• The Canadian Press

    NFL to open academy in Australia to identify and develop young prospects

    The NFL will expand its international search for talent by opening an academy in rugby-mad Australia to develop promising teenagers in the Asia-Pacific region into college and pro prospects. The NFL Academy will open in September for student athletes aged 12 to 18, following recruitment camps taking place this summer in Australia and New Zealand, the league announced on Thursday. Ahead of the NFL Draft, the announcement says the region is full of talent such as Philadelphia Eagles offensive tack

  • The Canadian Press

    He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer, Art Schallock, is turning 100

    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Whether at home or on the road, Art Schallock would begin each day by taking the elevator down to the lobby and collecting the latest comic books for roommate Yogi Berra. “Every morning,” Schallock recalled, chuckling at the thought decades later. Schallock never minded. It was all worth it. Just part of being the new guy back in the day, a rite of passage for the latest big leaguer getting promoted. Schallock got the call in 1951, replacing future Hall of Famer Mickey Mantl

  • The Canadian Press

    Thibodeau shows when he's mad at his Knicks. They don't mind, knowing the coach has them set to win

    NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks know when it's coming. When they throw a careless pass that leads to a turnover, or hoist a bad shot that ruins a possession, their coach is likely standing on the sideline with arms in the air, furious he's just witnessed such careless miscues. Like any coach, Tom Thibodeau doesn't like mistakes but unlike others in the NBA coaching ranks, he doesn't bother hiding it from the nearly 20,000 people in the arena watching. “I mean, I’ve played for a lot of animat

  • The Canadian Press

    Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah looks to finish historic season unbeaten and with more trophies

    LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Jonathan Tah is already a German champion with Bayer Leverkusen. He's hungry for more titles. Tah could yet complete a treble this season in the Europa League — where Leverkusen plays Roma in the semifinals next week — and in the German Cup. Then there's the European Championship with Germany, for which Tah has become a regular starter in central defense alongside Real Madrid's Antonio Rüdiger. Leverkusen's players and coach Xabi Alonso — who Tah showered with beer dur

  • The Canadian Press

    Five things to know about the NHL playoffs

    The Toronto Maple Leafs fell behind in their first-round series again without star winger William Nylander on Wednesday, and Thursday's schedule presents two teams in need of a win. Here are five things to know heading into Thursday’s post-season action: WHERE'S NYLANDER? Nylander missed a third straight game to open Toronto's first-round series with the Boston Bruins on Wednesday as he continues to work his way back from an undisclosed injury. The 27-year-old took part in line rushes at Wednesd

  • The Canadian Press

    Shohei Ohtani has 3 doubles, Landon Knack gets 1st victory as Dodgers rout Nationals 11-2

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Shohei Ohtani had three doubles to improve his major league-leading batting average to .371, rookie Landon Knack got his first victory and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Washington Nationals 11-2 on Wednesday night. The Dodgers had a season-high 20 hits en route to their third straight victory, with Mookie Betts and Will Smith each having four hits and Andy Pages homering. Nick Senzel homered for Washington. The Nationals didn’t have a baserunner after the second inning. Oh

  • The Canadian Press

    Kopitar's OT winner lifts Kings to 5-4 win over Oilers, even series at 1-1

    EDMONTON — The Los Angeles Kings weren’t about to bow out quietly. Anze Kopitar scored the overtime winner and had a pair of assists as the Kings knocked off the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 to tie their opening-round playoff series 1-1 on Wednesday. Kopitar scored just 2:07 into overtime after a weird bounce gave him a lane up the centre of the ice and he beat Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner high to the glove side. “Honestly, it was kind of a wacky play where Mikey (Anderson) throws it up the boards, and I

  • The Canadian Press

    Thunder's Holmgren bests Pelicans' Valanciunas in center matchup to help OKC take 2-0 lead

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren won his center matchup with Jonas Valanciunas and helped Oklahoma City beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Wednesday night. Holmgren had 26 points and seven rebounds as the Thunder took a 2-0 lead. He made 9 of 13 field goals to support Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 33-point effort. “He was really good," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "He was in the actions, got out of them and then put their defense in a bind

  • The Canadian Press

    Defending champion Golden Knights beat Stars 3-1 to take 2-0 series lead home to Vegas

    DALLAS (AP) — Jack Eichel and defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas got exactly what they anticipated, and withstood that early hard push in Game 2 by the desperate Dallas Stars. The Golden Knights didn’t settle for a split while starting the first-round series on the road. “We expected them to come out and push hard that first five, 10 minutes and they did,” Eichel said. “We responded. We were able to come in here after the first period and it’s all tied. ... They gave us all we could handle.” E

  • The Canadian Press

    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 33 points lead Thunder past Pelicans 124-92 as OKC takes a 2-0 lead

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Just a few days ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder looked like a young team struggling through their first playoff game together. On Wednesday night, they looked like grizzled playoff veterans. Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the top-seeded Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series. Gilgeous-Alexander, from Hamilton, said the Thunder remained focused instead of worrying about outsi

  • Yahoo Sports

    Code red: Heat had extra fuel against Celtics in Game 2, even series with fiery win

    This was supposed to be the league's most lopsided series. Miami's talent gap against the 64-win Celtics seemed insurmountable. Oh, how the tables have turned.

  • The Canadian Press

    Cubs reliever Luke Little forced to change his glove because of white in American flag patch

    CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs reliever Luke Little said he had to change his glove before he entered Wednesday night's 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros because of an American flag patch. Manager Craig Counsell went to insert Little with one out in the seventh inning. But as the 6-foot-8 left-hander went through the usual check by umpires for pitchers coming into the game, he was told he had to swap out his glove. “The issue was the American flag was on his glove,” Counsell said. “Pitchers' glov

  • The Canadian Press

    Alec Marsh and 4 relievers combined for a 6-hitter as the Royals beat the Blue Jays 3-2

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alec Marsh and four relievers combined for a six-hitter as the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 Wednesday night. Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez each had two hits and an RBI for Kansas City, which bounced back from a loss in the series opener on Monday to win two straight. “That’s Royals baseball," said Bobby Witt Jr., who is batting .350 during a five-game hitting streak. "We've got to keep doing that. Get on the base paths. Be aggressive. Make things h

  • The Canadian Press

    Mrazova's shootout winner lifts PWHL Ottawa to critical 3-2 victory over Boston

    OTTAWA — Despite an off night, Ottawa found a way to pull out a victory on Wednesday. After missing the world championship and Ottawa's last home game due to injury, Katerina Mrazova made an impressive return scoring the shootout winner in a 3-2 victory over Boston in Professional Women’s Hockey League action. Mrazova scored on both her shootout attempts and Emerance Maschmeyer stopped Hilary Knight to seal the hard-fought victory. The win allowed Ottawa to remain in control as it battles Boston

  • The Canadian Press

    García and Carter hit back-to-back homers and Rangers beat Mariners 5-1

    ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García and Evan Carter hit Texas’ first back-to-back home runs this season in the fourth inning and the Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-1 on Wednesday night. García’s team-high seventh homer barely cleared the wall in straight-away center field and tipped off the glove of Julio Rodríguez. García stood near first base apparently thinking Rodríguez made the catch until he saw the center fielder walk toward the infield, turn and look over the fence. Carter hit a t

  • The Canadian Press

    Xander Bogaerts has season-high 3 hits, Padres beat Rockies 5-2

    DENVER (AP) — Xander Bogaerts had a season-high three hits, Matt Waldron gave up one run in six innings and the San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 5-2 on Wednesday night. Ha-Seong Kim and Jackson Merrill had two RBIs to help the Padres beat the Rockies for the 11th time in their past 14 meetings. Kim had two hits, including a bloop double to right field that drove in the game’s first two runs and spurred a four-run first inning. Waldron (1-2) rebounded from his worst outing of the season

  • The Canadian Press

    Montreal cruises past New York 5-2 to clinch PWHL post-season berth

    MONTREAL — Kristin O'Neill had a goal and an assist in helping lead Montreal to a 5-2 win over New York and clinch a playoff berth in the Professional Women's Hockey League on Wednesday. The victory moved Montreal (9-3-5-5) into a tie for first place with Toronto, with each team having 38 points and Toronto having a game in hand. On the other hand, the loss eliminated New York from playoff contention in the six-team league. Catherine Daoust, Catherine Dubois, Laura Stacey and Mélodie Daoust, wit

  • The Canadian Press

    Yankees third baseman DJ LeMahieu shut down at least another week due to swelling in his right foot

    NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees third baseman DJ LeMahieu will be shut down for at least another week after an MRI and CT scan showed continued swelling in his fractured right foot Wednesday. The 35-year-old two-time batting champion underwent testing after leaving his first minor league injury rehabilitation game with Double-A Somerset in the second inning Tuesday night due to soreness in his right foot, which he fractured on a foul ball during a spring training game on March 16. Before exitin

  • The Canadian Press

    Rangers star Corey Seager hit by pitch, leaves game because of shin contusion

    ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Texas shortstop Corey Seager left the Rangers’ game against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night following the seventh inning because of a left shin contusion after being hit by a pitch in the inning. The 2023 World Series MVP was struck on the back leg by an 0-2 pitch from reliever Austin Voth that bounced in the dirt in front of the plate. Seager was attended to by the medical staff after taking first base and remained in the game for the rest of the inning. Seager m

  • The Canadian Press

    Lars Nootbaar drives in two in a victory over the Diamondbacks

    ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lars Nootbaar drove in two runs and Kyle Gibson pitched six effective innings, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the finale of three-game series on Wednesday. It was the first win in a series finale this season for the Cardinals. In his 299th start, Gibson (2-2) allowed one run and five hits. Gibson struck out six and walked two. Three relievers finished up for St. Louis. Former Cardinal Jordan Montgomery (1-1) went seven innings i

  • The Canadian Press

    Toronto FC puts semi-pro Simcoe County to the sword in Canadian Championship play

    TORONTO — After putting semi-pro Simcoe County Rovers FC to the sword in a 5-0 win Wednesday in Canadian Championship preliminary-round play, Toronto FC coach John Herdman wanted more. "We were looking at the record," he said, referencing Toronto's 6-1 cup win over Montreal in June 2009. "So the target was to hit seven," he added. "We fell short. (I'm) disappointed. We probably could have had a few in the second half but the 'keeper (Rimi Olatunji). To be fair, he made some great saves … He stoo

  • The Canadian Press

    Heat set franchise playoff record with 23 3-pointers in Game 2 against Celtics

    BOSTON (AP) — The Miami Heat set a franchise record for 3-pointers in a playoff game Wednesday night, connecting for 23 in their 111-101 Game 2 playoff victory over the Boston Celtics. Jaime Jaquez Jr. connected on Miami’s 21st 3 of the game with 5:37 left in the fourth quarter, setting the new mark. For the game, Miami shot 23 of 43 from beyond the arc. The performance broke Miami’s previous mark of 20, set May 22, 2021, at Milwaukee. It was one short of the Heat record for 3s in any game, whic

  • The Canadian Press

    Dansby Swanson homers as the short-handed Cubs beat the struggling Astros 4-3

    CHICAGO (AP) — Dansby Swanson hit a three-run homer during Chicago's four-run first inning and the short-handed Cubs beat the Houston Astros 4-3 on Wednesday night. Playing without Cody Bellinger, Chicago used Swanson's big swing and a solid start by Jameson Taillon to earn its second straight win. It will try to sweep the three-game set against the struggling Astros on Thursday. Taillon (2-0) allowed two runs, one earned, and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out four and wal

  • The Canadian Press

    Twins' Castro hits birthday homer, lifts Minnesota to 6-3 win over White Sox

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Willi Castro hit a 3-run home run on his 27th birthday and Joe Ryan pitched six innings for his first win of the year as the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 Wednesday. Castro’s homer capped a four-run second inning against Chicago left-hander Garrett Crochet. It was his second career home run on his birthday and it drove in Austin Martin and Christian Vásquez. Ryan (1-1) had a pair of three-strikeout innings, but also allowed solo homers in the third to Kevin Pi

  • The Canadian Press

    Michael Harris II hits an RBI double in the 10th inning to lift Braves past Marlins 4-3

    ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Harris II doubled home Ronald Acuña Jr. in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves edged the Miami Marlins 4-3 after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep. A.J. Minter (4-1) struck out Jazz Chisolm Jr. with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 10th to earn the win for the Braves, who have won nine of their last 10. The Marlins had tied it in the ninth with two runs off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias, who blew his first