National Sports

BOCA RATON, Fla. — NHL players minus their helmets, hair flapping in the breeze as they attempt to rejoin the action, could soon be a thing of the past.

Toronto Arrows forwards Mike Sheppard and Peter Milazzo have been named to Major League Rugby's First XV for Week 6. The Glendale Raptors, who blanked the Arrows 22-0 in the Colorado chill, won team of the week honours.

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke freshman RJ Barrett has been named one of five finalists for the 2019 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. The native of Mississauga, Ont., entered Tuesday's action as the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading scorer at 23.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Justin Smoak hit a three-run homer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added a solo shot as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 5-2 in pre-season baseball action Tuesday.

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke star freshman Zion Williamson will miss his fourth straight game because of a mild right knee sprain.

Better known as a midfielder, Sophie Schmidt has played in the Canadian backline at the Algarve Cup. The 30-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C.

It's been quite a start to 2019 for Canadian tennis players. Here's a look at some of the highlights heading into the BNP Paribas Open, a top-level event (just below Grand Slams), for women and men starting Wednesday in Indian Wells, Calif.

TORONTO — Nicu and Maria Andreescu were sitting in a meeting room at Tennis Canada headquarters in Toronto recently when a wave of tennis folks came in to give them their best.

TORONTO — The Grand Slam of Curling series trimmed the Elite 10 competition from the calendar Tuesday as the circuit moves to a six-event season for the 2019-20 campaign. The Sportsnet series will maintain its total prize money level of $2.

TAMPA, Fla. — Former CFL head coach Marc Trestman has joined the upstart XFL. The league announced Tuesday Trestman has been named the head coach/GM of the new franchise in Tampa Bay.