The Great Canadian Ratings Report: World junior hockey off to hot start

For much of its existence, Canada has been a country in search of an identity, a century-long quest to find something that sets up apart. So far, we have failed and to much of the world, we're ``America Junior," as Homer Simpson so eloquently put it.

That perception, of course, is ridiculous. We have plenty that sets us apart from the rest of the globe -- loonies, double-doubles, Rob Ford. But maybe nothing does so more than the world junior hockey championship.

Every Christmas, Canadians gather by the millions to watch a tournament that the rest of the world greets with a collective snore. Nobody on the planet but us cares much about this annual gathering of teenaged hockey players.

Television ratings in other countries barely register, while they usually soar to the top of the heap in Canada.

If early returns are any indication, they could be soaring even higher this year as Canada aims to end a four-year championship drought. Ratings for Team Canada's preliminary games on TSN are up 11 per cent and audiences for games not involving Canada are up 37 per cent.

Sunday's pre-tournament match between Canada and Sweden drew an average audience of 457,000 -- making it one of the most-watched events of the weekend. Keep in mind, this was a meaningless game played on a Sunday morning during the busy time leading up to Christmas. Not a bad sign for TSN, especially at a time when the channel could use some good news.

One other event on the weekend also stands out. The first is that despite a somewhat less than thrilling opening episode, the HBO 24/7 documentary on the Leafs and Red Wings drew 393,000 viewers to Sportsnet on Sunday -- an increase of 100,000 over the opener. Maybe people were wondering what household appliance would challenge Randy Carlyle's authority in the second episode or maybe they tuned in so they could guess what words had been bleeped out.

Here are the most-watched sports events in Canada over the past weekend, according to BBM Canada overnight ratings:

1. NHL, Wings-Leafs/Habs-Preds, Saturday, CBC: 1,961,000

2. NHL, Canucks at Blackhawks, Friday, TSN: 659,000

3. NFL, Saints-Panthers/Broncos-Texans/Colts-Chiefs, Sunday, CTV: 633,000

4. NHL, Blues at Oilers, Saturday, CBC: 621,000

5. World junior, Canada vs. Sweden, Saturday, TSN: 457,000

6. NHL, Jets at Canucks, Sunday, Sportsnet Pacific: 412,000

7. NHL, 24/7 Road to Winter Classic, Sunday, Sportsnet: 393,000

8. NFL, Pats-Ravens/Steelers-Packers, Sunday, City-Sportsnet: 390,000

9. NFL, Bears at Eagles, Sunday, TSN: 310,000 (NBC audience not calculated)

10. World junior, Canada vs. Finland, Friday, TSN: 187,000

11. World junior, U.S. vs Sweden, Friday, TSN: 173,000

12. Snowboarding, Snowboard cross, Saturday, CBC: 156,000

13. Skiing, men's downhill, Saturday, CBC: 147,000

14. Skiing, women's downhill, Saturday, CBC: 141,000

15. Soccer, West Ham at Man U, Saturday, TSN: 140,000

THREE TO WATCH

Holiday hockey: The great Canadian holiday tradition starts in Malmo, Sweden, on Boxing Day when Canada opens its world junior championship quest. Since this one's against German, it should give Team Canada a relatively easy entry into the tournament. Thursday, 7:30 a.m., TSN.

The gift of bowls: The U.S. college bowl season continues with a ton of football over the next few weeks. Sportsnet and TSN have all the action leading up to the BCS championship on Jan. 6. The holiday games continue with the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl between Bowling Green and Pittsburgh on Boxing Day, followed by a whole pile of Put Sponsor's Name Here Bowls. Thursday, 6 p.m., Sportsnet.

NFL showdowns: It's crunch time in the NFL with a whole slew of games that will determine which teams keep playing and which teams start firing coaches. One of the best features the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys fighting for the NFC East title. Sunday, 8:30 p.m., TSN and NBC.