Maple Leafs practices in Toronto are being televised as "part of a new two-hour segment on Leafs TV," according to James Mirtle of the GLOBE & MAIL. Because Leafs TV is the broadcasting arm of the club, officials "adhere to the team’s wishes in terms of how much makes it to air." While the ice surface "has been wired for sound and a full crew is on hand, drills being run by the coaching staff are off limits so as to keep what they’re working on under wraps." Once practice ends, however, player interviews are "broadcast mere minutes after being taped and coach Ron Wilson’s daily press conference is shown live." Analysts then "break down what was said, much like they would between periods of a game." It is "too early for any ratings data from the shows to be available," but Leafs TV host Paul Hendrick yesterday said that he "feels it’s been a successful endeavour so far." Hendrick: "It’s just an opportunity for programming. There are guidelines with it and we’ve got to be careful that we don’t show too much. It’s not always easy. But Leafs fans have such an insatiable appetite. We’re just trying to feed it as best we can." Maple Leafs C Matt Lombardi said, "If you live in the U.S. and watch football, they go Monday to Sunday. They breakdown every single day of the week for them. If you're comparing it to that, I don't think it really is (that crazy)" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/15).
