Canada's top-ranked men's and women's golfers are teaming up.

Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners will be partners at the Grant Thornton Invitational.

The unique event will see 16 LPGA and 16 PGA Tour players compete together in a co-sanctioned tournament for equal prize money of US$4 million.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., has the most professional wins of any Canadian golfer with 13 on the LPGA Tour.

Conners, from Listowel, Ont., is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour.

They both represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

The Grant Thornton Invitational will be held Dec. 4-10 in Naples, Fla.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023.

(The Canadian Press)

TORONTO -

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers can become the first CFL team to cement a playoff spot this weekend.

According to the CFL, Winnipeg (9-2) would become the first team to punch its post-season ticket with a road win Sunday over the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-5).

Winnipeg is 5-1 away from IG Field this season and 6-1 within the West Division. Saskatchewan has won four-of-seven games against conference rivals and is 3-2 at home.

With a win, Winnipeg would clinch a playoff spot for the seventh straight year. Last season, Winnipeg cemented its post-season berth after its 12th regular-season game.

The Bombers are chasing a fourth straight Grey Cup appearance and third title in four seasons.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2023.

JAKARTA, Indonesia -

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 27 points and Canada overcame a sluggish first quarter to rout Latvia 101-75 on Tuesday at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Canada trailed 23-13 after the first quarter and led by just one point at the half before dominating the rest of the game.

Gilgeous-Alexander added six rebounds, six assists and two steals for Canada. RJ Barrett had 22 points and five rebounds, with Kelly Olynyk (15 points) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (14 points) also scoring in double digits.

Andrejs Grazulis had 16 points for Latvia.

Canada finished Group H play at 3-0, outscoring its opposition by an average of 37 points a game.

Canada and Latvia (2-1) will next go into a group with the top two teams in Group G, which wraps up play Wednesday.

(The Canadian Press)

TORONTO -

All-star shortstop Bo Bichette has been put on the 10-day injured list by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bichette is out with a right quad strain retroactive to Aug. 28.

Infielder Mason McCoy was selected to Toronto's roster in a corresponding move.

Bichette leads the Blue Jays with a .314 batting average and 152 hits. His 18 home runs are second most on Toronto.

It's Bichette's second time dealing with an injury after he missed 16 games because of right knee tendinitis. Toronto went 8-8 without him.

Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman was placed on the 10-day IL on Monday with a right middle finger sprain.

Toronto is currently 2 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers for the third and final wild card berth in the American League.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2023.

WINNIPEG -

Veteran quarterback Zach Collaros is back practising with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Collaros was again leading Winnipeg' starting offence Monday as the Bombers (8-2) began preparations to host the Montreal Alouettes (6-3) on Thursday night.

Collaros missed Winnipeg's 19-18 road win over the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night due to a neck injury. Dru Brown drew the start, completing 17-of-27 passes for 171 yards.

Collaros was injured in the first half of Winnipeg's 38-29 road victory over the Edmonton Elks on Aug. 10.

Brown entered the game with the Bombers trailing 22-0 but rallied the defending West Division champions by completing 17-of-24 passes for 304 yards with four touchdowns and an interception while adding a 15-yard run.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2023.

(The Canadian Press)

VANCOUVER -

The Vancouver Whitecaps say goalkeeper Thomas Hasal has been placed on Major League Soccer's season-ending injury list.

Whitecaps sporting director Axel Schuster says the move is related to patellar tendinitis.

Schuster says Hasal has been managing the condition through the season but the move will help the goalkeeper focus on his recovery.

Hasal, 24, came up through the Saskatchewan branch of the Whitecaps academy and signed a professional contract with the team in 2019.

He has made three starts for the Whitecaps this season, primarily backing up starting goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka.

Hasal was called up to the Canadian national team in 2022 but did not make an appearance in the match.

Jeff Petry's second stint with the Montreal Canadiens lasted just over a week.

The Canadiens announced Tuesday that they have dealt the veteran defenceman for the second time in just over a year. His destination this off-season is the Detroit Red Wings, in exchange for defenceman Gustav Lindstrom and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2025.

Montreal acquired Petry from Pittsburgh on Aug. 6 as part of the three-team trade that sent star defenceman Erik Karlsson from San Jose to the Penguins.

Petry had five goals and 26 assists for the Penguins last year after Pittsburgh acquired him from Montreal in an off-season trade.

The 35-year-old played the previous eight seasons with the Canadiens, collecting over 40 points in four consecutive seasons from 2017-18 to 2020-21 to lead the team's defence in points every season during that span.

The Canadiens are retaining 50 per cent of Petry's remaining salary of US$4.5 million. The Penguins are retaining another $1.56 million as part of the Karlsson trade.

TORONTO -

The Toronto Raptors are returning to British Columbia for training camp.

The NBA club announced Friday that it will open camp for the 2023-24 season on Oct. 3 at Christine Sinclair Community Centre in Burnaby.

The team will hold practices through Oct. 7, including an open practice Oct. 6 at Simon Fraser University's West Gym on its Burnaby campus.

Toronto previously announced it will open its pre-season schedule with a game against Sacramento Oct. 8 at Vancouver's Rogers Arena.

It will mark the eighth time the Raptors have held their camp in B.C., and the sixth in the Vancouver area.

The Raptors held training camp for the 2022-23 season in Victoria.

Zach Collaros and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' offensive line were graded as some of the top performers Tuesday in the CFL's weekly honour roll.

Collaros earned a grade of 92.9 after completing 19-of-27 passes in the Blue Bombers' 50-14 hammering of the B.C. Lions. Players in nine specific position are highlighted as per data points registered and compiled by Pro Football Focus, a sports analytics company.

The veteran quarterback had 369 passing yards and three touchdowns, which both matched season-highs, while the Bombers' offensive line had a grade of 84.2. Teammate Kenny Lawler (90.4) was named the top receiver of the week while defensive lineman Willie Jefferson had a grade of 85.6.

The Argonaut's Royce Metchie was named the top defensive performer (86.6) of the week with a season-high nine defensive tackles in the Argo's 20-7 loss to Calgary. Toronto's AJ Ouellette (77.5) was the top running back.

The Ottawa Redblacks Jovan Santos-Knox (85.2) and lineback Gary Johnson Jr. (91.6) also earned nods.

Offensive lineman Nick Callender, of the Montreal Alouettes, had a grade of 76.9 while Calgary Stampeders punter Cody Grade had 78.8.

WINNIPEG-

Brady Oliveira and Dalton Schoen each had two touchdowns, Kenny Lawler and Nic Demski added their own and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers delivered some payback to the B.C. Lions with a 50-14 victory on Thursday.

The last time the Lions were in Winnipeg in June, they left IG Field with a 30-6 win.

The two clubs are tied atop the CFL West Division with 6-2 records.

Winnipeg's victory in front of 30,874 fans was a shot to the Lions' top-ranked defence.

B.C. had only allowed five touchdowns through its first seven games.

Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros completed 19 of 27 pass attempts for 369 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He was replaced by Dru Brown late in the fourth quarter.

TORONTO -

The Toronto Blue Jays have placed reliever Trevor Richards on the 15-day injured list with neck inflammation.

The team also recalled fellow right-hander Bowden Francis from Triple-A Buffalo.

Francis will be available for today's matinee against the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre.

Richards (1-1) has been a reliable middle-innings option out of Toronto's bullpen this season.

He has a 2.98 earned-run average with 83 strikeouts over 54 1/3 innings pitched.

Francis (1-0) has a 2.30 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 15 2/3 innings in seven games with the major-league club this year.

TORONTO -

Oaks winner Elysian Field and Plate Trial victor Paramount Prince will both run in the $1-million King's Plate.

Mark Casse, the trainer for both horses, said Elysian field and Paramount Prince will be in the field for the first leg of Canada's Triple Crown on Aug. 20 at Woodbine Racetrack.

Elysian Field won the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks by 2 1/4 lengths July 23 at Woodbine Racetrack. The 5-1 pick covered the 1 1/8-mile race on Woodbine's Tapeta course in 1:49.83 with jockey Sahin Civaci aboard.

Earlier on the same card, veteran jockey Patrick Husbands rode Paramount Prince to a convincing five-length, wire-to-wire win in the $150,000 Plate Trial. The 11-1 longshot covered the identical 1 1/8-mile distance on the Tapeta course in 1:49.99.

Husbands earned a fourth Trial win.

Casse, 15 times Canada's top thoroughbred trainer, will chase a third Plate win. Both of his previous victories came with fillies (Lexi Lou in 2014, Wonder Gadot in 2018).

WHISTLER, B.C. -

The Whistler Sliding Centre will host the 2025 FIL Luge World Championships, Luge Canada announced on Wednesday.

The event will take place Feb. 5-8, 2025.

Whistler was the host mountain resort for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and previously hosted the world championships in 2013.

Luge Canada was originally scheduled to host the 2021 world championships but the event was cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The16-corner Whistler track is scheduled to host a World Cup race this December.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2023.