JiC vs Le 5 à 7; the habs’ variable “fatigue”; Patrick Roy, the dome and Petit Québec

What a f*ckingweekend of sports! The return of Patrick Roy… The Lions’ victory… The Bills’ eternal choke on a failed field goal attempt late in the game…

It’s just a shame that the Habs suffered a second beating in as many games.

Saturday night in Boston, the guys REALLY didn’t bring their game to the game, to borrow a phrase from the coach. It was perhaps the team’s worst game since the appointment of Martin St-Louis.

Losing 6-2 in Ottawa, then 9-4 in Boston… to say that the Habs will try to stop the bleeding tomorrow at the Bell Centre (again against the Sens) is an understatement, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Surprise! No one blamed the schedule, air travel (chartered) or customs for Saturday night’s varlope in Boston. This was the case on Friday morning after the heavy defeat in Ottawa…

Did the guys go to bed early the night before, when they didn’t have to travel that day?

The more games go by, the more we realize that the Habs have a double problem on offense: they lack raw talent AND depth. Both, not just one or the other.

Perhaps it’s only at center where the Habs are doing well… although Captain Suzuki is starting to show signs of running out of steam at times.

Unfortunately, Suzuki won’t have the same time off as his teammates next week, as he’ll have to travel to Vegas (All-Star Game) after his bye-week.

Let’s try to see the positive behind the Habs’ defeats: Happy are those who want to see the Tricolore lose in order to get a better pick in the summer NHL draft. Right now, they’ve got all they need.

JiC vs Le 5 à 7
I like to pull up the ratings for the various sporting events broadcast on Quebec TV. Those of you who follow me on Twitter know this.

Over the weeks, many of you have asked me which show between Le 5 à 7 and JiC attracts the most viewers. Well, here’s your answer:

Since the start of the new season last September, Le 5 à 7 has attracted an average of 36,000 listeners per minute. JiC? 21,000.

This means that RDS attracts almost twice as many viewers as TVA Sports between 5pm and 7pm on weeknights.

Compared to a year ago, JiC saw a modest increase, with an average of 19,000 people watching the show (every minute). As for 5 à 7, it fell from 41,000 to 36,000. We’re talking about a slight drop here, but one that still keeps Le 5 à 7 at the top.

I know that both sports networks are continually evaluating their options for this historically difficult TV slot. For now, both shows are still in the plans for 2024-25. But could Le 5 à 7 be hosted not by Yanick Bouchard and Frédéric Plante, but by just one of them?

While we’re on the subject of JiC, you should know that Renaud Lavoie took advantage of his appearance on JiC last Friday evening to put Réjean Tremblay in his place. Not surprisingly, the Godfather returned the favor this morning in his column on the BPM Sports website.

To finish with the ratings, it’s good to know that Habs hockey attracts an average of 528,000 viewers per minute on weekdays on RDS and 538,000 (again per minute) on weekends on TVA Sports. These are much higher figures than at this time last year. Despite the reconstruction, interest is far from gone.

They’ve got it, the Americans
I must have spent more than 10 hours in front of my TV watching football this weekend. Here, take my social life, Roger!

Unlike last week, when all but one of the matches were one-sided, or almost, we were treated to some superb football this weekend.

The Texans held their own against the mighty Ravens, the 49ers got the better of the Packers with some difficulty, the Lions continued their fairy tale by overcoming the Bucs (and their nowhere two-point conversion strategy) and the Chiefs once again sent the Bills on vacation (to Buffalo). Another failed placement at the end of the game for the Bills…

The teams of Taylor Swift and Eminem each have a 50% chance of reaching the Super Bowl. If the Chiefs beat the Ravens on Sunday, Taylor Swift will be making the trip from Tokyo to Vegas to cheer on her boyfriend on February 11.

I want a Lions-Chiefsfinal… even if, in my heart, I think Taylor Swift is shown a little too much on TV during the games.

As for Patrick Roy, I’ll say only this:
1. I’m glad to see a GM like Lou Lamoriello banking on an intense, passionate emotional player like Patrick Roy. Too many people are afraid of emotions in today’s society…

2. Patrick Roy will always be a rebel: yes, he shaved at Lou Lamoriello’s request… but he did it at, like, one, not zero! It tuffed for a workout. Last night, he was at zero.

3. Bo Horvat was named first star of the night by the NHL after his overtime goal last night. But on TVA Sports, Patrick Roy was awarded the first star. #LeDôme #PetitQuébec #PasLeFromageLà

4. Can ‘t wait for Thursday night! A basically non-premium game whose prices have become quite premium on resale sites since Saturday afternoon…

5. Poor Senators fans! #JacquesMartin