HEY, LOOK, MEDIA CONSOLIDATION: SHARKS AFTER CHUM LTD.

In another story that Canadians can't give a whit about, looks like a big media merger is in the works: Bell Globemedia -- owners of CTV, The Globe and Mail, etc. -- is set to acquire CHUM Ltd. and its roster of TV and radio stations, along with its specialty channels.

That's a weird juxtaposition: the stately, patrician Globe being part of the same big happy corporate family as City TV, which is revered by this author for showing soft-core porn on those lonely, lonely Friday nights.

Another media note is that Rogers Sportsnet fired Scott Morrison, its director of news and hockey. A friend says this is part of a major shake-up as Sportsnet tries to style itself as "Spike TV Canada." If that's the case, you can see why it wouldn't want a respected hockey journalist such as Morrison hanging around just to remind them of when broadcasting actually still had a whiff of respectability.

OTHER BUSINESS

• Hey, the Canadian men's soccer team is all the way up to No. 54 in the new FIFA rankings -- not bad for a team that didn't actually play since the last rankings came out.
• Is this the worst sports day of the year? Hard to believe the Toronto Blue Jays won't even begin their second-half run to an AL East pennant until Friday.
• Fellow bloggers take note: there's another "catch-all" where to get listed: Sports Blogs Daily.
• Hometown Breakdown note: Aaron and Nate Doornekamp, of Odessa, Ont., and formerly of Ernestown S.S. (yours truly's alma mater), are at the final selection camp for Canada's national men's basketball team. Two of Aaron's Carleton Ravens teammates, Ryan Bell and Osvaldo Jeanty, are also at the camp, while his coach and uncle, Dave Smart, is an assistant coach.
• Sports movies you can show the girlfriend, sports clichés and bad sportswriting in general.