The world junior hockey championship has produced memorable moments and breathtaking performances. This year's tournament in Ottawa should offer the same level of entertainment as the next generation of stars skate into the showcase event's spotlight. The Canadian Press takes a look at some of the players to watch in t...

Steve Meehan acknowledges his own rugby playing career "wasn't too flash." An injury in his first year out of school caused his shoulder to repeatedly pop out of place. "It brought a bit of a sudden halt to things," he said. The Australian had already started coaching, however. His local club only w...

Caitlin Clark raised the profile of women's basketball to unprecedented levels in both the college ranks and the WNBA, and Tuesday she was named the AP Female Athlete of the Year for her impact on and off the court. After leading Iowa to the national championship game, Clark was the top pick in the WNBA draft as expect...

NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. - Betty Birrell expertly guides her mountain bike over an elevated wooden ramp, catching some air, then lands smoothly on a trail she's ridden countless times before. At 76, the local legend has spent three decades tackling the rugged slopes of Vancouver's North Shore mountains, beginning in about...

VANCOUVER - The bright glow of a two-goal performance by Elias Pettersson was dimmed a little when the Vancouver Canuck centre left Monday's 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks early in the third period. Pettersson broke out of a seven-game scoring drought with goals 44 seconds apart in the second period. He played briefl...

VANCOUVER - Elias Pettersson scored goals 44 seconds apart in the second period - the second on a power play - to snap a seven-game NHL scoring drought as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-3 Monday night. Kiefer Sherwood and Brock Boeser also scored for the Canucks (17-10-7) who ended a three-game wi...

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - Josh Jacobs gained 107 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown for a sixth straight game as the Green Bay Packers clinched a playoff berth while producing the first shutout of the NFL season, 34-0 over the hapless New Orleans Saints on Monday night. Green Bay (11-4) earned its fifth post-seas...

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Jack Hughes had his second two-goal game of the season against the New York Rangers and Jacob Markstrom had his second straight 12-save shutout to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 5-0 victory on Monday. Timo Meier, Stefan Noesen and Dawson Mercer also scored for New Jersey, which is 7-2-1 in December...

NEW YORK (AP) - Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, OG Anunoby also scored 31 points and shot 13-for-15 from the field, and the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Raptors 139-125 on Monday night. Cam Payne had 19 points off the bench for the Knicks, who put seven players in double figures and...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Kirill Marchenko scored with 2:12 left in regulation, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Monday night for their second straight home win, rallying after blowing a pair of two-goal leads. Dmitri Vorokov scored twice to extend his point streak to five games, and Kent Jo...

TORONTO - The Winnipeg Jets had payback on their minds and top spot in the National Hockey League in their final game before the holiday break. The Jets made good on both accounts with a 5-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs before 18,923 at Scotiabank Arena on Monday. The win avenged a 6-4 home loss to Toronto on Oc...

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Jack Hughes had his second two-goal game of the season against the New York Rangers and Jacob Markstrom had his second straight 12-save shutout to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 5-0 victory on Monday. Timo Meier, Stefan Noesen and Dawson Mercer also scored for New Jersey, which is 7-2-1 in December...

MONTREAL - The Montreal Alouettes signed Canadian centre Justin Lawrence to a one-year contract extension Monday. Lawrence is now under contract with the CFL club through the 2026 season. The six-foot-two, 310-pound Lawrence made 18 regular-season starts and played in the East final last year with Montreal. Lawrence, o...

Another name has been added to the Saskatchewan Roughriders' stable of quarterbacks.The CFL club has traded for the negotiation rights of Calgary Stampeders quarterback Jake Maier in exchange for an eighth-round pick in the 2025 CFL Draft.Maier is set to become a free agent in February.In 2023, Maier became the Stamps'...

MONTREAL - An entrepreneur who sued the City of Montreal for not considering his bid to organize a 2017 electric car race has failed in his effort to obtain more than $3 million in compensation. A judge suggested there's no proof Alexandre Choko would have made money even if he had been selected to run the much-critici...

The Saskatchewan Roughriders acquired the rights to veteran quarterback Jake Maier for a 2025 eighth-round draft pick Monday. The deal gives Saskatchewan a window to negotiate exclusively with Maier, who's slated to become a free agent on Feb. 11. Maier started 45 of 65 games over four seasons with Calgary (2021-24). T...

Indiana Quarterback Kurtis Rourke captured the '24 Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian playing football in the NCAA. Rourke, of Oakville, Ont., finished first in voting for the award ahead of Montreal's Dariel Djabome, a junior linebacker at Rutgers. Stanford junior receiver Elic Ayomanor, last year's winner, finish...

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider was a healthy scratch Monday against the New Jersey Devils for the first time this season. The Rangers lost their fourth straight home game 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, and have been in a freefall since winning at Vancouver on Nov. 19. New York has...

NEW YORK - Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar, Toronto Maple Leafs winger William Nylander and Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine were named the NHL's three stars for the week ending Dec. 22. Makar led all skaters with eight points in four games, helping Colorado climb to third in the Central Division. The 2...

TORONTO - Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will miss his second consecutive game Monday against the Winnipeg Jets due to an undisclosed injury. Matthews also sat out Saturday's game against the New York Islanders. The 27-year-old was hurt when he took a cross-check to his back in Friday's 6-3 win over Buffal...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Shohei Ohtani is keeping elite company. The Japanese superstar caps 2024 by winning The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the third time, tying him with basketball great Michael Jordan. He trails only four-time winners Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and LeBron James. "I'm very honored,...

Easton Cowan watched Canada's chances crumble in an instant. The winger was seated on the bench at last year's world junior hockey championship when Czechia scored a late winner off a lucky bounce to secure a stunning 3-2 quarterfinal upset that resigned the scuffling North Americans to an ugly fifth-place finish. Cowa...

Expectations for Canada's women's basketball team were high heading into 2024. Veteran WNBA stars Natalie Achonwa and Kia Nurse were set to lead the squad into a fourth-straight Olympics in Paris, where the country was expected to push for the podium. Instead, Canada went winless over three group-stage games, finished ...

Patrick Mahomes threw a walk-off pass to win the Super Bowl. Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to win a World Series game. Stephen Curry said "nuit, nuit" to win an Olympic basketball title in Paris, Noah Lyles won 100-meter gold by about the smallest margin possible, and Sabrina Ionescu won a WNBA Fi...

Hockey player Matt Petgrave has called the death of Adam Johnson "a tragic accident" in a public appeal for donations to his legal costs amid a police investigation. Johnson, who had briefly played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, died after his neck was cut by Petgrave's skate in a collision between the two oppo...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Shohei Ohtani is keeping elite company. The Japanese superstar caps 2024 by winning The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the third time, tying him with basketball great Michael Jordan. He trails only four-time winners Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and LeBron James. "I'm very honored,...

EDMONTON - The Edmonton Oilers certainly won't be ravaged with regrets during their holiday hiatus. Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist as the Oilers won their third game in a row, getting past the surging Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Sunday. Arvidsson was playing in just his third game back after missing 15 games with...

EDMONTON - Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist as the Edmonton Oilers won their third game in a row, getting past the surging Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Sunday. Zach Hyman and Adam Henrique also scored for the Oilers (21-11-2) who have won 11 of their last 13 contests. Nick Cousins replied for the Senators (18-14-2) ...