Best seat in the house — on the Internet

   Sports television producers consistently search for ways to draw viewers into the action.

   They use close-ups, provide sideline interviews, increase access to players and coaches, and devise different camera angles. It’s all about taking us out of the living room and transporting us to the arena.

   Tomorrow night (Friday), the CBC will attempt something new by giving online users at CBCSports.ca one of the best seats in the house at the Bell Centre for the Boston Bruins-Montreal Canadiens game.

   This will be done with a digital application called All Access. It consists of a user controlled camera that will provide a 360 degree view of the arena from a position between the benches just above ice level.

  Sherali Najak, the executive producer of Hockey Night, says he was “blown away” when he saw a demonstration of the digital technology.

  “It’s a really cool innovation by a company that’s in Calgary called Immersive Media,” he said. “We just thought it was a perfect fit for Hockey Night In Canada.”

  The camera is made up of 11 different lens, the pictures from which are stitched together to provide a panoramic view of an arena or stadium. Some entertainment shows, one on Much Music, have used it. But this will be the first time it will be tried in a hockey telecast.

  When you click onto the camera, you will able to operate it with your computer mouse, choosing its direction and deciding where you want to take it.

  “There’s always that urge in sports event programming to try to give the viewer that real game type of experience,” Najak said. “And this is a real behind-the-scenes look where the user can actually control a camera in the rink.”

  Hockey Night is introducing the innovation tomorrow because the show will focus on the Canadiens’ 100^th anniversary.

   The 360 degree camera will likely be used to best effect during the pre-game ceremony which starts at 6:30 p.m. ET. The same application can be used to watch the game, but there will be no play-by-play, merely the audio ambience of the rink.

  It’s not difficult to imagine a viewer jumping back and forth between watching the conventional game telecast, and then clicking onto the online 360 degree picture during commercials.

    The CBC will use the camera on future telecasts, most likely the outdoor game at Fenway Park on January 1.

  TSN’s list of best Canadiens

 The Sports Network did a good job on Tuesday of televising its own celebration of the Canadiens’ anniversary.

  Any time you can get the Stanley Cup and Grey Cup (brought to the Leafs-Habs game at the Bell Centre by the Montreal Alouettes) in the same room, you’ve accomplished something memorable.

  The best Canadiens player? TSN’s consensus was Maurice (Rocket) Richard, although he never won a scoring championship. In 18 seasons, Richard was awarded one Hart Trophy, was a first-team all star eight times, won eight Stanley Cups, and would have won a Conn Smythe or more if the trophy had existed during his time.

  You could make a case for Guy Lafleur, who won two Hart Trophies, three scoring championships, one Conn Smythe, five Cups and was a first-team all-star six times in 17 seasons.

  The best leader? The three choices were captain Jean Beliveau, coach Toe Blake and general manager Sam Pollock. But, what about Frank Selke? He merely saved the franchise. When he took over in 1946, the club was in financial trouble and close to folding. Selke refurbished the Forum and built a minor league system that fed the great teams of the 1950s that won six championships, five in a row.

 Dick Irvin’s favourite Hab

  Veteran broadcaster Dick Irvin will join Hockey Night’s telecast tomorrow and also will be co-host of the in-arena ceremonies. He watched the Canadiens play for the first time in Toronto in January, 1940, when his father, Dick Sr., was coaching the Leafs. Irvin Sr. took over behind the Montreal bench the following year. Irvin, on the top Canadiens player:

  “I’ve always said the most exciting player to watch was the Rocket and the most exciting player to broadcast was Guy Lafleur. But if I had my pick of all the Canadiens, if there was a new league and I was drafting, I think I would take Beliveau, for his leadership.”

Sportsnet grabs EPL rights

  Rogers Sportsnet has acquired exclusive basic cable rights to Barclay’s English Premier League games for three years starting in 2010. The Score Television network, which is Canada’s EPL channel through this season, will cede the rights to Sportsnet. The Score sold a Saturday morning game to Sportsnet over the past three years. Setanta, the pay channel partly owned by Rogers, also carries EPL games.

Toronto Star to lose veteran columnists

Long time Star columnists Dave Perkins and Garth Woolsey, along with  Mark Harding and Tom Slater, and several copy editors are expected to take buyouts being offered by the Star. Perkins’ departure will be a major loss to the newspaper. Also, Sean Fitz-Gerald  is leaving the National Post for  Canadian Press to cover hockey.

 Did you hear the one about . . .

 And, finally, a look at what the Internet comedians are saying about Tiger Woods, who still hasn’t explained what happened on the night he piled his SUV into a tree and fire hydrant outside his Florida home after it had been reported he had been cheating on his wife. We know that his wife, Elin, smashed in the back window of the SUV with a golf iron and may have scratched Woods’ face.

• Tiger’s new movie is out: “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Hydrant.”
• Apparently the police asked Tiger’s wife how many times she hit him. She said “I don’t know exactly, but put me down for a 5.”
• What’s the difference between a car and a golf ball?  Tiger can drive a ball 400 yards . . .
• What were Tiger Woods and his wife doing out at 2:30 in the morning?  They went clubbing . . .  
• Tiger Woods crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree. He couldn’t decide between a wood and an iron.
• Phil Mickelson contacted Tiger’s wife to pick up some tips on how to beat Tiger. 
• This the first time Tiger has ever failed to drive 300 yards.
• Apparently, Tiger told the police the crash was the closest shave he’s ever had. So, Gillette dropped his contract.
• The golf reporter wrote, “After a wayward drive, Tiger Woods found water before nestling behind a tree.”