MLS Cup returning to ABC for first time since 2008

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My ex-wife just moved back to town and looks like a changed woman. She spent years married to me, and our kids just graduated in a city where we once lived together. That was without help from me, other than minor financial stuff.

She has found a great new job back in Winnipeg and she’ll do very well. I admire her more than any other woman I ever met, but she’s not interested in me at all.

I once had a solid, responsible job and then got into drinking, and I cheated on her. That’s why she left town. Now I’ve been sober and sorry for many years.

I asked her last weekend if I could take her out to dinner and she said no and changed the subject.

For the first time since 2008, Major League Soccer's championship game will air on ABC.

The league announced Wednesday that this year's MLS Cup will be shown on the network for the 14th time in 24 seasons. The final on Nov. 10 will start at 3 p.m. EST. It also will air on Univision in Spanish.

"With the new playoff format and a change in the date, we had a spot where we could air it (on ABC)," said Burke Magnus, ESPN's executive vice-president for programming and scheduling. "It is MLS' marquee event and shows our optimism for the league's strength and where it is headed."

This is the third time in four years that the MLS Cup will air on network television. Fox broadcast it in 2016 and 2018. The MLS Cup was on ABC from 1996-2008 before moving to ESPN for eight of the last 10 seasons.

Since moving to Winnipeg earlier this year, I have come to know the city through its small businesses. As a new Exchange District resident, grabbing coffee at Little Sister, walking through The Forks Market and stopping at Pho Hoang for lunch have become part of my routine. These are the places that give Winnipeg’s neighbourhoods their character and have helped make a new city feel like home.

That is why an empty storefront never feels like just vacant real estate. It represents someone’s investment and hope. When a small business disappears, the community loses a piece of itself.

On Oct. 28, Manitobans in most municipalities will choose their next mayors, reeves and councillors. While city councils may not set interest rates or negotiate global trade agreements, they do have some control over many of the barriers entrepreneurs encounter day to day, from property tax bills and permit applications to public safety and construction disruptions.

Ahead of the upcoming elections, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) surveyed Manitoba small business owners to get a sense of their municipal priorities and concerns.