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Back in the day, the same four of us (Jon, Ian, Darren, and I) would meet up at Montreals legendary Copacabana to watch whatever game was on. We were regulars at the bar, a kind dive where you could just drop in and know someone familiar would be around to have a beer with. The kind of place where the adult beverage of choice was quickly placed in front of you upon your arrival. We were there to watch games, but it was more than that. We were a bunch of writers, at different points in our careers and lives, getting away from our lives. It was group therapy. With beer. There were few better nights in those years than a good Habs game at Copa. Friends would come in and out, for a period or two, for a drink or four. Partners would join us, or not. Between periods wed chide each other the way friends do, bemoan each others losses, celebrate each others victories. We played a game within the game called JägerMuller. If Habs assistant coach Kirk Muller appeared on screen (not including wide angle or crowd shots) the last person to yell JägerMuller had to buy a round of Jägermeister for the group. This often led to empty wallets and foggy third periods, but JägerMuller was ours and it made a contextual experience all that more unique, all that more memorable. As time passed, the opportunity to watch sports as a group got more and more challenging. Copa closed. People had kids, moved away, traveled for work, or had partners who wouldnt permit them to indulge in Tuesday night binge drinking. But we live in the high speed digital age, an age ruled by social media and easy communication. The four of us opened up a Facebook thread that was for any sort of conversation: dating woes, the challenges of child rearing, the merits of wasabi peas, politics, the importance of Tums to men in their 30s, the overwhelming fear of ones own mortality, the petulance of poets, why soccer sucks. We tried Skype and Google Hangouts, but as aging writers we found we preferred the anonymity of messaging, the quiet comfort of watching the game both alone and in the company of those we love. But for the most part the thread is for watching hockey games together from afar, often still with our favourite adult beverage in hand, though the days of JägerMuller are over. That games virtues, like nachos, dont transfer well through the digital ether. The Facebook threads message count is somewhere in the mid-40 thousand range as of this writing, and growing each day. An exponential explosion is expected during the playoffs, though Jon (a Jets fan) and Ian (a Leafs apologist) will be forced to cheer for their second favourite teams. The virtual bar that the digital age has provided us pales in comparison to their company, but it has allowed us to stay close, to continue to care about each other the way we did when were separated by city blocks and not oceans and responsibilities. But the bar that we left just a few years ago is not the same bar where sports are enjoyed today. Its a lesser venue. Consider the bar argument. No longer can hours be spent fighting over what year Gretzky scored 50 goals in 39 games, what round Luc Robitaille was drafted in, the rate at which Randy Carlyles hairline has been receding. Answers are too quickly found on our phones, and the shortened distance of knowledge does not promote an expanse of conversation. Plus, the bars too busy tweeting cleverness in 140 characters, or arguing with some 12-year-old in Abbostford over whos the better d-man, Subban or Weber. Or instagramming retro-filtered photos of our cocktails. Or adding the waitress as a friend on Facebook. Theres a grand irony in the fact that the same advents that have made watching sports a more communal experience with those who cant be in our presence has had the opposite effect on those in our presence. On the off nights where my friends cant meet up in the digital bar, and I dont have the wherewithal or funds to hit the real bar I, like most, watch games with Twitter open. But instead of finding a substitute for those who cant be with me, Im overwhelmed by the faux-expertise and bravado that ends up in my feed. Just because you have a blog and 45 Twitter followers doesnt exactly make you Bob McKenzie. I appreciate fandom and respect the free speech virtues of the medium, but holy hell @HabsFan4lyfe69 if you cant spell Michel Therrien, you really shouldnt be offered the privilege of publicly questioning the size of his manhood. The amount of valuable discourse is too often overshadowed by the sycophantic, or vile, or uninformed. Just look at what happens when Joel Ward scores in overtime or Jason Collins steps on the court the first time. The degenerate xenophobes bear their virtual white sheets in the comfortable anonymity or ignorant ignominy of cyberspace. There are no bouncers online, no bartenders with the ability to cut off the flow of alcohol. But sports are the last collective viewing experience, with the possible exception of the Oscars. With the advent of PVRs and streaming video you can watch Scandal whenever you please, but the sport still requires a live audience. No one wants to watch the game later. Even if youre stuck at work, on a plane, or at your boyfriends sisters third intervention, you can tune in, not miss a shot, a goal, a fight, or a one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments that only sport can provide. In 2010 when the Habs made their magical run to the Conference Finals, one of us couldnt make it to Copa to watch the game. Jon was stuck in a hotel room in Vancouver, watching it on his own. There was no thread then. We didnt all own smartphones. No one said "blogoshpere". The Jets were still the Thrashers. Maybe two of us were on Twitter. So as the bar counted down the minutes of Game 7 of an improbable 5-2 Habs win and an improbable series upset over the heavily-favoured Penguins, I called Jon and placed my flip phone open in the middle of our table. He listened as we sung "Olé, Olé, Olé", as we cheered and piled into the streets, as we mocked Sidney Crosby. Strangers would come pick up the phone and speak to him in English and French about the game, about the city, and about the Habs and dreams of 1993. That night was a microcosm of how we watch the games now, the birth of how fandom and friendship defies distance in a digital age. It was a living analogy of how in four short years the experience of watching sports would change. Not all for the better, of course. But Ill put up with a few egotistical bloggers, the occasional Twitter tantrum, and the death of the bar argument if it means I can watch sports the way I want, from wherever I am, with the people I love. With beer. 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Wholesale Bruins Jerseys . -- Chad Labelle scored the winner 17:36 into the third period to give Medicine Hat a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday and lift the Tigers into the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.With emotions over Saturdays tentative five-year collective bargaining agreement between the CFL and the Players Association running high, the union has decided to act in an attempt to cool any tension. Sources tell TSN that union executives travelled to select CFL cities Monday to open dialogue with players and answer questions. After the tentative deal was reached Saturday night, several players posted messages of frustration and disappointment on social media - and that carried over into Sunday on both the web and the field. One source emphasized the purpose of the executives trips wasnt to convince players to vote for the tentative CBA, but for executives to "show face" with players in the hopes of, "bridging a gap in communication." On Saturday, the Players Associations team representatives held a conference call to measure the emotions of players across the league. "Personally, I think the right move is to ratify [the tentative deal]," Hamilton Tiger-Cats representative Peter Dyakowski said Monday when asked how anxious he was for a ratification vote. "However, Ive seen a lot of people disagree with that." The ultimate goal of the executives outreach, whether explicitly stated or not, is to secure a majority "Yes" vote in ratification, which is set to take place in the coming days. TSN has learned that the Players Association is trying to expedite the process of obtaining a physical copy of the tentative deal in the next couple of days to pass it along to its members, who can then read it over and ask any questions to clarify concerns. Right now, legal counsel for both the league and the players are reviewing and solidifying language in the potential agreement. The earliest the players hope to hold a ratification vote is Wednesday, and the union would require six of the leagues nine teams voting in favour - with players on each team voting 50 per cent-plus-one to ratify the agreement - for the tentative CBA to pass. All players, rookies included, will be allowed to cast a ballot. TSN has also learned that prominent CFL agents are encouraging their clients to accept the tentative CBA. "But a vote to reject the tentative CBA is not a vote to strike," a player with knowledge of the ratification process told TSN. Strike ballots from all nine CFL teams have been counted already, with a majority of players across the CFL voting in favour of a strike. If the tentative CBA is rejected, the union wwill notify the CFL and attempt to reopen negotiations with the league.dddddddddddd "I think if we look at this deal through the lens of what some teams are making, and what our new TV deal is bringing in, and what we see the future holding for us, it doesnt seem like a fair deal, or a just deal," Dyakowski said. "But if you look at it compared to our last two CBAs, in a vacuum, and look at the numbers we have made huge strides." In the last year of the CFLs previous CBA, the salary cap was set at $4.4 million and the minimum salary was set at $45,000. In the first year of the tentative CBA, the salary cap would be set at $5 million and increase annually by $50,000, with minimum salaries rising to $50,000. Also included are the elimination of the team option year in non-rookie contracts, and a ratification bonus of $7,500 for veterans and $1,500 for rookies. The CFLPA will reportedly control the disbursement of the bonus, and set a veteran scale that could potentially award players whove played six-plus years in the league $12,000. "We have made huge improvements; we have won on a lot of football-related issues, a lot of player safety issues," added Dyakowski. "There are a lot of good things in this deal being realistic, being pragmatic. I believe this is a good deal, without any bloodshed." According to reports, Roughriders union representative Brendon LaBatte feels Saskatchewans locker room will vote to ratify the tentative agreement. But LaBatte knows of vets in the room willing to sit out the season and miss pay checks because they feel the possible deal isnt good enough. And again, there was vexation over social media, as one player in particular took to Twitter to voice his disapproval of the union executives team visits. "Just wasting more of our Union Dues...Aint nobody in Saskatchewan wanna see them, hope they bring their own security," tweeted Ricky Foley of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The defensive lineman tweeted later, "I am voting YES to accept the deal & NOT strike...cause weve been backed in2 a corner & I have no confidence in our execs or legal counsel." Although he knows how his locker room feels, Dyakowski isnt sure how players across the league will vote when its time for them to cast their ballots. "I feel in my gut that [the tentative CBA] will be ratified in Hamilton," the offensive lineman said. "Thats all I can say." 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