Segacs's World I Know

Posts Tagged ‘habs’

I have been a Videotron customer for more than eight years.  I have my home phone, internet and TV service with them.

In that time period, they have increased the price of my bill 14 times, for a total increase of more than $24 a month more for the same services. That’s more than a 30% price increase, for those who aren’t counting. During that same time period, they’ve made serious billing errors five times, one of which cost me several months of follow-up calls, and they’ve had countless service outages. I’ve phoned up their retentions department as a matter of rote for these past few years, each time wasting my time in order to go through the motions to negotiate the discount that I know they’re going to give me anyway, like a dance where everyone knows the steps but we still have to suffer through the music.

But none of that is why I’m on the verge of finally pulling the plug (pun intended) on my cable service.

No, the simple reason is as follows: None of the TV that I want to watch is available through my cable.

Quick quiz: What are the five best shows on TV right now? The answers may vary, but in my opinion, no such list is complete without the inclusion of Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Big C, Sons of Anarchy, and maybe the Colbert Report thrown in for good measure. With the exception of the last one, which airs on the Comedy Network here in Canada, I can’t actually watch any of those shows on TV.

Mad Men and Breaking Bad air on AMC, Sons of Anarchy airs on FX, and The Big C, which airs in the States on Showtime, airs on a delayed schedule on Superchannel. Guess which of those channels is carried by Videotron? That’s right, zero.

In contrast, our friends in Ontario who are slaves to the dreaded Rogers, or even the folks here who are signed up with Bell-Hell via satellite, can access almost all of these shows as they air, and be part of the Facebook and water-cooler conversations that ensue. Meanwhile, law-abiding Videotron subscribers are left waiting for the DVD release, while the less law-abiding resort to illegal downloads to get their fix of whatever show strikes their fancy. And the channels I pay for languish unwatched.

The trouble is, Videotron doesn’t care about me. I’m anglophone, and as such, I represent only a tiny segment of their customer base. For every one customer who wants to watch Mad Men, Videotron figures there are a few dozen who would rather watch Star Académie. The company has been extremely slow to add English channels to its lineup, and I don’t expect this to change anytime soon.

I’ve resisted taking the step of cancelling cable for one reason: Hockey. The one channel I watch regularly is RDS, just because it has exclusive rights to the Habs’ games, and really, there’s no point in watching a hockey game if it’s not live. RDS still doesn’t offer a streaming package, so I’ve been paying out the nose for a bunch of channels I never watch, just for the privilege of having hockey on TV. But as the price of cable keeps climbing, it’s getting harder and harder to justify this expense, especially when I could just as easily watch at my favourite pub around the corner and spend the money on a beer or chicken wings.

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are cutting the cord on cable. Will 2012 be the year when I finally follow suit? Well, let’s just say that the next time I contact the retentions department over at Videotron won’t just be a rote request for a discount.

How has this winter been lousy? Let us count the ways…

Hockey discontentment

The Habs just wrapped up their worst season in recent history. After finishing dead last in the East and the third worst team in the entire league. This season saw local favourite Mikey Cammalleri shipped off to Calgary in the middle of a game, coach Jacques Martin fired mid-season and replaced — albeit temporarily — by “maudite anglais” backup Randy Cunneyworth, and — finally — some housecleaning in the front office that saw Pierre Gauthier and Bob Gainey get the long-awaited boot.  The prospect of drafting high is small consolation to the fans, and it’s clear that we’re in for a long painful rebuilding process. Meanwhile, there might not even be any hockey at the start of next season, as the threat of lockout looms. Might be time to start taking an interest in another sport. The Montreal Impact just went MLS this season… any footy fans out there?

Weather discontentment

It was an unseasonably (some would claim unreasonably) warm winter, with very little snow and summer-like temperatures that saw crowds of spectators take in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in shorts. For those of us who actually like winter — and, y’know, for businesses who make money from it — it was a lousy year. Sure, the naysayers will be happy, but I’m still bemoaning my waste of a ski season. Enough with this global warming already; I miss winter, dammit!

Student discontentment

I’ve been saying it since my student days: Quebec’s tuition freeze needs to go.  And it looks like this time, it might well happen, as Jean Charest has sworn he won’t cave. Of course, the student union groups are having none of it, out protesting shit-disturbing as they claim they’ll settle for nothing less than free education. Never mind that the numbers don’t support their cause, or that the whole concept of a student strike is nonsensical when you consider that the only people it hurts are the students.

Public opinion is not on the side of the student groups this time around (unless you consider the ever-opportunistic PQ, always trolling for votes). Even many students have had enough, with at least one case of a successful injunction by a student who just wants to go to class and (gasp!) get the education he’s paying for.

The fact that Quebecers pay by far the lowest tuition in Canada and still will after the hike, or the fact that enrollment is lower here than it is in provinces with higher tuition, or even the generous increases in bursaries, none of those arguments are going to sway anyone. And that’s because the so-called students — who are actually political wannabes with romanticized notions of the 60s who enrol in one class per semester so they can live off the student fee contributions of actual students — don’t want to compromise; they just want their names in the paper, and maybe a chance to smash stuff.

And before you go accusing me of being dismissive of an important issue, we’ve lived this all before. Many times. I’ve written about it before. Many times. The only difference is that this time, something might actually change.

Scott Gomez will make $7.5 million dollars this year.

Gomez is the Habs’ highest-paid player. He had 7 goals and 38 points last season. He hasn’t scored a goal in a game that counts since February 5th.

Just to put that in perspective, here are some other NHLers who are making around the same amount of money this year, along with their goal and point totals from last season:

• Jarome Iginla – $7 million – 43 goals / 86 points
• Eric Staal – $7.7 million – 33 goals / 76 points
• Rick Nash – $7.5 million – 32 goals / 66 points
• Henrik Zetterberg – $7.75 million – 24 goals / 78 points
• Shea Weber – $7.5 million – 16 goals/ 48 points (and he’s a defenceman)
• Ilya Kovalchuk – $6 million – 31 goals / 60 points (in what was considered a slump year)
• Daniel Briere – $7 million – 34 goals / 68 points
• Joe Thornton – $8 million – 21 goals / 70 points
• Steven Stamkos – $8 million – 45 goals / 91 points
• Daniel and Henrik Sedin – $6.1 million apiece – A combined 60 goals / 198 points!

Now, I have no love lost for Count Jacques-ula as a coach. But for those who are quick to blame the coach and excuse the front office, just think about who a competent GM might have gotten for those $7.5 million bucks.

You know it’s gonna be a rough season for the Habs when it kicks off with a 2-0 shutout loss to the dreaded Laffs. Last night’s game was just wince-worthy.

Here’s hoping we step it up against the newly-reformed Jets on Sunday.

By now, everyone in Montreal, Beantown and everywhere in between knows about the ugly hit by Zdeno Chara that landed Max Pacioretty in the hospital with a possible career-ending fractured vertebra and concussion:

It still hurts to re-watch. And not just because we all know the outcome.

With the news that no discipline would be forthcoming from the NHL, Montreal fans – understandably – went a little nuts, demanding justice, decrying the NHL, and calling for heads to roll.

On the hit: It was ugly, that’s unquestionable. It was illegal, that’s also unquestionable, and Chara got a game misconduct for it. It was frightening to watch, because we know how it turned out. And it was part of a high-energy, high-speed game, delivered by a guy who isn’t known for using his size to injure but certainly has it in him. And the fact that Pacioretty was having his breakout season and playing first-line solid hockey only made it that much harder of a blow to absorb.

On intent: Did Chara mean to hurt Pacioretty? He says no. I’m inclined to believe him, with a caveat: I think that, within the context of hockey, he was trying to get back at Pacioretty and this was a continuation of the feud that they had going on for a few games. In other words, I don’t think this was just an accidental check gone wrong. Since a Habs-Bruins playoff matchup is a strong possibility, I’d even allow that teams start to play dirty and there’s some intent to injure going on with good players. But it’s not the same as intent to injure, off-ice, and I’m sure that’s what has the league wringing its hands at how to mete out punishment.

On bias: Mike Murphy had to make this call because Colin Campbell was biased, what with his son Gregory playing for Boston. This isn’t the first time that Campbell has needed to recuse himself from a disciplinary decision, either. I still think he should have resigned the minute his son made it to the NHL. But it does argue that there’s too much discretion in these kinds of disciplinary decisions. Either way, the rules need to be clearer, and there can’t be so much in the hands of one man.

On criminal prosecution: Nope, don’t agree with it here. Despite the massive public pressure and outcry in the wake of the NHL’s decision not to suspend Chara (and seriously, people, tying up the 9-1-1 line for hockey? Not cool.) I don’t believe that there’s any place for criminal charges in hockey, unless the incident was outside the boundaries of the game and crossed the line to something else entirely. Trying to get the courts involved is just another way of absolving the NHL of responsibility for this kind of stuff. It happens within the parameters of the game, which makes it the NHL’s responsibility.

On violence in hockey: Is the game too violent? Is there too much fighting? Should we make them all wear bubbles and carry sticks made out of foam? Hell no. I like my hockey fast-paced, hard-hitting and tough, and I suspect most of the league’s fans do too. But there’s a difference between a clean hit and a dirty one, and that’s where I think the system is broken.

The bottom line: If you rob a store and wave a gun around only meaning to scare the clerk, but you accidentally shoot him, sorry, you’re going down for murder.

Likewise, I think the rule should be simple in hockey: If you injure a guy on an illegal play, accident or not, you’re out as long as he is. If he misses the season, so do you. If you end his career, you’re gone too.

Implement this rule, enforce it a few times so the players understand it’s serious, and watch the ugly headshots disappear like magic.

Speedy recovery, Patches.

• The rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners, who have been underground for 69 days, is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. As of right now, two of the miners have been rescued so far, in a slow and emotionally-charged process.
• An American federal judge has issued an injunction against the US military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, which effectively ends the policy and allows gay Americans to serve openly in their country’s military. It’s about time. The US Justice Department has 60 days in which to file an appeal, however, and the Obama Administration may be forced to do so, thanks to the timing of the midterm elections.
• Closer to home, Canada has lost its bid for a UN Security Council seat, in an embarrassing debacle that has Harper and Iggy pointing fingers at one another. As usual, there are accusations that it was because Canada is “too pro-Israel“, whatever that means. (In the UN, that typically means anyone who doesn’t pander to Arab nations’ crazed Israel-hatred. But we all knew that.)
• The Halak-less Habs are 1-1 so far this season, after an exciting win against the Pens on Saturday night. For what it’s worth, Halak is 2-0 in St. Louis so far.

Five thousand people turned up today for Halak’s farewell autograph session at Fairview. That’s about ten times the crowd that the organizers were expecting. And I hope that Gauthier – and Price – were both paying attention.

Price won’t win any popularity contests if he keeps posting mediocre numbers and displaying a bad attitude. Halak is truly a class act, and the way he was treated by Gainey and the Habs’ management was disgusting. I hope he gets the success – and credit – he deserves in St. Louis.

We’re in the conference finals, baby!!! WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here was the scene in McLean’s Pub with about a minute left in the game:

Penguins are going golfing. Habs are moving on to the conference finals for the first time since 1993. And – say it with me – we all know what happened in 1993.

The whole city is partying right now. Think I’ll go join them.

GO HABS GO!!!

Bob Gainey has announced his resignation as Habs’ GM:

“I’ve done my best and now it’s time for me to pass the torch,” Gainey said on Monday. “I believe that the general manager position requires a long-term vision and a long-term commitment. At this point, I’m not prepared to make a commitment of four or five or six more years in this position.

Assistant GM Pierre Gauthier has been promoted as the new GM.

Gainey took over the role in 2003 to great fanfare greater expectations. At first, he battled the naysayers and started the long process of rebuilding the team, achieving first place in the East two seasons ago.

But many of his decisions have been very questionable of late, and the trust was gone, namely, ill-timed overconfidence in Carey Price, the failure to secure big-name free agents despite public efforts, firing of Guy Carbonneau and hiring Jacques Martin in his place, and of course the great shake-up during last off-season.

I think a lot of people were fed up with Gainey. He won’t go down in history as the Habs’ worst GM (I’d say that role belongs permanently to Rejean Houle). He had an overall winning record, and he did do a lot of good things for the team, which was in shambles when he took the reins. But his legacy is mixed, at best. And of course, nobody ever remembers what you do best; they only remember what you do last.

Bye bye, Bob. Best of luck to you.

Habs are 3-0 since Cammalleri went down. And not against any slouch teams, either. Vancouver, the freefalling Boston, and Pittsburgh are our latest victims. And what’s more, we’ve looked really great in all three games.

Can we keep it up? Let’s hope so. Go Habs!