Sports

3 important things we learned about the Blue Jays this weekend against the Red Sox

Published

1 year ago

August 7, 2023

For the first time this season, the Toronto Blue Jays have managed to sweep one of their divisional rivals in the Boston Red Sox. Going into the weekend series, the Jays were actually a dismal 8-23 against AL East opponents, so definitely many weren’t expecting such a result for sure.

But aside from finally being able to get over the hump in winning within the division, there were three other positive things that we learned from the Jays’ weekend dominance over the Red Sox.

Back on July 31st, when star shortstop Bo Bichette went down with a knee injury running the bases, many have feared that Bichette will probably be out for a while, and with that, the hopes of the Jays making the postseason would take a huge hit. After all, he had been the Jays’ main offensive leader for most of the 2023 season with his hitting prowess, so his void in the lineup would definitely be hard to replace, even with the recent acquisition of Paul DeJong.

Subsequently, the Jays had an uninspiring series against the division-leading Baltimore Orioles following Bichette’s injury and it appeared that his loss was in full effect on the team going forward. Fortunately, in the follow-up series against the Red Sox, the Jays have proven that this notion was moot, as they broke out big time offensively and handled the Red Sox in convincing fashion.

This was important to note, because it showed that the team could actually work hard together to make up for the loss of a star player in helping the ballclub to success. Since practically every ballclub will encounter their issues with injuries in inopportune times, the way how the Jays showed they could manage with them bodes well for the team heading into the stretch run.

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Sports

Receiver Justin Hardy to miss Redblacks’ regular-season finale

Published

11 hours ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – American receiver Justin Hardy will miss the Ottawa Redblacks’ regular-season finale Friday.

Hardy, who leads the CFL in receptions (97) and is second in receiving yards (1,343), was listed off Ottawa’s depth chart Thursday. Hardy was named Wednesday as the Redblacks’ nominee for the league’s outstanding player award.

American Andrew Miller will start in Hardy’s place.

Ottawa (8-7-1) concludes its regular season hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-10). The Redblacks have already clinched third in the East and will visit the Toronto Argonauts (10-7) in the division semifinal Nov. 2.

Hamilton has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Incumbent Dru Brown is listed as Ottawa’s starting quarterback.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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Sports

Bologna-AC Milan soccer match postponed following extensive flooding

Published

11 hours ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — AC Milan’s weekend match at Bologna in Italy’s top soccer league has been postponed, Bologna officials announced Thursday following extensive flooding in the central Italian city.

The Serie A match had been scheduled for Saturday.

Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, large parts of which have been hard hit by torrential rains and bad weather for days.

The game was not immediately rescheduled.

“Following the flood that affected Bologna, intense work is underway to clean up the situation,” the city of Bologna said while announcing the game postponement on X.

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AP soccer:

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Shapovalov advances to Swiss Indoors quarterfinals with win over Bautista Agut

Published

11 hours ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

BASEL, Switzerland – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.

Shapovalov used a strong service game to overcome the Spanish veteran for the win at the ATP 500 event in just under one hour 40 minutes.

The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 18 aces, including one to set up match point in the second-set tiebreaker, and won 79 per cent of first-serves and 63 per cent of second-serve points.

Shapovalov, a former top-10 player on the ATP Tour, entered this year’s Swiss Indoors ranked 95th and will appear in just his second quarterfinal of the season.

He improved to 3-0 against Bautista Agut, who he beat in July en route to a quarterfinal appearance in Washington.

Shapovalov will next face the winner of a match scheduled for later Thursday between defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal and France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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