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Cup Qualifiers to be 'visually exciting' with new camera angles – NHL.com

Published

4 years ago

July 25, 2020

The NHL is planning to show fans camera angles they’ve never seen on a hockey broadcast when the Stanley Cup Qualifiers begin in Edmonton and Toronto on Aug. 1.

“Many times the considerations of where cameras go in arenas are based on where our fans are because we don’t want to block our fans from the viewing experience,” Steve Mayer, NHL senior executive vice president and chief content officer for events and entertainment, said Thursday. “We have no fans here, so we are able to walk around an arena like this and find the perfect, most ideal positions for every single one of our cameras.”

The NHL Return to Play Plan, which has 24 teams competing for the Stanley Cup — 12 in the Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto, and the 12 Western Conference teams in Edmonton — does not include fans in the arenas because of health and safety regulations related to the coronavirus. Mayer said that means the NHL must create a made-for-TV product to showcase the race for the Cup.

League broadcast partners Sportsnet and NBC will be using 32 cameras in each arena, 12 more than normal for a national broadcast. They will also be using a JitaCam, a camera on a large, 360-degree crane that can be positioned over the ice.

Sportsnet will control the live broadcast feed from Rogers Place in Edmonton, which will host all of the Western Conference games in the Qualifiers and first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as well as every game of both conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final.

NBC will control the feed from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, site of all the Eastern Conference games in the Qualifiers and first two rounds of the playoffs.

In the Qualifiers, the top four teams in each conference will play a round-robin to determine seeding for the playoffs. The remaining eight teams in each conference will play best-of-5 series, with the winners advancing to the playoffs. The loser of each series will have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, to be held Aug. 10.

“It is our goal to be able to show a hockey game in a manner that shows off the speed and you feel like you’re part of the game, you’re watching with the energy that sometimes doesn’t come from the play on the ice,” Mayer said. “We all want our game to translate better for television. We think that in this tournament, we’re going to be able to accomplish that in even greater ways because of the way we can bring our fans right inside the game, down low, show the speed, hear the sounds.”

Each game will also look unique to the television audience based on the set design the NHL is using in each arena, including LED screens, monitors and stages.

The NHL also worked with game presentation representatives from each of the 24 participating teams to gather audio that is unique to their home arenas, including goal horns, in-arena music compilations, motivational videos and specially produced clips from fans to replicate chants unique to each market.

“The energy of the set design and some of the things that we’re planning on doing will make it visually exciting,” Mayer said. “I’m super excited about the broadcasts, to be able to do some different things throughout the whole tournament, and giving our fans an amazing experience if they can’t be here, at home.”

Microphones will be placed throughout the arena, including at ice level, to pick up more of the sounds of the game.

“You’ll hear more of what’s taking place on the ice without the crowd noise,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “And in terms of set design, and what the arena’s going to look like from a broadcast standpoint, if you see and recall what we do at all our outdoor games and our other events, Steve and his group are extraordinarily creative. We think this will make for a compelling television product.”

The League will not be using virtual advertisements at the start of the tournament, Mayer said, though the regional networks covering games in the Qualifiers and first round of the playoffs will be able to use virtual advertisements on the glass behind each goal.

“We’re looking at our environment in some ways as virtual, but we also, as we’ve talked about, are looking to grow this and be fluid,” Mayer said. “There are possibilities as we get in later rounds to add a virtual component to the environment for the conference [finals] and the
Final.”

Commissioner Bettman said the idea is not to replace the normalcy of an NHL game, especially a playoff game, but to instead give a different look and feel on TV.

“There’s nothing better in person from sporting standpoint than an NHL game,” the Commissioner said. “The energy, the noise, the excitement of our crowds may be irreplaceable from that standpoint, but this is going to be made into a very entertaining and compelling experience.”

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Fernandez and Dabrowski headline Canadian lineup for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Published

8 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.

The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.

Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.

“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”

Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.

Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.

Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.

Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.

Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.

Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Penguins re-sign Crosby to two-year extension that runs through 2026-27 season

Published

8 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.

The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.

Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.

At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.

Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal

Published

19 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.

Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.

The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.

“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.

“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”

Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.

The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.

“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”

It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.

Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.

“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”

Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.

He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.

Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.

“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”

Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.

“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.

Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.

Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.

“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”

Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.

Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.

Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.

Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.

Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.

“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.

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