point night against the Stanley Cup champion Pens.
2 comments:
Some notes:
If I'm not mistaken, I didn't click on it, The Simpson's story is about a plot where they wind up being the US National Curling Team and play against the Sweedes for the gold. Leave it to TSN (and the Canadian media) to call it a Canadian story when it involves an American playing a Scottish sport against Scandinavians.
As for the French/English bias, I think you can look also at Shane Doan, a case that has never been settled but which the media has all but ignored because he scored a goal or two.
The Doan slur is definitely a factor, but not considered in Sirois' book. Nor is the Richard suspension.
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