Panda Game on Rogers TV Cable 369

[Gill The Thrill]

The annual Panda game in OUA football between the Carleton Ravens and the Ottawa Gee Gees is being televised throughout Ontario on Rogers Cable 369 on HD or Rogers Cable 368 if you don't have an HD box.

Game started at 1 pm and looks more competitive than the two one-sided NCAA games that TSN is showing on TSN1, and TSN3.

Nice crowd and atmosphere for this Panda Game at TD place...Good professional announcing crew, better than some of the boring performances by the TSN crews doing CFL games this year. I think it's the Ottawa Redblacks radio play by play guy from TSN1200.

[Deerkeeper]

I refuse to get Rogers so I have been watching some of the game online on OUA TV with the GG broadcast crew. Not sure if it is the same broadcast you are watching. I have been switch back and forth to all the OUA TV games and with respect to those who try, all these broadcasts are pretty much unwatchable. The Lauier - Waterloo game is particularly dreadful. I know the OUA has limited options, but they have to do something better than this.

[Gill The Thrill]

I refuse to get Rogers so I have been watching some of the game online on OUA TV with the GG broadcast crew. Not sure if it is the same broadcast you are watching. I have been switch back and forth to all the OUA TV games and with respect to those who try, they are all pretty much unwatchable. The Lauier - Waterloo game is particularly dreadful. I know the OUA has limited options, but they have to do something better than this.

Can you elaborate? Are you referring to the OUA TV production as dreadful or the quality of play. I ask because you mention Laurier and Waterloo who are two pretty shitty teams this year, along with York, Uof T and Windsor. Carleton and Ottawa is extremely exciting with big plays. Gee Gees leading the Ravens 30-24 at halftime in a game that's easily changed leads 3-4 times.

I've got Rogers because of coverage like this that they provide as well as OHL coverage on their digital sports station. Yah, great that Bell owns TSN and the CFL rights, but they might as well be called ESPN Canada as they are presently covering 2 one-sided NCAA games. TCU killing Texas 44-13, and it was 30-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, yet you'll get CFL GM's and coaches who claim that the experience in big games is what favours the American college players. Most games are just as one-sided, probably more so in the NCAA Div 1A than they are in the CIS. You get your 72-0 games in the NCAA and you'd get more if teams didn't dress as many guys as they're allowed to.

[Deerkeeper]

I'm was referring to the quality of the broadcasts. I realize they are just amateur camera operators and such but it is just not good. Was watching a bit of the Laurier-Waterloo game and i swear the camera operators wouldn't be able to focus on and follow the Goodyear blimp if it floated by. They just had two cameras and if the main one was five steps behind the play (which was most of the time) they would switch the other one which wasn't following the play at all. Watch a GG game once and they just had one camera that had to pan and scan the whole game. It didn't help that the scaffolding got in the way most of the time as well. It also seems that the colour commentators tend to double as game annalist and head cheerleader.

Great Panda Game though. That's one that should have been seen. Attendance of 17K. Was disappointed to see Guelph lose today. Was hoping for a Yates Cup in Guelph as it is close by, but it looks like it's going through Western again. Oh well, I'll still try and make the game regardless of where it is.

[Will]

If only the Gee Gees had a defense.

[AngeloV]

If only the Gee Gees had a defense.

Kind of glad they don't. There are already way too many blowouts in the CIS. At least their games are all watchable. Looking at the standings today, Western is averaging 58 points for and 11 points again through 5 games. Sorry, but that is not watchable. The lack of competitive balance in the OUA is a joke, but I don't know what can be done about it. Almost every good player in Ontario that stays home wants to go to Western.

[Argocister]

Kind of glad they don't. There are already way too many blowouts in the CIS. At least their games are all watchable. Looking at the standings today, Western is averaging 58 points for and 11 points again through 5 games. Sorry, but that is not watchable. The lack of competitive balance in the OUA is a joke, but I don't know what can be done about it. Almost every good player in Ontario that stays home wants to go to Western.

I would blame the lack of competitive balance in the schedule. For about three of the last four years Guelph has not played Western. ... There are many instances of the top teams not playing each other during the season as there are 11 teams in the OUA but only 8 games. The schedule should really be based on the previous years standings. The playoffs take the top 6 teams so generally the top teams will make it . It would make for more interesting games. ..... I didn't get to see the Panda game but it sounded close .... with Carleton winning in double OT?

[AngeloV]

I would blame the lack of competitive balance in the schedule. For about three of the last four years Guelph has not played Western. ...

Surely you are kidding, right? So if they played Guelph, then they would have 1 less blowout? Still not enough IMO. My point being is that the same 5 teams out of the 11 are on top every year, and the majority of games are not close. Schools that aren't taking football seriously, or that just can't compete (recruiting wise) need to either get serious, or push for a tier system. York lost 40-3 to not exactly a powerhouse U of T squad, and from what I understand, Western could have put up 100 on both them and Waterloo. Sorry, I find it embarrassing. It also gets dangerous to play when 1 team is that much better than another.


There is nothing more demoralizing, than losing we after week the way some teams do. Trust me, my last year of junior ball in Oshawa, when all the coaches and we lost a lot of the players from the previous season, I experienced these types of defeats. Some guys just quit playing ball altogether as a result.

[Will]

Kind of glad they don't. There are already way too many blowouts in the CIS. At least their games are all watchable. Looking at the standings today, Western is averaging 58 points for and 11 points again through 5 games. Sorry, but that is not watchable. The lack of competitive balance in the OUA is a joke, but I don't know what can be done about it. Almost every good player in Ontario that stays home wants to go to Western.

As an University of Ottawa alumni, I cannot disagree with this statement :)

My alternative is to cheer for my graduate school...York :(

[Argocister]

Surely you are kidding, right? So if they played Guelph, then they would have 1 less blowout? Still not enough IMO. My point being is that the same 5 teams out of the 11 are on top every year, and the majority of games are not close. Schools that aren't taking football seriously, or that just can't compete (recruiting wise) need to either get serious, or push for a tier system. ............

So if the top 5-6 teams played each other and the bottom 5-6 played each other ..... maybe twice or one or two crossovers, the games would be more competitive. Then if one of the lower tier decide they want to put more effort into their team, they can eventually move up. Playing a team more your level twice would also improve the competitiveness.
You provide more competitive games , the teams have more heart..... like you mentioned you play on the poor team it does play havoc with the drive to win.

Otherwise ..... would you suggest some schools fold their teams?
If you have too many blowouts, dont have the extreme ends of the league play each other as much..... if at all.

[AngeloV]

So if the top 5-6 teams played each other and the bottom 5-6 played each other ..... maybe twice or one or two crossovers, the games would be more competitive. Then if one of the lower tier decide they want to put more effort into their team, they can eventually move up. Playing a team more your level twice would also improve the competitiveness.
You provide more competitive games , the teams have more heart..... like you mentioned you play on the poor team it does play havoc with the drive to win.

Otherwise ..... would you suggest some schools fold their teams?
If you have too many blowouts, dont have the extreme ends of the league play each other as much..... if at all.

As painful as it sounds, teams like Waterloo should fold their teams. Who wants to see a team lose by an average of 50-7 every year. It does nobody any good.

[Argocister]

As painful as it sounds, teams like Waterloo should fold their teams. Who wants to see a team lose by an average of 50-7 every year. It does nobody any good.

Actually, Waterloo may fold..... After they suspended the team when 8 or so players were caught with steroids and hgh, they have simply floundered.

[AngeloV]

Actually, Waterloo may fold..... After they suspended the team when 8 or so players were caught with steroids and hgh, they have simply floundered.

I think the league overall would be stronger with 10 teams. And please don't get me wrong, I love OUA football. I try to get out to at least 1 York game every year (this year it was the season opener against Laurier). I just can't take seeing at least half the games in the league being decided by 4 or more td's. As I said, something needs to be done, but I don't know what it is.