NEW YORK — For as long as Serena Williams remains in the U.S. Open bracket, there is one overwhelming question that will hang over the proceedings and help define the moment: Could this be the last chance to watch her play?
The second opportunity for spectators to shower Williams with adoration — and for the 23-time major champion to enjoy that outpouring at what she has hinted, but purposely not definitively declared, will be her final tournament — was scheduled for Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest arena in Grand Slam tennis.
The opponent this time: No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit, a 26-year-old from Estonia whose current ranking is much better than Williams' is, but whose career resume lacks so much as one quarterfinal victory at any Slam event.
Forget, for a minute, the relative merits of the two players' skills and styles of play. Forget the X's and O's of the matchup. Because this trip to Flushing Meadows is, as always, about the points and the games and the sets and the scores for Williams, who won her first trophy here at age 17 in 1999 and is now 40.
As strident a competitor as tennis, or any sport, has seen, as rightly self-confident in her abilities as an athlete, Williams was not about to think of this whole exercise as merely a farewell tour.
She came to New York wanting to win, of course.
That's what Williams showed in the first round on Monday, when she got past some early shakiness to beat 80th-ranked Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3 in front of a packed house that roared with approval from start to finish. The crowd of more than 23,000 in the stands and thousands of others watching on a video screen outside Ashe helped break the U.S. Open record for largest attendance at a night session.
"I was just thinking, like, 'Is this for real? Really?''' Williams said about the roars that greeted her entrance for the match, so raucous she "could feel it in my chest.''
"At the same time I'm also thinking, I still have a match to play and I want to be able to play up to this reception, almost. It was so loud. I just was overwhelmed in a good way. But at the same time, it's like you have to be focused, you have to be laser-focused,'' she added. "That's what I needed to do and that's what I tried to do.''
Other players who watched from the seats, or on TV, were struck by the scene. One that seemed likely to be repeated on Wednesday.
"For sure, it was like the most popular first round of a Slam, ever. Yeah, it's just amazing. It shows how much she has changed our sport and how much she has done. I'm pretty happy that she can experience something like that,'' said No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek, a 21-year-old from Poland who owns two French Open titles. "I also feel that not every player would handle that kind of fuss around your first match of the tournament. She's handling it pretty well, as usual. So that's just confirmation of how great she is.''
Regardless of how Williams vs. Kontaveit went, there would be more in store for the American, who announced on Aug. 9 she was intent on "evolving'' away from her playing days (she said she does not like using the word "retirement'').
Williams will team up with her older sister, Venus, in doubles on Thursday against the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova. It marks the reunion of a partnership that produced 14 Grand Slam doubles championships but last participated in that event anywhere in 2018.
Venus said it was Serena's idea to enter the doubles.
"More than anything,'' said Venus, who is 42, "I just want to hold my side of the court up and be a good sister.''
The U.S. won the latest battle in its women's hockey tug of war with Canada.
Megan Keller had a goal and an assist and Hilary Knight moved closer to the all-time world championship points record in a 5-2 win over Canada to cap the preliminary round on Tuesday.
Trailing 2-0 after the opening period, the U.S. scored five unanswered goals against the defending champions with Lacey Eden producing the winner at 3:14 of the third period.
The Americans ended Canada's run of wins against them at five straight — including the most recent world and Olympic finals — with their biggest margin of victory over the Canadians since a 4-1 win Dec. 14, 2019.
"For us, it doesn't really matter what happened in the past," U.S. forward Kelly Pannek said.
"This game, the score is what it is, but how we worked and how we got those goals, we got down, but our mentality was never down. We never were out of the game mentality.
"We stuck together. I think that is more important than getting five goals. It's the way we did it."
The U.S. went unbeaten in four games to top Pool A, which featured the top five seeds in the tournament.
WATCH | Lacey Eden leads U.S. comeback over Canada:
Lacey Eden paces Team USA in a comeback win over Canada
16 hours ago
Duration 1:00
Lacey Eden scores her second goal of the IIHF women's world hockey championships, as the US score 5 unanswered goals and defeat Canada 5-2 in pool play. USA wins Pool A with Canada second.
The Americans take on Hungary, the No. 3 seed in Pool B, in a quarter-final matchup Thursday.
Canada, with three wins and a loss, meets Pool B runner-up Sweden.
In Thursday's other quarter-finals, Finland takes on Czechia, which went undefeated to top Pool B, while Switzerland and Japan square off as the fourth and fifth seeds in Pool A.
Saturday's semifinals are followed by Sunday's medal games.
Second of the tournament for <a href="https://twitter.com/ella_shelton11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ella_shelton11</a>! 🚨<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensWorlds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WomensWorlds</a> <a href="https://t.co/YM5XaYDcfA">pic.twitter.com/YM5XaYDcfA</a>
U.S. captain Kendall Coyne Schofield's insurance goal in the third period was her first of the tournament.
Pannek also scored and Nicole Hensley stopped 26 shots for the win.
Knight's empty-netter was her 85th career world championship point and one back of the record held by Canada's Hayley Wickenheiser.
Knight already holds the all-time goals record with 50.
Knight vaults up all-time points table
With three goals and two assists in four games in Denmark, Knight vaulted over Canada's Jayna Hefford to move into second in the all-time points table.
"Those are two Hockey Hall of Famers, so when you put Hilary Knight into that conversation, she's a no-brainer Hockey Hall of Famer when her career is said and done and there's still a long way to go," Coyne Schofield said.
Sarah Fillier and Ella Shelton scored for the Canadians, who didn't generate as many scoring chances from close range as the Americans and were often muscled off the puck by the U.S.
"I don't think it was necessarily inside the dots. We were losing battles along the wall against them," Canadian head coach Troy Ryan said.
"We've got to be better along the wall to get pucks inside the dots."
Canada downed the U.S. 5-1 in the preliminary round in last year's world championship in Calgary before edging the Americans 3-2 in overtime in the final.
"I never believed and our staff never believed, that the outcome of this game would really have a big impact in the rest of this event, but how we handle whatever happens was going to have a big impact," Ryan said.
"We lost so it's going to be how we handle that loss, that's going to determine success moving forward."
Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 28 shots in the loss.
"Every time you lose against the U.S., it's always a sting," Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin said.
"No time to panic for us. It's a game. It's part of the process. It's never going to be perfect. It's just a matter of us being resilient."
Savannah Harmon threaded a cross-ice pass under a Canadian stick to Eden, who wired the puck top shelf for the go-ahead goal in the third.
The Canadians couldn't produce an equalizer on a subsequent power play with Coyne Schofield serving a boarding minor.
Late penalty spoils comeback attempt
Coyne Schofield then scored her team's fourth goal on a tip-in from the slot at 13:28.
"Lacey had a heck of a shot. Skill play, but the trench work ultimately wins you games," U.S. coach John Wroblewski said.
"I was very happy for our captain to score down in that area. Great storyline for us to have her be the one to give us that two-goal lead, which was obviously massive."
Defender Renata Fast's roughing penalty with just under four minutes to go hampered Canada's chances for a late comeback.
Frame by frame. 🇨🇦🇺🇸<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WomensWorlds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WomensWorlds</a> <a href="https://t.co/92s8LIbDRL">pic.twitter.com/92s8LIbDRL</a>
Canada outshot the U.S. 16-8 in the second period, but the Americans scored twice to pull even.
After a Jessie Eldridge tip deflected off Hensley's left post, the U.S. scored on its subsequent rush with Pannek redirecting a Cayla Barnes shot at 11:11.
The Americans halved a two-goal deficit with a power-play goal at 4:16.
The puck cycled out to Keller, and her shot deflected off Canadian defender Ashton Bell and by Maschmeyer
With Pannek serving a roughing minor, Shelton flipped the puck over a prone Hensley during a goalmouth scramble for a power-play goal at 18:12 of the first period.
Fillier spun and banged in a rebound off a Renata Fast shot from the point at 3:29 for her team-leading fourth goal of the tournament.
Germany secures final playoff berth
With two wins and two losses, Finland ranked third in Pool A with a 4-0 win Tuesday over short-staffed Switzerland (1-3-0-0).
The Swiss were minus five players, including four with illness.
The Swiss hockey federation said on its website that captain Lara Stalder had tested positive for COVID-19, and the other three negative.
Canadian and U.S. players donned masks Tuesday for post-game interviews.
Germany players react after scoring against hosts Denmark at the IIHF women's world hockey championship. (Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix via The Associated Press)
"Knowing that there are some cases in the tournament, it was an easy decision for us to do the right thing and put our masks on," Coyne Schofield said.
Czechia blanked Sweden 3-0 to go undefeated atop Pool B, five points up on the runner-up Swedes.
Germany secured the fourth and final playoff berth in the pool with a 3-2 victory over host Denmark.
They came from far and wide for Serena — no last name required, befitting someone as much an icon as superstar athlete — to see her practice and play and, it turned out, win a match at the U.S. Open on Monday night, turning out in record numbers to fill Arthur Ashe Stadium and shout and applaud and pump their fists right along with her.
Serena Williams is not ready to say goodbye just yet. Nor, clearly, are her fans. And she heard them, loud and clear.
In her first match at what is expected to be the last U.S. Open — and last tournament — of her remarkable playing career, even if she insists that she won't quite say so, Williams overcame a shaky start to overpower Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3 amid an atmosphere more akin to a festival than a farewell.
What memory will stick with her the most from the evening?
“When I walked out, the reception was really overwhelming. It was loud and I could feel it in my chest. It was a really good feeling,” said the owner of six U.S. Open championships and 23 Grand Slam titles overall, numbers unsurpassed by any other player in the sport's professional era.
“It’s a feeling I’ll never forget,” she added. “Yeah, that meant a lot to me.”
This opening outing against Kovinic, a 27-year-old from Montenegro ranked 80th, became an event with a capital “E.” Spike Lee participated in the pre-match coin toss. Former President Bill Clinton was in the stands. So were Mike Tyson and Martina Navratilova, sitting next to each other. And sitting with Dad and Grandma was Williams' daughter, Olympia, who turns 5 on Thursday, wearing white beads in her hair just like Mom did while winning the U.S. Open for the first time at age 17 back in 1999.
Williams is now 40, and told the world three weeks ago via an essay for Vogue that she was ready to concentrate on having a second child and her venture capital firm.
Asked after her victory Monday whether this will definitively be her final tournament, Williams replied with a knowing smile: “Yeah, I’ve been pretty vague about it, right?”
Then she added: “I’m going to stay vague, because you never know.”
The night session drew 29,000 folks, a high for the tournament — more than 23,000 were in Ashe; thousands more watched on a video screen outside the arena — and the place was as loud as ever. Certainly louder than any other first-round match in memory.
Both players called the decibel level “crazy." Kovinic said she couldn't hear the ball come off Williams' racket strings — or even her own.
Early, Williams was not at her best. Maybe it was the significance of the moment. There were double-faults. Other missed strokes, missed opportunities. She went up 2-0, but then quickly trailed 3-2. Then, suddenly, Williams, looked a lot like the champion she's been for decades and less like the player who came into this match with a 1-3 record since returning to action in late June after nearly a year off the tour.
“At this point, honestly, everything is a bonus for me, I feel,” Williams said. “It’s good that I was able to get this under my belt. ... I’m just not even thinking about that. I’m just thinking about just this moment. I think it’s good for me just to live in the moment now.”
She rolled through the end of that opening set, capping it with a service winner she reacted to with clenched fists and her trademark cry of “Come on!” That was met with thunderous cheers and applause — as was the ending of the 1-hour, 40-minute contest, as if another trophy had been earned.
Instead, there is plenty more work to be done. Williams will play in the second round of singles on Wednesday against No. 2 seed Anett Kontveit of Estonia. And there's also doubles, too: Williams and her sister, Venus, are entered together in that competition, with their initial match slated for Wednesday or Thursday.
“Just keep supporting me,” Williams told the spectators, “as long as I’m here.”
They surely will. They were there to honour her and show appreciation for what she’s done on the court and off. After watching the victory over Kovinic, spectators held up blue, white or red placards that were distributed at their seats to spell out “We (Heart) Serena."
After Kovinic was introduced simply by name, making clear to even her what an afterthought she was on this muggy evening, Williams’ entrance was preceded by a tribute video narrated by Queen Latifah, who called the American the “Queen of Queens.” The arena announcer called Williams “the greatest of all time,” and intoned: “This U.S. Open marks the final chapter of her storied tennis history.”
She means a lot to a lot of people. As a tennis player. As a woman. As an African American. As a mother. As a businesswoman.
“When she started out, female athletes weren’t getting recognized. She’s done so much,” said Quintella Thorn, a 68-year-old from Columbus, Georgia, making her eighth trip to the U.S. Open. “And now, she’s ...”
“Evolving,” chimed in Thorn’s friend, Cora Monroe, 72, of Shreveport, Louisiana, using the word Williams says she prefers to “retirement.”
Which is why Monday mattered more than the usual Day 1 at a major tournament. And why the daily program did not make mention of any other of the dozens of athletes in action, showing instead a montage of six images of Williams holding her six U.S. Open trophies above the title: “Serena Williams, A Legacy of Greatness.” And why there was a sense of less importance for matches involving wins for other elite players such as past U.S. Open champions Bianca Andreescu, Andy Murray and Daniil Medvedev, or French Open finalist Coco Gauff, an 18-year-old American.
After her own 6-2, 6-3 victory over Leolia Jeanjean earlier in the day, Gauff looked forward to sitting in Ashe herself to watch Williams, someone she credits with inspiring her to play tennis. Gauff's original plan was to tune in on TV, but then she decided this was too important to miss.
“Everybody is going to be on her side. I’m going to be cheering for her,” Gauff said. “It’s going to be probably one of the most electric matches that will ever happen in tennis.”
Lived up to the billing.
Now there is more to come for Williams and her supporters.
Hockey Canada's board of directors says it is supporting president and chief executive officer Scott Smith and his executive team amid calls for leadership change at the organization.
Interim board chair Andrea Skinner announced the backing of the organization's executive in a statement posted Monday on its website.
The statement did not detail a reason for the show of support, but said the board is is undertaking "ongoing efforts to restore the trust of Canadians in hockey and Hockey Canada," which include a governance review.
Canada's governing body of hockey is under intense scrutiny for its handling of sexual assault allegations against members of previous men's junior teams.
Fierce advocate for sexual abuse survivors and retired NHL player Sheldon Kennedy repeated his calls Tuesday for Hockey Canada's leadership to resign.
"For the betterment of the game and kids, the leadership group at Hockey Canada must resign as they have lost the trust of Canadians in their ability to lead. That is crystal clear," he told The Canadian Press.
The federal government froze Hockey Canada's funding after it was revealed the organization had quietly settled a lawsuit with a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by members of the 2018 men's junior team at Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont., that year.
Several of Hockey Canada's corporate partners suspended their support of Hockey Canada after executives were grilled by MPs during a Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage meeting about the organization's response to the alleged assault. The results were evident at the world junior championship earlier this month in Edmonton, where the ice and boards at Rogers Place were almost completely free of advertising.
Hockey Canada later said members of the 2003 junior team are under investigation for alleged sexual assault in Nova Scotia.
WATCH | Disturbing details emerge:
Man speaks out about alleged sexual assault involving members of 2003 World Juniors hockey team
6 days ago
Duration 3:05
Warning: This story contains sexually graphic details that may be disturbing to readers Disturbing details have emerged about an alleged group sexual assault by some members of Canada's 2003 World Juniors hockey team. A man who recently gave Halifax police the names of two players who may have been involved says he saw a recording nearly 20 years ago of the alleged incident.
Sheldon Kennedy, an advocate for sexual abuse survivors and one of the victims of serial abuser Graham James, has called on Hockey Canada's leadership to resign. There has been cross-partisan support for that sentiment from MPs on the heritage committee, which has twice heard testimony from Smith and other executives on their handling of the allegations.
So far, the only change at the top has been the resignation of previous board chair Michael Brind'Amour, who stepped down Aug. 6 before his term was set to end in November.
'Sport cannot self-regulate'
Rob Koehler, the director general of Global Athlete, an international athlete-led movement founded to address the balance of power between athletes and administrators, said he wasn't surprised the board is publicly supporting Smith.
"Anyone in Canadian sport knows that the well-paid national sport organization CEOs wield the majority of the power over volunteer boards. Ms. Skinner's statement is akin to the fox guarding the henhouse," Koehler said.
"Sport cannot self-regulate. Sport, like every industry, needs oversight, accountability and transparency. Sport has none of these. Until the Canadian government demands these principles, sports will continue to be a breeding ground for abuse."
The scrutiny on Hockey Canada tightened when it was revealed that the organization used its multimillion-dollar National Equity Fund, which comes from player fees, for uninsured payments including the settlement of sexual abuse claims.
Hockey Canada said at a heritage committee hearing on July 27 that it has paid out $7.6 million in nine settlements concerning sexual assault and sexual abuse claims since 1989, with $6.8 million of that related to serial abuser Graham James.
LISTEN | Pascale St-Onge responds to ongoing Hockey Canada crisis:
CBC News: The House11:35Sport Minister responds to Hockey Canada crisis
Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge talks to guest host Ashley Burke about her reaction to the latest allegations of sexual assault by junior hockey players and the mounting calls for Hockey Canada’s leadership to resign.
The organization has said since that the fund will no longer be used to settle sexual assault settlements.
Conservative John Nater, Liberal Anthony Housefather and New Democrat Peter Julian have been among the MPs calling for a change in leadership at Hockey Canada.
"I think it's fair to say that Hockey Canada simply has not stepped up. … Canadians have been let down," Julian said at the July 27 committee hearing.
"There needs to be a bigger cultural change in Hockey Canada than you're currently promising," Housefather said.
Smith has said he believes he is "the right person" to lead Hockey Canada but said he would respect the findings of the governance review.
The review, led by former Supreme Court judge Thomas Cromwell, is expected to provide interim recommendations before Hockey Canada's annual general meeting in November.
NEW YORK --
Former U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu apologized to her sponsor Nike for an on-court outburst after her choice of wardrobe for Monday's first-round match landed her in a spot of bother amid windy conditions.
Andreescu was out on the Grandstand court to play Harmony Tan but the winds at the open arena kept blowing her skirt up and affecting her shots, forcing the 22-year-old to approach the chair umpire and request an additional bathroom break to change.
"Will this not count as one of my changeovers? I mean it's not my fault, it's Nike's fault," she told the umpire.
"This dress is so, so bad... I need to go (change), this is really bad."
Andreescu returned wearing a white Nike tank top and skirt to eventually beat Tan 6-0 3-6 6-1.
"It was just bothering me on some forehands. I just felt like it was kind of coming up a bit. Obviously the wind didn't help," she told reporters.
"But I meant no disrespect with what I said to the umpire. I was trying to convince him to not take away that washroom break, because I know we only get two. He was very nice to say it was totally okay.
"I could have definitely used a different choice of wording. So I apologize to anyone I disrespected. I love Nike and I hope I can be with them for the rest of my life!"
Andreescu will next play Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
They came from far and wide for Serena — no last name required, befitting someone as much an icon as superstar athlete — to see her practice and play and, it turned out, win a match at the U.S. Open on Monday night, turning out in record numbers to fill Arthur Ashe Stadium and shout and applaud and pump their fists right along with her.
Serena Williams is not ready to say goodbye just yet. Nor, clearly, are her fans. And she heard them, loud and clear.
In her first match at what is expected to be the last U.S. Open — and last tournament — of her remarkable playing career, even if she insists that she won't quite say so, Williams overcame a shaky start to overpower Danka Kovinic 6-3, 6-3 amid an atmosphere more akin to a festival than a farewell.
What memory will stick with her the most from the evening?
"When I walked out, the reception was really overwhelming. It was loud and I could feel it in my chest. It was a really good feeling," said the owner of six U.S. Open championships and 23 Grand Slam titles overall, numbers unsurpassed by any other player in the sport's professional era.
"It's a feeling I'll never forget," she added. "Yeah, that meant a lot to me."
WATCH | Serena Williams advances to 2nd round:
Serena Williams wins opening match at U.S. Open
11 hours ago
Duration 1:00
Facing what could have potentially been her last match, Serena Williams was victorious in round one at the U.S. Open defeating Danka Kovinic of Montenegro 6-3, 6-3.
This opening outing against Kovinic, a 27-year-old from Montenegro ranked 80th, became an event with a capital "E." Spike Lee participated in the pre-match coin toss. Former President Bill Clinton was in the stands. So were Mike Tyson and Martina Navratilova, sitting next to each other. And sitting with Dad and Grandma was Williams' daughter, Olympia, who turns 5 on Thursday, wearing white beads in her hair just like Mom did while winning the U.S. Open for the first time at age 17 back in 1999.
Williams is now 40, and told the world three weeks ago via an essay for Vogue that she was ready to concentrate on having a second child and her venture capital firm.
Asked after her victory Monday whether this will definitively be her final tournament, Williams replied with a knowing smile: "Yeah, I've been pretty vague about it, right?"
Then she added: "I'm going to stay vague, because you never know."
The night session drew 29,000 folks, a high for the tournament — more than 23,000 were in Ashe; thousands more watched on a video screen outside the arena — and the place was as loud as ever. Certainly louder than any other first-round match in memory.
Both players called the decibel level "crazy." Kovinic said she couldn't hear the ball come off Williams' racket strings — or even her own.
We ❤️ Serena<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USOpen</a> <a href="https://t.co/MJCCWgrzDT">pic.twitter.com/MJCCWgrzDT</a>
Early, Williams was not at her best. Maybe it was the significance of the moment. There were double-faults. Other missed strokes, missed opportunities. She went up 2-0, but then quickly trailed 3-2. Then, suddenly, Williams, looked a lot like the champion she's been for decades and less like the player who came into this match with a 1-3 record since returning to action in late June after nearly a year off the tour.
"At this point, honestly, everything is a bonus for me, I feel," Williams said. "It's good that I was able to get this under my belt... I'm just not even thinking about that. I'm just thinking about just this moment. I think it's good for me just to live in the moment now."
She rolled through the end of that opening set, capping it with a service winner she reacted to with clenched fists and her trademark cry of "Come on!" That was met with thunderous cheers and applause — as was the ending of the 1-hour, 40-minute contest, as if another trophy had been earned.
Instead, there is plenty more work to be done. Williams will play in the second round of singles on Wednesday against No. 2 seed Anett Kontveit of Estonia. And there's also doubles, too: Williams and her sister, Venus, are entered together in that competition, with their initial match slated for Wednesday or Thursday.
"Just keep supporting me," Williams told the spectators, "as long as I'm here."
2019 U.S. Open champ Andreescu downs Tan
Bianca Andreescu advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 win over France's Harmony Tan on Monday in New York.
As it turned out, Andreescu kick-started a successful opening day for Canadian singles players.
Andreescu, ranked 50th in the world heading into the final Grand Slam of the season, put the game away on her second match point when Tan missed on a forehand volley.
The 22-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., and 2019 U.S. champion, improved her all-time record to 11-1 at the tournament.
WATCH | Andreescu wins 6 of 9 break points in 1st-round victory:
Bianca Andreescu displays flashes of dominance in advancing to U.S. Open 2nd round
17 hours ago
Duration 3:12
2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., defeated France's Harmony Tan 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 in the first round at Flushing Meadows.
Andreescu started the match with a dominant first set, losing just eight points. She won 14 points in a row between the fourth and sixth games.
Tan came back with a strong second set, scoring two early breaks and jumping to a 4-0 lead. Andreescu cut the lead to 5-3, but Tan served to love in the decisive game to even the match at a set apiece.
Andreescu returned to form in the third set, scoring an early break in Game 2 and taking a 3-0 lead. Tan won on serve to cut the lead to 3-1, but Andreescu responded by serving to love in Game 5, then came back from 40-0 down to score the break and take a 5-1 lead.
Serving for the match, Andreescu clinched the victory on her second match point.
Tan had 28 unforced errors and eight double-faults in the match, compared to 17 unforced errors and just one double-fault for Andreescu.
WATCH | Andreescu ousted from National Bank Open by Zheng:
Canada's Bianca Andreescu eliminated from National Bank Open
18 days ago
Duration 2:58
Bianca Andreescu lost to China's Zheng Qinwen 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 Thursday at the National Bank Open.
Andreescu won six of nine break points and defended one of the three she faced.
Andreescu will next face National Bank Open finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, who cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Ana Konjuh of Croatia.
WATCH | Andreescu captures 2019 U.S. Open title:
Match Wrap: Andreescu makes history with U.S. Open victory over Williams
3 years ago
Duration 1:46
Bianca Andreescu becomes the first Canadian in history to win a Grand Slam singles title with her straight-set victory over Serena Williams.
Marino, Fernandez, Auger-Aliassime round out successful day for Canadians
Vancouver native Rebecca Marino will also be moving on to the second round, earning a 6-2, 6-3 win over Poland's Magdalena Frech.
Marino, 31, won four of her seven break points to go along with 19 winners on the match.
WATCH | Marino victorious in 1st round:
Vancouver's Rebecca Marino advances at U.S. Open
14 hours ago
Duration 1:53
Vancouver's Rebecca Marino advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Poland's Magdalena Frech.
She will next face Daria Snigur, who upset seventh seed Simona Halep 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., who advanced to the 2021 U.S. Open final before losing to Britain's Emma Raducanu, had her evening match delayed some 90 minutes, but managed to bounce Oceane Dodin of France 6-3, 6-4. The tournament's 14th seed showed no signs of a foot injury that hampered her play in the National Bank Open.
"I had goose bumps stepping back into this court tonight," said Fernandez post-match. "I felt the love here tonight. I was a bit tired waiting all day long, but the crowd's cheers pushed me to the end. They [fans] also helped me calm my nerves and emotions."
WATCH | Fernandez rolls into 2nd round:
Leylah Fernandez kicks off U.S. Open tournament with a straight sets win
3 hours ago
Duration 2:08
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., defeated Océane Dodin of France 6-3, 6-4 Monday to advance to the second round of the U.S. Open.
In men's singles competition, sixth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal struggled at times with his serve, but still managed to coast to a quick 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win against Switzerland's Alexander Ritschard.
Auger-Aliassime had 13 aces in the match, eight double faults and took four of eight break points.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime through to 2nd round:
Felix Auger-Aliassime powers his way into the U.S. Open 2nd round
14 hours ago
Duration 2:58
Last year's semifinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Switzerland's Alexander Ritschard.
Top-seeded Medvedev cruises past Kozlov
Daniil Medvedev had an easy start to his U.S. Open title defence, beating Stefan Kozlov 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 on Monday.
Simona Halep had another early exit, this one coming in a memorable first tour-level win for Ukraine's Snigur.
Snigur upset the No. 7 seed 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, then struggled through tears to explain what the victory meant to her family and her country, which is at war with Russia.
On the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court where Serena Williams began what could be the final tournament of her career with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Danka Kovinic on Monday night, the top-seeded Medvedev looked just as strong as he did in sweeping past Novak Djokovic in last year's final for his first major title.
A smooth start for the defending champion! <a href="https://t.co/9WA597JDUg">pic.twitter.com/9WA597JDUg</a>
Medvedev advanced to face Arthur Rinderknech of France. The Russian is trying to become the first repeat champion at the U.S. Open since Roger Federer won five straight from 2004-08.
"I need to be at my best on Wednesday and I'm going to try to make it," Medvedev said.
Andy Murray into 2nd round with early upset
Andy Murray was another early winner, 10 years after winning the first of his three Grand Slam titles in Flushing Meadows. He had one of the first upsets of the tournament by beating No. 24 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 7-5, 6-3, 6-3.
"It seems like a long time ago," Murray said of his victory over Djokovic in 2012. "A lot's happened since then in my career."
Djokovic couldn't travel to the tournament this year because he isn't vaccinated against COVID-19.
Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas won't be staying in it after dropping the first 11 games to qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan before falling 6-0, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.
Many fans arriving for the day session at the final Grand Slam event of the season were focused on the match that would lead off the action at night. Williams, the 23-time major champion, has said she is preparing to end her tennis career.
Coco Gauff wasn't going to miss it, saying she was going to change plans and attend instead of watching on TV in her hotel room.
"As I thought about it, I was, like, I have to watch," the 18-year-old American said after her straight-sets victory. "I'm excited and, you know, it's not often we watch live matches, to be honest."
This year's Wimbledon runner-up, Nick Kyrgios, was the winner in the night match, with the Australian saying he watched Williams' ceremony on TV before following her onto the court.
They faced more comfortable conditions after a hot start under a sunny sky in Flushing Meadows. Leading 3-0 in the third set, Medvedev told the chair umpire he wanted a bag of ice so he could put it on his head.
"It was pretty hot today and humid," Medvedev said. "I see the other guys coming from five-setters in the locker room, pretty red faces. That's also fun in a way sometimes to get through these conditions. Even today, the match was maybe not that intensive and long, but, yeah, I sweated a lot and it was not easy."
Taylor Fritz, the No. 10 seed, said he he struggled with the windy conditions in his four-set loss to qualifier Brandon Holt, the son of two-time U.S. Open women's champion Tracy Austin.
Ukrainian shocks No. 7 Halep for 1st win
Snigur was playing her first match in the main draw of a Grand Slam. The 20-year-old wore a ribbon in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine's flag on her chest, and she put her hands around it after finishing off the victory.
She played last week in the "Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition" to raise money to aid Ukraine. That was on Louis Armstrong Stadium, which may have calmed her nerves a bit when she was sent back out onto the same court Monday.
"I think it helped me because I was here in `Tennis Plays for Peace' and I think it helped me a little bit," Snigur said as she fought through tears during an on-court interview.
Halep had won 19 of her last 22 matches and recently returned to the top 10, but the U.S. Open has been the most challenging major for the two-time Grand Slam champion. She is 21-11 in New York and has lost in the first round of three of her last five appearances.
Daria Snigur of Ukraine reacts after defeating No. 7 seed Simona Halep, who had won 19 of her last 22 matches and recently returned to the top 10. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Two other past champions had short stays. Dominic Thiem, the 2020 champion who missed last year because of injury, fell to Pablo Carreno Busta in four sets. The 2016 winner, Stan Wawrinka, retired from his match against Corentin Moutet after losing a second-set tiebreaker. He has been plagued by injuries in recent years.
No. 29 seed Tommy Paul overcame the heat to outlast Bernabe Zapata Miralles 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, 7-5 in 3 hours, 10 minutes. Fellow American Sebastian Korda also got his first win at his home Slam, beating Facundo Bagnis in four sets.
Another American advanced in an upset, with J.J. Wolf ousting No. 16 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets.
Victorious Wu makes Chinese history
Also, Wu Yibing became the first Chinese man to win a U.S. Open match in the professional era, upsetting No. 31 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-4, 6-0. He had played his way into the field through the qualifying tournament, joining countryman and fellow qualifier Zhang Zhizhen as the first Chinese men in the U.S. Open main draw since the open era began in 1968.
Zhang lost his first-round match.
Third-seeded Maria Sakkari and No. 17 Caroline Garcia were among the early winners on the women's side, with Sakkari overcoming Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria in three sets.
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors waived guard Svi Mykhailiuk on Monday.
The move makes room for guard Jalen Harris, who was recently reinstated by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association after serving a one-year suspension for a positive drug test.
The Raptors hold Harris's rights as a restricted free agent, but the team had previously been at the maximum 20 players allowed heading into training camp.
Mykhailiuk, a native of Ukraine, averaged 4.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 56 appearances for the Raptors.
He had exercised his US$1.9-million player option for the upcoming season.
Harris, meanwhile, was suspended on July 1, 2021, after testing positive for a prohibited substance under the NBA/NBPA anti-drug program.
The 24-year-old Dallas native spent the past few months playing for the expansion Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
Training camp opens Sept. 27 in Victoria.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2022.
Judged purely on number of fans and the volume of their cheers, Brooke Henderson appeared to be the runaway winner of the CP Women's Open.
But the all-time winningest professional golfer in Canadian history finished 14 shots back of South Africa's Paula Reto to tie for 49th at the national championship on Sunday. Reto shot a final round of 4-under 67 to win her first-ever LPGA Tour title by one stroke at 19-under overall.
"It was amazing," said Henderson of the hundreds of fans that followed her around Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. "I didn't necessarily expect that because I was thinking, you know, they should go and see some really good golf happening.
"It's amazing that they were out there the whole time, just so many people. I felt the love all week."
Reto's 4-under round was enough to lift her over third round co-leaders Narin An (72) and Hye-Jin Choi (69) of South Korea. It was also just enough to fend off a late charge from Nelly Korda (67) of the United States.
"I was trying not to watch the leaderboard," said Reto, who played in the day's final group with An and Choi. "I sort of knew where the girls in my group were, so I was just trying to make sure I stayed with them or maybe one or two ahead.
"That was the only thing I could control. You can't do too much."
A win would have lifted Korda back into the top spot on the women's world golf rankings. She dropped down the standings after having to take time off due to a blood clot in her arm.
"I think I had a decent shot at it," said Korda. "I played good golf, and honestly, I'm just grateful that I am playing golf and I'm out here, and I'm enjoying every second of it."
Reto fired a course-record 9-under 62 at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club in Thursday's first round, besting Henderson's former mark of 63 set at the 2017 CP Women's Open. American Lindy Duncan matched Reto's record in the second round, split over Friday and Saturday due to a rain delay.
Despite Reto's consistently strong performance, Henderson remained the star of the show.
Growing up in nearby Smiths Falls, Ont., the 24-year-old Henderson's image was used extensively in promotional materials, from decals on hotel windows, to wraps on the grandstands, and even hand-held signs of her face for children to hold.
Even as Henderson made par on her final hole of the day fans chanted her name, whistled, and cheered.
"It's hard to put into words how much that means to me," said Henderson. "I'm a Canadian and everyone out here is proud to be Canadian too, so it was just a great week."
Hamilton's Alena Sharp (67) finished tied for 17th at 10 under. It's the third time that Sharp has earned the Sandra Post Award given to the low Canadian at the tournament.
Maddie Szeryk (71) of London, Ont., tied for 26th at 9 under for her best-ever finish on the LPGA Tour.
Amateur Lauren Zaretsky (73) of Thornhill, Ont., was 75th at 1 over and Toronto's Rebecca Lee-Bentham (72) tied for 76th at 2 over.
Golf Canada said that more than 75,000 fans attended Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club over the week, an all-time record for the women's championship and an impressive rebound after it had to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021. Those ticket sales are a 55-per-cent increase over 2017 when the tournament was last at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, which was the previous benchmark for the event.
"From fans, from commercials, from amateurs, from our field, it has just been a dream scenario being here for the 2022 CP Women's Open," said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum, who added that the only way it could have been better was if a Canadian had won the national open.
It was also a boon for Ottawa's beleaguered tourism industry that has not yet recovered from the damage done by the COVID-19 pandemic or the anti-government convoy that occupied Canada's capital in February and March. Tourism Ottawa projected that the golf tournament would have an economic impact of $13.4 million in the region.
Tournament director Ryan Paul said that Ottawa's unique geographic position on the border between two of Canada's most populous provinces was also a benefit.
"Anywhere we can host and bring in from multiple markets is big for us," said Paul. "Bringing this event across the country and bringing it to new markets, whether they be Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, even Montréal, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, everywhere we've been has their benefits."
Vancouver's Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club is set to host the CP Women's Open in 2023 after it was set to host cancelled events in 2020 and 2021. No host venue has been named for 2024.
TORONTO — The pitchers’ duel was as good as advertised — maybe better.
Though he didn’t start the day with his sharpest stuff, Alek Manoah was at his best against the Angels, striking out seven while allowing just four hits. Opposite Manoah, Shohei Ohtani was electric, touching 100 m.p.h. while mixing in his hard slider and disappearing splitter on his way to nine strikeouts of his own. And it was perhaps appropriate that on an afternoon the Blue Jays honoured the 1992 World Series Champions, both starters completed seven innings, throwback style.
“Every game is Game 7 of the World Series for me,” Manoah said afterwards. “It doesn’t matter if Ohtani’s on the mound over there or Roger Clemens. It doesn’t matter. My job is to compete, give the team my all and do everything I can to try and get us a win.”
Ultimately, Ohtani proved too much for the Blue Jays this time, as a Luis Rengifo RBI single was the game winner and the home team lost 2-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 45,311. But where the Blue Jays faltered in all phases of the game Friday, it’s hard to find much fault with their effort Saturday. They just happened to face one of the game’s best pitchers on a day his stuff was as good as it gets.
“I enjoyed it,” Ohtani told reporters afterwards. “I would like to avoid it if possible because (Manoah's) a great pitcher. Less chance of getting good results at the plate. But I did enjoy going pitch for pitch with him.”
Ohtani lowered his season ERA to 2.67 with the outing — and remember, he has 27 home runs, too.
“He was on today,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, who was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the eighth. “He dialled in and did his thing. It’s four or five pitches. It’s 100 m.p.h. It’s nasty stuff. You’ve got to tip your cap to him.”
“Everything that he does is just amazing to me to watch,” longtime Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said before Saturday’s ceremony. “He’s a Babe Ruth in a lot of ways. He’s a great looking player. I just don’t know how he’s going to do that for the rest of his career, but we’ll see what happens.”
On the mound, at least, Manoah’s right there with Ohtani, who walked, struck out and grounded into a fielder’s choice in three trips to the plate against his counterpart. As impressive as Ohtani has been, Manoah’s 2.60 ERA is lower and he’s pitched 27.2 more innings. Still, both belong in the American League Cy Young conversation along with the likes of Justin Verlander, Shane McClanahan and Dylan Cease.
Manoah began the day with diminished velocity, but his fastball picked up speed as the afternoon progressed and he ended up topping out at 96.2 m.p.h. His average fastball was 92.9 m.p.h., down from his season average of 94 m.p.h., but it didn't stop him from holding the Angels to one run.
“He started slow; his tempo was off,” Schneider said. “But then he dialled it in and it was an old-fashioned pitching duel. They went toe to toe there for seven and he got stronger as he went on. What allows him to win is his desire to win and his competitive nature.”
Even once Ohtani gave way to the bullpen, the Blue Jays couldn’t generate the offence they needed and fell to 68-57 on the season. But despite the team’s up and down season, some of the Blue Jays’ franchise greats believe the 2022 team has the potential to go on a memorable October run of their own.
“Last year they learned that one game makes a difference,” Joe Carter said. “They’re going to work to be sure that doesn’t happen again”
“They’re playing great,” added Gaston, who still watches regularly. “They’ve got a great chance to go right to the World Series. They’ve got a good team out there. They seem to have a lot of fun playing with each other. They seem to have each other’s back. And it’s fun to watch them. It’s really fun.”
Meanwhile, Teoscar Hernandez was on the bench Saturday after fouling a ball off his left foot for the second time in a week. The discomfort forced him out of Friday’s game early, but he was available off the bench if needed on Saturday.
Should Hernandez need to ease his way back into the lineup, that’s an option the Blue Jays have now that George Springer has returned to the outfield for the first time since July 28. With their centre fielder back, the Blue Jays can now rotate others through the designated hitter spot to get them partial days off.
“He’s also at the point where he understands it’s time for other guys to get off their feet a bit, too,” Schneider said of Springer.
In time, that flexibility will surely help the Blue Jays, yet on Saturday it wasn’t enough. They got the pitchers’ duel they were expecting and enjoyed a celebration 30 years in the making. But a loss to one of the game’s current greats means the Blue Jays will be trying to stave off a sweep when the series concludes Sunday.
Nazem Kadri walked out the front doors of the London Muslim Mosque on Saturday and hoisted the Stanley Cup as he celebrated winning hockey's highest trophy with his hometown community.
The 31-year-old won the Cup in June as a member of the Colorado Avalanche and is believed to be the first member of his faith to become an NHL champion.
On Saturday, Kadri made a point of including the Muslim community in the celebration, telling the crowd gathered at the mosque they were essential to his development as a hockey player, and a person.
The magic moment: Kadri brings the cup out the front doors of the London Muslim Mosque. <a href="https://t.co/d8XkhhfmF5">pic.twitter.com/d8XkhhfmF5</a>
"You guys have been supporting me from day one, which is something I always appreciate," Kadri told the hundreds who gathered at the mosque on Oxford Street West.
"These are the streets I grew up on, this is the mosque I used to come to, and everything has just seemed to come around full circle. I'm very appreciative, very privileged and honoured to be the first Muslim to bring the Stanley Cup to the mosque. It's a big deal. That's something that I'm always gonna respect and remember."
'Cheering me on since the first day I put on skates'
Kadri was born and raised in London. He also played two years of junior hockey with the London Knights before he was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009. He played seven seasons in Toronto before being traded to the Avalanche in 2019.
"My friends and family here, they've been cheering me on since the first day I put on skates, and that's very inspiring and very motivating," he said. "I couldn't be more grateful to share this moment with you guys. London, Ontario ... we're Stanley Cup champions."
Many of the speakers acknowledged that London's Muslim community — about 30,000 in size — continues to suffer from an attack on June 6, 2021, that killed four members of a Muslim family while they were out for a walk. Police have said the family was run down intentionally as they stood on a sidewalk in what investigators say was a hate-motivated attack.
Dr. Munir El-Kassem, an Imam at the Islamic Centre of Southwestern Ontario, spoke at the mosque and alluded to the killings of four members of the Afzaal family, an event that brought politicians to the steps of the same Mosque days after the attack in a vigil to decry hatred and violence.
"We have witnessed many chapters on these steps," said El-Kassem. "Most of those chapters were to deal with tragedies, the last of which will stay with us forever. But we are a strong community who learns how to cope. Today we are going from that chapter to a chapter of ease that is a gift from the almighty God."
Kadri gave thanks to London, where he says friends and family members always backed him on his journey toward becoming an NHL player. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Kadri endured racism, Islamophobia
Some of the speakers also mentioned that Kadri himself had to ensure racism and Islamophobia as recently as this spring during Colorado's playoff run.
Many of those who lined the streets to get a glimpse of Kadri said they have been watching him for years. Many are young hockey players from Muslim families inspired to take up the game by watching the forward's ascent.
This fan is a teacher at this Islamic school. Kadri signed her stick. <a href="https://t.co/5oNbRzJP2w">pic.twitter.com/5oNbRzJP2w</a>
Alia Oozeer-Arfeen said she showed up at the mosque to meet Kadri and have him sign her hockey stick, which he did.
"It's a very exciting and exhilarating feeling to be here," she said. "This is something that the Muslim community can definitely celebrate. This is something that will inspire this community ... that anything is possible."
Kadri will have a chance to connect with another Muslim community when the NHL season starts this Fall. Last week, he signed a free-agent deal with the Calgary Flames.
From the mosque, the Stanley Cup travelled in a parade to downtown. Fans lined the streets, many wearing jerseys of Kadri's past teams, including the London Knights, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche. At the park, an estimated crowd of more than 1,000 sat outside in the sun to catch the celebration.
Once arriving at Victoria Park, Kadri was awarded the key to the city by Mayor Ed Holder.
Here Kadri brings the Cup into the mosque. Hundreds here joining in the celebration in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ldnont?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ldnont</a>. He is the first Muslim to capture hockey’s top trophy. <a href="https://t.co/wIFSDRzrZL">pic.twitter.com/wIFSDRzrZL</a>
TORONTO – After a high-stress win in Boston late Thursday night, the Toronto Blue Jays arrived home at 4 a.m., grabbed whatever sleep they could and returned to the ballpark for more.
While the short turnaround was less than ideal, playing through fatigue is part of the challenge, especially at this point in the season. Ideally, the Blue Jays would have overcome it, building on the momentum of their 6-1 road trip with a win behind No. 5 starter Mitch White.
What followed was far from ideal, however. The Blue Jays got in their own way from start to finish Friday, pitching poorly, making matters worse with their gloves and managing only six hits on the way to a 12-0 loss to the Angels in front of 40,754 at Rogers Centre.
“You flush it,” manager John Schneider said. “It’s one bad day in the last eight. And you move on. It was not our best brand of baseball and that’s all right.”
The first hints of trouble appeared in the first inning when an amped-up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made a throwing error that allowed Mike Trout to reach base. White would escape the inning without allowing any runs, but Guerrero Jr.’s aggressiveness backfired again when he got caught stealing in the bottom of the first.
Yet what happened three batters later was perhaps more troubling for the Blue Jays. Teoscar Hernandez, who had x-rays on his left foot after fouling a ball off of it in New York last weekend, fouled another pitch off that same area. Initially he stayed in the game, but he took the field gingerly in the top of the second and appeared unable to reach full speed when a Shohei Ohtani fly ball soared over his head for a triple.
“It was just mis-read,” Schneider said. “And you put that on top of fouling the ball off of his foot twice, we just wanted to be careful.”
Following a dugout discussion with Schneider between innings, Hernandez exited with what the team is calling a left foot contusion. He still appeared to be in discomfort after the game, but x-rays were once again negative and he’s considered day to day.
Making matters worse, the Blue Jays challenged a Jo Adell single on which the left fielder was clearly safe and two batters later Guerrero Jr. looked at second instead of taking an easier out at first on an Andrew Velazquez bunt single.
Granted, lopsided losses happen if you play 162 times, and there’s likely little to be gained from over-analyzing these mistakes. Big picture, Guerrero Jr. has been a vastly improved defensive first baseman and as odd as the Hernandez route looked in real time, the bruised foot adds crucial context to that play.
With better defence behind him, White may have finished the night with fewer than seven earned runs, but realistically he wasn’t at his sharpest on his way to allowing eight hits and three walks. If nothing else, he completed five innings for the first time since being traded to the Blue Jays – a welcome development for a team coming off an extra innings game.
After allowing five runs in the second, he resolved to pitch as deep into the game as possible.
“It wasn’t a good one,” White said afterwards. “As soon as I get punched in the face there, it’s like ‘it’s going to be a grind and you just have to be ready’ … it’s about protecting the bullpen.”
Of course there were still four innings to cover once White left, which opened the door for Yusei Kikuchi. The left-hander walked the leadoff hitter on four pitches – something he’s done in each of his three relief appearances – then struck out six of the next eight hitters he faced. But he also allowed two home runs, including a two-run shot by Trout.
Given the early command issues and continued home run problems, Kikuchi shouldn’t be used in high-leverage moments, but Schneider offered plenty of praise for the left-hander afterwards.
“A lot of really good things,” he said. “Just two mistakes, really … he saved our bullpen and (I) really couldn’t have been happier with the way he threw the ball.”
With the game out of hand, Whit Merrifield pitched the ninth inning, allowing the second of Adell’s two home runs while sparing the bullpen from further use.
While Hernandez’s mobility is now in question, the Blue Jays are optimistic about the progress of George Springer, who felt good after throwing from the outfield to the bases in pre-game drills Thursday. If his right elbow continues healing at this rate, he could be playing centre field at some point during the current homestand.
With 38 games left in the season, the 68-56 Blue Jays must weigh the need for rest against the need for wins right now. It’s not a new balancing act, but the Blue Jays are starting to approach it a little differently.
“We want him to be the best version of himself and we don’t want to take away from anything he’s doing offensively,” Schneider said. “But if he’s good to go at this point – we’re almost in September – if he’s good enough, he’s good enough.”
If nothing else, the Blue Jays have Springer’s bat in the lineup and given what’s awaiting Saturday, they’ll need it. Facing Alek Manoah in front of a sellout crowd Saturday afternoon will be the reigning American League MVP, Shohei Ohtani.
Mike Babcock has no plans to return to a hockey bench, saying in a radio interview Friday that he's "retired" from coaching.
“We always said we were going to retire at 60 and I’m 59, so basically that’s what it is,” Babcock said in an interview on AM 680 CKOM in Saskatoon. “Now, if things change, I guess they change, but surely that’s not our plan.
“Believe me, we’ve talked to lots of people about opportunities and enjoyed those conversations. In the end, we feel this is best for us and best for our family and so that’s what we’re doing.”
Babcock resigned from his volunteer head coaching position with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team on Thursday after only one year in the post, something he said was always the plan. He last coached in the NHL in 2019-20 when he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs only 23 games into the season.
Babcock was one of the most successful coaches of his era, which included leading the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 2008 and twice winning Olympic gold with Canada. However, after his dismissal by the Maple Leafs accusations of bullying and verbal abuse were levied against Babcock by some of his former players, including Johan Franzen and Chris Chelios. An incident involving then-rookie Mitch Marner also brought to light some of Babcock's questionable coaching tactics.
Babcock had apologized to Marner before the incident was made public, but the veteran coach's job prospects have been few and far between ever since. He was a candidate for the Washington Capitals vacancy before Peter Laviolette was hired in September of 2020 and did a brief stint as an in-studio analyst with NBC Sports. He then joined the Huskies in the spring of 2021 and served as a mentor to then-associate coach Brandin Cote, who now takes over as head coach.
Saskatchewan posted a 14-9 record under Babcock and lost to the Calgary Dinos in the Canada West quarterfinals.
Now that that chapter of his career has come to an end, Babcock says he will enjoy hunting, skiing and spending time with his family.
.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:*510w)
