National Sports

BEIJING — Canada's defence of its Olympic mixed doubles curling gold medal is looking a lot more promising. The path to repeating as figure skating team champions, however, is on perilously thin ice.

TORONTO — Upon hearing the news, his Toronto Raptors teammates swarmed him pre-game in a mob of unbridled joy. His former teammate DeMar DeRozan, made a point to find him during warm-ups to offer his own congratulations.

Skip Tracy Fleury came out of COVID-19 isolation to throw a last-rock takeout to give her Wild Card 1 team from Manitoba an 8-6 win over Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville Thursday to lock up first place in Pool A at the Scotties Tournament of Hear

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet has been selected as a reserve for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. He was voted in for the first time in his career by a panel of the NBA’s 30 head coaches.

CALGARY — The Calgary Stampeders have locked up another defensive back, re-signing American Branden Dozier.

Montreal police said Thursday they were looking for other possible victims after three coaches linked to a St-Laurent borough high school were charged with various sex crimes.

Alberta heavyweight Tanner (The Bulldozer) Boser returns to action April 23 when he takes on Rodrigo Nascimento on a UFC Fight Night card. Boser (20-8-1) is coming off a second-round KO of Ovince St.

OTTAWA — Swimming Canada said Thursday it won't send a team to compete at this summer's World University Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Games are slated to be held in Chengdu, China, from June 26-July 7.

Four years into his tenure as coach of the men's soccer team, John Herdman is now one win away from taking Canada to the World Cup — ending a 36-year absence from the world showcase.

TORONTO — The Canadian Premier League will kick off its fourth season on April 7 with the championship game scheduled for Oct. 29. Each of the eight teams will play 28 matches — 14 home and 14 away — in a balanced schedule and single-table format.