TOKYO GAMES
Another Olympic bronze for Team Canada. Katie Vincent and Laurence Vincent-Lapointe finished third in the women’s doubles 500-metre canoe spring, crossing the line in one minute, 59.041 seconds. The third-place finish gives Canada 23 medals at the Tokyo Olympics, its most ever in a non-boycotted Summer Games.
It’s a four-peat for the U-S Olympic men’s basketball team. Kevin Durant scored 29 points and the Americans took the gold medal by defeating France 87-82. France downed the Americans in the opening game of the Tokyo Olympics. Durant joins Carmelo Anthony as the only men’s basketball players with three gold medals.
Brooke Henderson finished the women’s golf tournament on a high note. The 23-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ontario, shot a 4-under 67 in the fourth and final round to finish the tournament in a tie for 29th. Her teammate Alena Sharp of Hamilton struggled to 4-over 75 and finished in 49th place. American Nelly Korda won the gold at 17 under.
Canada’s Malindi Elmore raced to ninth place in the women’s marathon, finishing in two hours, 30 minutes and 59 seconds. It’s the top finish for a Canadian woman in a non-boycotted Games. At 41, Elmore was appearing in her first Olympics in 17 years. She ran the 15-hundred in Athens in 2004.
The International Olympic Committee says it has closed a potential disciplinary case against two Chinese gold medalists who wore pin badges of Mao Zedong on the podium. A spokesman for the I-O-C says Chinese team officials gave assurances the incident will not be repeated. The gesture tested the limits of Olympic Charter Rule 50, which prohibits political statements on the podium.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Lourdes Gurriel Junior hit a two-run homer, Teoscar Hernandez had three hits and three RBIs, and the Toronto Blue Jays used a nine-run fifth inning to rout Boston 12-4 last night. It was the Red Sox seventh loss in eight games. Jays rookie Alek Manoah allowed two runs and four hits in five innings to win for the third time in four starts.
There’s a new leader in the National League East. Kyle Gibson worked six innings and broke a 1-1 tie with an R-B-I single in the fifth to help the Phillies down the Mets, 4-2 in Philadelphia. Gibson worked around four hits and four walks to win for the second time since being traded to the Phillies. Bryce Harper slammed a two-run homer and Didi Gregorius hit a solo shot in the Phillies’ sixth straight win, which gives them a half-game lead over New York.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders started out strong and held on tight for a gritty 33-29 victory over the B-C Lions last night. Cody Fajardo threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns to open the Riders season with a win. Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke got the start for B-C, but veteran Michael Reilly came in in the third quarter to spark the offence. The Lions outscored the Riders 20-1 in the second half, but missed crucial field goals and conversions that could have sealed the win.
Defenceman Darnell Nurse says he didn’t initially expect to sign an eight-year, 74-million dollar U-S extension with the Edmonton Oilers. The 26-year-old says he thought he’d get a shorter deal because of the league’s current economics, including the pandemic-induced flat salary cap. Nurse signed the new contract yesterday after putting up 16 goals and 20 assists for the Oilers in 56 games last season.
Friday’s Scoreboard
CFL
Saskatchewan 33 B.C. 29
MLB
American League
Cleveland 6 Detroit 1
Toronto 12 Boston 4
Tampa Bay 10 Baltimore 6
N.Y. Yankees 3 Seattle 2 (11 innings)
Minnesota 5 Houston 4 (11 innings)
Oakland 4 Texas 1
National League
Philadelphia 4 N.Y. Mets 2
Cincinnati 10 Pittsburgh 0
Atlanta 8 Washington 4
Milwaukee 2 San Francisco 1
Colorado 14 Miami 2
Arizona 8 San Diego 5
Interleague
Chicago White Sox 8 Chicago Cubs 6 (10 innings)
St. Louis 4 Kansas City 2
L.A. Angels 4 L.A. Dodgers 3
Saturday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
CFL
Toronto at Calgary, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Edmonton, 10 p.m.
MLB
American League
Seattle (Flexen 10-5) at N.Y. Yankees (Heaney 6-8), 1:05 p.m.
Boston (Pivetta 8-5) at Toronto (Ray 9-5), 3:07 p.m., 1st game
Texas (TBD) at Oakland (Irvin 7-10), 4:07 p.m.
Tampa Bay (McClanahan 5-4) at Baltimore (Watkins 2-2), 7:05 p.m.
Boston (Houck 0-2) at Toronto (Berrios 8-5), 7:07 p.m., 2nd game
Detroit (Alexander 1-1) at Cleveland (Morgan 1-3), 7:10 p.m.
Minnesota (Pineda 4-6) at Houston (Garcia 7-6), 7:10 p.m.
Kansas City (Keller 7-10) at St. Louis (Kim 6-6), 7:15 p.m.
National League
N.Y. Mets (Megill 1-1) at Philadelphia (Suarez 5-3), 4:15 p.m.
Pittsburgh (Keller 3-8) at Cincinnati (Gutierrez 6-3), 7:10 p.m.
San Francisco (TBD) at Milwaukee (Woodruff 7-6), 7:10 p.m.
Kansas City (Keller 7-10) at St. Louis (Kim 6-6), 7:15 p.m.
Washington (Gray 0-0) at Atlanta (Morton 10-4), 7:20 p.m.
Miami (Luzardo 3-4) at Colorado (Gomber 8-6), 8:10 p.m.
Arizona (Widener 1-1) at San Diego (Darvish 7-6), 8:40 p.m.
Interleague
Chicago White Sox (Rodon 8-5) at Chicago Cubs (Alzolay 4-11), 2:20 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Barria 2-0) at L.A. Dodgers (Urias 13-3), 9:10 p.m.
MLS
Atlanta at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando City at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
New York City FC at Toronto FC, 8 p.m.
Austin FC at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Sporting Kansas City at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at Portland, 10:30 p.m.