National Sports

TORONTO — The Giovinco sweepstakes are well under way with Toronto FC, which has turned down an offer from a Middle East club for the mercurial Italian, bargaining with its star striker's agent over a new contract.

TORONTO — Bianca Andreescu sat on a couch at Tennis Canada headquarters and looked up at a 2019 Rogers Cup poster on the wall. Her photo was front and centre and her name was in big block letters.

TORONTO — Barely a week before Chris Egi arrived at Harvard for his freshman basketball season, Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. Egi and Brown were both 18. They were both black.

VANCOUVER — Peter Guarasci, a longtime player for Canada's men's basketball team, has been named head coach and general manager of the Fraser Valley Bandits.

Canadian Laurent Duvernay-Tardif leaned this year just how fleeting NFL success can be. In May, the Kansas City Chiefs right guard became the first active NFL player to receive his medical degree when he graduated from McGill University.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps have re-signed midfielder Felipe and attacking midfielder/forward Yordy Reyna. Felipe's contract runs through 2020 with an option for 2021, while Reyna's is for this year with options for 2020 and 2021.

Change and innovation in sport often trickles down from the professional to the recreational level. When it comes to curling and head protection, it may be the reverse.

TORONTO — Denny Lambert remembers plenty about a young Jake Muzzin. There was his size, skill, leadership and an unwavering determination to better himself as a hockey player.

TORONTO — Back-row forward John Moonlight, who scored the first-ever try for the Toronto Arrows in Major League Rugby, has been named to the MLR team of the week.

MONTREAL — Former Montreal Canadiens centre Tomas Plekanec has filed a court action in an effort to recover $200,000 he provided to help finance a movie starring his wife.