Before you read this love letter to hockey, let’s make something clear: the National Hockey League absolutely did the right thing Thursday “pausing” its season in the face of one of the greatest threats of our lifetime.
The coronavirus looks like a tsunami barrelling towards us. You can’t really tell with waves how large they are until they are pushed up by the seabed near shore and break. But COVID-19 looks like a monster. And seeing it coming and growing bigger by the day, it would be incomprehensibly dangerous and stupid to simply stand on the beach and hope the water doesn’t come over your head and sweep you away.
Hockey is a game. The coronavirus has already killed more than 5,000 people around the world.
The NHL is doing the sensible thing, the safest thing it can do. But even as the brain registers this, the heart aches for the game. Our game.
For most Canadians, hockey has provided many of the mile-markers in our lives. If you’re old enough, of course you remember Paul Henderson, possibly in black-and-white, from 1972, then Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux in 1987, Salt Lake City in 2002 and Sidney Crosby in Vancouver in 2010. And that’s just Team Canada.
Everyone in NHL cities has a few hockey bookmarks.
For fans of the Vancouver Canucks, they include the three failed runs to the Stanley Cup final, Pavel Bure’s arrival in 1991, Trevor Linden’s departure and return as a player. Many Calgary Flames fans remember the two Cup finals against the Montreal Canadiens, especially the win in 1989, and Edmonton Oilers fans have the dynasty, Steve Smith’s own goal, the Gretzky trade, the run out of nowhere to another final in 2006, and the arrival of Connor McDavid in 2015. And in Winnipeg there was the Jets’ departure for Phoenix in 1996, their glorious return from Atlanta in 2011, Teemu Selanne and Patrik Laine as rookies.
In many NHL cities it is like this, but in Canada it is always this way. We stop to watch, and we remember.
The game has never been better, even if the last eight years could have scarcely been worse on the ice for Canada’s seven teams, which haven’t made a Stanley Cup final since the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in 2011.
In eight tournaments since then, Canadian teams have won a total of 10 playoff rounds, and only four years ago qualified no one for the post-season.
But then there is this season. Thursday’s announcement interrupted a playoff race for the ages out West, where the Canucks, Flames, Oilers and Jets are all in the mix.
And none of their stories have been dull or predictable. Rebuilt around Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, the Canucks are a thrill-ride to watch, and challenging for a playoff spot ahead of schedule. The Oilers have merely two of the best players in the game in McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and have come farther than anyone thought in the first season under coach Dave Tippett and general manager Ken Holland. The Flames have persevered through a coaching scandal and change and, in February, the absence of Norris Trophy winner Mark Giordano. And then there are the Jets, who found themselves without an NHL defence when the season began but somehow have been pushed back into playoff position by goalie Connor Hellebuyck and a band of elite forwards.
Due to proximity on the map and in the standings, Western Canada’s teams – and not just the two separated by a stretch of Alberta prairie — are again fierce rivals, unified only by the zeal of their fans and the enjoyment over the Toronto Maple Leafs’ ongoing scuffle.
The NHL has been riveting this season, again the best reality show going.
Hopefully, the show will resume in a couple or a few weeks. The NHL’s optimism was evident in its choice of words on Thursday. We all hope this is a pause, but there is no way to know for sure because we have never seen times like these.
This peculiar game – men in stockings, playing on ice and moving faster on their skates than any humans not powered by a motor or gravity – has so often lifted and thrilled us, and pulled our vast country together as it pulled fans to arenas and viewers to televisions.
Hockey does more than just entertain us. Major professional sports have always been a kind of fantasy world, a diversion or escapism, where we’re all welcome and provided a rooftop from which to bellow without shame in either great joy or frustration. At its best, they give us hope. Hockey in Canada is the exciting promise about the best of what is possible.
With that terrifying tsunami looming, we could sure use some of that hope now.
LONDON – Canada will meet three-time champion Germany in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain this November.
Canada secured a berth in the quarterfinals — also called The Final 8 Knockout Stage — with a 2-1 win over Britain last weekend in Manchester, England.
World No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal anchored a five-player squad that included Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.
The eight-team draw for the quarterfinals was completed Thursday at International Tennis Federation headquarters.
Defending champion Italy will play Argentina, the United States will meet Australia and Spain will take on the Netherlands. Schedule specifics have yet to be released but the Final 8 will be played Nov. 19-24.
Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz were unbeaten in doubles play last week to help Germany reach the quarterfinals. The country’s top singles player — second-ranked Alex Zverev — did not play.
The Canadians defeated Germany in the quarterfinals en route to their lone Davis Cup title in 2022. Germany won titles in 1988, ’89 and ’93.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Canada, fuelled by a 2-1 win over the U.S. and scoreless draw with Mexico, has jumped two places to No. 38 in the FIFA men’s world rankings released Thursday.
Of the top six CONCACAF teams, Canada was the only one to move up. Mexico was unchanged at No. 17 while the U.S. and Panama each fell two rungs to No. 18 and 37, respectively
Costa Rica slipped one spot to No. 50 and Jamaica two places to No. 61.
It marks Canada’s highest ranking under coach Jesse Marsch, who was hired in mid-May when the Canadians were ranked 50th. Since then, the team has climbed to No. 49, 48, 40 and now 38.
Canada has been as high as No. 33 in the men’s ranking, achieved in February 2022 under John Herdman with Canada, named the “Most Improved Side” in 2021 by FIFA, turning heads with an unbeaten run in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
The new rankings encompass 184 internationals involving teams from all six confederations including 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Oceania and South America.
The top 10 was unchanged with Argentina ahead of France, Spain, England, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Colombia and Italy. But the gap at the top is closing with Argentina losing 2-1 away to Colombia and 3-1 at home to Italy.
Teams 10 through 15 were also unchanged. But there was movement after that in the form of Japan (, up two), Iran (No. 19, up one) and Denmark (No. 20, up one). Egypt (No. 31), Ivory Coast (No. 33), Tunisia (No. 36) and Algeria (No. 41) all jumped five places while Greece (No. 48) climbed six spots.
The biggest movers were Brunei Darussalam (No. 183) and Samoa (No. 185), who vaulted seven spots on the back of two wins apiece.
Qatar suffered the biggest drop, tumbling 10 places to No. 44.
San Marino remains at the bottom of the rankings in 210th place despite recording its first victory in more than 20 years, San Marino defeated Liechtenstein 1-0 on Sept. 5, ending a 140-game winless run since a 1-0 decision over the same opponent in April 2004.
Liechtenstein fell four places to No. 203.
Canada’s next match is an Oct. 15 friendly against Panama at Toronto’s BMO Field. The next men’s ranking will be released Oct. 24.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024
It has been a difficult start to the NFL season for quarterback Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina has dropped its opening two games after Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. And Young, the first player taken in the ’23 NFL draft, was 18-of-26 passing for 84 yards with an interception while being sacked twice.
As a result, veteran Andy Dalton will start Sunday when Carolina faces the Las Vegas Raiders (1-1).
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., the Chargers’ win was the most accurately predicted moneyline selection by Proline bettors. A whopping 92 per cent of wagers were on Los Angeles beating Carolina with 92 per cent also picking the Chargers to cover -4.5.
In other action that went in favour of Proline bettors: Kansas City edged Cincinnati 26-25 (86 per cent correctly selected the Chiefs to win); Houston got past Chicago 19-13 (81 per cent); the New York Jets defeated Tennessee 24-17 (78 per cent); Pittsburgh beat Denver 13-6 (76 per cent), Washington beat the New York Giants 21-18 (73 per cent); and Seattle toppled New England 23-20 (62 per cent).
However, only five per cent of bettors had the Raiders upsetting Baltimore 26-23.
And there was one winner of Proline’s second week main NFL pool of $407,613.
In NFL futures bets after the second week of the season, the odds for offensive player of the year got shorter for running backs Breece Hall (Jets) and Bijan Robinson (Atlanta) and Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. But they got longer for running backs Kyren Williams (Rams), Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco) and Jonathan Taylor (Colts).
Quarterbacks Bo Nix (Denver), Jayden Daniels (Washington) and Caleb Williams (Chicago) all had their odds for offensive rookie of the year go up while they went down for running back Ray Davis (Buffalo), tight end Brock Bowers (Raiders) and receiver Malik Nabers (Giants).
Quarterbacks Patrick Mahones (Chiefs), Aaron Rodgers (Jets) and Jalen Hurts (Eagles) all had their odds for regular season MVP go up. But quarterbacks Jordan Love (Packers), Lamar Jackson (Baltimore) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati) all saw theirs go down.
Kansas City, Philadelphia and Houston had their Super Bowl odds increase while Green Bay, Baltimore and Cincinnati all decreased.
Not surprising, the week’s top events were all NFL games. In order, they were; Buffalo-Miami, Chicago-Houston, Cincinnati-KC, Raiders-Ravens; and Saints-Cowboys.
A Proline retail player cashed in a $26,183 winner from a $10 bet on a 12-leg major-league baseball parlay. Another won $24,602 from a $10 wager on a 12-leg NFL parlay.
A third received $1,737 from a $3 bet on a six-leg NFL parlay.
A digital bettor earned $2,927 from a $25 bet on a five-leg NFL parlay while a second had a $704.35 return from a $1 wager on a seven-leg NFL parlay.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
