Revolutionary Moderation

March Madness

Not the US college basketball, which I could care less about, and not even the homestretch of the NHL's regular season and the rush for playoff spots, which keeps my interest only marginally more.

No, I allude to the two most watchable events in sports.

First, the McDonald Labatt Nokia Tim Hortons Brier. This year's Coffee Cup tournament has been marked by complaints about the quality of the playing surface. Now, people have complained about the ice in Hamilton for years, but they generally haven't been talking about curling sheets. I'm sure it's the bad ice that's keeping the crowds away. I don't blame at all the broadcast contract which keeps so many rounds away from the eyes of basic cable subscribers.

Which brings me to the second event: the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup. Canada has qualified again, and drawn themselves into a group with England, who I'm sure we can kick around - what does England know about cricket? Thing is, if the Canadian side does actually pull off this miracle, most Canadians will never get a chance to see it. The only broadcaster here is the Asian Television Network, who in turn is only offering the World Cup as a pay per view on their Cricket Channel. I might consider buying it, but I can't get it though a normal cable connection, so the pay per view price would only be a small part of the cost of buying a mini-dish from Bell and paying their subscription fee. Might as well fly to Saint Lucia and watch it live.

What are Canadian curling and cricket fans to do?