Sports

PGA Tour plays on without fans – TSN

Published

5 years ago

March 13, 2020

Just 10 hours after saying it would finish the Players Championship without fans, the PGA Tour changed its mind and decided to cancel its flagship event.

It also added the Valspar Championship, the World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play and the Valero Texas Open events to the cancellation list. That means the tour will have a month off with the next event on the schedule being The Masters.

The abrupt change came after the tour said it gained more information about the rapidly expanding coronavirus pandemic. It also came after a number of golfers questioned the decision to carry one, and following the LPGA’s postponement of three events including the ANA Championship, one of its majors.

With the pressure adding up, the tour pulled the plug.

“It is with regret that we are announcing the cancellation of the Players Championship,” said the tour in its statement on Thursday night. “We have also decided to cancel all PGA Tour events – across all of our tours – in the coming weeks, through the Valero Texas Open.”

The tour first notified all its players via a text message and then sent out a release to the media. It will hold a press conference at 8 a.m Friday morning.

Rory McIlroy, the top-ranked player in the world, was one of those somewhat unsure about continuing to play, saying testing was probably necessary.

“I think for us to keep playing on Tour, we, all the Tour players, and people that are involved need to get tested and make sure that no one’s got it,” said McIlroy, “because obviously everyone knows you can have it and not have symptoms and pass it on to someone that’s more susceptible to getting very ill from it.”

Other players were putting trust in the guidance of the Tour.

“I’ve taken the attitude from the very beginning that if we’re playing, we’re playing,” said Adam Hadwin. “If there’s a golf tournament on, I’ll go play.”

There has been no official word from Augusta National Golf Club, which runs the Masters, on what its plans are. One source said that the tournament would still be held but likely without any fans.

It was expected the club might make a statement early next week on how it intends to proceed.

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Canada to face three-time champion Germany in Davis Cup quarterfinals

Published

13 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Canadian men climb two places to No. 38 in latest FIFA world rankings

Published

15 mins ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

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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Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024

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Brian White scores second-half goal, earns Whitecaps 1-1 draw with Dynamo

Published

10 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Anne Joseph

HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.

Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.

Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.

Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.

Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.

Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.

Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.

The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.

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