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Where to Watch the Grey Cup in Portland (2011)

November 22, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Grey Cup 2011The 99th Grey Cup, the Canadian Football League‘s championship game, takes place this Sunday, November 27, 2011.

This year BC Place Stadium will host the game. Unfortunately the half time entertainment is provide by Nickelback. The home-town BC Lions will be facing the Winnepeg Blue Bombers!

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 is more passing of the ball and less running. 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.

Where to watch in Portland

Again this year the Canada America Society of Oregon has organized a viewing of the game at Macadam’s Bar & Grill (5833 SW Macadam Ave). Meet at 3pm, kickoff is at 3:30pm. Poutine may make a special appearance on the menu!

Please leave a comment below if you know of other spots the catch the game in Portland!

June 18, 1846: Oregon Treaty Ratified by the Senate

June 18, 2011 by Dave Leave a Comment

Oregon TerritoryThe Oregon Treaty, which established the border between British held Canada and the United States of America, was ratified by the U.S. Senate on June 18, 1846.

Negotiated by the James K. Polk administration, some American interests (including the Polk presidential campaign in 1844) demanded the border be established at 54° 40′, but the end result was the 49th parallel. Neither the British nor the USA had the stomach, at the moment, for more war.

Map credit: Map by Matthew Trump, used under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license.

March 30, 1916: Portland Uncle Sams (aka Rosebuds) Play for Stanley Cup

March 30, 2011 by Dave 3 Comments

First action photograph of Portland's professional team, practicing at Portland's Ice Hippodrome (<em>The Oregonian</em>, 28-November-1914)

Above is the first action photograph of Portland’s professional team, practicing at Portland’s Ice Hippodrome (The Oregonian, 28-November-1914)

The Stanley Cup had been awarded since 1893 to the top hockey team in the Dominion of Canada. In 1914, with the inclusion of the Pacific Coast Hockey League in the competition for the cup, a U.S. team (i.e. Portland) first became eligible. In 1916 the Portland Uncle Sams (aka Rosebuds) were the first American team to compete in the cup final, losing 2-1 in the final match of a 5 game series to the Montreal Canadiens on March 30, 1916.

The series was played in Montreal. The Oregonian reported (31-March-1916):

The contest was hard fought and spirited and in the last period the rival teams skated like mad men and the big crowd was kept in an uproar, especially after Dunderdale, of Portland, had shot the goal which brought the score to a one-to-one tie.

The series was hard fought throughout and even the most ardent Eastern fans admitted tonight that Montreal had shown little if any superiority over the clever skaters from the Pacific Coast. Each team had won two games and tonight’s game, played under National Hockey Association rules, an advantage to the locals, was the deciding factor.

Background on the Portland Uncle Sams:

Portland’s professional hockey team was purchased from New Westminster in 1914 (The Oregonian, 23-October-1914), and played and practiced at the Ice Hippodrome at NW 20th and Marshall (Ibid., 26-November-1914). The team played their first game (which they lost 6-3 to Vancouver B.C.) on December 8, 1914 (Ibid., 9-December-1914). The Oregonian usually referred to the team as the Portland Uncle Sams, and used that name in box scores and lineup listings, but occasionally also mentioned their alternate nickname, Rosebuds.

January 26, 1700: The Great Cascadia Earthquake

January 26, 2011 by Dave 1 Comment

Cascadia Subduction ZoneThe largest earthquake ever known to occur in the continental United States struck at approximately 9 p.m. on January 26, 1700.

Around magnitude 9, the megathrust Cascadia earthquake rocked the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which encompasses a 600 mile long swath of coast from Vancouver, BC to Northern California.

During the five minute long earthquake the shores lurched 50 to 60 feet westward, reshaping the coast and possibly triggering the Bonneville Slide.

One thing we know with more certainty is that the earthquake triggered a huge tsunami, which in addition to slamming the coast, also traveled across the ocean and devastated the Pacific coast of Japan. Evidence of the January 26, 1700 date includes the oral tradition of the Native Americans who lived in the earthquake area, studies of tree rings, and most importantly for pinpointing the date, written records from Japan of the tsunami’s impact.

The Launch of CASCADIA.FM

October 10, 2010 by Dave Leave a Comment

Cascadia.FMThe groundbreaking PDX.fm internet radio network is no more, but that’s not bad news. CASCADIA.fm is here, starting Monday, October 11 2010.

Now, maybe you didn’t get the memo – probably because we didn’t send one out (we’d rather be working on making good Internet radio than writing stupid memos), but if you want to know why we changed, what’s different, or how it affects everyone involved, we suggest that you listen to the Friday, October 8th episode of Suck It™ – all will become clear.

You really should listen to that broadcast, but here’s the thumbnail: Robert and Sabrina thank the listeners and explain that in all likelihood your favorite show is still on the air. The difference is that the station, and audience is growing. Cascadia.fm bills itself as The Next Generation of Independent, Talk Radio and has expanded its reach to Seattle, Vancouver B.C. and beyond. A Cascadia.fm application is forthcoming, which will make listening to and interacting with the show hosts easier, and in May 2011 Cascadia.tv will launch.

The most popular shows, like iPhoneSlutz, continue on the air at CASCADIA.FM. Suck It™, Unibash Radio, Cort and Fatboy, Legion of News, Don’t Panic Portland, and Exceptional Women NW continue as daily programs. The Life Portlandic is now The Life Cascadia, and a new weekly show, Evening Submission, kicks off Friday, October 15 2010 at 8pm. The full broadcast schedule is up at Cascadia.fm.

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