NHL kisses off Bell, demotes CBC, bags billions

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Talk about Standing Up to the Big Guys. We may never know who miscalculated at Bell Media’s TSN. But you can be sure that if the right to be the Big Boss of hockey broadcasting in Canada is worth $5.2 billion to Rogers Media, it is absolutely worth that much to Bell. So what happened? Did Bell even get a chance to counter-offer and or did it foolishly think that the NHL would have to come back to Bell regardless? If this deal was the result of an auction — and that seems for sure — did Bell get over-confident about its pre-eminent position in Canada? One thing is clear, the NHL was big enough in its own right to stand up and say we’re going with the other guy. The fallout at Bell is yet to come. The company has written a gracious statement congratulating Rogers but you have to know that at the top, the Bell Big Guys do not like this. Remember how they chased the CRTC all over Canada after they were turned down for Astral Media? But now they are faced with less than the crumbs as the rest of Canada tries to analyse this seismic re-ordering of hockey broadcasting (and streaming) which even the experts are struggling to comprehend. The best information and some educated guessing comes from Cassandra Szklarski  of the  Canadian Press 

New 140 Dinnick Cres. is a huge asset to the neighbourhood

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A fine new mansion is nearing completion on the wooded lot at 140 Dinnick Crescent in Lawrence Park. This highly-detailed and elegant residence is the work of designer Lorne Rose. It will become the home of a couple who were almost denied the use of the property. Tim and Charlotte Stanley bought the 1930 home on the site in 2011 after careful checking that they could demolish it. It was a run-down and poorly cared-for place that was barely fit to live in. But the day after the Stanleys were given a permit to knock the place down, North York Community Council snatched it back and called the property a heritage building. There was very little basis for this arbitrary and unjust act. The Ontario Municipal Board dismissed the preservationists’ claim and ordered the city to issue a demolition permit. Certainly, the appearance of the home that the Stanleys have built is a justification of their good taste and a big bonus for neighbors, who will doubtlessly see an increase in the value of their homes with the addition of the new 140 Dinnick.

Couche-Tarde spinning money, Sears fires 800

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It’s the up and down of business. Couche Tarde, the corner store and gas bar phenomenon from Montreal, continued to spin out money like they own the printing presses. Couche Tarde posted a Q2 profit of $1.21 a share, up from 97 cents a year earlier. Adjusted earnings climbed to $1.32 a share from 91 cents, beating expectations. The convenience-store operator also raised its dividend 14.3%. Meantime, Sears Canada seems to cursed to misery. It announced Tuesday afternoon that it is laying off 800 people at head office and in service departments today. This comes after stories are told that Sears Canada is being shopped around for sale by Edward Lampert, the CEO of Sears Holdings, which continues to own a 51 per cent stake in the firm. Sears Canada has already sold the leases to its best properties, including the Eaton Centre, unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars which is being returned to shareholders as Sears tries to find itself in a ever more complex retail market. 

Business park on Wicksteed Avenue going up

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The growing framework of the Wicksteed Business Park is seen yesterday. It is a nine-acre commercial condominium complex at 195-209 Wicksteed Avenue. There are as many as seven proposed commercial buildings in this development, one of which is said to be a Canada Post distribution centre. The buildings in the background are the Scenic on Eglinton. The developer of the business park is the Rockport Group. Rockport is also busy locally with a proposal for the redevelopment of Postal Station K at Yonge and Montgomery.  Yonge-Montgomery  Photo courtesy Rudy Limeback. 

Bringing Buffalo Bills to Toronto is a long game

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Toronto Sun 

Rogers strikes 12-year NHL deal freezing out TSN

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The National Hockey League says it has reached a 12-year, $5.2-billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the league’s broadcast and multimedia rights. As part of the deal, Rogers says the CBC will continue to air its iconic “Hockey Night in Canada” broadcast and that the TVA network in Quebec has all of the Canadian French-language multi-media rights. The league says the deal gives Rogers national rights to all NHL games, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final, on all of its platforms in all languages. Longtime NHL analyst Bob McKenzie said in a tweet early Tuesday that ”TSN’s national rights package for NHL games expires at end of this season and isn’t being renewed.”  NHL  website

East York’s Lorenzo Ferrara a city garden finalist

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Garden of Lorenzo Ferrara
Toronto has announced the finalists of the Toronto Garden Awards 2013. The awards recognize residents, businesses and organizations for beautifying their non-public spaces. Most of the green space in Toronto is made up of front and back yards. The finalists for the 2013 awards were winners of local community garden contests during the previous year. In selecting the winners, the judges took into consideration the use of landscape, the condition and overall maintenance of the garden, the use of plant material, colour and texture, and the overall garden’s appeal. The finalist in the traditional residential garden is Lorenzo Ferrara of Strathmore Blvd off of the Danforth. Other finalists are Michael Fitzpatrick and Marilyn Ferely of Heathview Ave in North York for their environmental residential garden, where the homeowner uses environmentally-friendly garden practices and some or most of the lawn area consists of plants and/or ground cover

Ten ex-NHL players sue league over concussions

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Ten former NHLers, including all-star forward Gary Leeman, are claiming in a class-action lawsuit that the league hasn’t done enough to protect players from concussions. The lawsuit seeks damages and court-approved, NHL-sponsored medical monitoring for the players’ brain trauma and/or injuries, which they blame on their NHL careers. It was filed in federal court in Washington on behalf of players who retired on or before February 14 of this year and have suffered such injuries.  CP24 ex Canadian Press 

Okay given from Canada to make GM salmon eggs

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A Prince Edward Island company has received federal approval to make genetically modified salmon eggs on a commercial scale. AquaBounty Technologies says Environment Canada has concluded that the eggs are not harmful to the environment or human health when produced in contained facilities. AquaBounty CEO Ron Stotish says Ottawa’s approval is a significant step as it waits for a decision from regulatory bodies in the U.S. before the fish and eggs are available for sale. The company’s hatchery in Souris, P.E.I., produces sterile-all-female eggs. The technology has drawn opposition from some state lawmakers in the U.S. including Alaska, and from environmental groups who fear the fish could escape their onshore farms and affect wild populations. It is an interesting concern. If the fish are sterile they cannot reproduce and it would seem there would no multiplication. The GM issue continues to bedevil food producers and consumers. Those who favour GM, say fear of it has failed to produce any science which might cause reasonable concern for the health of humans. 

OLPH school on Garfield Ave. welcomes electors

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Byelection day, and as usual the old premises at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School welcomed Moore Park voters from the neighborhood’s nine electoral subdivisions Monday morning for the exercise of parliamentary democracy. The original OLPH school dates from the 20s but even the “new” section built in 1963 is getting on. The school is nestled in a  leafy corner of Garfield Ave. just where it meets Mount Pleasant Rd. It is in the newer wing that  residents young and old truck to the auditorium to show their ID. The old complaint is still heard, both among Liberals and Conservatives, that each would easily win Toronto-Centre if it weren’t for the other parts of the sprawling downtown constituency. What they mean is that there is limited NDP support in the area. One brave family on Moore Ave. had their Linda McQuaig sign out on the lawn. It is always an interesting practice when all the results have been posted online to see how subdivisions voted. It takes a few days for that to happen. It will frequently show that Moore Park has once again voted rather differently from those south of the CP main line, much less south of Bloor Street. That is why the next general election, slated for 2015, is so interesting. It will almost surely see the creation of a new riding, University-Rosedale, which will include Moore Park and Rosedale plus areas off to the southwest. 

Grey Cup 101: Regina wins lopsided tilt 45 to 23

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It was a sorry thing to see the Tiger Cats lose in any case but the score was distressingly lopsided as the Roughriders won 45 to 23.  Regina was clearly the better team, however, right from the kick off.  Globe and Mail 

No wardrobe malfunctions when its minus 30 C

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You keep everything done up in this weather

When the temperature is 30 below the half-time act moves it, baby, and Hedley certainly moved it. And oh yes, there were no wardrobe malfunctions from any of the mighty cast of healthy young people who rocked Mosaic Stadium this evening (Sunday, November 24, 2013). After all, when its that cold you just do not take off your clothes, even when you have propane volcanoes exploding a few feet away. So the Abbotsford pop-rock foursome plus we-don’t-know-how-many others showed Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson how to do it. Hedley, incidentally, is named after the unincorporated community of Hedley, British Columbia. The name was chosen after members heard that the place was for sale for $346,000. Hedley is known for its singles “Never Too Late,” “Cha-Ching” (performed at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver), “Invincible,” and “Kiss You Inside Out”, and for the band members’ philanthropic work as ambassadors for the charity Free The Children.