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Run It Back: 5 over/unders for the Raptors' second half
William Lou and Alex Wong predict how the Toronto Raptors will perform in the second half of the NBA season.
William Lou and Alex Wong predict how the Toronto Raptors will perform in the second half of the NBA season.
Several NBA and WNBA players demanded the need for further accountability after former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.
Tanner Pearson and Brandon Sutter each scored twice Tuedsay, powering the Vancouver Canucks to a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Davis explained his reasoning for the tweet and said that the Raiders would not delete it.
Chelsea was preparing to dramatically abandon its plan to join a breakaway Super League on Tuesday, threatening to implode the project.
In order to earn a piece of the $40 million pot, golfers need to simply "positively move the needle" and "drive fan and sponsor engagement."
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will be out at least a week due to concussion protocols.
Toronto Raptors forward Yuta Watanabe feels extremely proud after signing his first NBA contract.
The hockey world paid tribute to Patrick Marleau following his record-breaking night, but none did it better than his former teammates in Toronto.
The Ontario Hockey League has cancelled its 2020-21 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After breaking Gordie Howe's record, Patrick Marleau's legacy is subject to debate — and bad takes.
We went through a bunch of your unpopular Raptors opinions last week, but there were so many great submissions we had to run it back.
Former star goaltender Roberto Luongo has been named the general manager for Canada's men's team for the 2021 world hockey championship.
Fitzpatrick 'felt like the biggest a**hole' after sending Smith a text when he gruesomely broke his leg in 2018.
Williamson, 20, is the first Gen-Z signature athlete in the history of both Jordan and Nike.
Park goers recognized the man from Kokumai's videos and surrounded him until police arrived.
A battle between two London rivals, and two Serie A powers fighting for European qualification highlight this week's slate.
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MADRID — Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan both decided to drop out of the Super League on Wednesday, leaving the new competition on the verge of extinction before it even started. Only four clubs were still officially involved — Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and AC Milan. The moves by Atlético and Inter came a day after the six Premier League clubs gave up on the controversial breakaway competition. Atlético said the decision was made after its board of directors met on Wednesday. The Spanish club said it “decided to formally communicate the Super League and the rest of the founding clubs its decision not to formalize its participation in the project.” Atlético said the “circumstances” that allowed it to join the new league on Monday “no longer existed today.” “For the club, harmony is essential for everyone involved in the (Atlético) family, especially our fans,” it said. “The first team squad and its coach showed satisfaction with the club’s decision, understanding that sporting merits must prevail over any other criteria.” Inter said the club was committed to delivering the best soccer experience for fans because “innovation and inclusion have been part of our DNA since our foundation.” “Our commitment with all stakeholders to improve the football industry will never change,” the Italian club said. "Inter believe that football, like any sector of activity, must have an interest in constantly improving its competitions in order to continue to excite fans of all ages all over the world, within a framework of financial sustainability." ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports ___ Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
LONDON — After the aborted attempt to form a European Super League, Liverpool owner John Henry attempted to regain the trust of fans with an apology video on Wednesday. The same public contrition was yet to come from all six of the Premier League clubs who faced two days of fury from their supporters for deciding — briefly — to abandon the UEFA system to join a largely closed breakaway European competition. On a frenzied night of statements, Liverpool withdrew on Tuesday from the 12-team project along with the other five English rebel clubs, imploding the planned split from the existing Champions League. “It goes without saying but should be said that the project put forward was never going to stand without the support of the fans,” said Henry, who also owns the Boston Red Sox. “No one ever thought differently in England. Over these 48 hours you were very clear that it would not stand. We heard you. I heard you.” Premier League club owners like Henry didn't just fail to consult their supporters. Even players and coaching staff at the Premier League champions were left in the dark before the announcement on Sunday of the Super League. Liverpool players publicly voiced their opposition in a wave of co-ordinated tweets on Tuesday night to intensify the pressure on Henry to keep the seven-time European Cup winners within the long-standing, open competition. “I want to apologize to Jürgen, to Billy, to the players and to everyone who works so hard at LFC to make our fans proud,” Henry said referencing chief executive Billy Hogan and manager Jürgen Klopp. “They have absolutely no responsibility for this disruption. They were the most disrupted and unfairly so. This is what hurts most. They love your club and work to make you proud every single day.” The attempt at damage-limitation was familiar from Liverpool since the Fenway Sports Group bought the club in October 2010. “I know the entire LFC team has the expertise, leadership and passion necessary to rebuild trust and help us move forward,” Henry said. "I hope you’ll understand that even when we make mistakes, we’re trying to work in your club’s best interests. In this endeavour I’ve let you down. “Again, I’m sorry, and I alone am responsible for the unnecessary negativity brought forward over the past couple of days. It’s something I won’t forget and shows the power the fans have today and will rightly continue to have.” Fans of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham did not receive a similar apology from their owners for the fleeting attempt to join the Super League that the British government threatened to introduce laws to stop. United, City and Chelsea only gave brief statements announcing they were deserting the Super League with no details. Expressing disappointment at receiving no apology from the club, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust said it has no confidence in the club’s leadership at board level led by chairman Bruce Buck — indicating their ongoing backing for owner Roman Abramovich, whose vast wealth has transformed the team since 2003. Chelsea fans flooded the streets outside Stamford Bridge on Tuesday before the decision was leaked that the club was out of the Super League. “We request a full and in-depth examination as to why the board took the decision to turn their back on the European competition and for CFC to explain why they signed up to the Super League without prior consultation with their loyal supporters," the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust said. The Manchester United Supporters' Trust said for once fans weren't ignored and managed to kill off the Super League. “We need to make this a turning point — both for United and for football as a whole,” MUST said. “We have shown the power fans have, and we have to build on the amazing energy and momentum the short but noisy campaign against the Super League has had.” United also announced Tuesday night that vice chairman Ed Woodward would be leaving this year but tried not to link it to the disastrous decision-making behind the Super League or the failure to win the Premier League since 2013. “The problems at Manchester United are at ownership level,” MUST said. "With Ed going, and their Super League dream in tatters, maybe the Glazers ought to consider if now is their moment to leave the pitch too. “But we don’t want them selling off to the highest bidder and fans to just be stood on the sidelines waiting to find out who takes over. This is a real opportunity for the Glazers to now change the current path of their legacy and open the door to supporter shareholding with full voting rights.” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said officials “regret the anxiety and upset caused by the ESL proposal,” while explaining the finances on offer were too good to turn down initially. From across north London, Arsenal issued an open letter to fans. “We made a mistake, and we apologize for it,” said the club which is owned by Stan Kroenke. “We know it will take time to restore your faith in what we are trying to achieve here at Arsenal but let us be clear that the decision to be part of the Super League was driven by our desire to protect Arsenal, the club you love, and to support the game you love through greater solidarity and financial stability.” ___ More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Rob Harris, The Associated Press
Canada will open the Tokyo Olympic women's soccer tournament against host Japan on July 21 at the Sapporo Dome. The eighth-ranked Canadian women, bronze medallists at the last two Olympics, were drawn in Group E with No. 11 Japan, Britain (FIFA ranks England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland separately) and No. 37 Chile in Wednesday's draw. The Canada-Japan game comes two days before the July 23 official start of the Tokyo Olympics. Canada will then face Chile on July 24 at the Sapporo Dome and Britain on July 27 at Kashima Stadium. The women's final will take place Aug. 6 at Tokyo’s new Olympic Stadium, which will also host the opening and closing ceremonies. The draw, originally set for Japan, was held at FIFA headquarters in Zurich. Group F features the Netherlands (No. 3), Brazil (No. 7) China (No. 14), and Zambia (No. 104) while a tough Group G consists of the U.S. (No. 1), Sweden (No. 5), Australia (No. 9), New Zealand (No. 22). There will be a new women's champion this year with Germany failing to qualify. Canada coach Bev Priestman had a pretty good handle on what awaited her side at the draw. FIFA's draw principle of avoiding having teams from the same confederation in the opening round meant the Canadians were going to end up with Japan, either Britain or Sweden and one of Chile, New Zealand or Zambia. Canada is 4-7-3 all-time against the Japanese, losing 4-0 last time out in October 2019. The Canadian women have played Britain just once, winning 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Games in London. Canada lost 1-0 in its only previous meeting with Chile, in 2013. The Chilean women are making their Olympic debut, qualifying by defeating Cameroon in a South America-Africa playoff earlier this month. The winner of Canada's opening group will meet one of the two third-place teams that advances in the quarterfinals. The Group E runner-up will play the No. 2 team in Group F. Should Canada win its pool and quarterfinal, the powerful Americans could await in the semifinals. Britain qualified via England's performance at the 2019 Women's World Cup — the three best-placed European teams earned Olympic berths. Priestman, a native of England, used to be an assistant coach with England. The British coaching setup includes Rhian Wilkinson, a former Canadian international and assistant coach. Priestman knows Britain's talent and has prepared for the Japanese recently. The Asian side was slated to take part in February's SheBelieves Cup before pulling out due to pandemic-related travel issues. And Canada has experience facing the host country from the 2016 Games, beating Brazil 2-1 in the bronze-medal match. Canada (ranked 10th at the time) was drawn in a group with Germany (No. 2), Australia (No. 5) and Zimbabwe (No. 95) at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The Canadian women upset Germany to top the group with three wins. They defeated France 1-0 in the quarterfinals before falling 2-0 to eventual champion Germany in the semifinals. Canada then downed Brazil for the bronze. Priestman was part of John Herdman's coaching staff in Rio. Herdman is now running the Canadian men's team. The Olympic soccer tournament runs July 21 to Aug. 7 in Tokyo, Sapporo, Miyagi, Kashima, Saitama and Yokohama. Also Wednesday, the 16 men's sides in Tokyo were drawn into four groups of four. Rio champion Brazil and runner-up Germany were drawn in the same group. Unlike the women's competition, which features senior sides, the Olympic men's tournament features under-23 players. Men's teams are allowed three overage players at the Games. Olympic Soccer Draw (With world rankings) Women Group E: Japan (11), Canada (8), Britain, Chile (37). Group F: China (14), Brazil (7), Zambia (104), the Netherlands (3). Group G: Sweden (5), U.S. (1), Australia (9), New Zealand (22). Men Group A: Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France. Group B: New Zealand, South Korea, Honduras, Romania. Group C: Egypt, Spain, Argentina, Australia. Group D: Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia. --- Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2021 Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press