 Andre De Grasse had a slow start to the Diamond League season | | | The Olympic men's 200m champion finished sixth in today's Diamond League season opener in Doha, while fellow Canadian Aaron Brown placed third in the star-studded race.
Americans took the top two spots as world 100m champion Fred Kerley won in 19.92 seconds, followed by world and Olympic 200m silver medallist Kenny Bednarek in 20.12. 400m world champion Michael Norman of the United States finished last in the eight-man field. 200m world champ Noah Lyles and world bronze medallist Erriyon Knighton of the U.S. were not in the race.
Brown, the runner-up to Lyles at last year's Diamond League final, clocked a 20.20. Last weekend, Brown ran 20 flat at a meet in Botswana where he placed second to local rising star Letsile Tebogo and De Grasse was seventh in 20.41.
De Grasse (20.35 today) recently began working with a new coach in Florida and is known for easing his way into a season. Along with other top athletes, he'll be looking to peak for the world championships in Hungary in late August.
Some other notable results from today's Diamond League opener, which included two other Canadians:
*Canada's Django Lovett no-heighted in the men's high jump before American JuVaughn Harrison upset Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim on his own turf. Barshim, a three-time world champion and the co-Olympic gold medalist in 2021, placed third.
*Canadian Alysha Newman finished eighth in the women's pole vault, won by Olympic and world champion Katie Moon of the United States.
*In the women's 100m, American Sha'Carri Richardson defeated world 200m champion and 100m silver medallist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica in a meet-record 10.76 seconds. That's the best legal time in the world so far this year. Richardson ran a wind-aided 10.57 at a meet in Florida last month that ranks as the fourth-best women's 100m time in history under any conditions.
Read more about the Diamond League opener and watch highlights here. Watch a replay of the meet Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on the CBC TV network. Read about the athletes to watch this season here. | | |  | American Fred Kerley won today's star-studded men's 200m race at the Diamond League season opener in Doha. (Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images) | | | Quickly… | | | Some other things to know:
1. The Leafs and Oilers will try to rebound this weekend.
Toronto trails its second-round series vs. Florida 2-0 after blowing an early two-goal lead and losing 3-2 last night. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky shined once again, winning his fifth straight game. Leafs rookie forward Matthew Knies suffered a concussion that will keep him out for at least the next two games and possibly the rest of the series, according to coach Sheldon Keefe.
As the series shifts to Florida for Game 3 on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET, it'll be a big weekend for Panthers owner Vincent Viola. His horse Forte is the favourite in Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
Edmonton plays Game 2 against Vegas on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The Golden Knights won the opener 6-4 despite four goals by the Oilers' Leon Draisaitl, who leads the playoffs with 11 goals in seven games.
Tonight's lone NHL playoff game sees Carolina try to go up 2-0 on New Jersey after winning the opener 5-1.
2. The NBA's best second-round series is all square.
After losing Game 1 at home to the Lakers, defending champion Golden State bounced back with a 127-100 blowout last night. Sharpshooter Klay Thompson scored 30 points and Canada's Andrew Wiggins had 11 for the Warriors, who held Los Angeles big man Anthony Davis to just 11 points and seven rebounds after he went for 30 and 23 in Game 1. Game 3 goes Saturday night in L.A.
Tonight, Canadian guard Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets can go up 3-0 on Kevin Durant's Phoenix Suns. Murray scored 34 points in the opener but just 10 in Game 2 as Denver's Nikola Jokic dominated with 39 points and 16 boards. Phoenix point guard Chris Paul will not play in Game 3 due to a groin injury.
Boston and Philadelphia also play Game 3 of their series tonight. Philly stole the opener despite newly crowned NBA MVP Joel Embiid missing the game with a knee injury, then got blown out with Embiid back in the lineup for Game 2.
3. The death of four horses has cast a shadow over the Kentucky Derby.
Churchill Downs suspended trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and scratched his horse Lord Miles from Saturday's race after two other horses trained by Joseph collapsed on the track and died within a few days of each other. Besides Joseph's horses, Derby long shot Wild On Ice and another three-year-old were each euthanized after they broke down with musculoskeletal injuries during training or racing at Churchill Downs over the past week.
Investigators have yet to find a cause of death for Joseph's horses. Citing "reasonable concerns" about their condition, Churchill Downs "decided to suspend [Joseph] indefinitely until details are analyzed and understood," the racetrack's president said. Joseph, 36, said he was questioned by investigators and that they "found no wrongdoing on our part."
The deaths come as horse racing's new anti-doping and medication control program has been delayed amid lawsuits by those opposing the new rules. Read more here. | | | And finally… | | | It's party time in Naples.
After missing a chance to clinch their first Serie A title in 33 years at home last weekend, Napoli finished the job last night with a 1-1 draw at Udinese. This is just the third top-division Italian championship in the club's 97-year history, and the first since the legendary Diego Maradona led his teams to victory in 1987 and '90. It's also a rare title for a southern Italian city. Northern powers Juventus, A.C. Milan and Inter Milan had combined to win every Serie A title since 2002 and all but two since 1992.
Last night's result touched off some pretty raucous celebrating as Napoli fans toasted their long-awaited scudetto. Some 11,000 were in the stands up north in Udine, plus another 5,000 outside the stadium. 50,000 jammed Naples' Stadio Diego Armando Maradona to watch the match on big screens. Fireworks and general delirium ensued after Napoli clinched the title, which the locals had been anticipating for weeks as their team enjoyed a big lead in the standings. The party, it's been said, might go on even longer. | | | Coming up on CBC Sports | | | This week's Diving World Cup stop in Montreal is one of the last chances for athletes to show they're worthy of a spot in the summer's world championships. Canada's team is highlighted by Mia Vallée, who broke through with a pair of individual medals at last year's worlds, and Caeli McKay, who fought through a painful ankle injury to place fourth in the 10m synchronized event at the Tokyo Olympics.
Watch the conclusion of Day 1 in Montreal until 6:30 p.m. ET this evening on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem. Live streaming coverage of the entire meet continues Saturday and Sunday, and you can also watch on the CBC TV network Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET. Read more about the Canadians competing in Montreal here.
Other live streams on the CBC Sports platforms this weekend include the Oilers' and Leafs' Stanley Cup playoff games, a World Rowing Cup regatta in Croatia, an international 3-on-3 basketball tournament in China, a triathlon event in Spain, the World Muaythai Championships in Bangkok and the Wheelchair Rugby National Championships in Moncton, N.B. See the full streaming and broadcast schedule here. | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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