Miscellaneous
Introduction This is the Northern 90 Podcast with Pat Sweet, Episode 13. Welcome to the Northern 90 Canadian Premier League Podcast, covering the beautiful game in the great white north. For more Canadian Premier League content, head over to Northern90.ca. That’s Northern Nine Zero dot ca. Welcome Hello, Canada, and welcome to the Northern 90 Canadian Premier League Podcast! I'm your host, Pat Sweet. This week, I take you backstage to meet the HFX Wanderers FC. At the end of the show, I'll also announce the winner of my CPL Jersey Contest, so stay tuned for that. News In this week's headlines: It's now official that CBC will be broadcasting 20 gamesover the course of the season. Twenty game will be streamed through CBCSports.ca, GEM, and the CBC Sports App. Ten of those games will also be broadcast on CBC TV. I love this. It's very Canadian and will make the league accessible - everyone gets CBC. In other exciting news, we've learned that OneSoccer, the league's streaming service, will be made available for free for a "generous amount of time". Halifax has officially sold out it's home opener, which makes it the first sellout in league history. Halifax is going to be one happenin' spot when it comes to football this summer. Some interesting signings in the last week: FC Emonton ink Amer Didic, a 24 year old centreback with lots of USL experience and some MLS experience with Sporting Kansas City. Pacific FC sign left back Blake Smithon loan from FC Cincinnati. Valour FC land midfielder Louis Beland-Goyetteon a one year contract following a stay at his hometown Montreal Impact. Finally, on Men's National Team news, the Gold cup group stage schedule is out, and it's not very kind to Les Rouges. June 15 v. Martinique in Pasadena, CA. June 19 v. Mexico in Denver, CO. June 23 v. Cuba in Charlotte, NC. Three time zones in a little more than a week, playing Mexico at altitude. If you want even more CPL content, including the most important headlines delivered straight to your inbox, then sign up for the Northern 90 Supporters' group. When you join, you get a weekly newsletter with the top headlines, podcast notifications, access to private supporter's group Facebook group, and much much more. Also, it's free. Check it out at northern90.ca/join. Next up, an interview with members of HFX Wanderers FC. HFX Wanderers FC Interview I recently had the opportunity to meet several of the players and coaches from the Wanderers at a pre-season party hosted by Privateers 1882. The place was packed. It was loud and people were excited. The whole point of the party was to allow people to meet and mingle with the players, and to give members of the supporters' group early access to their kits. As for the kits, I'm happy to report they're very nice, and I think people are going to be impressed when they get their hands on their own. I was able to catch up with a number of the players, including: Kouame Ouattara Peter Shaale Vincent Lamy Zachary Sukunda First up, Kouame "The Beast" Ouattara. Very easy to talk to Down to earth Was born in Ivory Coast but calls Moncton, NB his Canadian hometown - that's where he studied and where his wife is from. That being my hometown, too made it easy to hit things off. Next we have an interview with Peter Shaale When I had interviewed Peter, it had just been announced that he had won the Cape Breton University male athlete of the year award Very down to earth, mature and well spoken Finally, I interviewed both Zachary Sukunda and Vincent Lamy. Interesting to hear the differences in the answers between the two Despite their differences in the stages of their careers - Zachary is an experienced player with quite a bit of time in Europe under his belt while Vincent is getting his first opportunity as a professional - their answers align very well. There really seems to be a strong comradery and alignment amoungst the players. General observations The players all love playing for Stephen Hart The club seems to be treating them very well The level of support these guys are getting is almost overwhelming. These guys mentioned expecting to see twenty people show up to the party - there were easily two hundred. Next up, the mailbag. Mailbag Some great messages and ideas this week to share with you. Tim wrote to ask if I thought the kits would be changed up every season like other leagues. Yes, I think so Keeps things interesting Fans will want it Revenue opportunity Macron gets to keep showing off their stuff Sam from the United Kingdom wrote to share his debate on which team to support. This is an interesting question - he didn't want to necessarily chose the closest club on that basis alone, or the one with the nicest kits. He'd love to cheer for an underdog, but there's no clear choice on that front yet, either. I put it to you, dear listeners. Who should Sam support? Also, I'd love to hear who you support, if not your most geographically handy club, and why. What do you think? If you've listened to the show, you know I love to hear from you guys - especially with this being my first episode featuring an interview. I'd love to know what you think of this deal. You can: Leave a comment at northern90.ca/episode12 Write to me at pat at northern90.ca Fire me a note on Twitter @northernninety Jersey Contest Winner The winner is: Verushka Cabradilla of Calgary, Alberta. Outroduction That's all we've got for the show today. I've got a very special episode planned for next week, where I join forces with a who's who of CPL commentators to convene the first annual CPL Predictions Panel to make a number of audacious claims as to how the league will unfold this season. That'll be a special episode so be sure to stay tuned for that. If you liked the show, don't forget to subscribe to it, and when you do leave an honest review. That helps me make the show better and others find it. Also, if you've been enjoying this show, you should join my supporters' group. When you join you get a weekly newsletter with curated CPL content, access to a members-only Facebook group, contests, giveaways, fantasy leagues, all sorts of good stuff. And it's free. Check it out at northern90.ca/join. Until then, have a great week. Credits Featured Image Photo by Patrick Sweet. Intro music Move Like Thisby spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: Texas Radio Fish, Alex Beroza, and Snowflake CPL Headlines Music Calm the F*** Downby Broke for Free (c) copyright 2010 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Main Content Intro Music 260809 Funky Nurykabeby spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2010 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Mailbag Music I dunnoby grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque Outro music Urbana-Metronica(wooh-yeah mix) by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: Morusque, Jeris, CSoul, Alex Beroza