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Canadian men’s soccer team refusing to train over contract dispute

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Canada’s national men’s soccer team stayed off the pitch on Friday, refusing to train for Sunday’s World Cup warmup against Panama because of a dispute over player compensation, according to sources familiar with the matter.

It’s unclear whether players will appear at a scheduled training session on Saturday at UBC. It’s also unclear if players have threatened not to play in Sunday’s game at BC Place in Vancouver, which was scheduled after Canada Soccer cancelled a friendly match against Iran because of political pressure. The team is also scheduled to face Curacao at BC Place on June 9.

Players have been at odds with Canada Soccer executives for months after the national organization offered a new contract to the team, the sources said. The contract offer was tabled to players in April.

The proposed contract includes a tentative payment structure for qualifying for this year’s World Cup tournament in Qatar and includes set bonuses that depend on how far Canada advances in the event.

The winner of this year’s World Cup will receive $42 million (U.S.) of FIFA’s $440 million total prize money.

It’s unclear how much money teams will make for qualifying for the tournament, which begins Nov. 21, but Canada Soccer is believed to be poised to receive more than $10 million from FIFA, sources familiar with the matter said.

Canada Soccer has proposed that men’s national team players would receive about 10 per cent of that $10 million payment, with the balance going to fund items including the organization’s administration costs, a proposed national training centre in Vaughan, Ont., and grassroots soccer initiatives, the sources said, adding that the men’s national team players have asked for about 40 per cent of the World Cup bonus to be split between 33 players.

Canada Soccer disputed those figures early Saturday night, saying the demand from the team was for 75 to 100 per cent of the World Cup prize money. Canada Soccer says it offered 60 per cent, to be split equally between the men’s and women’s teams.

“At no time has Canada Soccer presented a proposal for 10 per cent of the FIFA World Cup prize money,” Canada Soccer said. “Nor, has the Association received a proposal from the Men’s National Team for 40 per cent of the prize money. To be clear, the Men’s National Team demand was for 75-100 per cent of the World Cup prize money. The Association, in an effort to adhere to the principle of pay equity, proposed 60 per cent of the FIFA World Cup prize money to be split between the two National Teams (i.e., 30 per cent + 30 per cent to the players of each team) and 40 per cent for the Association. The Association believes that this proposal follows the principles of fairness and equity.”

Canadian national team players and their agents have been in contact with members of the U.S. men’s national team, which recently agreed to a new contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation that will see the men’s and women’s teams be paid at the same rate for game appearances and tournament victories.

The new U.S. contracts include an unprecedented redistribution of the millions of dollars in World Cup prize money the men’s and women’s teams can earn by playing in the tournament and also contain new revenue-sharing agreements that may see the players receive millions more from their cut of U.S. Soccer’s commercial revenues each year.

U.S. national team players will now be paid $24,000 apiece for winning a World Cup qualifying match, bonuses for promotional appearances, and a portion of each ticket sold, in addition to benefits including child care (for both men’s and women’s team players) and matching payments for 401(k) retirement plans.

Canada Soccer has told players it cannot afford similar deals because it doesn’t entirely control its own broadcast and sponsorship rights thanks to a long-term contract it signed in 2018 with Canadian Soccer Business, an organization that has connections to the Canadian Premier League.

Some Canadian men’s national team players are also rankled over Canada Soccer’s plans to support players’ families during the World Cup, the sources said.

Canada Soccer has told players that they will receive two free tickets for each of Canada’s World Cup games, and that families and close friends will be responsible for paying their own way to Qatar and for their accommodations, the sources said.

During past World Cup tournaments, some European countries have provided each player with as many as eight tickets per game, covered the cost of accommodation, and chartered flights for their families, the sources said.

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Jays reliever Green and Canadian slugger O’Neill nominated for comeback player award

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October 21, 2024

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NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.

Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.

The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.

Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.

The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.

O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.

After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Panthers’ Reinhart named NHL first star after posting nine points over four games

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October 21, 2024

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NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.

Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.

New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.

Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.

Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s season ended by ruptured Achilles tendon, team said he’ll have surgery

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October 21, 2024

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.

He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.

Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.

The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”

Watson was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals and carted off the field in tears.

It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.

The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.

He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.

As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.

Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.

The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.

“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”

Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.

“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.

“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”

The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.

Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.

With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.

The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.

But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.

Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.

Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.

Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.

Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.

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