LOCAL SPORTS
The Pictou County Crushers play in Amherst at 7.
Rural League tonight: 7:00 Pleasantdale vs St Croix 8:30 Outlaws vs Heatherton
NATIONAL SPORTS
A person familiar with the discussions tells The Associated Press that the N-H-L and the N-H-L Players’ Association are focusing their discussions on a mid-January start date for the season. January 1st had been the stated target, but there are a number of issues that need to be resolved before players can travel to begin practice. The two sides still need to agree on a schedule. The current working plan featuring between 52 and 56 regular season games.
It appears the Vancouver Canucks have cut ties with anthem singer Mark Donnelly over his plan to sing at a rally to protest COVID-19 restrictions. Donnelly confirmed to the Vancouver Sun that he planned to sing “O Canada” today at the downtown Vancouver protest. That prompted team owner Franceso Aquilini to send a tweet calling Donnelly the Canucks’ “former” anthem singer.
It looks like the Toronto Raptors will soon get the chance to take on sophomore sensation Zion Williamson. The Raptors will face Williamson’s New Orleans Pelicans on December 23 in their NBA season opener. Williamson missed both of the Pelicans’ games against the Raptors last year with a knee injury.
Running back Andrew Harris headlines a list of 329 players eligible for C-F-L free agency on February 9th. Harris was instrumental in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers ending their Grey Cup drought. The 33-year-old Winnipeg native ran for 134 yards and a touchdown and had another touchdown through the air as the Bombers bear the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33-12 in the 2019 C-F-L final.
Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela had surgery to remove a bone chip from his right elbow, and New York said his expected recovery time is three months. Urshela is likely to miss about half of spring training, which starts in mid-February, and will have just a few weeks to get into shape ahead of the opener against Toronto on April 1st.
Quarterback Robert Griffin the third has been placed on injured reserve by the Baltimore Ravens. That leaves Trace McSorley as the backup when Lamar Jackson comes off the reserve/COVID-19 list. Griffin started Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Steelers and hurt his hamstring in the second quarter.
A funeral service for Indigenous hockey pioneer Fred Sasakamoose will be held today at an arena named in his honour. Sasakamoose died of complications from COVID-19 on Nov. 24. He was 86. Sasakamoose played 11 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1953-54, becoming one of the first Indigenous players in the then-six-team league. Due to COVID-19 protocols, a maximum of 30 people will be allowed to pay their respects in person at the Fred Sasakamoose Community Arena, located in Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation north of Saskatoon. However, the funeral will be livestreamed on Facebook (facebook.com/SasakamooseInvitational/) starting at 3pm Atlantic time.