LOCAL SPORTS
Riverside International Speedway in James River has announced the IWK 250 Super Weekend has been rescheduled for September 9 to 11 in anticipation of eased restrictions as the province enters Phase 5 of its Reopening Plan. The signature event was originally set for July, but postponed so as many fans as possible can attend. Maine’s Cassius Clark is the defending champion of the IWK 250, piloting the Pictou-based King Racing No. 13 to Victory Lane in 2019. Tickets for the IWK 250 Super Weekend will be available beginning August 23, with capacity and COVID-19 protocols pending Public Health directives for September. Fans can join the ticket pre-sale waitlist by visiting RiversideSpeedway.ca.
TOKYO GAMES
Canada is ending a successful Tokyo Olympics on a winning note. Kelsey Mitchell raced to a gold medal in the women’s sprint competition, giving Canada its second track cycling medal of the Games. Mitchell outraced Ukraine’s Olena Starikova in two straight heats to capture the title.
Ben Preisner was the top Canadian in the men’s marathon, finishing in 49th spot. The 25-year-old from Milton, Ontario, crossed in two hours ,19 minutes and 27 seconds. Just finishing the race in Sapporo’s hot and humid conditions was tough enough. Thirty men in the field of 106 didn’t make it. Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya finished first to defend his Olympic title.
Damian Warner will lead Canada’s contingent into the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. The Olympic decathlon champion was announced earlier as Canada’s flag-bearer for the event. Warner won gold in the marquee event earlier this week with an Olympic-record score of 9,018 points.
Team Canada will leave Tokyo with its biggest medal haul at a non-boycotted Games. Canada’s 24 medals are two more than what they earned five years ago in Rio de Janeiro and in 1996 in Atlanta. Seven of those medals are gold, which equals the number won at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
The U-S has captured its seventh straight gold medal in women’s basketball, beating Japan 90-75. Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi have been part of five of those gold medals. Nobody has played more Olympic Games for the U-S than Taurasi with 38. Bird is second with 36 in her final Olympics. The Americans’ golden streak started back in Atlanta in 1996.
NATIONAL SPORTS
A win and a loss for the Jays. Toronto split its doubleheader with the Boston Red Sox yesterday, dropping the second game 2-1 in extra innings. Jays starter Jose Berrios delivered six innings with six strikeouts in the loss, and allowed five hits. Earlier in the day, Toronto beat Boston 1-zip following a walk-off homer from Marcus Simien.
Toronto F-C roared back from a lacklustre first half to take a point in a 2-2 draw with New York City F-C last night. T-F-C were down 2-nil at the half when interim head coach Javier Perez replaced captain Michael Bradley and star striker Jozy Altidore in the lineup. The moves seemed to inject new energy in the team, with Richie Laryea scoring in the 49th minute and Alejandro Pozuelo putting away the equalizer in the 55th.
The Ottawa Redblacks kicked off their season with a win, downing the Edmonton Elks 16-12. The two sides traded field goals for much of the game before Ottawa’s Abdul Kanneh put the Redblacks ahead with a 102-yard interception return.
Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell says his team “gift wrapped” last night’s game for the Toronto Argonauts. The Stamps were up 17-12 heading into the final frame but the Argos won 23-20 thanks to a last-minute field goal. The game was the season opener for both sides.
Saturday’s Scoreboard
CFL
Toronto 23 Calgary 20
Ottawa 16 Edmonton 12
MLB
American League
N.Y. Yankees 5 Seattle 4
Toronto 1 Boston 0 (7 innings), 1st game
Oakland 12 Texas 3
Detroit 2 Cleveland 1
Houston 4 Minnesota 0
Boston 2 Toronto 1 (8 innings), 2nd game
Tampa Bay 12 Baltimore 3
National League
Philadelphia 5 N.Y. Mets 3
Washington 3 Atlanta 2
Cincinnati 11 Pittsburgh 3
Colorado 7 Miami 4
San Francisco 9 Milwaukee 6 (11 innings)
San Diego 6 Arizona 2
Interleague
Chicago White Sox 4 Chicago Cubs 0
St. Louis 5 Kansas City 2
L.A. Dodgers 5 L.A. Angels 3
MLS
Atlanta 3 Columbus 2
Orlando City 1 Cincinnati 1
Minnesota 2 Houston 0
New York City FC 2 Toronto FC 2
FC Dallas 2 Austin FC 0
Sporting Kansas City 0 Colorado 0
Portland 3 Real Salt Lake 2
Sunday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
MLB
American League
Seattle (Kikuchi 7-6) at N.Y. Yankees (Gil 1-0), 1:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Wacha 2-3) at Baltimore (Lopez 3-12), 1:05 p.m.
Boston (Richards 6-7) at Toronto (Ryu 11-5), 1:07 p.m.
Detroit (Peralta 3-2) at Cleveland (Plesac 6-4), 1:10 p.m.
Minnesota (Maeda 4-4) at Houston (McCullers Jr. 9-2), 2:10 p.m.
Texas (Lyles 5-8) at Oakland (TBD), 4:07 p.m.
National League
N.Y. Mets (Walker 7-6) at Philadelphia (Wheeler 9-6), 1:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh (Wilson 2-4) at Cincinnati (Mahle 8-3), 1:10 p.m.
Washington (Corbin 6-10) at Atlanta (Fried 8-7), 1:20 p.m.
San Francisco (Cueto 7-6) at Milwaukee (Anderson 4-5), 2:10 p.m.
Miami (TBD) at Colorado (Freeland 2-6), 3:10 p.m.
Arizona (Bumgarner 6-6) at San Diego (Snell 5-4), 4:10 p.m.
Interleague
Kansas City (Bubic 3-5) at St. Louis (Lester 3-6), 2:15 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Detmers 0-1) at L.A. Dodgers (Buehler 11-2), 4:10 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Cease 8-6) at Chicago Cubs (Davies 6-8), 7:08 p.m.
MLS
New York at Chicago, 6 p.m.
Philadelphia at New England, 6 p.m.
Nashville at Miami, 6 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at San Jose, 7 p.m.
CF Montreal at D.C. United, 8 p.m.
Vancouver at LA Galaxy, 8 p.m.