On Monday, Milos Raonic defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in his first competitive match for almost two years at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. It was an emotional moment for the former World No. 3, who later admitted he had all but given up hope on competing again after a string of injuries that began with an achilles problem in July 2021.
“Many times I didn’t even want to bother trying, because I was so far away from it,” said Raonic in his post-match press conference. “There were moments when I said, ‘I’m done’. At the end of 2021, I had no intention to play again, [I thought] ‘I’m going to figure out my life’, shortly after I got married.
“One thing I did learn, which is a nice lesson, is life will be OK after tennis, which is kind of a fear because you put so much time into one thing and a singular skill. You don’t ever put the time into it thinking you want to dedicate your whole life to it… It just becomes your life. Then trying to figure out what you want to dedicate your life to after tennis, that’s kind of a hard thing… I got on OK with that.
“Once I started feeling a little bit better, I wanted to play tennis just to stay in shape. I started playing golf five hours a day. It really was not for me. I still enjoy it and I love it, but I’m not very good at not being good at something, and accepting that, so I’m happy to be on court again.”
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That certainly seemed to be the case on Monday, when the 32-year-old Raonic dispatched fifth seed Kecmanovic to reach the second round on debut in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Despite his apparently calm demeanour throughout the match, the Canadian admitted to being anything but on the inside.
“It was very stressful at times,” said Raonic of his win. “I’ve played after injuries many times, when I‘ve missed three or four months, even I think after six months when I had my hip surgery when I was much younger, but two years is a whole different thing.
“Two years is a lot more turmoil in that sense, and just really stepping away from tennis at the end of 2021, and not really picking up a racquet for pretty much a full year, without hitting a single ball. To want to come back took a lot, and to want to make the most of it.
“I didn’t just want to come back and to be a player that I wouldn’t be proud of, so it took a lot of energy for me to put in. I’m happy I got to here and am very grateful that I can play.”
Raonic’s triumph against Kecmanovic was his 50th tour-level win on grass, a surface the Canadian’s big-serving, aggressive game has always suited. Due to continued uncertainty surrounding his fitness, the 32-year-old is not sure how long his comeback will last but said his decision to return on grass was fuelled by a couple of short-term goals.
“It was very intentional [to come back on grass]. Wimbledon means the most to me, and I haven’t played it since 2019,” said Raonic, who reached the final at SW19 in 2016. “I’ll play it one more time. I don’t know what will happen after that, but I’ll play it one more time. It’s also Toronto this year. I grew up 10 minutes from the stadium, that’s another one that’s important to me. I like the idea that I’ll play those at least one more time.”
The tale of eight-time ATP Tour titlist Raonic’s long-term absence from the Tour is one of continued misfortune. Even now he has returned to action, the Canadian faces a constant battle to manage his body and prepare it for the rigours of Tour.
“The thing that flares up is the achilles,” explained Raonic. “In July 2021 I learned I had swelling in my achilles, and when the swelling went away, I learnt I had tears in my achilles. I didn’t want to have surgery. It would have healed me quicker, but I didn’t know how I would turn out after that, so I wanted to go the longer way of dealing with through rest and rehab. It wasn’t a rupture, just four or five small tears.
“Once that started feeling better, I just had a stint of bad luck. I broke my toe two days after my wedding. I went to try and do some rehab exercises, a weight fell on my foot and all of a sudden I can’t wear shoes for two months… Then I tore a calf, then I got COVID for the first time. Each of these things, I could have dealt with if I was in the momentum of playing and something to rush back for… But with how everything went, I decided to be a little bit conservative with each step.”
His experiences make Raonic reluctant to commit to any long-term goals on his return to Tour, but he is willing to put in the hard yards if it allows him to express himself the way he wants to on court.
“I have to be quick, and I have to be able to be aggressive,” said Raonic. “If I can’t do those things, I can’t play tennis the way I think is best for me and can’t achieve the things I want to achieve. Those kinds of things require a certain level of physical preparedness. Now I can do it, but I don’t know how it will be in two days, I don’t know how it will be in two weeks.
“Everything is one by one, but I know that even if I have a bunch of pain come my next match, I will step on court one more time to play Wimbledon and I will step on court one more time to play Toronto… Somebody would have to tell me that I’m risking a lot more than just an athletic future for me not to play those two events one more time.”
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
MacKenzie Weegar wasn’t bitter or upset as he watched friends live out their dreams.
The Calgary Flames defenceman just hopes to experience the same feeling one day. He also knows the road leading to that moment, if it does arrive, will likely be long and winding — much like his own path.
A seventh-round pick by the Florida Panthers at the 2013 NHL draft, Weegar climbed the ranks to become an important piece of a roster that captured the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top regular-season club in 2021-22.
Two months later following a second-round playoff exit, he was traded to the Flames along with Jonathan Huberdeau for Matthew Tkachuk. And less than two years after that, the Panthers were hoisting the Stanley Cup.
“Happy for the city and for the team,” Weegar said of Florida’s June victory over the Edmonton Oilers. “There was no bad taste in my mouth.”
His sole focus, he insists, is squarely on eventually getting the Flames to the same spot. The landscape, however, has changed drastically since Weegar committed to Calgary on an eight-year, US$50-million contract extension in October 2022.
Weegar has watched a list that includes goaltender Jacob Markstrom, defencemen Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin and Nikita Zadorov and forwards Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane shipped out of town since the start of last season — largely for picks, prospects and young players as part of a rebuild.
Despite that exodus, he remains committed to the Calgary project steered by general manager Craig Conroy.
“It’s easy to get out of all whack when you see guys trying to leave or wanting new contracts,” the 30-year-old from Ottawa said at last week’s NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas. “I just focus on where I am and where I want to be, and that’s Calgary.
“I believe in this team. The city has taken me in right away. I feel like I owe it to them to stick around and grind through these years and get a Stanley Cup.”
The hard-nosed blueliner certainly knows what it is to grind.
After winning the Memorial Cup alongside Nathan MacKinnon with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2013, Weegar toiled in the ECHL and American Hockey League for three seasons before making his NHL debut late in the 2016-17 campaign with the Panthers.
He would spend the next five years in South Florida as one of the players tasked with shifting an organizational culture that had experienced little success over the previous two decades.
“There’s always going to be a piece of my heart and loyalty to that team,” Weegar said. “But now I’m in a different situation … I compete against all 32 teams, not just Florida. There’s always a chip on my shoulder every single year.”
Weegar set career highs with 20 goals — eight was the most he had ever previously registered — and 52 points in 2023-24 as part of a breakout offensive performance.
“I think my buddies cared a lot more than I did,” he said with a smile. “All I hear is, ‘fantasy, fantasy, fantasy.'”
Weegar was actually more proud of his 200 blocked shots and 194 hits as he looks to help set a new Flames’ standard alongside Huberdeau, captain Mikael Backlund, Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman and Rasmus Andersson for a franchise expected to have its new arena in time for the 2027-28 season.
“You have to build that culture and that belief in the locker room,” said Weegar, who pointed to 22-year-old centre Connor Zary as a player set to pop. “Those young guys are going to have to come into their own and be consistent every night … they’re the next generation.”
Weegar, however, isn’t punting on 2024-25. He pointed to the NHL’s parity and the fact a couple of teams surprise every season.
It’s the same approach that took him from the ECHL a decade ago to hockey’s premier pre-season event inside a swanky hotel on Sin City’s famed strip, where he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the game’s best.
“From the outside — media and even friends and family — the expectations are probably a bit lower,” Weegar said of Calgary’s outlook. “But there’s no reason to think that we can’t make playoffs and we can’t be a good team (with) that underdog mentality.
“You never know.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept 17, 2024.
Jose Maria Celestino da Costa was named vice-president and head of soccer operations while Marianne Brooks was appointed vice-president of partnerships, Kelly Shouldice as vice-president of brand and content and Joyce Sou as vice-president of finance and business operations.
The new six-team women’s pro league is set to kick off in April.
“Their unique expertise and leadership are crucial as we lay the foundation for not just a successful league in Canada, but one that stands among the top sports leagues in the world,” NSL president Christina Litz said in a statement. “By investing in top-tier talent and infrastructure, the Northern Super League is committed to creating a league that will elevate the game and set new standards for women’s professional soccer globally.”
Da Costa will oversee all on-field matters, including officiating. His resume includes stints with Estoril Praia, a men’s first-division team in Portugal, and the Portuguese Soccer Federation, where he helped develop the Portuguese women’s league.
Brooks spent a decade with Canucks Sports & Entertainment, working in “partnership sales and retention efforts” for the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Warriors, and Rogers Arena. Most recently, she served as senior director of account management at StellarAlgo, a software company that helps pro sports teams connect with their fans
Shouldice has worked for Corus Entertainment, the Canadian Football League, and most recently as vice-president of Content and Communications at True North Sports & Entertainment, where she managed original content as well as business and hockey communications.
Sou, who was involved in the league’s initial launch, will oversee financial planning, analysis and the league’s expansion strategy in her new role.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
