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Toronto-Age |OT2|

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
Kave_Man said:
Not a shot at you EvilMario but I never understood this from people. Of course MLSE wants to make the most profit possible, they're a business. But anyone saying they want to do this while not ice a competitive team is contradicting themselves.

Why would they purposely field a team that doesn't make the playoffs because they are content with the regular season revenues? Would they not make more with a team that consistently makes the playoffs and/or consistently goes deep in said playoffs? That makes the most sense to me. But why haven't they iced a good enough team these last 7-8 years? Simple, upper management are idiots who think they know what is needed to make a championship team.

Our last GM (John Ferguson Jr.) has been on record saying he did want to start over with the team but upper management wouldn't let him, it took Burkey coming in here to finally right the ship. They're still a far way off but as you said they're going in the right direction...

Sorry got a bit wordy there.

No problem, I don't take offense to it. ;)

Sports teams in general, don't turn a great profit in most leagues. The NFL is the vast exception because of the absurd television contract, and revenue sharing. NBA / NHL / MLB teams are 'usually' toys for already rich million/billionaires, and I can't think of any franchise owner that takes in the majority of their income via their sports team. Outside of the NFL, it's only the teams that can strike rich television contracts of their own that really excel (Leafs, Lakers, Yankees, etc) from a business perspective.

That's why I tend to think a sports teams should be run differently than a business in most cases. It's not that I think MLSE was trying to lose, but they were 'pretty happy' with the status quo for far too long because they were making cash hand over fist. Thus, they kept trying to make a push for the final playoff spot rather than going through a few dog-years that might drive down ticket prices, or support.

And thus, I agree on the issues with upper management, because those rumblings about the resistance to rebuild had come up for years. I'm glad the Leafs are actually appear like they'll be around all year, because now it must justify all the media attention! :p
 
Here is the current progress of the construction of the Leviathan rollercoaster at Wonderland:

9as7wl.jpg


It kind of reminds me of the escalator to nowhere on the Simpsons at this point!
 

Blackface

Banned
I used to blame MLSE a lot, until I realized that they actually put effort into fielding a good team every year. Here is why.

MLSE has invested more money into both the Leafs and the Raptors then virtually any other team in either league. They invested 500 million into upgrades for the ACC just to keep it "world class". They built special suites at Maple Leaf Square, and made deals with surrounding hotels, to give opposing players the best commendations possible. Why? One day those players will be free agents, and any positive memory benefits our teams.

MLSE ALWAYS goes after the best man for the job. They never try and get a "bad" coach or GM. If someone high-end is available, they will try their hardest to go after them.

MLSE never puts a "cap" on how much they are willing to spend on team rosters. In fact, before the NHL had their current CBA, Leafs were always one of the highest spenders. The Raptors spend to cap every year, and go over for any players worth having.

The Raptors and Leaf's lose simply based on the incompetence of the personal. Yet the personal the Leaf's/Raptors hire, is normally grade A+ and has an impressive resume everywhere else. Then begin to joke the moment they get here.

The Raptors, for example, just hired Dwayne Casey. A man who just won a championship ring with the Mav's, and was said to basically be the coach of the team. They hired BC before that, who was the most coveted GM on the market, and one of the best in the NBA at the time. Putting together the 60+ win Suns teams. They hired Burke, once again, probably the most sought after GM in many years. MLSE is a financial backer. Their job is to go out and hire the best they can. Unfortauntly, this has often failed.

MLSE obviously wants to be profitable, but they always will. They own tons of property, and Canada is the third largest city in every single league it has a team in. The Raptors have been bad since 2001, yet are still top 10 in attendance and profits in the NBA. A league where MOST teams lose money. The Leafs will never lose money because, it's the Leafs. The Acc makes buckets of money off concerts, and MLSE makes more side money off other property.

In fact, the only way for MLSE to make MORE money. Is to get our teams into the playoffs for the extra coverage and home games. So anyone thinking they aren't trying to, is fooling themselves.
 
Roto13 said:
As long as we're not talking about streetcars any more.

EvilMario and myself are huge urban planning nerds so you can count on plenty of streetcar, construction and general snooze inducing discussion for years to come!

Why do you care though? you are moving to Ottawa anyways! ;)
 
added_time said:
EvilMario and myself are huge urban planning nerds so you can count on plenty of streetcar, construction and general snooze inducing discussion for years to come!

Why do you care though? you are moving to Ottawa anyways! ;)
Not being in Toronto has never stopped other Canadians from complaining about what happens in Toronto.
 

Roto13

Member
added_time said:
EvilMario and myself are huge urban planning nerds so you can count on plenty of streetcar, construction and general snooze inducing discussion for years to come!

Why do you care though? you are moving to Ottawa anyways! ;)
Yeah, in like six months or a year or possibly never. :p
 

Divvy

Canadians burned my passport
Roto13 said:
Yeah, in like six months or a year or possibly never. :p

As a person that just left ottawa a few months back, let me be the first to say: "Ha ha! I hope you like snow!"
 
So, I guess we've now reached the point in the season where the Leafs go into a nosedive, and won't pull out of it until they've been mathematically eliminated?
 

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
Well, I always thought they'd be able to compete for one of the playoff spots 6-8, so they probably will in the end. And once you get into the playoffs, a lot can happen. But even if they don't go far, making the playoffs with this young team would be progress.
 

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
And not Toronto specific, but from the CRTC thread on a decision that will impact the entire country;


Zombie James said:
Final decision coming this Tuesday:

The CRTC has just announced a media/stakeholders lock-up in Toronto, on November 15th from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM, when they will announce their decision about Internet metering (usage-based billing).

Let's hope the 95th percentile model won out.
 

Kave_Man

come in my shame circle
lunarworks said:
So, I guess we've now reached the point in the season where the Leafs go into a nosedive, and won't pull out of it until they've been mathematically eliminated?

Far from it, they've lost only 2 games in a row. Albeit they were dreadful in both games but way to early to even think it's a nosedive.
 
EvilMario said:
And not Toronto specific, but from the CRTC thread on a decision that will impact the entire country;

You just reminded me to post an update on my Bell situation:

So after raising my internet price from $39 to $69 for no apparent reason other than to try to get me to cancel my old unlimited plan... I called them and told them I was going to cancel.
Unfortunately Teksavvy isn't doing internet in my neighborhood at the moment so I was kind of stuck on what steps to take so I told Bell I was going to call back the next day.

I decided that no matter what, I refuse to pay $69 for internet so I called back to cancel without even knowing where I would sign up afterwards. I told them this and then they magically decided to lower my internet price to $30 (less than I was paying before) and speed up my line from 5 to 12 Mbps. They said they would only do it for 12 months though and then the price would be raised to $69 again. So I told them that I will be calling back in 10 months to cancel since I won't pay that much now OR in 12 months. They said fine.

I will end up cancelling a lot sooner though I hope. As soon as I get the green light from Teksavvy, I will cancel Bell and switch.
So here is to hoping that the CRTC makes the right decision for once in their existence.
 

Hobs

Neo Member
I just got a letter from bell saying that Fibe 25 is increasing in price for a few dollars, forgot if it was $2 or $5. Also, overage maximum charge increased another $20. Both are starting in Jan.

I really need to switch to teksavvy soon.
 

Markster

Member
added_time said:
EvilMario and myself are huge urban planning nerds so you can count on plenty of streetcar, construction and general snooze inducing discussion for years to come!

Why do you care though? you are moving to Ottawa anyways! ;)
Ottawa? He can get bored to tears with Ottawa LRT discussion instead!
 

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
Hobs said:
I just got a letter from bell saying that Fibe 25 is increasing in price for a few dollars, forgot if it was $2 or $5. Also, overage maximum charge increased another $20. Both are starting in Jan.

I really need to switch to teksavvy soon.
:/

I've always maintained the only reason Canadian's don't switch is cause they're lazy...
 

Roto13

Member
Kuro Madoushi said:
:/

I've always maintained the only reason Canadian's don't switch is cause they're lazy...
Nah, Canadians don't switch because most of them have nothing to switch to. All of our big ISPs are evil.
 

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
pfft. I kept telling numerous people to switch to teksavvy, but they're always, "nah, it's not important" "it'll take too long" "it's too much trouble" blah blah blah

If you don't got it in your area, you don't got it, but otherwise - LAZY
 
The big reason is the upfront cost. That's what took us so long to make the switch. First month + modem + activation was $166. Not everyone can afford that when they have a dozen other bills to pay too.
 

Sober

Member
My dad told us the contract with our ISP is coming up, so I was hoping to have us switch to Teksavvy. Don't think I need the unlimited bandwidth cap cause 300 seems like plenty (I was only ever really breaking the 100/now-sub 100 limits with Rogers earlier), but I've heard horror stories of people trying to switch and having to wait the full month, and wow that is alot of fees for startup and activation (along with having to buy a modem, etc.).
 

Divvy

Canadians burned my passport
Kuro Madoushi said:
pfft. I kept telling numerous people to switch to teksavvy, but they're always, "nah, it's not important" "it'll take too long" "it's too much trouble" blah blah blah

If you don't got it in your area, you don't got it, but otherwise - LAZY

Maybe removing bell's dick from people's anuses hurts more than just keeping it in there? I dunno.
 

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
criesofthepast said:
The big reason is the upfront cost. That's what took us so long to make the switch. First month + modem + activation was $166. Not everyone can afford that when they have a dozen other bills to pay too.
you can buy your own modem cheaper

advantages
- you can leave any time
- no throttling
- very generous cap
- you're not supporting Hell and Robbers
 
Kuro Madoushi said:
you can buy your own modem cheaper

advantages
- you can leave any time
- no throttling
- very generous cap
- you're not supporting Hell and Robbers
Buying your own modem is not much cheaper. You save $20 on the activation fee if you buy your modem from teksavvy. If you don't then your paying the full price ctivation fee. ($45) So, unless you can show me a quality modem for $40 then it's not much cheaper. If you buy your own modem for more then $60 it is more expensive than buying from teksavvy. Just keep that in mind. Buying a $40 modem would save you $20 total.

The real deal is getting those Canada computer teksavvy starter packs. I didn't know about those when we switched but that seems like the cheapest way to sign up for tek.

I don't question the advantages of switching. There is no debate on that. Fuck Rogers up the ass. It took 4 months to even leave them. They kept fucking billing us for non existent Internet that they thought we still had. And they owe us $32 still. "You'll get a check in 90 days" they say. Yeah we'll see.
 
I never thought I would be saying this but Mississauga has built the best looking recent skyscrapers (condo no less!) in all of the GTA:

20111028041.jpg


Incredible stuff. It's just a shame about the rest of the city.
 

Divvy

Canadians burned my passport
Those are really nice, especially seeing the reflections in person. I originally thought they were hideous when the renders were released, but they're so much better in person.
 

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
criesofthepast said:
Buying your own modem is not much cheaper. You save $20 on the activation fee if you buy your modem from teksavvy. If you don't then your paying the full price ctivation fee. ($45) So, unless you can show me a quality modem for $40 then it's not much cheaper. If you buy your own modem for more then $60 it is more expensive than buying from teksavvy. Just keep that in mind. Buying a $40 modem would save you $20 total.

The real deal is getting those Canada computer teksavvy starter packs. I didn't know about those when we switched but that seems like the cheapest way to sign up for tek.

I don't question the advantages of switching. There is no debate on that. Fuck Rogers up the ass. It took 4 months to even leave them. They kept fucking billing us for non existent Internet that they thought we still had. And they owe us $32 still. "You'll get a check in 90 days" they say. Yeah we'll see.
Depends.

I got my own modem back when I signed up for DSL. There were plenty for around 29, which is what I got mine for.

Switching to cable, I just decided just to be lazy and get their modem.

I know you're complaining about cost here, but my whole point is the benefits you get long term are WELL WORTH the high up front costs.

If you want to talk cost, Rogers cable internet has you paying to RENT their goddamn modem. You save MUCH MORE over the long run.
 

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
Every time I'm driving out toward Mississauga you really notice those buildings on their skyline now. They really stand out from the other more boring condos and townhouses in the area. At least they really are trying to build for density in downtown Mississauga now. I hope they do have an LRT from Square One to Port Credit GO Station at some point. It'll help a bunch.
 
Markster said:
Ottawa? He can get bored to tears with Ottawa LRT discussion instead!
Oh you. Why haven't there been a KW-GAF yet? I would have assumed we gathered enough people at PAX to realize there's demand for one.
 

Firestorm

Member
Yeah those buildings are really cool up close. Had a dinner in Mississauga for work a few months back and I remember they looked so odd from a distance.
 

ElNino

Member
Kuro Madoushi said:
Depends.

I got my own modem back when I signed up for DSL. There were plenty for around 29, which is what I got mine for.

Switching to cable, I just decided just to be lazy and get their modem.

I know you're complaining about cost here, but my whole point is the benefits you get long term are WELL WORTH the high up front costs.

If you want to talk cost, Rogers cable internet has you paying to RENT their goddamn modem. You save MUCH MORE over the long run.
I don't rent my cable modem from Rogers. I bought mine about 8 years ago and it is still going fine.

I've looked at TekSavvy, and from what I can tell I would end up paying a bit more a month compared to Rogers and the only real benefit would be an increase in my bandwidth cap. But, considering I have never gone over my Rogers cap (and only even came close a couple of times), that isn't really a worthwhile benefit to me.

But you're right, the only reason I haven't switched is because I'm LAZY! :-\
 

Quick

Banned
criesofthepast said:
Buying your own modem is not much cheaper. You save $20 on the activation fee if you buy your modem from teksavvy. If you don't then your paying the full price ctivation fee. ($45) So, unless you can show me a quality modem for $40 then it's not much cheaper. If you buy your own modem for more then $60 it is more expensive than buying from teksavvy. Just keep that in mind. Buying a $40 modem would save you $20 total.

The real deal is getting those Canada computer teksavvy starter packs. I didn't know about those when we switched but that seems like the cheapest way to sign up for tek.

I don't question the advantages of switching. There is no debate on that. Fuck Rogers up the ass. It took 4 months to even leave them. They kept fucking billing us for non existent Internet that they thought we still had. And they owe us $32 still. "You'll get a check in 90 days" they say. Yeah we'll see.

Bought myself a starter pack from Canada Computers two weeks ago. Had everything set up the same day, with the internet activating a week later. Sucked waiting, but I'm all good now.

Glad to be rid of Bell's shitty internet, and also to be paying lesser.

I didn't get rid of Bell cable though, that's sort of a long story. I'm looking to switch to Rogers or anything better, but it doesn't look like I have much of a choice.
 

Firestorm

Member
ElNino said:
I don't rent my cable modem from Rogers. I bought mine about 8 years ago and it is still going fine.

I've looked at TekSavvy, and from what I can tell I would end up paying a bit more a month compared to Rogers and the only real benefit would be an increase in my bandwidth cap. But, considering I have never gone over my Rogers cap (and only even came close a couple of times), that isn't really a worthwhile benefit to me.

But you're right, the only reason I haven't switched is because I'm LAZY! :-\
Rogers is Officially the World's Worst Internet Throttler

In 2010, Shaw throttled 14% of users and Bell throttled 16% of users. Rogers? The Toronto-based telco throttled a startling 78% of users, and this number has surpassed 90% during some quarters since 2008. Meanwhile, other Canadian ISPs like Telus, Sasktel, and MTS throttle just 6% or less. And Rogers has one of the largest sample sizes in this study, making its data among the most accurate, thus leaving little room to negotiate even the most theoretical of errors on the researchers' part.
 
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