Vancouver Canucks centre J.T. Miller takes indefinite leave for ‘personal reasons’

MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Rafael Nadal bit his lower lip and his reddened eyes welled with tears as he stood alongside his Davis Cup teammates for Spain’s national anthem Tuesday before what he — and everyone — knew might be the last match of his career, and turned out to be a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands.

Nadal said beforehand that his feelings would need to be put on hold, that this week was about attempting to claim one last title for his country, not about pondering his impending retirement. But the 22-time Grand Slam champion acknowledged afterward that the moment got to him, that “the emotions were difficult to manage,” and that he felt nerves out there amid the roars of an adoring, sign- and flag-toting crowd that mostly showed up for one player and one player only.

And even if Spain got past the Netherlands in the best-of-three-match quarterfinals, Nadal said that if he were the team’s captain, he wouldn’t pick himself to play again in the semifinals after that performance against the 80th-ranked van de Zandschulp.

“Probably the easy move,” Nadal said with a smile, “and maybe the right move, is to change.”

At least he was in a joking mood after the result ended his 29-match winning streak in Davis Cup singles. The only other blemish on his record, which stood at 29-1 entering Tuesday, came in his debut all the way back in 2004.

“I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one,” said Nadal, whose wife and son were in the stands Tuesday. “So we close the circle.”

The 38-year-old Spaniard announced last month this event would be it for him as a professional tennis player after two years of injuries that allowed him to compete only sparingly.

Nadal’s defeat opened the Spain vs. Netherlands matchup on an indoor hard court at the sold-out Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in southern Spain. It was followed by No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz’s 7-6 (0), 6-3 victory for the hosts against No. 40 Tallon Griekspoor while Nadal cheered from courtside — and, because the teams were tied 1-all after singles, the outcome of the quarterfinal was going to be decided by a doubles match.

Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers were to meet Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof to finish the day. So it was up to Nadal’s countrymen to try to extend his career. If the Netherlands were to win, he would be finished.

“It’s amazing that it might be the last match that Nadal plays,” Dutch captain Paul Haarhuis said beforehand, “and we hope to give him a nice ‘Adios.’”

When the match ended — with Nadal ranging to his left but not quite able to get into proper position and putting a forehand into the net — he walked to the net for a quick hug with his opponent.

“That was a tough, tough match to play,” said van de Zandschulp, noting that he idolized Nadal while growing up.

In certain ways, and for brief interludes, this was, unmistakably, the Nadal that van de Zandschulp — and so many others — can remember. The white headband, marked with the red bull logo Nadal made famous. The white tape wrapped around all four of his left, racket-holding fingers. The water bottles by his sideline bench, placed just so.

There was the occasional ace right on a line. The occasional serve-and-volley foray forward. The occasional over-the-shoulder putaway. And, yes, the occasional hop and uppercut and scream of “Vamos!” after claiming a key point or closing out a game.

There also were, neither to Nadal’s or most of the 9,200 spectators’ liking, several points where he did look like what he truly is right now: a once-dominant figure diminished by age and health issues. His forehand didn’t always have the same verve: His 10 groundstroke winners were barely half of van de Zandschulp’s 19. His footwork and speed were hardly ideal and partly responsible for his 26 unforced errors.

Nadal was just not able to bring his best, no matter how many chants of “Ra-fa!” or “España!” or “Si, se puede!” (“Yes, you can!”) broke out, no matter how many signs or scarves reading “Gracias, Rafa!” or red-and-yellow Spanish flags of all sizes dotted the arena.

“I mean, (at this) moment of my career, I can’t complain much. I go (out) there, I try my best, I try to enjoy and play with the right energy, with the right attitude,” Nadal said. “Just didn’t work.”

This version of Nadal had hip issues, including surgery in June 2023, and abdominal problems that combined to limit him to only 23 matches over the past two years. He is 12-8 in singles in 2024.

The match against van de Zandschulp — who upset Alcaraz at the U.S. Open — was Nadal’s first outing that counted since early August at the Paris Olympics. He lost there in the second round of singles to Novak Djokovic and bowed out in the doubles quarterfinals alongside Alcaraz.

Nadal and Alcaraz — at 21, a four-time major champion considered his heir apparent — practiced with each other hours before the start of play. The run-up to this Davis Cup has largely been about memories of, and tributes to, Nadal — including a lengthy post on social media by his rival and friend Roger Federer.

Nadal will forever be remembered for his rivalries with Federer and Djokovic as part of the Big Three of men’s tennis, a trio of generational talents who ruled the sport for much of the past two decades.

Federer, now 43, announced his departure in 2022; only Djokovic, 37, remains active.

All three were talented. All three were successful. All three were popular.

Nadal’s appeal to fans was both how he played on a court and the humility he displayed away from one, which might explain why there even were fans wearing the orange representing Netherlands who applauded when he was introduced.

“When we heard the news that Rafa was retiring, this really became something special — a chance to see the greatest sportsman in the country’s history,” said Luis Julve, a 19-year-old college student who made the trip from Madrid with his mother and aunt.

They and other locals expressed their love over and over, from the raucous standing ovation that greeted Nadal’s entrance to the court to the repeat after the match’s conclusion. In an example of the sort of home-court advantage frequently seen at this team event — more soccer rowdiness than stereotypical tennis genteelness — they jeered and whistled whenever the contingent of Dutch fans in a small section of the lower bowl tried to offer encouragement to their guy.

Nadal could not come through this time.

“I went on court, and came here, with the goal to help the team. … It just didn’t work, and there was a possibility that would happen,” he said. “He played better than me today. There’s nothing more to say.”

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AP tennis:

TORONTO – You would have never guessed this was Mike (Pinball) Clemons’s eighth Grey Cup celebration.

From his seat on stage left, Toronto’s general manager wore a giant smile, pumped his fists, stomped his feet and seemed to nearly fall off his chair with puppy-like excitement throughout the Argonauts’ hour-long championship rally at Maple Leaf Square outside Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

“(Grey Cups) are so hard to get,” Clemons said. “There’s no promise. Some guys go through and never get that opportunity to hold the Cup. The unpredictability of it is what makes it special.”

Unpredictability is perhaps the most apt descriptor of the Argonauts’ recent championship — a 41-24 victory over the favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Vancouver’s B.C. Place on Sunday.

Hours before the rally began, a crowd of diehard fans began to form around the stage. The group sang intermittent “Let’s go Argos” chants together on a cool and mostly grey day in the city.

Many of them donned Argos jerseys, with names like Doug Flutie, Henoc Muamba and McLeod Bethel-Thompson represented among them.

But there were no Nick Arbuckle threads in sight — fitting for a whirlwind season that saw the backup quarterback take over as starter in the Grey Cup, leading to the team to its CFL record-extending 19th title and earning MVP honours in the process.

Toronto spent its first nine games of the season waiting out a suspension to star QB Chad Kelly. It eked out second place in the East by a half-game over the Ottawa Redblacks before beating them in the East semi.

Then, late in the division final against the top-seeded Montreal Alouettes, Kelly went down with injury. The Argos held on to win, but they were viewed as underdogs in the Grey Cup against a Blue Bombers squad making its fifth straight trip to the title game.

That’s when Arbuckle — a player who was investigating coaching opportunities in the off-season — stepped in and threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns against the stout Bombers.

“I’ve tried to make a lot of plans based on things I’ve done in the past and those plans never really seem to work out,” said Arbuckle. “And the plan that did work out, which was God’s plan, ended up being a lot sweeter and a lot greater. I never thought this would have happened, so I’ll just let him to take the reins.”

Arbuckle said his week leading up to the Grey Cup looked like most others, except for a few more first-team reps.

“I always prepare the same exact way for a game, whether you’re the starter or the backup. I always prepare to play every down except for the first one, so this is the only difference — I get to play the first one,” he said.

The CFL journeyman added that he now hopes to keep playing into next season. As a free agent, though, it may not be with Toronto.

Kelly, meanwhile, will still be under contract with the Argos.

The 30-year-old, who two years ago stepped in from the backup role to lead the Argos to a championship, joined his team on stage at the rally on crutches and offered an exuberant speech featuring many proclamations of “best in the world” and more than a few swear words.

“That was awesome to see him here and take part and be such a part of the spirit and direction of our team,” Clemons said.

When Kelly was still healthy nearly two months ago, the Argonauts visited the Lions at B.C. Place — the site of the Grey Cup. Toronto picked up an important victory in that game, but it was another moment during that trip that may live on forever.

Head coach Ryan Dinwiddie taped a toonie in the visitor’s locker room, with the promise of returning to pick it up during the Grey Cup.

“I felt like it was a good message to our players to let them understand we did take that step in B.C. in a tough game. I don’t know when’s the last time we won in B.C. We had to get that done — now we can get it done in a few weeks,” Dinwiddie said.

Dinwiddie said he now has the toonie safely in his house — though there was a scary moment on the flight home from Vancouver in which it slipped out of his pocket and into the depths of his seat.

But the coach, who’s signed with the Argos through 2026, recovered the coin and is planning to immortalize it in a trophy case alongside his Grey Cup ring.

In addition to Clemons, Arbuckle, Kelly and Dinwiddie, Toronto mayor Olivia Chow, MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum, president Keith Pelley and four other players spoke at the rally.

Chow declared Nov. 19 as Double-Blue Day in Toronto.

Pelley, a former Argos president who recently returned to MLSE, said when he spoke to the team ahead of the East final he implored six more hours of good football — and his players delivered.

Veteran receiver DaVaris Daniels, who’s spent the past four seasons with the Argos, was the first player to take the microphone.

Daniels held a bottle of champagne that he sprayed into the crowd as he walked to the lectern. He spoke of the nobody-believes-in-us mentality his team carried throughout Grey Cup week.

“Never underestimate an underdog,” Daniels roared. “You just might get bit.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A combination of severe hurricane damage to Tropicana Field and political delays on financing means it is highly unlikely the Tampa Bay Rays’ planned new stadium will be ready for the 2028 season, if at all, the team said Tuesday.

Rays top executives said in a letter to the Pinellas County Commission that the team has already spent $50 million for early work on the new $1.3 billion ballpark and cannot proceed further because of delays in approval of bonds for the public share of the costs.

“The Rays organization is saddened and stunned by this unfortunate turn of events” said the letter, signed by co-presidents Brian Auld and Matt Silverman, who noted that the overall project was previously approved by the County Commission and the City of St. Petersburg.

“As we have made clear at every step of this process, a 2029 ballpark delivery would result in significantly higher costs that we are not able to absorb alone,” the letter added.

The tumultuous series of events came after Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off Tropicana Field on Oct. 9, forcing the Rays to play the 2025 season at the spring training home of the New York Yankees, 11,000-seat Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Then, the Pinellas County Commission postponed a planned Oct. 29 vote on the bond issue that the Rays said has thrown the new 30,000-seat ballpark timeline off.

The commission was meeting again Tuesday on the bond issue, but its chair suggested a vote could be delayed again.

“We know we’re going to be in Steinbrenner in 2025 and we don’t know much beyond that,” Auld said in an interview.

Asked if Major League Baseball can survive long-term in the Tampa Bay area, Rays Principal Owner Stuart Sternberg said the outlook is “less rosy than it was three weeks ago. We’re going to do all that we can, as we’ve tried for 20 years, to keep the Rays here for generations to come.”

The team’s contract with the city of St. Petersburg requires that the Rays play three more seasons at Tropicana Field assuming it is repaired. The cost of fixing the ballpark in time for the 2026 season is pegged at more than $55 million for a building scheduled to be torn down when the new facility is ready.

Under the original plan, Pinellas County would spend about $312.5 million for the new ballpark and the city of St. Petersburg around $417 million including infrastructure improvements. The Rays and their partner, the Hines development company, would cover the remaining costs including any overruns.

It isn’t just baseball that is affected. The new Rays ballpark is part of a larger urban renovation project known as the Historic Gas Plant District, which refers to a predominantly Black neighborhood that was forced out by construction of Tropicana Field and an interstate highway spur.

The broader $6.5 billion project would transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) tract in the city’s downtown, with plans in the coming years for a Black history museum, affordable housing, a hotel, green space, entertainment venues, and office and retail space. There’s the promise of thousands of jobs as well.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

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