Sports

Toronto Raptors open unusual season with uncharacteristic loss – TSN

Published

4 years ago

December 24, 2020

TORONTO – At one point, it looked like the Raptors might bring some much-needed normalcy to a predictably bizarre night around the NBA.

Even with the unfamiliar surroundings of Tampa’s Amalie Arena – the team’s temporary residence, some 2,100 kilometres away from the friendly confines of Scotiabank Arena – serving as the backdrop, Toronto’s season opener began as most of its home games do.

The recognizable voices of Herbie Kuhn and Mark Strong – the club’s long-time public address announcers – introduced the starters, while Kyle Lowry led his teammates through their regular, and still delightful, exercise-themed intro routine.

The team’s performance provided comfort, as well, at least early on. Pascal Siakam looked like the pre-pandemic, All-Star version of himself. Lowry was in mid-season form, hitting four of his six three-point attempts in the first half, and doing all the little things you’ve come to expect from the 15-year vet.

Even in uncertain times, you can count on Lowry drawing a charge or two each night, and he didn’t disappoint – getting in front of Pelicans guard Josh Hart early in the second quarter, setting his feet, and absorbing the contact, like we’ve seen him do so many times before.

The bench came in, gave the team a lift and a double-digit lead, and Toronto went into the halftime break with a seven-point cushion.

It looked as if the Raptors we’ve come to know were back. Then, like just about everything else in 2020, things went off the rails. They shot an abysmal 3-for-22 from long range over the final 24 minutes, while New Orleans went 11-for-20. They committed 21 turnovers, many of them a result of some “early-season misgivings”, as head coach Nick Nurse put it afterwards. Their lead evaporated, and while it’s not entirely unusual to see them give up a lead, they rarely surrender as quickly as or as easily as they did on Wednesday. This time there was no late-game run, no comeback bid.

It was the first time they dropped their season opener since 2012 and the first time they fell below .500 since they were 16-17 on January 7, 2014 – the year that launched this current era of Raptors basketball.

“It got tough for us,” said Norman Powell, who scored 12 points off the bench but shot just 2-of-11 in his team’s 113-99 loss to the Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram-led Pelicans. “They were aggressive and were able to hit shots. Our defence was kind of lax, and our offence wasn’t really there to carry us. We missed a lot of open shots. I missed a lot of open shots.”

Any semblance of normalcy will be hard to come by this season, as Powell and the Raptors – as well as the rest of the league’s teams – were reminded before most clubs even kicked off the new campaign.

Powell spent the past few days going through the league’s COVID-19 protocols after somebody in his inner circle returned an inconclusive test. He wasn’t cleared to play until Wednesday afternoon, roughly two hours prior to game time, having been forced to miss a couple of practices in the days leading up to it.

“I did everything right in terms of following the protocol, making sure that I was good, I was safe, people around me were safe, but still, you can get caught up in inconclusive tests and whatnot,” said the 27-year-old guard. “It was kind of frustrating, you know, to sit out the important days leading up to the game. Just being at home, hoping, wishing, praying that you get cleared [in time] to be able to get a workout in before [the game]. It was tough.”

It’s also the reality that the league and its teams face as they try to get through the season as smoothly – and as safely – as possible, given the circumstances. Nobody said basketball in a global pandemic would be easy, especially with teams travelling around the United States and attempting to squeeze 72 games, and the playoffs, into a condensed seven-month window.

Other sports have pulled off variations of this undertaking, to varying degrees of success, but the NBA will have to overcome some unique challenges along the way. Basketball rosters are smaller than baseball or football clubs, meaning that a few positive cases are more likely to disrupt a team’s season. And, given the nature of the schedule, it’ll be far more difficult to postpone games than it has been for the NFL, where they only play once a week.

It didn’t take long for the virus to make its presence felt on the 2020-21 campaign. Earlier on Wednesday, the league was forced to call off a game between Houston and Oklahoma City because the Rockets didn’t have enough available players. Three Rockets players returned tests that were either positive or inclusive and four others were considered close contacts and had to be quarantined.

To make matters worse, James Harden – the disgruntled superstar who has taken his protest to another disturbing level – was deemed unavailable and subsequently fined $50,000 for violating the NBA’s health and safety protocols by attending a private indoor party earlier in the week.

It may have been the first postponement of the season – on its second day, no less – but it almost certainly won’t be the last.

“I mean this is 2020,” said Siakam, one of the Raptors’ bright spots on Wednesday, with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists in the opener. “I feel like we kind of got warned a bit. I kind of knew that there were going to be some games that were going to be postponed, and we’ve just got to get used to it… We’ve got to focus on us and continue to be pros and go out there and be ready to play. If a game is postponed or whatever the case might be, it is what it is.”

From a basketball standpoint, the Raptors should be fine. Although their ability – or lack thereof, on occasion – to generate offence in the half court remains an issue, you can probably chalk the Game 1 loss up to cold shooting and some early-season rust.

The real concern supersedes anything that took place on the court Wednesday. It’s the new normal – positive and inconclusive tests, postponed games, and what it could all mean for the viability of this season.

“Things like this are going to happen throughout the season,” Powell said. “You’ve just got to stay disciplined and continue to follow the protocol to keep the people around you, and the team, and your loved ones, safe. I’m going to continue to do so, and hopefully this won’t happen again.”

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Sports

Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

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.

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AP cricket:

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Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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