LOCAL SPORTS
The third round of the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour saw Cole Butcher picked up his second win of the season at the Irving Oil 150 Saturday night at Petty International Raceway. Ashton Tucker of Miramichi, NB was hot on Butcher’s heels in the latter part of the race but finished second. Craig Slaunwhite was third, and has been on the podium at each race so far this season. Jarrett Butcher and Cory Hall were fourth and fifth respectively after battling hard for the final laps.
The Maritime League of Legends ran a 50 -lap feature prior to the main event. Pictou’s Austin MacDonald was first, followed by Craig MacDonald and Brad Eddy.
Next on the tour is a rare double header weekend at Scotia Speedworld on August 14th and 15th. Saturday fans will be treated to the Cummins 150, followed on Sunday by the Nova Truck Centres 150.
TOKYO GAMES
Penny Oleksiak has made history, anchoring Canada to a bronze medal in the medley relay. The 21-year-old from Toronto touched in three minutes, 52.60 seconds to set a Canadian record. Australia finished first with an Olympic-record 3:51.60 and the U-S took silver. The bronze marked Oleksiak’s seventh medal, making her the most-decorated Olympian in Canadian history.
Canadian wrestler Erica Wiebe lost her opening bout and was eliminated from the women’s 76-kilogram competition. Wiebe dropped a 5-4 decision to Estonia’s Epp Maee in a round-of-16 matchup. It was a surprising early exit for the defending Olympic champion.
Not the result Jennifer Abel wanted in the women’s three-metre springboard final. The diver from Laval, Quebec, finished eighth. It was her lowest finish at the event in an Olympics since Beijing in 2008. Divers from China won gold and silver while an American took bronze.
A disappointing day on the water for Canada’s Sarah Douglas. The Toronto sailor finished sixth in the women’s laser radial final. It’s an all-time best finish for a Canadian in the event at the Olympics.
Canada has been pushed to the brink in women’s basketball. Spain cruised to a 76-66 victory over the Canadians in the round-robin finale for both countries. Kia Nurse had 14 points for Canada, which came out flat in both the first and third quarters. Spain topped Group A.
Simone Biles will not defend her Olympic gold medal on floor exercise. The six-time Olympic medallist won gold in the event in Rio de Janeiro and placed second in qualifying, but hasn’t competed since pulling out of the team event last weekend. U-S-A Gymnastics says she has not decided whether to participate in Tuesday’s balance beam final.
NATIONAL SPORTS
The Vancouver Whitecaps have snatched a last-minute draw against Minnesota United. Cristian Dajome put away a penalty kick in injury time to make it 2-2. The Colombian striker also scored Vancouver’s first of the night in the 36th minute.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be away from the team while it continues its series against the Yankees. The 60-year-old Mattingly experienced mild symptoms when he arrived at the park for the game. The former Yankees star was vaccinated in mid-April. The team says Mattingly’s case is isolated.
Canadian Joey Votto came oh-so-close to matching the major league record with a home run in eight consecutive games as his Cincinnati Reds dropped a 5-4 decision to the Mets in 10 innings last night. Votto, riding a seven-game homer streak, laced a line drive that hit the orange padding atop the right-field wall in the eighth and bounced back into play. A foot higher and the Toronto native would have joined Dale Long, Don Mattingly and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players to homer in eight straight games.
Saturday’s Scoreboard
MLB
American League
Toronto 4 Kansas City 0
L.A. Angels 1 Oakland 0
Baltimore 5 Detroit 2
Tampa Bay 9 Boston 5
Texas 5 Seattle 4 (10 innings)
Cleveland 12 Chicago White Sox 11
National League
Pittsburgh 3 Philadelphia 2
Chicago Cubs 6 Washington 3
N.Y. Mets 5 Cincinnati 4 (10 innings)
Atlanta 8 Milwaukee 1
L.A. Dodgers 8 Arizona 3
Colorado 5 San Diego 3
Interleague
San Francisco 8 Houston 6
N.Y. Yankees 4 Miami 2
Minnesota 8 St. Louis 1
MLS
San Jose 1 Seattle 0
New England 3 New York 2
D.C. United 0 Cincinnati 0
Miami 2 CF Montreal 1
FC Dallas 2 Sporting Kansas City 1
Real Salt Lake 0 Houston 0
Colorado 1 Austin FC 0
Minnesota 2 Vancouver 2
Sunday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
MLB
American League
Kansas City (Keller 7-9) at Toronto (TBD), 1:07 p.m.
Baltimore (Watkins 2-1) at Detroit (Alexander 1-1), 1:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Quantrill 2-2) at Chicago White Sox (TBD), 2:10 p.m.
Seattle (TBD) at Texas (Foltynewicz 2-10), 2:35 p.m.
Oakland (Jefferies 0-0) at L.A. Angels (Detmers 0-0), 4:07 p.m.
Boston (Pivetta 8-4) at Tampa Bay (McClanahan 4-4), 7:08 p.m.
National League
Chicago Cubs (Alzolay 4-11) at Washington (Fedde 4-7), 1:05 p.m.
Philadelphia (Gibson 6-3) at Pittsburgh (TBD), 1:05 p.m.
Cincinnati (Gutierrez 5-3) at N.Y. Mets (Stroman 7-9), 1:10 p.m.
Milwaukee (Anderson 3-5) at Atlanta (Morton 10-3), 1:20 p.m.
Colorado (Gomber 8-5) at San Diego (TBD), 4:10 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Urias 12-3) at Arizona (Smith 3-7), 4:10 p.m.
Interleague
N.Y. Yankees (Montgomery 4-5) at Miami (TBD), 1:10 p.m.
Minnesota (Pineda 4-5) at St. Louis (Wainwright 8-6), 2:15 p.m.
Houston (Garcia 7-5) at San Francisco (Webb 4-3), 4:05 p.m.
MLS
Chicago at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
Nashville at Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m.