_{(Many, many thanks to Low Commander for the photoshop)}

NFL News:

• The London games have been announced for the 2017 NFL schedule. So much for continuing the “special relationship“:
  • (Week; Date; Visiting Team vs. Home Team; Site)
    • 3 or 4; 9/24/17 or 10/1/17; Baltimore Ravens vs. Jacksonville Jaguars; Wembley Stadium
    • 3 or 4; 9/24/17 or 10/1/17; New Orleans Saints vs. Miami Dolphins; Wembley Stadium
    • 7 or 8; 10/22/17 or 10/29/17; Minnesota Vikings vs. Cleveland Browns; Twickenham Stadium
    • 7 or 8; 10/22/17 or 10/29/17; Arizona Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Rams; Twickenham Stadium
  • Part of the attraction for the League is having consecutive games, to gauge what a half-season might look like for a London-based team.
    • Also, for the delicious irony of the Browns possibly winning their first game since 2015 on another continent, somehow making the Factory even sadder.
  • In the wake of news stories asking, “Is Anglo-America a failed state?” and “Can Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with the US survive outside the EU?“, this appears to be the latest blow at severing a relationship that dates back to World War II & the Cold War.

• Jim Harbaugh has publicly shot-down Eric Dickerson’s rumour that he would be taking over as Rams coach following Jeff Fisher’s firing, calling the rumours “lies made up by our enemies”.
  • when reached for comment, Chip Kelly reminded everyone he’s committed to coaching the 49ers through the Cotton Bowl.
  • Nick Saban, once he was told who Jim Harbaugh is, said he didn’t have time to comment because he was preparing for the national championship and not some secondary bowl game.
• Jeff Fisher, meanwhile, issued a statement thanking everyone he ever worked for or with for giving him the chances he had.
  • Those sound like the words of a man who’s tied for a coaching record, not a man who owns it outright.

• The day after Richard Sherman called Thursday Night games “poopfests” comes news Mark Murphy, Packers CEO, said the League can’t justify increasing to 18 regular-season games.
  • Murphy based his logic on player safety.
  • Sherman said things like this will have to come up during the next round of CBA negotiations.

• The Cardinals have done the expected and cut Michael Floyd, two days after his DUI arrest.
  • Now, I’m not a lawyer, but doesn’t he have a case against the Cardinals via vicarious liability, if he can prove that their policy of providing drinks on corporate flights indirectly led to the termination of his contract?

• Ronnie Lott’s Oakland proposal got a stamp of approval from Oakland city council last night.
  • It frames the proposal by which the Raiders would stay in Oakland, but doesn’t commit any money or tax breaks until a formal agreement is in place.

Alan Thicke died yesterday, age 69.

To most Americans, he was Jason Seaver, patriarch of the “Growing Pains” Seaver clan. Some may remember that, prior to that success, Thicke was a writer on “Fernwood Tonight” & “America 2-night”, and was also the creator of the “Diff’rent Strokes” (co-starring Canadian Conrad Bain!) and “The Facts of Life” themes, giving him some name recognition. All of that is good.

But to Canadians of a certain age, he was an icon. Not because of how “Growing Pains” has endured as a legacy, but how he became a star hearkens back to a different time in Canada, when it was a “big deal” that someone made it in the US.

I’ve railed on about Canadian broadcast regulations before, so no need to rehash the particulars. Suffice to say, in the time of two national networks, there was a lot of local broadcasting that filled the small screen. Occasionally, the powers that be would fall in love with a local talent, deciding they were handsome or popular enough to try and make a “national” thing. One of these was Alan Thicke.

Back in the days of mandatory Canadian content regulations, a show like Alan Thicke’s would be taped & transmitted across the country daily. Stars passing through Vancouver – where it was shot – would be invited to appear & plug whatever was recent on their calendar. (The show’s iMDB page is a spectacular look at both early-80s Canadian talent and US actors working in or travelling to Canada.) It made enough of an impact that it was lampooned by SCTV, via “The Sammy Maudlin Show”.

Initially based on Merv Griffin, the rise (in 1980) of Alan Thicke gave Joe Flaherty a Canadian target to point at as well with the character.

“The Alan Thicke Show” ran from 1980-83 when, like most Canadian entertainers, he left to take his shot at the big time, and moved to the US for a second time. There, they tried to make him a talk-show star, which resulted in the dropped-turd known as “Thicke of the Night”, a show which lasted barely a year but did give the world its first taste of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

https://youtu.be/mDizJNcj9cA

and Bon Jovi

https://youtu.be/1CyUvGLwte4

(SCTV also took a run at this, but I can’t find a clip of the “Maudlin of the Night” episode online.)

From there, he took whatever name recognition he had and auditioned for various projects, eventually landing “Growing Pains”.

He also devoted some time to trying to bag himself some young game. After his divorce from first wife Gloria Loring (from “One Life to Live”), he did the usual LA dating scene, somehow landing a 17 year-old Kristy Swanson when he was 40.

He was also important to the LA sports scene. Here’s an excellent Grantland article on his love of hockey and influence to the LA Kings.

Why he endures as a Canadian acting icon is that he was from small-town Canada – Kirkland Lake, Ontario (where my dad’s from!) – and he worked hard & made it. As a country, we had (& still have) a “small town boy makes good” mentality when it comes to our stars. So long before the broadcast & cable network explosion of the late-80s, it was a big deal for a Canadian talent to catch a US “break”; the actual news would cover it. Plus, it didn’t hurt Canadian channels that an American show with a Canadian actor would fit nicely into the Can-Con broadcasting regulations. (It’s why you can still find OG “Star Trek” on Canadian TV.) If you grew up before cable TV in Canada, you knew who these people were, and were encouraged to cheer their success. So, a little piece of my childhood died yesterday, because I remember the Alan Thicke my mother dragged me out to Burnaby to watch tape his TV show.

[FYI: If you want to know how pernicious an influence Canada still is in entertainment, before the living are all deported by God-emperor Trump – here’s iMDB’s list of 100 “Well Known, Famous & Most Notable Canadian Actors, Actresses/Film Pioneers”.]

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Sharks at Senators – 7:00 PM | Sportsnet
  • Bruins at Penguins – 7:30 PM | NBCSP
  • Lightning at Flames – 9:30 PM | Sportsnet
  • Flyers at Avalanche – 10:00 PM | NBCSP
• NBA:
  • Pacers at Heat – 7:00 PM | ESPN
  • Raptors at 76ers – 7:00 | Sportsnet1
  • Celtics at Spurs – 9:30 PM | ESPN / Sportsnet1
• NCAA:
  • Southern at Baylor – 7:00 PM | ESPNU / TSN
  • Illinois (Chicago) at DePaul – 8:00 PM | FS1
  • Arkansas (Pine Bluff) at Oklahoma State – 9:00 PM | ESPNU

If the sports gets boring tonight, feel free to talk about sitcom dads. OR SISTERS!