Sports

Borje Salming A trailblazer with an unbreakable spirit who did everything

Published

2 years ago

November 25, 2022

Former Toronto Maple Leaf Borje Salming waves to the crowd during a pregame ceremony in Toronto, on Nov. 11.The Canadian Press

Borje Salming, a man whose hockey career will be remembered for class, courage, skill and toughness, died in Sweden on Thursday at age 71, five months after he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

A trailblazer for fellow Swedes and other European players who followed him into the NHL, Salming was the first Swede inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, in 1996. He played for the Maple Leafs for 16 seasons beginning in 1973 and for the Detroit Red Wings for one year after that.

The greatest defenceman to don a Toronto jersey, he owns a half-dozen team records and was a six-time all-star during his career.

Despite the fact that he had a terminal disease, Salming’s death came as a surprise because he had travelled to Toronto less than two weeks ago ahead of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s annual induction game. He received a standing ovation when he was introduced before the Maple Leafs and Penguins faced off on Nov. 11 and the following evening was the subject of a lengthy emotional pregame tribute at Scotiabank Arena.

Known as The King, Salming was a great Maple Leaf in an era when the team wasn’t very good.JOHN McNEILL/The Globe and Mail

Salming’s dear friend and former teammate, Darryl Sittler, accompanied him onto the ice and helped him raise one hand to recognize the cheers that rained down. Tears flowed in the stands and from Salming’s eyes as well.

“You don’t have a soul if you weren’t moved by that,” Elliotte Friedman, the hockey reporter for Sportsnet and an NHL insider, said Thursday.

On Nov. 14, three Swedes – Daniel Alfredsson and Daniel and Henrik Sedin – were inducted as Salming and his family watched from an adjoining room.

“He loved the Hall of Fame weekend and wanted to be there,” Friedman said. “The Hall of Fame people told him he didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to do but he participated in almost everything. It was very meaningful to him.”

In February, Salming began to experience an unusual twitching in his muscles. In mid-July, he was diagnosed with ALS, a progressive disease of the nervous system. He revealed the diagnosis through the Maple Leafs organization on Aug. 10 and in October said his condition had worsened to where he had lost the ability to speak and relied on a feeding tube.

His death was announced jointly by his family and the Maple Leafs.

“Borje was a pioneer of the game and an icon with an unbreakable spirit and unquestioned toughness,” Brendan Shanahan, the Maple Leafs team president, said in a statement. “He defined himself through his play on the ice and through his contributions to the community.”

Salming was a trailblazer for fellow Swedes and other European players who followed him into the NHL.STF/The Canadian Press

Toronto players were informed of Salming’s death during a team meeting before practice in St. Paul, Minn. The Maple Leafs play the Minnesota Wild on Friday afternoon.

“It is hard to process,” said William Nylander, Toronto’s Canadian-born Swedish right wing. “It really caught me by surprise. We just saw him a few weeks ago. It is very upsetting.”

On the night of Nov. 12, Nylander took part in a ceremonial puck drop with Oliver Ekman-Larsson of the Vancouver Canucks. Salming dropped the puck between them and then Nylander scooped it up and handed it to him and gave him a gentle hug.

That night, the Maple Leafs’ opening lineup was made up six Swedish players for the first time in franchise history.

“It is really sad news,” said Erik Kallgren, a Swede, who was in Toronto’s net against Vancouver. “I am glad the organization had the time to bring him to Toronto and show how much it appreciated him. I feel for his family and everyone close to him.”

Salming signed as a free agent with Toronto in the summer of 1973. Although he had been a star in Sweden’s top league for years before, he was expected to be soft – a prejudice commonly held against players from Europe. He took some beatings in his first year but gave out as much punishment as he received and changed the perception of foreign players.

Maple Leafs great Paul Henderson, who was an 11-year NHL veteran when Salming arrived in Toronto, remembers the then 22-year-old as a physical specimen.

“He had the best body of anybody I’d ever seen,” Henderson said. “He had five-per-cent body fat and I thought, ‘Who is this guy?’

“He did everything well. He was really impressive.”

Salming owns nearly every franchise record for Maple Leafs defencemen.Gary Hershorn/The Canadian Press

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman offered a glowing tribute as well. He called Salming a “towering presence and transformational figure in the league’s history.”

“Borje Salming was as physically and mentally tough as he was skilfully gifted,” Bettman said in a statement. “He blazed the trail that many of the greatest players in NHL history followed while shattering all of the stereotypes about Europeans that had been prevalent in a league populated almost entirely by North Americans before his arrival.”

Salming owns nearly every franchise record for Maple Leafs defencemen – including, goals (148), assists (620) and points (768). He played in 1,229 NHL games, regular season and playoffs included, and had his jersey No. 21 retired and raised to the rafters in 2006.

Known as The King, he was a great Maple Leaf in an era when the team wasn’t very good. My goodness, he was tough. He once had his face opened up by a skate blade and the wound required 300 stitches. His face looked like a streetcar map of downtown Toronto.

Ron MacLean, the sportscaster for CBC best known as the host of Hockey Night in Canada, recalls how infatuated Canadians were with Salming when he landed in the NHL.

“The league was so homogeneous and he was mysterious,” MacLean said. “Everything about him shocked us. His big slap, his elegant skating … not only had he taken up our sport but he had mastered it.”

MacLean will not forget the nights of Nov. 11 and Nov. 12, when Salming went home to Toronto for the last time.

“Those two nights were magical,” MacLean said. “To see the love in his eyes that he gave to his captain, Darryl Sittler, said it all.”

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Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

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AP cricket:

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Sports

Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Sports

Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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