National Sports

Gary Bettman had just returned home when he got a call telling him to turn on his TV.

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 3-for-3 with four runs batted in and starter Tanner Roark pitched three scoreless innings as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 10-6 in pre-season action on Thursday.

After recording a highlight-reel finish last time out, Canadian light-heavyweight Misha Cirkunov has had to wait 18 months to step back into the UFC spotlight. Injuries and the pandemic delayed his progress.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Canada's Corey Conners is tied for second after the morning wave of the first round of the Players Championship. Conners, from Listowel, Ont., shot a 4-under 68 today.

TORONTO — A Canadian Championship that had been delayed, revamped and ultimately stripped down to its bare essentials was finally put on hold Thursday with Toronto FC given a bye into the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League.

DOHA, Qatar — Canada's Denis Shapovalov lost 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 to American Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open on Thursday. The fourth-seeded Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont.

CALGARY — The men curling in the Canadian championship don't much care there's a small, silver box processing their nasal and throat swabs in a matter of hours, but the result it produces matters deeply to them.

GENEVA — China strengthened its relationship with the International Olympic Committee on Thursday by offering to pay for vaccines for athletes as criticism of the 2022 Winter Games host country continues.

FLORENCE, Italy — Canadian Janine Beckie and Manchester City advanced to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Women's Champions League with a 5-0 win Thursday at Fiorentina.

VANCOUVER — Montreal Canadiens centre Phillip Danault breathed a giant sigh of relief Wednesday. Twenty-five games into the season, he finally scored his first goal of the year.