LOCAL SPORTS
COVID Restrictions in HRM have put many league playoffs on hold, including the U16 league which includes the Cabot Highlanders, and the U18 league, where the Pictou County Weeks Majors and CB West Islanders are still in contention.
Maritime Junior League: Pictou County is scheduled to play the Ramblers in Amherst tonight at 7.
It’s going down to the wire in the Rural League: St. Croix tied the series with a 4-2 victory over Pleasantdale. The Sold-Out Game 7 is tonight at 7 at the Antigonish Arena.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Sean Monahan had a goal and two assists for the Calgary Flames in a 4-2 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 17 saves for the win and is 5-and-1 against the Canadiens this season. Montreal’s lead over Calgary for the final playoff spot in the North is down to six points.
Steven Matz has been a solid acquisition for the Blue Jays. The lefty won his fourth consecutive start, Marcus Semien hit a three-run homer, and Toronto beat the host Tampa Bay Rays 5-3. Matz gave up three runs and five hits over five innings to improve to 4-and-0 after a difficult season last year with the New York Mets. Toronto also got a solo homer from Randal Grichuk.
Jacob deGrom struck out a career-high 15, pitched a two-hitter and boosted the sagging Mets’ offence with a go-ahead double, powering New York over the Washington Nationals 6-0. DeGrom has struck out 43 in his last three starts and 50 overall this season, breaking the major league record for most in a pitcher’s first four starts set just last weekend by Cleveland ace Shane Bieber with 48.
Russell Westbrook had another triple-double in his return to Oklahoma City, and the Washington Wizards beat the Thunder 129-109 for their seventh straight win. Westbrook finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists _ his fourth straight triple-double and his 14th in 16 games.
Kyrie Irving just missed a triple-double despite an awful shooting night, Joe Harris scored 20 points and the Brooklyn Nets regained first place in the Eastern Conference with a 109-104 victory over the Boston Celtics. Irving shot just 4 for 19, missing all six of his 3-pointers. But he scored 15 points and added 11 assists, nine rebounds and four steals as the Nets finished a season sweep of the Celtics.
Steve “Mongo” McMichael _ a star defensive tackle on the Chicago Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl championship team _ says he has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. McMichael told the Chicago Tribune in an article that he is battling the condition, also known as A-L-S. He played in a franchise-record 191 consecutive games from 1981 to 1993 before retiring and becoming a professional wrestler. He was part of the legendary Four Horseman stable while in World Championship Wrestling.
Friday’s Games
NHL
N.Y. Rangers 4 Philadelphia 1
Buffalo 6 Boston 4
Nashville 3 Chicago 1
Calgary 4 Montreal 2
Minnesota 4 Los Angeles 2
NBA
Atlanta 118 Miami 103
Brooklyn 109 Boston 104
Charlotte 108 Cleveland 102
Washington 129 Oklahoma City 109
L.A. Clippers 109 Houston 104
Golden State 118 Denver 97
Memphis 130 Portland 128
MLB
American League
Toronto 5 Tampa Bay 3
Oakland 3 Baltimore 1
Kansas City 6 Detroit 2
N.Y. Yankees 5 Cleveland 3
Boston 6 Seattle 5
Houston 5 L.A. Angels 4 (10 innings)
Chicago White Sox 9 Texas 7
National League
Chicago Cubs 15 Milwaukee 2
N.Y. Mets 6 Washington 0
Atlanta 5 Arizona 4
St. Louis 5 Cincinnati 4
Colorado 5 Philadelphia 4
San Francisco 5 Miami 3
San Diego 6 L.A. Dodgers 1
Interleague
Minnesota 2 Pittsburgh 0
MLS
Orlando City 1 Sporting Kansas City 1
Saturday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NHL
New Jersey at Pittsburgh, 12:30 p.m.
Colorado at St. Louis, 3 p.m.
Carolina at Florida, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Montreal at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
Washington at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at San Jose, 9 p.m.
Vegas at Anaheim, 9 p.m.
Arizona at Los Angeles, 10 p.m.
Ottawa at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
NBA
Toronto at New York, 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Milwaukee, 3:30 p.m.
Detroit at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Miami, 8 p.m.
San Antonio at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Utah, 9 p.m.
Houston at Denver, 10 p.m.
MLB
American League
Kansas City (Singer 0-2) at Detroit (Boyd 2-1), 1:10 p.m.
Seattle (Flexen 1-1) at Boston (Eovaldi 3-1), 1:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Canning 1-1) at Houston (Odorizzi 0-2), 4:10 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Cole 2-1) at Cleveland (Bieber 2-1), 6:10 p.m.
Toronto (Ray 0-1) at Tampa Bay (Yarbrough 1-2), 6:10 p.m.
Oakland (Bassitt 1-2) at Baltimore (TBD), 7:05 p.m.
Texas (Gibson 2-0) at Chicago White Sox (TBD), 7:10 p.m.
National League
Cincinnati (Miley 2-1) at St. Louis (Gant 0-2), 2:15 p.m.
Milwaukee (Peralta 2-0) at Chicago Cubs (Alzolay 0-2), 2:20 p.m.
Washington (Ross 1-1) at N.Y. Mets (Stroman 3-0), 4:05 p.m.
Arizona (Bumgarner 1-2) at Atlanta (Smyly 0-0), 7:20 p.m.
Philadelphia (Nola 1-1) at Colorado (Senzatela 1-3), 8:10 p.m.
Miami (Lopez 0-2) at San Francisco (Gausman 1-0), 9:05 p.m.
San Diego (Snell 0-0) at L.A. Dodgers (Bauer 2-0), 9:10 p.m.
Interleague
Pittsburgh (Cahill 0-2) at Minnesota (Pineda 1-0), 2:10 p.m.
MLS
Cincinnati at New York City FC, 1 p.m.
Montreal at Nashville, 2 p.m.
Vancouver at Toronto FC, 3 p.m.
FC Dallas at San Jose, 3:30 p.m.
Seattle at Los Angeles FC, 6 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Miami at Philadelphia, 8 p.m.
D.C. United at New England, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Atlanta, 8 p.m.
Austin FC at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Houston at Portland, 10:30 p.m.