Sports

Nylander sparkles in Global Series win as Maple Leafs celebrate ties to Sweden

Published

12 months ago

November 18, 2023

Keefe said management had talked to Sundin about doing it during a staff dinner Thursday.

“We thought it was a good idea to let him have that moment,” Keefe said. “And we thought it would be impactful as well with our group and our franchise’s connection with Sweden. It’s a very strong one.

“I thought it was a very fitting thing and an obvious thing for us to do.”

This was no ordinary lineup, either.

Realizing the significance of the occasion, Keefe had three Swedes in the starting lineup: Nylander, forward Calle Jarnkrok and defenseman William Lagesson. Also on the ice was forward Max Domi, who’s known Sundin since his dad, Tie, and Mats were teammates with the Maple Leafs in the late 1990s.

Max to this day considers Sundin his idol. Keefe understood that, and wanted Domi to know that too.

After the national anthems were complete, Nylander and a fellow Swede, Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond, took part in the ceremonial face-off. The puck was dropped by Anders Salming, Borje’s son.

The Swedish theme to the max.

Once the game started, the Red Wings broke open a tight game with second-period goals to go up 2-0. One of those came via Raymond, causing the crowd to celebrate the exploits of one of their native sons.

Then the third period arrived, and Nylander took over.

He delivered a perfect cross-crease pass to Tyler Bertuzzi, who directed the puck past Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon to cut the Detroit lead to 2-1 at 3:50.

Nylander tied the game on the power play at 13:03 with his 13th goal of the season, a snap shot from the slot that found the top corner.

Then came the Tavares heroics to put the Maple Leafs up 3-2. And yes, Nylander could have sealed the deal by scoring into the empty net after the Red Wings had pulled Lyon, but in the end, it wasn’t needed.

Afterward, Tavares noted that Nylander had put himself “among the game’s elites.”

The crowd couldn’t have agreed more.

Indeed, as the fans rose out of their seats after the final horn, Nylander was presented the player-of-the-game award by Anders Salming. The perfect ending to an almost perfect night.

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Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

19 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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AP sports:

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Sports

Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

19 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Sports

Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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