Every Hockey Fan's Dream, a Chance to be GM

Just in time for all of those arm chair General Managers is word that soon on your television will come the opportunity to run your very own Imaginary team, which would put you just about on par with what's been happening over at MLSE these days, but we digress.

Canada's Broadcast regulator the CRTC has given approval to Leonard Asper's Fight Media to operate a fantasy sports TV Specialty channel,  tentatively to be called The League (unless we imagine the folks over at FX have some thoughts on that).

Asper the son of the late Canadian Television pioneer Izzy Asper, has hopes of getting his project on the air by early summer (disappointing news no doubt for Leaf fans who probably would like to see how they stack up with Dave Nonis right out of the gate) pending negotiations with Canada's cable and satellite television providers.

He would like to see his new offering aspire to be the "CNN" of fantasy sports, which considering the lambasting that CNN is taking of late for its performance, perhaps wasn't the best choice for comparison.

The definition of the League would still seem to be in the development phase at the moment, but the use of social media appears to be a key component to whatever shape the channel will take.

The channel will have call in shows and talk shows designed to provide advice for those that take part in the growing fascination with Fantasy sports leagues, and on that theme, Asper may be on to something.

As any regular listener to current radio and television sports shows knows, one of the favourite past times of participants seems to be the floating up of some trading scenario, which normally features the likes of Sidney Crosby, Kobe Bryant or Peyton Manning getting traded to some other team, normally for a sack of pucks, trolley of basketballs or collection of footballs and chin straps.

Or as Asper put it to Metro News:

"Clearly, there are a lot of people who played sports and didn’t quite make the big leagues and want to be the general manager now,”

Not to mention owners of professional sports franchises!

No doubt MLSE will be the first one up on the subscription list.

After all, you just never know when you may have to make a change!

Ottawa Citizen-- New channel will cater to fantasy sports fans
Mediacaster-- Asper's Fantasy Sports Specialty Channel Approved by CRTC