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Ive watched TSNs Kraft Celebration Tour for years. Ive seen the yelling, howling and screaming from the fans that showed up at these venues from coast to coast. But like millions of Canadians, I never got a chance to watch it live until Sunday. The tour came to Bridgewater on the south shore of Nova Scotia - about an hour from Halifax. I live 25 minutes away from Bridgewater in a place called Liverpool, so I took the opportunity to see for myself what the real deal was. And oh my, theres so much that the TV broadcast doesnt show. Now the production on Sunday was the very first time that a broadcast team (Rod Smith and Kate Beirness) did back-to-back shows in the history of this event. The pattern is usually the Western Canadian stop (with Jennifer Hedger and Darren Dutchyshen), followed the Eastern Canadian stop and so forth. But this year, the Western crew did the show from way up north in Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories. With the distance they had to travel with all the gear and equipment by truck and bus, it made more sense to have the Eastern crew do back-to-back shows. And there was a LOT of gear, as five trucks were needed to carry the TSN set and all that Kraft Tour paraphernalia. Now Rod and Kate finished in Morell, PEI on Saturday evening, boarded the bus and hit the road to touch down in Bridgewater around 2am on Sunday. And the crews for the tour usually have more than a day to get the next show ready. Not this time. "We usually set up some the day before or have most of it ready and on the day of the event do the rest," a crew staffer told me. But this was not the case in Bridgewater. Here, the crew got up early Sunday morning to set up and with an hour to go was still working on the set. And there are a lot of people involved with this prodigious production. It takes 40-50 people to do this, along with 100 volunteers from the area to help with the banners and make the signs - a lot of planning and lots of work to be done in a very short time. All those exhibits - the puck shooting game, the basketball hoops, the booths and other TSN-Kraft material - just dont appear, it takes many to do the work and they consume a lot of time. But the showcase piece of the tour is the SportsCentre set. And that in itself takes hours to prepare. It gets put up and taken down in one day, so every conceivable check and measure is done to ensure that its totally ready for the live broadcast. Cameramen focusing camera lens. Audio feeds and microphone chords being set up. All this and pre-show tests that still have to be done. It has to be done to perfection. Remember, this is a live show. It has to be done right or youll spot the mistakes right away. I arrived four hours before the on-air time and there were already a few hundred people. And that swelled to over 2,000 by showtime. "It was a terrific turnout for a small town - we were impressed," the public relations person told me. Rod and Kate were in the show planning meeting when I got there, but were happy to meet up with me afterwards. Im accustomed to seeing Rod in a suit, so it was a surprise seeing him and Kate were wearing more casual Kraft Celebration Tour T-Shirts. For Rod, Morell was his first ever tour experience and an awesome eye-opener. "Its everything that Ive heard about and more," he said. "This is just great. Morell on Saturday and Bridgewater today (Sunday) - its a great Canadian small town experience that I would probably never get. The people, their energy, and the enthusiasm is terrific. I like small town Canada and to be able to go to Kinsmen Field and run a few football plays was such an experience." And Kinsmen Field received $25,000 from Kraft - the reason that Bridgewater entered the competition for the Kraft Celebration tour. "The field has a serious drainage problem," explained Rod. "The money will help. It hasnt rained around here in two weeks and the field is still soggy." Kate, his co-host, and is already a veteran of the tour. "Ive been doing this for three summers and Im still amazed as to what happens," she said. "Here it is, hours before the show starts and there are hundreds of people. Theres going to be a thousand by air time, maybe more - amazing." Kate is a real competitive gal. She and Rod went fishing for Mackerel in PEI and emphatically said, "Rod caught two but I caught three," with a smile. She also took a series of pigskin passes from Rod and I must say the lady can catch. "Its so great to go into towns across Canada and highlight something that is important to them, thats terrific," said Kate. As for working with the Rod the Tour rookie? "Hes a real pro and a trooper," she said. And Rod was effusive in his praise about her, saying, "Shes dynamite and really knows her stuff." The idea of Bridgewater applying for the Tour started a year ago, when John Peters saw the show on television and said, "We should apply for this." And after finding a good cause to vouch for, he joined with the Bridgewater minor football program and decided to write a letter to TSN (And the minor football program was highlighted with kids around the SportsCentre set Sunday dressed in blue jerseys). A call later from TSN told Peters that they made the Top 20 places and they were matched against the town of Windsor, Nova Scotia in the 24-hour run off. "We called and got great cooperation from the local radio stations (CKBW and HANK-FM)," he told me. "We used Twitter, Facebook and other social media to get the word out and to get people all over Canada to vote for us." And it worked, as some 223,000 votes came in and made Bridgewater the winner. Local radio morning man Mike Richards summed it up very well when he said, "It was a terrific day for the South Shore of Nova Scotia and Bridgewater. Its a great community event and to think that over 2,000 people attended in this small town is spectacular." When I first saw this tour years ago, I thought it was the best thing Ive ever seen on TSN. It puts people whove watched this network - since its inception in 1984 - in touch with them. I still feel this way and after experiencing the Tour live, Im even stronger in my belief. Theres nothing like it in sports television. This is pure Canadianna. For TSN.ca, Im Alex J. Walling. Alex J. can be reached via email at: ajw@eastlink.ca Vans Shoes Wholesale . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. Vans Old Skool White Sale . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. http://www.vansshoesclearancesale.com/vans-old-skool-sale/pink.html . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR. Vans Old Skool Black Sale . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Vans Shoes Sale . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- It would be so easy for Arkansas to overlook Football Championship Subdivision member Alcorn State on Saturday.Fresh off their first loss of the season and with home games against No. 1 Alabama and No. 16 Mississippi awaiting the next two weeks, the No. 20 Razorbacks (3-1) could easily be forgiven for taking the Braves (1-2) lightly this week.Theres only one problem with that as far as Arkansas is concerned.The game is in Little Rock, not Fayetteville, and War Memorial Stadium hasnt been kind to the Razorbacks in recent years. Including last years shocking loss to Toledo in Arkansas capital city, the Razorbacks are 1-5 in their home away from home since that start of the 2012 season.So, about that trap game scenario again?I think the fact were going to Little Rock and have the memories of what weve had happen there in the past ... wont allow that to happen, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said.Arkansas recent Little Rock woes began with a loss to Louisiana-Monroe early in the 2012 season, the transitional year between fired former coach Bobby Petrino and Bielema. Interim coach John L. Smith was at the helm that season, which included a second loss in War Memorial Stadium later that season to Ole Miss.Since then, the Razorbacks Little Rock losses have come to Mississippi State in 2013, Georgia in 2014 and last seasons stunner to Toledo.I really cant put a finger on it, Arkansas safety Josh Liddell said. ... The past three years weve kind of come out sluggish and slow, but in the second half we get refocused and came out with more energy. This year, we want to come out with extreme focus and energy level and play fast.Some things to watch as Arkansas looks to end its recent woes in Little Rock:BRAVE OUTLOOK: Alcorn State has been consistently one of the top FCS schools in the country over the last three years, during which time the school has gone 28-10 and won back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference championships.dddddddddddd The Braves are led by first-year coach Fred McNair, who was previously the teams quarterbacks coach and is in his fifth year at the school.ALLENS RECOVERY: Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen was battered and bruised throughout last weeks 45-24 loss to Texas A&M, but he is recovered and ready for Saturday. The junior has quickly emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the Southeastern Conference this season, completing 66.9 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.AIR TROUBLE: After earning a win over Alabama State, Alcorn State has lost its last two games to Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Grambling State. Many of the Braves troubles can be traced to a secondary that features four new starters from a year ago and is 119th out of 122 FCS teams in passing yardage allowed -- giving up an average of 324.7 yards per game through the air. Were young in the secondary and thats where all our hits are coming, McNair said.STILL STREAKING: Despite last weeks loss, the Razorbacks have won nine of their last 11 games overall to help Bielema reach .500 (21-21) in his fourth season at Arkansas. He was 3-9 in his first season in 2013 but has taken the Razorbacks to bowl games in each of the last two seasons.SACK ARTIST: Alcorn State linebacker Darrien Anderson is tied for the lead in sacks in the FCS with 6 + in only three games, including four last week against Grambling State. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior also leads the Braves with 30 tackles. ' ' '