Last night in Los Angeles would have been the 2020 All-Star Game. Dodger Stadium has been hosting COVID-19 testing these days instead of baseball.
2020 marks the first year to not have a MLB All-Star Game since 1945 thanks to World War II.
My blood pressure was good today because I didn't have to deal with MLB blowing off O Canada on U.S. television during the MLB All-Star Game.
For those who don't follow baseball or the controversy, Fox in the United States goes to commercial break during the Canadian national anthem for over a decade. When the break is over, the U.S. anthem is played.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball, and Fox have not responded to our many pleas and tirades on the subject. We want to know who decides this omission, why this happens every year, and how to stop this insulting policy.
MLB, Rob Manfred, MLB on Fox need to stop disrespecting Canada
This story from 2017 sums up our feelings on the insulting omission. You can read the post but we, well, have blood pressure to consider.
The MLS tournament in Orlando isn't having national anthems. The Toronto Blue Jays may not even play in Canada; if the Jays are in Buffalo, the Buffalo Sabres routinely play O Canada whether or not the Sabres are playing a Canadian team.
Montréal sneaking in as the #12 seed of the eastern teams in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs won't necessarily produce their version of O Canada (French, French, English) in Toronto. There might be anthems but not the usual flair of an anthem singer. Loved when Ginette Reno rallied the Habs a few years back.
2019 Toronto Blue Jays second half preview
2018 Toronto Blue Jays second half preview
Anthems are part of the spectacle. NBCSN has certainly gone out of its way at times not to air the anthems during the Stanley Cup playoffs. CBC and now Rogers Sportsnet knows that the anthems are part of the pageantry.
Greed might explain the work of Fox and MLB to blow off the Canadian national anthem. If greed was that important, they would blow off the U.S. anthem. They don't do that because of the lack of respect. Yet they have done this to Canada for over a decade.
We can be hopeful MLB and Fox will change their ways someday. If there is a 2021 All-Star Game, we would love for O Canada to be on U.S. television. We also want to know why.
CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage
Canadians watching the All-Star Game on Rogers Sportsnet see O Canada being performed each year. U.S. networks used to show O Canada. This shouldn't be a difficult task. Do it for my blood pressure if for no other reason.
photo credit: MLB International feed
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