Dave Knows Portland

Where to watch the Grey Cup in Portland

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Update: 2010 Grey Cup Viewing in Portland

Grab your toque, the 96th Grey Cup takes place this Sunday, November 23rd.  The Grey Cup is the Canadian Football League’s championship game; think of it as the Canadian Super Bowl.

This year’s matchup, Calgary Stampeders versus Montreal Alouettes, takes place in Montreal. The game is being broadcast locally on Versus, Comcast Cable channel 32. The game is tape-delayed to 2:30pm.

Where to watch the 2008 Grey Cup in Portland, Oregon:

Canadian Football and American Football share a pedigree, and mostly follow the same rules. Some of the difference:

  • The field in Canadian football is 110 yards long and 65 yards wide, not the 100 yards by 53⅓ yards used in American football.
  • Canadian football plays 3 downs, not 4.
  • In Canadian football all offensive backfield players, except the quarterback, can be in motion when the ball is snapped.

There are other differences too, but these are some of the most obvious to American football fans.  As a casual observer (I grew up watching American football but have only watched maybe half a dozen Canadian football games in my entire life) my take is that the Canadian football game is faster paced and higher scoring and there are more throws.  Compared to the NFL, CFL football players are smaller and faster.  I don’t care much for gridiron football, but if I had to choose between NFL and CFL I’d go Canadian every time.

Last year I searched, nearly in vain, for a place to watch the game in Portland. We finally tracked down a cable channel broadcast, and several fellow Canadaphiles and I joined a group of Canadian ex-pats at the McMenamins on NE Broadway to watch the game.

If anyone else knows of other public showings of the game in Portland, please leave a comment and I will add it to the list!

Canadians like us too

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globeandmail.jpgOver the last few years the New York Times has flattered the Rose City with gushing articles about our bikes and breweries, the Ace hotel and the restaurant scene, travel highlights, and Todd Haynes (and that’s just a sampling).

Now the Canadians are on to us. Or at least the Canadians at the Globe and Mail.

Portland: The Rebirth of Old Buildings

PORTLAND, ORE. — Why build a brand new hotel when you can recycle a turn-of-the century building into a new cutting-edge facility?

When Alex Calderwood and his partners saw the 1912-era Clyde Hotel in a slightly dodgy neighbourhood of Portland, they saw something they could work with.

Can Portland provide answers?
A Victoria delegation recently visited the Oregon city to get ideas on how to end homelessness in the B.C. capital. This is what they saw

PORTLAND, ORE. — The question puts Larry Bishop on the spot. The formerly homeless man looks relieved that it is being asked in a quiet place with no one besides a reporter to hear his answer.

Mr. Bishop, 59, leads guided tours of the shelters, social agencies, soup kitchens and other fixtures of this city’s Old Town-Chinatown district to emphasize the humanity of the homeless. “I want the façade dropped of, ‘They’re all drunks and alcoholics; they’re all criminals.’ They are not,’ ” he says.

The Grey Cup in Portland?

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greycup_logo_2007_150.jpgUpdate: The game will be on Comcast channel 37 at 2:30pm Sunday, but not in High Definition:

CFL Football LIVE
Grey Cup: Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
037 CSNNW
2007 | 240 mins | [Closed Captioned]
Sun, Nov 25, 2:30p – 6:30p
The 95th Grey Cup Championship, from Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Now if I could just find someplace broadcasting it in HD . . .

I’m a Canadaphile; my friends will tell you I’m obsessed with poutine and I’ve even taken to calling my stocking cap a toque. And I enjoy Canadian football.

Next Sunday Toronto hosts the 95th Grey Cup.

A few years ago I caught the Grey Cup on HDTV and was impressed. Canadian football is faster with a lot more passing than American football. Also it seemed there were fewer commercial breaks.

But I cannot find a sports bar in Portland that’s showing the game. Anyone know where in Portland I might be able to catch it?

Chuck Palahniuk interview on The Hour

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Chuck PalahniukThe Hour is a current affairs show on Canadian television which features long (by American TV standards) interviews with actors, politicians, journalists, etc. One recent interview was with the writer Chuck Palahniuk. I doubt he still lives in Portland, so I’m not sure if he can be classified as a “Portland writer”, but I do know he lived here, and worked for Freightliner, when he wrote his successful debut novel Fight Club.

Onegoodmove has the interview. True to his reputation Chuck shares a humorous severed bloody arm anecdote around the 9 minute.