National Sports

WINNIPEG — Veteran skip Brad Jacobs's time as a free agent didn't last long. Jacobs is joining third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert for next season — former teammates of Brendan Bottcher who are based in Alberta.

TORONTO — A thin bullpen proved costly for the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday in a 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre.

Brooke Henderson has started the LPGA Tour season on a wave, one she hopes to ride into the first major of the season. The 26-year-old golfer from Smiths Falls, Ont.

TORONTO — Jontay Porter has been banned from the NBA for life. The former Toronto Raptors backup centre's punishment was announced on Wednesday after the NBA completed its investigation into gambling allegations against Porter.

Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter isn't the first person to receive a lifetime ban from a professional sports league in North America.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild signed goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to a one-year, $2.5 million contract extension on Wednesday, bringing back the veteran for his age-40 season. Fleury, who turns 40 on Nov.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Defending champion Costa Rica held on to edge Canada 3-2 in quarterfinal play Wednesday at the CONCACAF Futsal Championship, ending the Canadian men's hope of reaching the FIFA Futsal World Cup.

BROSSARD, Que. — The Montreal Canadiens' brass is committed to reversing the team’s trend of missing the playoffs. But general manager Kent Hughes and executive vice-president Jeff Gorton won’t deviate from their long-term plans to do so.

TORONTO — A year ago, Masai Ujiri declared that the Toronto Raptors had to change their culture. But after a challenging and disappointing 2023-24 season, the team's president said that their culture is just fine.

USA Basketball studied every men's basketball game it has played for about two decades and a clear trend eventually appeared. When the defense isn't good enough, the Americans tend to get themselves into trouble.