LOCAL SPORTS
AUS: It’s the home opener for the X-Men football team. Coming off their first regular season loss since 2019 last week against Bishop’s, the X-Men are hungry for a win as they host Acadia. Kickoff at St. FX stadium is set for 2 o’clock.
The X-Women Rugby squad begin their regular season in Halifax today, as they take on the Saint Mary’s Huskies at 2 o’clock.
The X-Women and X-Men – perennial contenders for conference supremacy – will start the race for this year’s Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Cross-Country championships this weekend in Wolfville. The Acadia Invitational will feature the women’s race at Noon, followed by the men’s competition at 1. On the women’s side, the White and Blue will be chasing their fourth consecutive AUS banner. Last season, the conference three-peat served as a springboard to a program-best bronze-medal performance at the USPORTS championship. The X-Men raced to an AUS silver and 11th place at nationals in 2023.
Junior B: In pre-season action, the Pictou County Scotians downed the Brookfield Elks 4-3 at the Wellness Centre on Friday. This afternoon, the Strait Pirates are on the road to face Membertou in the first game of a weekend home-and-home at 4 pm.
U15: The Wearwell Bombers begin their pre-season in Truro vs the Bearcats. Game time is 1 pm.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders have a pre-season tilt with the Fundy Thunder at the Keating Centre at Noon.
U18 Major: The CB West Islanders face off with the Rush in Membertou at 1:30, followed by the Weeks Majors hosting Steele Subaru at the Wellness Centre at 3.
QMJHL: At the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre on Friday, the CB Eagles trounced Saint John 10-1 in pre-season action.
Management for Riverside International Speedway and the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour are postponing today’s event at Riverside on Saturday due to the storm. A decision will be made by mid-day as to whether or not the rain date will be Sunday. The Back to School Spectacular is scheduled to include the Scotia Diesel 155 for the East Coast International Pro Stock Tour, the Nickerson Auto Salvage 55 for the Dulux Paint MASS Street Stock, and the Whispering Winds Campground MASS Mini Stock 55.
NATIONAL SPORTS
The B-C Lions are in sole possession of first place in the C-F-L’s West Division after a 37-23 victory in Montreal. B-C is two points up on Winnipeg and three ahead of Saskatchewan. The 10-and-2 Alouettes have a comfortable lead in the East Division standings.
Quite an Eagles debut for Saquon Barkley. He scored three touchdowns to lead Philadelphia to a 34-29 win over Green Bay in the first N-F-L game in Brazil. Packers quarterback Jordan Love limped off the field with assistance after getting injured with six seconds left.
A calf injury may keep Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson out of the Steelers’ opener at Atlanta this weekend. He was limited in practice this past week but hopes to be able to play. Backup Justin Fields will get the nod if Wilson is unavailable.
Make it eight wins in a row for the New York Mets. They defeated Cincinnati 6-4 to remain tied with Atlanta for the last National League wild-card spot. The Mets haven’t trailed in 63 innings. The Braves defeated Toronto 3-1. The Blue Jays have dropped four games in a row.
Canadian wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk is a Paralympic Games gold medalist. The 27-year-old from Oakville, Ont., won in the men’s T34 800 metres. Smeenk collected his second medal after taking bronze in the 100 metres in Paris. He set world records in both the 400 and 800 metres earlier this year. Smeenk was born with spastic paraplegia, which is a hereditary disease causing progressive stiffness and contraction in the lower limbs. He captured Canada’s eighth medal and fifth gold in para track and field in Paris.
Taylor Fritz will become the first American to appear in a Grand Slam men’s singles final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. Fritz outlasted fellow American Frances Tiafoe (tee-AHF’-oh) in a five-set semifinal in New York. He’ll face top-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner on Sunday.
Friday’s Scoreboard
CFL
B.C. 37 Montreal 23
NFL
Philadelphia 34 Green Bay 29
MLB
Interleague
Atlanta 3 Toronto 1
N.Y. Yankees 3 Chicago Cubs 0
Houston 8 Arizona 0
Seattle 6 St. Louis 1
Cleveland 3 L.A. Dodgers 1
American League
Boston 3 Chicago White Sox 1
Baltimore 2 Tampa Bay 0
L.A. Angels 5 Texas 1
Kansas City 5 Minnesota 0
Oakland 7 Detroit 6 (13 innings)
National League
N.Y. Mets 6 Cincinnati 4 (10 innings)
Philadelphia 16 Miami 2
Seattle 6 St. Louis 1
San Diego 5 San Francisco 1
Colorado 3 Milwaukee 2
Washington at Pittsburgh, postponed
WNBA
Minnesota 99 Indiana 88
Las Vegas 72 Connecticut 67
Atlanta 107 Dallas 96 (OT)
Chicago 92 Los Angeles 78
Saturday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
CFL
Toronto at Ottawa, 1 p.m.
Saskatchewan at Winnipeg, 3 p.m.
Calgary at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
MLB
Interleague
N.Y. Yankees (Schmidt 5-3) at Chicago Cubs (Assad 7-4), 2:20 p.m.
Arizona (Rodriguez 2-0) at Houston (Kikuchi 7-9), 4:10 p.m.
Seattle (Gilbert 7-10) at St. Louis (Gibson 8-6), 7:15 p.m.
Toronto (Berrios 14-9) at Atlanta (Schwellenbach 5-6), 7:20 p.m.
Cleveland (Cobb 1-1) at L.A. Dodgers (Stone 11-5), 9:10 p.m.
American League
Tampa Bay (Pepiot 7-6) at Baltimore (Eflin 10-7), 4:05 p.m.
Detroit (TBD) at Oakland (TBD), 4:07 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Anderson 10-12) at Texas (Leiter 0-2), 7:05 p.m.
Minnesota (Ober 12-6) at Kansas City (Marsh 7-8), 7:15 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Crochet 6-10) at Boston (Criswell 5-4), 7:15 p.m.
National League
Cincinnat (TBD) at N.Y. Mets (TBD), 4:10 p.m.
Philadelphia (Nola 12-6) at Miami (McCaughan 0-0), 4:10 p.m.
Washington (Parker 7-9) at Pittsburgh (Keller 11-9), 6:40 p.m.
Colorado (Blach 3-7) at Milwaukee (Myers 6-5), 7:10 p.m.
San Francisco (Webb 11-8) at San Diego (Cease 12-10), 8:40 p.m.
MLS
St. Louis at New England, 7:30 p.m.
Sporting KC at N.Y. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Seattle at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
D.C. United at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Dallas at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m.
WNBA
Phoenix at Seattle, 9 p.m.