Sports

‘Play La Bamba, baby’: Edmonton erupts as Oilers return to final four – Sportsnet.ca

Published

2 years ago

May 27, 2022

The last time the Edmonton Oilers played in the Western Conference Final, Connor McDavid was all of nine years old, head coach Jay Woodcroft was a first-year video coach with the Detroit Red Wings and goalie Mike Smith was cutting his pro teeth in that noted hockey hotbed of Iowa.

Sixteen years after the Oilers’ most recent trip to the NHL’s final four — which ended with a Game 7 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final — Edmonton is going back to the Western Conference Final after a dramatic 5-4 overtime win in Calgary against the Flames on Thursday.

After years of playoff heartbreak and frustration for fans with the star-studded team unable to do much in the post-season, the win in Game 5 in the Battle of Alberta set off huge celebrations three hours north of the Saddledome.

The hockey community was abuzz on social media after McDavid’s OT winner.

Canadian soccer star Alphonso Davies, who grew up in Edmonton, was celebrating the victory after a rough day for the national program — which saw Canada cancel a friendly against Iran in the aftermath of major political pressure. He engaged in a little trash talk with Calgary’s Sam Adekugbe, a Canadian teammate.

It also was a special day-before-birthday present for young Ben Stelter, the Oilers’ superfan who is battling brain cancer.

The win also was a boost for a city that had negative news headlines earlier in the day when Alberta’s government invoked the province’s Police Act to force Edmonton City Council to come up with a plan in the next two weeks to tackle a spike in crime.

Now, the Oilers become Canada’s last hope to win the country’s first Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens hoisted the trophy in 1993.

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Sports

Receiver Justin Hardy to miss Redblacks’ regular-season finale

Published

11 hours ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – American receiver Justin Hardy will miss the Ottawa Redblacks’ regular-season finale Friday.

Hardy, who leads the CFL in receptions (97) and is second in receiving yards (1,343), was listed off Ottawa’s depth chart Thursday. Hardy was named Wednesday as the Redblacks’ nominee for the league’s outstanding player award.

American Andrew Miller will start in Hardy’s place.

Ottawa (8-7-1) concludes its regular season hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-10). The Redblacks have already clinched third in the East and will visit the Toronto Argonauts (10-7) in the division semifinal Nov. 2.

Hamilton has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Incumbent Dru Brown is listed as Ottawa’s starting quarterback.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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Sports

Bologna-AC Milan soccer match postponed following extensive flooding

Published

11 hours ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — AC Milan’s weekend match at Bologna in Italy’s top soccer league has been postponed, Bologna officials announced Thursday following extensive flooding in the central Italian city.

The Serie A match had been scheduled for Saturday.

Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, large parts of which have been hard hit by torrential rains and bad weather for days.

The game was not immediately rescheduled.

“Following the flood that affected Bologna, intense work is underway to clean up the situation,” the city of Bologna said while announcing the game postponement on X.

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Shapovalov advances to Swiss Indoors quarterfinals with win over Bautista Agut

Published

11 hours ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

BASEL, Switzerland – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.

Shapovalov used a strong service game to overcome the Spanish veteran for the win at the ATP 500 event in just under one hour 40 minutes.

The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 18 aces, including one to set up match point in the second-set tiebreaker, and won 79 per cent of first-serves and 63 per cent of second-serve points.

Shapovalov, a former top-10 player on the ATP Tour, entered this year’s Swiss Indoors ranked 95th and will appear in just his second quarterfinal of the season.

He improved to 3-0 against Bautista Agut, who he beat in July en route to a quarterfinal appearance in Washington.

Shapovalov will next face the winner of a match scheduled for later Thursday between defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal and France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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