When will we see the magic of Connor McDavid again?Image: Getty Images
We’re now less than a week away from the start of the NBA season, and yet their roommates/moochers in the NHL still can’t seem to find their way through the door, or even the door itself. It was only a couple days ago that Jan. 13 was looking like more than a theory of a starting date. Now it’s a pretty funny joke, as the league might get booted out of Canada altogether.
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It’s not a huge surprise on one level, considering that the Toronto Blue Jays were exiled to Buffalo for the MLB season (“exiled to Buffalo” comes up a lot in trials at The Hague), and the Raptors are about to embark on the tried and true Canadian tradition of spending the winter in Florida. Yet, the NHL thought it could get away with keeping teams in Canada because they would never leave Canada, as they had planned an All-Canadian division for this shortened and mutated season, which also doubled as every Canadian journalist’s Adam & Eve free gift.
But in order to pull that off, the league had to thread the needle of the different protocols and regulations for the five provinces that those teams inhabit, which takes more than a smile and a mention of Toe Blake.
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It’s one thing to move one team for an entire season, as unfair as that is to the players and staff of it. To do it for seven teams, and to find them all their own locations and housing and whatnot, would seem to be a logistical nightmare, as well as a terrible burden on the individuals involved. On the surface, you’re asking them to move from a country that at least has something of a handle on the pandemic — though hardly under control — to one where a trip to the grocery store is now a political rally and a daredevil act akin to skydiving. It would not be a shock if not everyone’s exactly on board.
Secondly, if that has to happen, it throws the whole plan the NHL had for this season into the trash, as it’ll have to realign everything again, depending on where these teams have to land. That certainly makes the Jan. 13 date a pipe dream.
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And the league can’t even claim to have the U.S. cities set, as the Sharks have the same problem the 49ers do and were planning a training camp in Arizona to get around that.
It’s still the better bet that the league can convince the provinces to let their teams come home again, but the more the talks go on the later this will all start which means the later this will all end. The clock has been clicking on the league for a while, and it’s only getting louder now. If the NHL is set on ending the playoffs before the Olympics, and not shortening the season to a laughable amount, it had better get a move on.
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The Chargers and Raiders sure played some terrible football last night, with the Chargers seeing the Raiders field goal in overtime and raising them a touchdown to win 30-27. The Raiders lost their starting QB Derek Carr on their opening drive when his groin went TWANG! on a rollout. Marcus Mariotta filled in pretty admirably, but few forces can stand up against the Jon Gruden el foldo, which the Raiders are in the midst of. This is their fourth loss in the last five, and their only win in that span was that last-gasp, Jets-being-the-Jets win. They’re now ninth in the conference, and could be two games back of a playoff spot with two games to go depending on how things go the rest of the weekend.
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This is Gruden’s third year with the vagabond Raiders, and at some point photogenic facial expressions don’t stand in for results. This is the NFL, and rebuilds don’t take more than a couple years, or shouldn’t. Thankfully for Gruden, his boss, an escapee from an 80s film as a toddler who inherits a Fortune 500 company, Mark Davis isn’t going to be less enamored with Gruden’s starpower anytime soon. And all the seats will sell out in Vegas when that time comes because well, Vegas.
Such a strange league, where the one team that’s beaten what is clearly the league’s best, the Chiefs (bring it Pittsburgh, you know I’m right) can spend the end of the season lighting its face on fire.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
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.”
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.
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.
