Canadian Crossing

CBC News needs to bring back local news in wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus

Editor's Note: CBC News has reversed policy and as of March 25, "CBC will continue to restore our local TV news offer for local audiences with an expanded 30-minute local news segment on CBC News Network. Viewers in all our regions will see their trusted anchors back on air reporting the local news that pertains to their communities."

CBC has worked to make its CBC News Network coverage of the COVID-19 coronavirus more available to Canadians. That is great news. Unfortunately, another CBC News move is hurting Canadians wanting to get information.

CBC News is running CBC News Network instead of supper-hour TV newscasts at 6 p.m. and local newscasts at 11 p.m. after The National.

The COVID-19 coronavirus is a worldwide story, a Canadian story, and a local story. Those local stories are being lost because CBC doesn't have the person power to cover those stories. That is what we are being told.

"We are an essential public service, and we will be here for Canada through it all. That is our mandate and promise to all Canadians."

"Television is resource intensive, and much of it can't be done from home. The spine of our television broadcast infrastructure and the support for many of our local supper-hour newscasts run through Toronto facilities. On Monday, with fewer technical staff in the Toronto building, that spine was at risk of breaking."

"More importantly, we see what's coming: more cases, more illness, more people in isolation, more restrictions on travel, more staffing challenges in all of our newsrooms. To get ahead of the curve and the enormous strain we expect it will place on our news service, we were forced to act."

So, we put a temporary pause on one piece of what we do — local TV newscasts at 6 p.m. and some at 11 p.m. — in order to protect everything else: local and national reporting; local and national radio service; local and national digital service; our national nightly newscast; and our 24-hour news channel, CBC News Network (NN)."

These words are from Brodie Fenlon, editor in chief and executive director of daily news for CBC News. We don't doubt the integrity of anything said or the issues of limited resources.

We just think shutting down the local supper hour newscasts is a huge mistake.

CBC isn't just The National and CBC News Network. Viewers have a relationship with their local news people. Canadians need more security, not less.

The promise of CBC Gem was CBC News Network and getting streams of other CBC channels across the country. If you live in Ontario and your parents live in British Columbia, you will want to check in on what is going on there. No local news means you don't know what is happening in another part of Canada.

As far as resources, the late night comedy shows have been resorting to doing videos from couches and backyards. A local CBC anchor could give an update from their home. Local information delivered by local people. Doesn't even have to be a whole half-hour: 12-15 minutes would work.

CanadianCrossing.com CBC coverage

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

As we have noted, Canadian journalism isn't that strong. Most of Canada can get updates from CTV, Global, and Citytv. Those markets would have a leg up on CBC once the crisis is over since their local anchors are still delivering local news.

Prince Edward Island as well as Newfoundland and Labrador have a different issue: CBC is one of the few news outlets in those provinces.

CBC North is exempt from the changes.

National newscasts aren't going to break down Alberta or Manitoba numbers. They might mention Edmonton or Winnipeg, not so much Red Deer or Flin Flon.

The private networks have more money and American shows as lead-ins to their news. Canadians want good local news. If they can't get from CBC, they will turn elsewhere.

CBC is great but can get locked in unfortunate decisions made by people not thinking above and beyond a limited box. This is one of those times.

Canadians and non-Canadians can watch CBC News Network online. They don't need CBC News Network to interrupt local newscasts.

Bring back the supper-hour broadcasts. Make them hybrids with some local coverage and fill the rest of the half hour with CBC News Network. Better than what is happening now.

photo credit: CBC News

2020 MLS preview

Editor's note: MLS announced on March 12 that the schedule will be delayed by 30 days due to the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Jozy Altidore's only postseason goal came on a header in the 93rd minute for Toronto's lone goal in the 2019 MLS Cup. Alejandro Pozuelo, a key cog in the Reds playoff drive, got the assist on the pass to Altidore. The 2020 MLS season starts on Saturday, about 10 weeks after that game in Seattle.

Toronto FC had a heroic postseason after a solid 2019 season. The other Canadian Major League Soccer (MLS) teams are eager to forget 2019 as well as 2018.

Toronto FC starts its 2020 MLS season in San Jose on Saturday. The Reds open at home March 7 at BMO Field against New York City FC.

The Montréal Impact opens at home on Saturday against New England at Olympic Stadium. The Stade Saputo debut is April 18 against Houston. Vancouver hosts Sporting Kansas City at BC Place on Saturday.

Toronto FC falls 3-1 to Seattle in 2019 MLS Cup

Toronto FC advances to 2019 MLS Cup with 2-1 win in Atlanta

Toronto FC advances to Eastern Conference Final in 2019 MLS playoffs

2019 MLS recap: Toronto FC clinches a home playoff game

Montréal hired Thierry Henry as the team's new coach. The Impact did not bring back interim coach Wilmer Cabrera, who went 2-4-1. Rémi Garde had a 10-13-4 record to start out 2019. The team missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Toronto FC will be without captain Michael Bradley, who suffered a right ankle injury in the 2019 MLS Cup on November 10. The diagnosis of the injury came under fire by teammate Jozy Altidore, who criticized the more than 2-month delay before determining that surgery was needed.

The midfielder signed a new 3-year deal plus a club option in the offseason. The surgery on Bradley was performed in late January and the prognosis is he will be out until June.

The MLS Cup rematch will have the Seattle Sounders against Toronto FC July 18 at BMO Field. TSN will have the game in Canada. There are no plans to carry the game on television in the United States.

This is the first season that the league starts in February (February 29). The final regular season day is October 4.

MLS will now have 26 teams with the addition of Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC. Each club plays 34 games; conference opponents twice and 10 games against the other conference. This is also the first season where a team doesn't play all the other teams.

2019 MLS preview

2018 MLS season wrapup: no Canadian playoff teams

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The U.S. over-the-air window is wider than ever for regular season MLS telecasts (46) on ABC, FOX, Univision, and UniMás. ESPN has 31 matches while Fox Sports 1 has 28 games.

This does not apply to Canadian MLS teams. The 2019 Eastern Conference champions get 0 telecasts on U.S. television.

"ESPN and Fox Sports have to reconsider their MLS TV packages in 2020 to include Toronto FC. They along with MLS should be ashamed at shutting out the Reds, a team in its third MLS Cup in 4 years. ESPN and Fox Sports look rather foolish to blow off Toronto FC from its 2019 regular season schedule. Also, Toronto FC should have all its playoff games on either ESPN or Fox Sports."

I wrote that last fall. They should be ashamed. They aren't. MLS needs to explain to us what Toronto FC and the other Canadian teams need to do to get on U.S. TV. Winning the MLS Cup might not be enough to get on TV.

All games will be available via ESPN+. You are set if you already get the service for CFL, NHL, or some other purpose.

Toronto FC had 4 U.S. TV dates in 2018, the last time a Canadian team got on U.S. television in the regular season.

The TSN MLS schedule will carry all Reds and Whitecaps games as well as select Impact telecasts. TVA Sports will have all the Impact games en Francaise.

CTV will have 8 games, all in the early part of the season. The Canadian OTA network carried 8 games in 2019; 9 games in 2018; and 7 games in 2017.

Here is the CTV schedule, all games on Saturday afternoons:

March 14 Nashville @ Toronto, 4 pm
March 21 Toronto @ Cincinnati, 3 pm
April 4 Toronto @ Columbus, 4 pm
April 18 LA Galaxy @ Toronto, 2 pm
April 25 Toronto @ Miami, 3 pm
May 2 Vancouver @ Toronto, 3 pm
May 9 Toronto @ Sporting KC, 4 pm
May 23 FC Dallas @ Vancouver, 4 pm

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2019	November 10	Toronto @ Seattle	Seattle	3-1
2019	October 30	Toronto @ Atlanta	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 23	Toronto @ New York City FC	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 19	D.C. United @ Toronto	Toronto	5-1 (ET)
2017	December 9	Seattle @ Toronto	Toronto	2-0
2017	November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	Toronto	1-0
2017	November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	Tie	0-0
2017	November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
2017	November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
2017	October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
2017	October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
2017	October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	Seattle	0-0 (5-4 PK)
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (ET)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (ET)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

photo credit: Major League Soccer

Super Bowl LIV through the eyes of Canada

Emily Hampshire and Charlie Day were in a Tide commercial that sprinkled in Bud Light and the Pepsi halftime show during Super Bowl LIV. Hampshire dressed as Stevie Budd from Schitt's Creek. Hampshire gets a stain on Day's shirt. Day did the subsequent ads about delaying laundry until tomorrow.

Hampshire and Day played older versions of themselves and replicated that in a later ad.

While Hampshire appears in the commercial as Emily (herself), visually she appears to be Stevie Budd. A small Canadian TV show on a U.S. outlet that most cable subscribers have never watched is connected to an American Super Bowl ad.

Lilly Singh (comedian) and Busy Philipps (actor) with actual astronaut Nicole Stott played astronauts in an ad for Olay Regenerist. The theme was about how girls/women can do anything. The company is donating $1 to Girls Who Code for every mention of #MakeSpaceForWomen.

Cobie Smulders came along to rescue people left behind in a Toyota Highlander that can travel through time and dimensions.

Mike Myers, the late John Candy, Matthew Perry all said "no" in an ad for whether the Discover card has annual fees. The appearances came from the Austin Powers series (Myers), Uncle Buck (Candy), and Friends (?) (Perry). Not quite sure how you can appear in an ad without permission. There was a similar Discover ad where "yes" was the theme. In the "no" ad, there were 8 people and 3 of them were Canadian.

Will Arnett appeared on promos as the host of Lego Masters, a new Fox series.

Canadians won't be able to watch Super Bowl LIV ads

CTV aired American ads during Super Bowl LIII with no confirmed trade deal

Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦#football #nfl #chiefs #chiefskingdom #canada #quebec pic.twitter.com/5SlMsM1fl3

— Laurent D. Tardif (@LaurentDTardif) July 1, 2019

Canadians have made very few on the field contributions to the Super Bowl. Most of those contributors are kickers and punters.

Kansas City's Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, born in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC, is only the fourth non-kicking Canadian to start in a Super Bowl.

Duvernay-Tardif is the 16th Canadian to start in a Super Bowl and the first medical doctor from any country to play in a Super Bowl.

Ryan Hunter (North Bay, ON) would have been the 17th player but Hunter was a healthy scratch for Kansas City.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau beamed with pride for Duvernay-Tardif in part because both of them were McGill University graduates.

Here are the previous non-kickers, according to NFL Canada:

Austin Collie (Hamilton) wide receiver, Indianapolis, 2010
J.P. Darche (St-Laurent, QC) long-snapper, Seattle, 2006
Nick Kaczur (Brantford, ON) offensive lineman, New England, 2008
Allan Kennedy (Vancouver) offensive lineman, San Francisco, 1982, 1985
Mike Labinjo (Toronto) linebacker, Philadelphia, 2005
Mark Rypien (Calgary) quarterback, Washington, 1988, 1992
O.J. Santiago (Whitby, ON) tight end, Atlanta, 1999
Luke Willson (LaSalle, ON) tight end, Seattle, 2014-2015

Here are the previous kickers, according to NFL Canada:

Mitch Berger (Kamloops, BC) punter, Pittsburgh, 2009
Steve Christie (Oakville, ON) kicker, Buffalo, 1992-1994
Roy Gerela (Sarrail, AB) kicker, Pittsburgh, 1975-1976, 1979
Eddie Murray (Halifax) kicker, Dallas, 1994
Jon Ryan (Regina) punter, Seattle, 2014-2015
Shaun Suisham (Wallaceburg, ON) kicker, Pittsburgh, 2011
Klaus Wilmsmeyer (Mississauga, ON) punter, San Francisco, 1995

Non Canadian-born players who grew up in Canada and played in the Super Bowl:

Ken Clark (Southampton, England; Mississauga, ON) punter, Los Angeles Rams, 1980
Orlando Franklin (Kingston, Jamaica; Toronto) offensive lineman, Denver, 2014
Harald Hasselbach (Amsterdam; Tsawwassen, BC) defensive lineman, Denver, 1998-1999
Israel Idonije (Lagos, Nigeria; Brandon, MB) defensive lineman, Chicago, 2007
Markus Koch (Niedermarsberg, Germany; Kitchener, ON), defensive lineman, Washington, 1988, (IR) 1992
Tom Nutten (Toledo, Ohio; Magog, QC) centre, St. Louis Rams, 2000, 2002

Super Bowl LII ads light on Canadian content

Bell Media Super Bowl LI ratings drop 39% from last year

Canada makes little presence in Super Bowl LI ads

Canadians can watch Super Bowl LI ads but not without U.S. pressure

Super Bowl XLIX preview: CRTC to allow Super Bowl ads in 2017

Canadians get a lot of U.S. TV, but normally get shut out of Super Bowl ads

CanadianCrossing.com NFL coverage

CanadianCrossing.com advertising coverage

UPDATE: The Canadian ratings for Super Bowl LIV were significantly improved. The CTV/TSN/RDS average numbers were 9.5 million compared to 5.3 million. Some of those figures won't convert with what we posted before the Super Bowl since these numbers include RDS. The U.S. numbers were down, the second-least-watched over the last 11 years.

We are curious but not as curious as Bell Media is about the Super Bowl LIV ratings. CTV gets credit for people watching on the Fox affiliates in cable and satellite since Bell Media wasn't able to carry the U.S. Super Bowl ads. We will be intrigued to see if CTV returned to the 2016 numbers, especially if the U.S. ratings fell over last year.

photos credit: Tide; Olay
videos credit: YouTube/Tide; YouTube/Toyota USA
Twitter capture: @LaurentDTardif

Canadians won't be able to watch Super Bowl LIV ads

The CUSMA | USMCA has a petty provision that nullifies the CRTC ruling that allowed Super Bowl ads to be shown on Canadian television. The NFL and Bell Media, holders of the Canadian rights to the NFL and the Super Bowl, worked hard to get the ruling reversed.

The language in the trade deal had Canada agreeing to rescind "Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2016-34 and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2016-335."

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 7-2 last month that the CRTC went too far outside the Broadcasting Act. So CTV and TSN won't have to show the American ads during the Super Bowl.

Whatever side you are on this battle, Canadians should make that decision, not Americans.

The U.S. Congress has passed the new trade deal earlier this month. Canada has not passed NAFTA 2.0.

CUSMA passes through U.S. Congress

Simultaneous substitution during live programming allows Canadian networks to acquire programming from the United States and simsub Canadian ads to cover the U.S. ads. This policy applies to the Canadian broadcaster. Canadians who can pick up the U.S. digital feed (Windsor, Toronto) can see the U.S. ads. Digital signals travel shorter distances than analog signals and are less reliable.

Fox will carry the Super Bowl for those desperate to see the U.S. ads. Those in Windsor can tune into Fox 2/WJBK from Detroit. Those in Toronto and Hamilton can get Fox 29/WUTV Buffalo. Montréal is a long shot but those in the region can try to pull in Fox 44 WFFF in Burlington, Vermont.

CTV aired American ads during Super Bowl LIII with no confirmed trade deal

Bell Media Super Bowl LI ratings drop 39% from last year

Canadians can watch Super Bowl LI ads but not without U.S. pressure

Super Bowl XLIX preview: CRTC to allow Super Bowl ads in 2017

The CTV page for Super Bowl LIV isn't filled with incentives to get viewers to watch the Super Bowl. No contests to keep you glued to the Canadian feed. CTV knows you will watch because the Super Bowl is the biggest NFL game. Canadians will likely see many not-so-great ads for Canadian Tire and other companies. A Canadian Super Bowl ad wouldn't have to be that expensive to produce. The bar is really low. Give Canadian viewers something fun to watch in between tackles.

CTV had been drawing about 7 million Canadians in 2016 before the CRTC stepped in on the Super Bowl ads for the last 3 Super Bowls. The numbers fell to about 4.5 million where the American ads could air on the U.S. stations. Bell Media hopes those numbers will rebound substantially.

TSN 1/3/4/5 will simulcast the CTV Super Bowl LIV feed because, why not. TSN2 will have a rebroadcast of the Toronto Raptors game from earlier in the day.

Super Bowl LII ads light on Canadian content

Canada makes little presence in Super Bowl LI ads

Canadians get a lot of U.S. TV, but normally get shut out of Super Bowl ads

CanadianCrossing.com NFL coverage

Super Bowl LIV will air this Sunday at 6:30 pm Eastern on Fox in the United States and CTV and TSN in Canada.

photo credit: Bell Media

Canadian political ads from fall 2019 NHL Center Ice free preview

We normally run all the cool Canadian ads from the NHL Center Ice free preview all at once. Canada election 2019 cast a significant shadow over the preview, so we wanted to spotlight those ads separately and then run the rest of the ads after the election.

We haven't forgotten about Tim Hortons or Skip the Dishes. They will show up soon. Now on to the political related ads.

We've run ads during the Canada election 2019 notebooks on Sundays. The ad ratio on the hockey games is reflective more on money than party status among the electorate.

The Liberals had a single ad, positive. NDP and Greens didn't have ads during hockey games. The Conservatives had 3 different ads, 1 positive and 2 negative.

The negative ads take the traditional route of offering newspaper headlines as a way of telling a story. Some of those headlines are linked to opinion pieces instead of news stories. In a clickbait era, headlines don't always tell the true stories.

The negative ads match the tone of Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer's debate tone. Justin Trudeau, Tom Mulcair, and Elizabeth May had a strong tone against Stephen Harper in 2015. Scheer doesn't see that his anger is showing.

CanadianCrossing.com advertising coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

Unifor is a major Canadian union. The ad says Canadians should "rethink our energy strategy."

The ad never says the word "refinery" but talks about the troubles of exporting unrefined products and imports those refined products. I've wondered for years why Canada would not invest in refineries to create jobs and ship a more refined product in pipelines. The premise of the Keystone XL pipeline was to have Canadian oil refined in Texas. Unrefined oil can do more damage in a pipeline spill. This was an issue with British Columbia premier John Horgan and then Alberta premier Rachel Notley.

Conservatives aren't thrilled with unions, but this ad seems like there is some common ground with unions and the oil/gas sector.

Petro-Canada, associated with oil, ran an ad about how Canadians can now drive from the Rockies to the Maritimes in an electric vehicle thanks to Petro-Canada electric chargers. Having a vast country like Canada and the United States makes driving an electric car more difficult. This feels like news more people should know.

Americans have more races and more elections to deal with than Canada does

Elections Canada is the primary reason Canadians can hold their heads high about democracy. Voting is easy and encouraged. These ads remind Canadians that the process should be easy. Canadians may not realise that the United States doesn't have a central election system encouraging the act of voting.

The early voting period happened over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Canadian elections haven't always been set at a certain time. The 2015 and 2019 elections were in October on a more fixed schedule. A minority government scenario can change that schedule.

As we've noted in the past, Canadians have a lot fewer elections than Americans. Canadians don't have political pressure to deny people the right to vote. There were the Conservative robocalls giving voters false information about voting. Canada is a lot better off than the United States.

The debate promo might be similar to promos you might see for U.S. debates. The fun part is going through the 5 female faces that ran the English language debate.

CanadianCrossing.com journalism coverage

The journalism ads are almost as masking as the political ads. The coverage is about you and your concerns.

CBC and CTV (through TSN) ads ran during hockey coverage. Global had a national newscast while Citytv, owned by Rogers, doesn't. Citytv has local newscasts in Toronto, Montréal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. What little impact Citvtv had with national news is long ago in concept as well as time.

CTV's Lisa LaFlamme sounds earnest when she says "We don't want to just cover the horse race. This is not a game. We're covering this through the eyes of the voters."

LaFlamme talks about the earnestness of getting up at 5 in the morning to cover the candidates on a daily basis. Being embedded with a campaign isn't necessarily leading to better journalism and actually keeps you away from the voters you are trying to serve.

CBC's slogan is "Your election. Our responsibility." Andrew Chang, one of the four CBC anchors, talks about family and responsibility. "As Canada's public broadcaster, we're accountable to all Canadians. And like you, we care about good journalism."

Canadian journalism is way ahead of the U.S. but has its limitations. Can't vouch for CTV coverage, but LaFlamme is overselling the impact of CTV journalism and TV journalism in general. CBC still carries the mantle in Canada. Rosemary Barton and Vassy Kapelos at times feels too jaded and cynical. I'm as cynical and jaded as any journalist but have some eyes open to viewers and listeners who carry about things besides the horse race.

Has felt like CBC, outside The National, has been rooting for exciting stories and seemed genuinely miffed that the public cared less about the blackface photos than they did. I heard 2 different accounts on the radio side leading up to the official debate that ignored the existence of the MacLean's/Citytv debate. We had our share of criticism over that debate, format and content included, but we know the debate existed.

On a lighter note, both promos appear to have the same coverage of ice falling from an iceberg.

videos credit: Liberal Party of Canada; Conservative Party of Canada (3); Unifor; Petro Canada; Elections Canada (2); CBC; CBC News; CTV News
photo credit: Elections Canada

Toronto Raptors advance to NBA Eastern Conference finals for first time since 2016

REDEMPTION. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/ip8uSWxCaC

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) May 13, 2019

4 bounces on the rim. And then swoosh. The last of Kawhi Leonard's 41 points went through the net.

For the second time since 2016, the Toronto Raptors will play in the NBA Eastern Conference finals. The Raptors took care of the Philadelphia 76ers 4-3 in the conference semifinals.

The Raptors will play the Milwaukee Bucks, holders of the top seed, in the Eastern Conference finals. This is Milwaukee's first trip to the Eastern Conference finals since 2001. The Bucks won a NBA title in 1971 with Lew Alcindor.

The Raptors previous Eastern Conference finals trip was in 2016, losing to Cleveland 4-2. Milwaukee and Toronto met in the first round in 2017 with the Raptors winning 4-2.

Leonard had a flat-out steal in the first quarter; 3 steals overall. The team defence kicked in 3 shot clock violations in a key stretch.

The Bucks have only lost a single playoff game while the Raptors have lost 4 playoff games.

Milwaukee dominated the season series 3-1 over Toronto. The Raptors lone win 123-116 was in Milwaukee on January 5. The Bucks won 105-92 on January 31 and 104-99 on December 9, both in Toronto. Milwaukee also won at home 124-109 on October 29.

The Bucks finished 2 games ahead of the Raptors in the regular season standings.

The Raptors excellent defence will target Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Toronto Raptors move on to Philadelphia in 2019 NBA playoffs second round

2019 Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs scoreboard

Kawhi Leonard had an amazing second round with stellar defence and much higher shooting percentages than in the regular season.

Leonard scored 20+ points in 9 straight playoff games, a new team record surpassing Vince Carter's stretch in 2001.

The Raptors had their third-ever Game 1 win in a playoff series. Leonard dominated Game 1 with 45 points and Pascal Siakam added 29 points in the Game 1 win.

What a game @raptors fans!! AMAZING WIN!! Plus I got to hang out with these friends!! Thanks for coming tonight Elisabeth Moss, @ShawnMendes @vladdyjr27 !! Hope to see you soon!! Game 2 is Monday! Let’s do it all over!! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/Ngm3hSv9sw

— The Raptor (@the_raptor) April 28, 2019

Kyle Lowry has also played very well in the playoffs.

Game 2 had the Raptors trailing big before a solid comeback but couldn't wrestle away the lead. The bench disappeared in Games 2 and 3 but made a strong comeback in the rest of the series.

The 125-89 score in Game 5 might undersell how dominant the Raptors in that crucial game. Game 6 in Philadelphia felt almost the opposite, even with a closer margin.

Toronto is now 3-2 in a Game 7; 4-3 in deciding games.

2019 Toronto Raptors NBA playoffs preview

CanadianCrossing.com NBA coverage

Game 4 proved to be rather unusual in that the game was carried by over-the-air networks. CTV carried the TSN (1/4/5) feed while ABC carried the ESPN-produced feed.

Rogers Sportsnet and TSN will split the coverage in the Eastern Conference finals in Canada. The Canadian outlets have split the 12 games evenly. TSN should have the extra game in the Eastern Conference finals.

TNT is the exclusive home for the Eastern Conference finals in the United States.

Toronto Raptors playoffs history

2019	Philadelphia	4-3
2019	Orlando	4-1
2018	Cleveland	0-4
2018	Washington	4-2
2017	Cleveland	0-4
2017	Milwaukee	4-2
2016	Cleveland	2-4
2016	Miami	4-3
2016	Indiana	4-3
2015	Washington	0-4
2014	Brooklyn	3-4
2008	Orlando	1-4
2007	New Jersey	2-4
2002	Detroit	2-3
2001	Philadelphia	3-4
2001	New York	3-2
2000	New York	0-3

Twitter capture: @Raptors; @the_raptor
photo credit: TNT/NBA

Schitt's Creek, Anne with an E win big at 7th Canadian Screen Awards

The 7th Canadian Screen Awards went without a host on purpose. Schitt's Creek, Anne with an E, and A Colony | Une colonie were huge winners.

Even without a host, we had the Red Wine Ladies from Baroness von Sketch Show; a parody of the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga moment at the Oscars with Jann Arden and Allan Hawco; and Annie Murphy throwing a little French out there to get some hot French-Canadian film work.

So let's take a look at the winners:

You have to go back to the spring of 2013 where Meg Tilly won for Bomb Girls for Best Lead Actress, Drama to hear a name other than Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black). Amybeth McNulty took the 2019 honour for Anne with an E.

Kim Coates won Best Lead Actor, Drama for Bad Blood.

Anne with an E won Best Drama Series as well as Best Supporting Actor, Drama for R.H. Thomson and Best Supporting Actress, Drama for Geraldine James.

Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse swept the top acting awards for a drama or limited series with their performances in Cardinal.

Schitt's Creek to bow out gracefully after Season 6 in 2020

"Wouldn't we all be happier if we were able to love out loud?" — Dan Levy while accepting the Best Comedy award.

Schitt's Creek won for Best Comedy and 3 of the 4 major acting awards for Catherine O'Hara, Noah Reid, and Emily Hampshire.

Jared Keeso won Best Lead Actor, Comedy for Letterkenny.

Karen Robinson, who stands out on Schitt's Creek, won Performance in a Guest Role, Drama for her role on Mary Kills People.

Dominique Provost-Chalkley from Wynonna Earp won the Audience Choice Award. Provost-Chalkley brought up her co-star and fellow nominee Katherine Barrell onstage. The status of Wynonna Earp is up in the air. Hopefully, this award will help that cause.

Schitt's Creek, Anne with an E lead TV nominations for 2019 Canadian Screen Awards

Dream of a Starlight Canadian film channel should shift to a streaming service

Canadian Screen Awards showcase nominees in Canadian theatres

A Colony | Une colonie pulled off an impressive feat of winning Best Motion Picture and the John Dunning Best First Feature Award.

Émilie Bierre, who told the CSA audience she will turn 15 in May, won Best Lead Actress for A Colony | Une colonie. Bierre also appeared in Genesis | Genèse, nominated for Best Motion Picture.

Théodore Pellerin won Best Lead Actor for Family First | Chien de garde. My feelings on the film are well-known but Pellerin is the real deal.

Richard Clarkin received the Best Supporting Actor award for The Drawer Boy. Sarah Gadon, one of the few English-Canadian actors nominated for any film award, took Best Supporting Actress for The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur.

The Podemski sisters — Jennifer, Sarah and Tamara — presented Best Director, noting that 60% of the nominees were women (versus 0% for the Academy Awards). The honour went to Jasmin Mozaffari for Firecrackers.

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch won for Best Feature Length Documentary.

Best Original Screenplay went to Catherine Léger for Slut in a Good Way | Charlotte a du fun while Best Adapted Screenplay went to Robert Budreau for Stockholm.

Animal Behaviour from Alison Snowden and David Fine was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film but did win the Canadian Screen Award for Best Animated Short Film.

Stephan James won the Radius Award from the new Made Nous campaign for contribution to the world stage. The family theme of the evening included an introduction by Shamier Anderson, older brother of Stephan James and also U.S. Deputy Marshal Xavier Dolls on Wynonna Earp.

Susan Kent and Jonny Harris played Mary Walsh's children on Hatching, Matching and Dispatching. Kent and Harris introduced Walsh as she won the Earle Grey Award.

The Kids in the Hall won the Academy Icon Award. They had a fun sketch with the missing member Mark McKinney, who was in Los Angeles shooting NBC's Superstore.

Deepa Mehta won the Lifetime Achievement Award. Mehta was introduced by her daughter Devyani Saltzman, who is with the Art Gallery of Ontario.

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The Canadian Screen Awards properly point out that the organisation voluntarily went without a host before the whole Kevin Hart/Oscars scenario. Andrew Phung handled the transition at the beginning and Brent Butt ended the show.

Previous hosts included Jonny Harris and Emma Hunter (2018) as well as Howie Mandel, Norm Macdonald, Martin Short, and Andrea Martin.

You can find out more on the nominees in all the categories.

photos credit: Canadian Screen Awards/CBC

2019 MLS preview

The 3 Canadian Major League Soccer (MLS) teams are eager to forget the 2018 season.

Toronto FC starts its 2019 MLS season in Philadelphia on Saturday. Vancouver hosts Minnesota at BC Place and Montréal travels to San Jose for the season openers.

The Reds home opener will be March 17 against New England at BMO Field. The Impact don't open at home until April 13 with Columbus at Stade Saputo.

Marc Dos Santos is the new coach for Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Santos replaces interim coach Craig Dalrymple, who served starting September 25 after replacing Carl Robinson.

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This is likely the final season for Ignacio Piatti in Montréal. Piatti is in the final year of his contract. In 2018, Piatti scored 16 goals and 13 assists in 32 matches.

Piatti did say in a recent interview that if his family is doing well back in Argentina, "I will stay in Quebec." Piatti's father has been in ill health.

A better start will help Piatti and the team. The Impact started 2018 with a 2-11-0 record.

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If you hate freezing in late season Major League Soccer games, you'll enjoy the changes coming to the sport.

The break in between the regular season and playoffs will be 13 days instead of 3 days. The regular season will end on October 6. The 2019 MLS playoffs start on October 19. The 2019 MLS Cup final will be on November 10.

The playoff format will be single elimination with no more 2-leg formats. The number of teams in the playoffs expands from 12 to 14. There is a strong incentive to reach the top of the conference to get a bye. That top team will be joined by the winners of 2-7, 3-6, and 4-5. There will be no reseeding.

MLS will now have 24 teams with the addition of FC Cincinnati.

2018 MLS season wrapup: no Canadian playoff teams

2018 MLS preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

Complaining about the number of games on U.S. television feels insignificant since none of the Canadian teams are scheduled to play on U.S. television. That includes ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, Fox Sports 1, Univision, and UniMas. If a Canadian team is doing well, there is flex scheduling for the final 4 weeks of the regular season.

All games will be available via ESPN+. You are set if you already get the service for CFL, NHL, or some other reason.

Toronto FC had 4 U.S. TV dates in 2018, 4 more than Montréal and Vancouver combined.

CTV will have 8 games, all in the early part of the season. The Canadian OTA network carried 9 games in 2018 and 7 games in 2017. TSN will carry all the other Reds and Whitecaps games as well as some Impact telecasts. TVA Sports will have all the Impact games en Francaise.

Here is the CTV schedule, all games on Saturday afternoons:

March 16 Vancouver @ Houston, 3 pm
March 30 Montréal @ Sporting KC, 3 pm
April 6 Chicago @ Toronto, 3 pm
April 20 Vancouver @ Orlando, 3 pm
April 27 Portland @ Toronto, 3 pm
May 4 Toronto @ Orlando, 4 pm
May 11 Philadelphia @ Toronto, 3 pm
May 18 Toronto @ Real Salt Lake, 3 pm

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2017	December 9	Seattle @ Toronto	Toronto	2-0
2017	November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	Toronto	1-0
2017	November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	Tie	0-0
2017	November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
2017	November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
2017	October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
2017	October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
2017	October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	Seattle	0-0 (5-4 PK)
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (OT)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (OT)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

photos credit: Major League Soccer

Domee Shi wins for best animated short at 2019 Oscars

Congrats to 🇨🇦 Domee Shi who won best animated short for #Bao! First woman to direct a #Pixar short! 👏🏽 Shi: « To all the nerdy girls who hide behind their sketchbooks, don’t be afraid to share your stories with the world. » #oscars2019 #oscars pic.twitter.com/5izOkrDytZ

— Zulekha Nathoo (@ZulekhaNathoo) February 25, 2019

Toronto-raised Domee Shi won an Oscar for best animated short for the Pixar production Bao. The category was filled with Canadians including David Fine and Alison Snowden for Animal Behaviour as well as Weekends set in 1980s Toronto by Canadian-born director Trevor Jimenez. Fine and Snowden now have 4 Academy Award nominations, including a win for Bob’s Birthday.

"To all of the nerdy girls out there who hide behind their sketchbooks — don't be afraid to tell your stories to the world," said Shi in her acceptance speech.

Paul Massey finally won an Oscar in his 8th try. Massey won the award with Tim Cavagin and John Casali for sound mixing for Bohemian Rhapsody. As you can tell from the acceptance speech, Massey was born in England but did live in Toronto for 13 years. Roma's Craig Henighan was also nominated in the sound mixing category.

Set decorator Gordon Sim was nominated for Mary Poppins Returns, but lost out to the crew from Black Panther.

The live action short film category had 2 finalists from Montréal in Jeremy Comte for Fauve and Marianne Farley for Marguerite, but both films lost out to Skin.

Stephan James and Mike Myers were Canadian presenters. James presented with Elsie Fisher for makeup and hairstyle. Myers and his Wayne's World buddy Dana Carvey introduced Bohemian Rhapsody as a Best Picture nominee. The song features prominently in Wayne's World.

Stephan James, Ryan Gosling fall short of 2019 Oscar nominations

Canadians Oscars nomination scoreboard

Chien de Garde fails to make Oscars shortlist

Roma was a rare Best Picture nominee that was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, but did win the latter award. "I think the nominees tonight have proven we are part of the same ocean," said director Alfonso Cuarón.

Roma beat out Never Look Away (Germany); Shoplifters (Japan); Capernaum (Lebanon); and Cold War (Poland) for the honour.

This is the second film from North America to win Best Foreign Language Film. Denys Arcand's Barbarian Invasions won the award for Canada at the 2004 Oscars.

Will be curious if Canada can ever deliver a film that could make the impact Roma did last night. The film won Best Director and Best Cinematography and received 10 overall nominations. Good to see the Academy consider this in a film that is not in English.

The Canada Media Fund debuted its Made | Nous campaign celebrating Canadian content during the red carpet special on CTV, the Academy Awards network in Canada.

Christopher Plummer narrated the ad; Plummer is the only living Canadian actor who grew up in Canada to have an Oscar. The ad notes the Canadian impact on projects such as Arrival, The Handmaid’s Tale, Orphan Black, Deadpool, and Stranger Things. The ad also features Canadian actors Karine Vanasse and Jacob Tremblay.

The ad is sharp and such a brilliant idea. We will likely write more about this in the future.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Won't You Be My Neighbor? won Best Documentary at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Saturday afternoon in Santa Monica, CA. The documentary on Fred Rogers, which recently aired on PBS, completely leaves out the crucial Canada portion of his career. The documentary didn't even get a Oscars nomination.

Roma (Mexico) won Best International Film over Burning (South Korea); The Favourite (United Kingdom); Happy as Lazzaro (Italy); and Shoplifters (Japan).

"I'm optimistic right now that it seems we are reaching a moment in which a greater diversity is happening in cinema. And I think that diversity is going to very soon make this category irrelevant," said Roma director and writer Alfonso Cuarón. I would argue that the category should remain to give love and appreciation to cine mundial as defined as film outside the United States.

If Beale Street Could Talk won major awards for Best Feature, Best Director (Barry Jenkins), and Best Supporting Female (Regina King) but Stephan James wasn't even nominated.

Twitter capture: @ZulekhaNathoo
video credit: YouTube/Made_Nous

Schitt's Creek, Anne with an E lead TV nominations for 2019 Canadian Screen Awards

Schitt's Creek and Anne with an E each have 15 nominations for the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards. Cardinal on CTV has 14 nominations.

Drama

The best lead actress opened up with Tatiana Maslany and Orphan Black in the mix. A bit surprised to not see Lauren Lee Smith in that category for Frankie Drake Mysteries. A bit surprised to see Kristin Kreuk for Burden of Proof in that category. I'm a big fan of Caroline Dhavernas in Mary Kills People.

Best Dramatic Series
Anne with an E
Bad Blood
Blood and Water
Frankie Drake Mysteries
Vikings

Best Lead Actor
Kim Coates Bad Blood
Jerry O'Connell Carter
Aaron Ashmore Killjoys
Yannick Bisson Murdoch Mysteries
Eric McCormack Travelers

Best Lead Actress
Amybeth McNulty Anne with an E
Caroline Dhavernas Mary Kills People
Wendy Crewson The Detail
Melanie Scrofano Wynonna Earp
Kristin Kreuk Burden of Proof

Best Supporting Actor
Salvatore Antonio Mary Kills People
Daniel Petronijevic Cardinal
Louis Ferreira Bad Blood
R.H. Thomson Anne with an E
Brent Carver Save Me

Best Supporting Actress
Sharron Matthews Frankie Drake Mysteries
Chanelle Peloso The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco
Mackenzie Porter Travelers
Geraldine James Anne with an E
Selena Lee Blood and Water

Comedy

Kim's Convenience is missing from the comedy awards, but for a very good reason. The show aired in the fall of 2017 and the winter of 2019, but not in 2018. Seeing Private Eyes in the comedy category might be a one-time thing since, well, the show isn't a comedy. Amanda Brugel, who also appears on Kim's Convenience, got a nod for her work on Workin' Moms.

For U.S. viewers, the second half of the second season of Private Eyes finally starts on Ion Television starting this Sunday.

Best Comedy Series
Letterkenny
Mr. D
Schitt's Creek
Second Jen
Workin' Moms

Best Lead Actor
Jared Keeso Letterkenny
Jason Priestley Private Eyes
Gerry Dee Mr. D
Daniel Levy Schitt's Creek
Eugene Levy Schitt's Creek

Best Lead Actress
Cindy Sampson Private Eyes
Annie Murphy Schitt's Creek
Catherine O'Hara Schitt's Creek
Catherine Reitman Workin' Moms
Dani Kind Workin' Moms

Best Supporting Actor
Chris Elliott Schitt's Creek
Noah Reid Schitt's Creek
Peter Keleghan Workin' Moms
Ennis Esmer Private Eyes
Colin Mochrie Tiny Plastic Men

Best Supporting Actress
Mary Walsh Little Dog
Emily Hampshire Schitt's Creek
Jennifer Robertson Schitt's Creek
Jann Arden Workin' Moms
Amanda Brugel Workin' Moms

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Film

A pair of films received 8 nominations to lead the way: Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume and The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur) from Maxime Giroux, who directed Felix and Meira.

The best motion picture nominees are all French-language films, including the nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, Family First (Chien de garde). I haven't seen the other nominees but Chien de garde was horrible. Anthropocene: The Human Epoch leads the nominees for best feature-length documentary.

Chien de Garde fails to make Oscars shortlist

60% of the best director nominees are women.

Best motion picture

• A Colony | Une colonie
• Family First | Chien de garde
• Genesis | Genèse
• Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume
• The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur

Best director

• Sophie Dupuis Family First | Chien de garde
• Jasmin Mozaffari Firecrackers
• Geneviève Dulude-De Celles A Colony | Une colonie
• Maxime Giroux The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur
• Daniel Roby Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume

Best feature-length documentary

• Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
• Immaculate Memories: The Uncluttered Worlds of Christopher Pratt
• Letter from Masanjia
• The Devil's Share (La Part du diable)
• What Walaa Wants

I can't speak to the other nominees in the best actor category but Pellerin should win this without a fight. I may have hated the film but he acted his way into a win. The performances in The Grizzlies were wonderful, but those 3 are the only ones I've seen on these lists. I like Sarah Gadon but haven't seen this film.

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

• Michael Rowe Crown and Anchor
• Theodore Pellerin Family First | Chien de garde
• Martin Dubreuil The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur
• Paul Nutarariaq The Grizzlies
• Brandon Oakes Through Black Spruce

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

• Emilie Bierre, A Colony | Une colonie
• Carla Turcotte Sashinka
• Valeria Henríquez The Padre
• Rose-Marie Perreault Fake Tattoos | Les faux tatouages
• Brigitte Poupart Les Salopes or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin | Les salopes ou le sucre naturel de la peau

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

• Richard Clarkin The Drawer Boy
• Paul Doucet With Love | L'Amour
• Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie A Colony | Une colonie
• Paul Ahmarani Genesis | Genèse
• Michel Robin Just a Breath Away | Dans la brume

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

• Kate Moyer Our House
• Romane Denis Slut in a Good Way | Charlotte a du fun
• Sarah Gadon The Great Darkened Days | La grande noirceur
• Anna Lambe The Grizzlies
• Irlande Côté A Colony | Une colonie

You can find all the nominations in film, television, digital media, and special awards. The 7th Canadian Screen Awards will be on March 31 and will air on CBC.

photos credit: Critic Choice Television Awards/CW network