 Lots to talk about today! Connor McDavid signed a surprising extension with the Oilers, while the Blue Jays look like World Series contenders after pounding the Yankees in their first two playoff games.
More on that stuff below. But first, let's get you up to speed on how Canadians fared on the international sports scene over the weekend. | | | Weekend recap: Para track stars finish strong | | | Here's a look at some top Canadian performances from the past few days:
Para track and field: Canada ends world championships on a high note
Canadians captured four more medals, including a pair of golds, over the final two days of competition at the World Para Athletics Championships in India.
After wheelchair racer Anthony Bouchard won gold in the men's 100m T52 event on Saturday, distance runner Nate Tucker (formerly known as Nate Riech) grabbed his third career world title in the men's 1,500m T38 to lead a three-medal finish for Canada on Sunday. Sprinter Marissa Papaconstantinou and wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk both picked up their second medal of the championships as Papaconstantinou took silver in the women's T64 200m (she had a bronze in the 100m) while Smeenk earned bronze in the men's T34 800m (matching his result in the 400m).
Canada finished with nine medals, including three golds — good for 22nd in the standings. The other Canadian gold medallist was two-time Paralympic men's shot put champion Greg Stewart, who captured his first world title on Friday.
Weightlifting: Charron medals again at worlds
Canadian star Maude Charron captured silver in the women's 63-kilogram division at the world championships in Norway on Sunday for her fourth major medal in three different weight classes. Charron won Olympic gold in the 64kg class in 2021 before grabbing bronze at the 2022 worlds and silver at the 2024 Olympics at 59kg.
Charron, a 32-year-old from Rimouski, Que., lifted 103kg in the snatch and a personal-best 133kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 236kg. North Korea's Ri Suk put up 253kg to win the gold.
Curling: Homan, Dunstone win again
Canadian skips Rachel Homan and Matt Dunstone followed up their victories at the Grand Slam season opener by winning the women's and men's titles, respectively, at the PointsBet Invitational in Calgary.
Homan, the back-to-back women's world champion, defeated Corryn Brown in Sunday's final to win the PointsBet for the third straight time. It's now been a full year since Homan lost to a Canadian opponent (she's 27-0), which bodes well for her chances at next month's Canadian Olympic trials in Halifax.
Dunstone is emerging as a top contender at the men's trials after beating 2014 Olympic champion Brad Jacobs on Sunday in a rematch of last season's Brier final, which Jacobs won. Dunstone won the AMJ Masters last week in London, Ont., for his first Grand Slam title in six years.
Other key results:
* Trampolinist Sophiane Méthot reached two podiums at a World Cup stop in France. The 2024 Olympic individual bronze medallist took bronze in her solo event and teamed with Sarah Milette for their second synchronized gold in three weeks.
* Figure skater Madeline Schizas picked up the women's bronze at the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge in Kazakhstan, part of the ISU Challenger Series. Canadian ice dancers Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer just missed the podium, placing fourth. The ISU Grand Prix tour kicks off next week in France.
* Tennis players Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo have both advanced to the fourth round at the Shanghai Masters. The 12th-seeded Auger-Aliassime will face No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy next, while No. 31 Diallo meets unseeded Belgian Zizou Bergs. 23rd-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov was eliminated in the third round along with No. 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy, who quit his match due to cramping in his thigh. World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz withdrew before the tournament due to an ankle injury. | | |  | Canada's Nate Tucker won his third 1,500m title at the World Para Athletics Championships on Sunday. (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images) | | | Quickly … | | | Some other things to know:
1. Connor McDavid gave the Oilers a huge discount.
Edmonton announced today that it has signed McDavid to a surprising two-year, $25-million US contract extension — a below-market-rate deal that prevents the NHL's best player from becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer.
McDavid became eligible for an extension on July 1, and his apparent reluctance to do so had fuelled speculation that he might leave Edmonton when his current deal expires after this season. It was assumed that if the three-time MVP did re-up with the Oilers, he would become the highest-paid player in NHL history in terms of both annual salary and the total value on the contract. Instead, he opted for a much shorter deal for much less per season than he's worth, giving his team some unexpected room under the salary cap to help McDavid win his first Stanley Cup.
While the Oilers would obviously have liked to re-sign McDavid for the maximum eight years allowed under the current labour deal, they got a hell of a bargain here. His average annual salary of $12.5M is the exact same he's making under his current eight-year contract, even though the salary cap is rocketing up from $88M last season to at least $113.5M by 2027. Plus, the Minnesota Wild just gave $17M a year to Kirill Kaprizov, who's reached 100 points just once in five NHL seasons.
McDavid probably could have squeezed Edmonton for $20M per season. Instead, he gave the Oilers the cap flexibility to put a championship supporting cast around him. Now it's up to them to do it. And the clock is ticking.
2. The Blue Jays ran the Yankees out of Toronto.
The Jays' first two playoff games couldn't have gone better as they pounded visiting New York 10-1 and 13-7 to take command of their best-of-five American League Division Series.
Toronto's bats were on fire all weekend, with catcher Alejandro Kirk belting a pair of homers on Saturday, centre-fielder Daulton Varsho following suit on Sunday, and star slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. going deep in both games — including the first post-season grand slam in franchise history — as Toronto piled up a total of eight dingers. On the mound, rookie Trey Yesavage tossed a gem on Sunday, striking out a Jays playoff record 11 batters while no-hitting the Yankees over 5⅓ innings until manager John Schneider pulled him after 78 pitches.
Toronto can earn its first trip to the AL Championship Series since 2016 with a win on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. Former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, who went 4-2 in seven starts after the Jays acquired him at the trade deadline, will start against New York lefty Carlos Rodon (18-9).
Tonight brings Game 2 of both National League Division Series. The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers lead Philadelphia while top-seeded Milwaukee is up on the Chicago Cubs. Seattle and Detroit are tied 1-1 going into Game 3 of their AL series on Tuesday afternoon.
3. Las Vegas is in control of the WNBA Finals.
The second-seeded Aces lead the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury two games to none after 89-86 and 91-78 home wins over the weekend. Four-time regular-season MVP A'ja Wilson is averaging 24.5 points and 12 rebounds in the series for Vegas, while All-Star guard Jackie Young poured in 32 points in Game 2.
The Aces are going for their third title in four years after winning in 2022 and '23. But they have some extra work to do this time as the Finals have moved to a best-of-seven format. Game 3 is on Wednesday night in Phoenix.
4. The CFL playoff field is filling up.
The B.C. Lions, who improved to 9-7 with a 38-24 win over Calgary, and the idle Montreal Alouettes (8-7) clinched post-season berths over the weekend, joining division leaders Saskatchewan (11-4) and Hamilton (10-6). Grey Cup champion Toronto (5-11) and Ottawa (4-11) were eliminated from contention.
With three weeks left in the regular season, two spots remain up for grabs between three teams: Calgary (8-7), Winnipeg (8-7) and Edmonton (6-9). The Stampeders visit Hamilton this weekend while the Blue Bombers and Elks square off in Edmonton.
In the NFL, there are no unbeaten teams remaining after the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills each suffered upset losses at home in Week 5. Philly blew a two-touchdown lead in a 21-17 loss to Denver while former Buffalo star Stefon Diggs burned the Bills for 10 catches and 146 yards to lead New England to a 23-20 win in the Sunday nighter.
Meanwhile, Baltimore fell to a stunning 1-4 after getting shellacked 44-10 by Houston as star quarterback Lamar Jackson and several other key Ravens sat out with injuries, while Tampa Bay improved 4-1 with a rollicking 38-35 win over Seattle.
In some bizarre NFL news, former New York Jets quarterback and current Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez is facing a felony charge stemming from an altercation in Indianapolis that left him hospitalized with stab wounds. | | | That's it for today. Talk to you later. | | | | Not subscribed? Sign up here to get the Buzzer delivered to your inbox. Got an idea, question, comment or other feedback on the newsletter? Drop us a line at thebuzzer@cbc.ca. | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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