National Sports

TORONTO — Anicka Newell knew before her back hit the mat. The 27-year-old won the Expo Explosion pole vault meet in Belton, Texas last weekend, but far bigger than the victory was her winning height of 4.70 metres — the exact Tokyo Olympic standard.

Mired in 29th place in the NBA overall standings, the 1-5 Raptors travel west for a four-game road trip in search of answers. Games against Phoenix, Sacramento, Golden State and Portland await, starting with the surging Suns (5-2) on Wednesday.

TORONTO — An athlete with a megaphone, fist raised in furious protest. Teammates kneeling, heads bowed, linked arm-in-arm. Political slogans — "Vote Warnock" — across the chest of warmup shirts.

EDMONTON — Former NHL coach and Stanley Cup winner John Muckler has died. He was 86. The Edmonton Oilers confirmed Muckler's death Monday night. No cause of death was given.

EDMONTON — One image served as goalie Devon Levi's driving force as he and the other Canadian players waited out quarantine in their hotel rooms — playing for gold at the world junior hockey championship. Now the image is coming into focus.

EDMONTON — The United States will play for gold at the world junior hockey championship after beating Finland 4-3 on Monday in the tournament semifinals.

TAMPA, Fla. — Six games into the season and the Toronto Raptors have, in the words of Fred VanVleet, "a boatload of problems.

TORONTO — New Canada women's soccer coach Bev Priestman has brought Richie Kyle on board as an assistant coach in her first hire. Kyle, who has his UEFA Pro licence, was a specialist coach with England's Football Association from 2017 to 2020.

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil have pulled out of the season-opening Delray Beach Open. The ATP Tour 250 hard-court event opens Thursday.

The stay in the curling bubble starting next month in Calgary could be brief for some athletes and a very long one for others. "We're going to pack for two months," said Toronto-based skip John Epping. "The longer we're in there, the better.