National Sports

ESPN could be rewarded with additional playoff games under its new deal with Major League Baseball. Walt Disney Company and MLB announced a seven-year extension of their rights agreement Thursday.

HAMILTON — CPL champion Forge FC has signed veteran defender Dejan Jakovic. The 35-year-old centre back will replace fellow Canadian international David Edgar, who retired at the end of last year and is now a Forge assistant coach.

Canada will open this summer's Gold Cup in Kansas City with games against Martinique, a qualifier and the United States. CONCACAF announced Thursday the schedule for its championship tournament, which features a new preliminary stage.

HALIFAX — A diversity task force says anti-racism training and greater diversity at the organization level will contribute to making hockey more inclusive in Nova Scotia.

ATLANTA (AP) — Bo Bichette hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the ninth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied yet again to beat Atlanta 8-4 on Thursday and sweep six games from the Braves this season. Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.

With the influx of several new players and Toronto FC's training room beginning to thin out, coach Chris Armas's options are growing. Fitting everyone in will be the challenge.

TORONTO — Lisa MacLeod, Ontario's Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, says the province hasn't verbally approved the CFL's return-to-play protocols and there's no timeline for it to do so.

PARMA, Italy — Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from next week's event in Parma, Italy, with what the WTA Tour describes as "continuing illness.

The Pac-12 hired sports entertainment executive George Kliavkoff to be the conference's next commissioner on Thursday, replacing Larry Scott with a person with a similar resume short on college sports experience.

OTTAWA — The owners of a horse that was disqualified after initially winning the Canadian Derby more than three years ago might have run out of legal room to reclaim the title.