Ex-Canadiens Forward Should Be Great Fit With New Team
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's steady superstardom befits his Hamilton hometown
HAMILTON, Ont. — Even the attributes David Kouadio listed were kind of boring. The city of Hamilton chose Kouadio, a Grade 10 student, to represent all kids in the area to honour Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who received the key to his hometown on Thursday. Kouadio, originally from Ivory Coast but playing basketball at Polaris Prep in nearby Burlington, Ont., spoke about how watching the Oklahoma City Thunder guard has informed his own game. Advertisement 'I watch his footwork,' an understandably nervous Kouadio said. 'I watch how he bumps players.' Not sexy stuff, unless you are really into debates about what constitutes a foul. This is maybe the only lasting criticism of Gilgeous-Alexander — he is stoic, verging on, yes, boring. His on-court game is based on change of pace, side-to-side agility, midrange jumpers and drawing fouls. There have been no flirtations with leaving one of the smallest markets in the league. No contentious contract negotiations. No trademark celebration. No angst about whether he would compete for the Canadian national team, which passes for drama here. His typical night of 33 points, six assists and five rebounds is more remarkable for its consistency than its slanted numbers. There are no questions about his dedication to the game. On Thursday, if only for a moment, Gilgeous-Alexander cracked. Rowan Barrett, the general manager of the Canadian men's team, was outlining what he admired about the star, and pointed out how he has developed into a 'first ballot Hall of Famer.' Gilgeous-Alexander's grin became a gaping smile. 'I'm lucky,' Gilgeous-Alexander said after the event, which also confirmed that part of the city's Mohawk Road would be named after him. 'Early on, I had my shades on so you couldn't see me tearing up a little bit. It was really special. I've been (in that position) in various … ways growing up. And for me to be on it in that fashion was special, a full-circle moment.' The city decided to honour the NBA's scoring champion, regular season Most Valuable Player and Finals MVP a few hours before the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats hosted a game. Outside of Hamilton Stadium, fans dotted in the Thunder's orange and blue and Canada's red and white, with the same hyphenated name on the back of the jerseys, crowded a couple of gates. Advertisement By the time Gilgeous-Alexander got to the stage, a full endzone — remember, those are 20 yards deep and 65 yards wide in Canada instead of the NFL's 10-by-53-1/3 measurements — was full of fans. One of the grandstands was used for overflow, with fans hanging their jerseys over railings, looking for autographs when the speeches were done. Gilgeous-Alexander himself was in a No. 2 Tiger-Cats-style jersey in their familiar yellow-and-black motif. Basketball jerseys with Gilgeous-Alexander's name and number, in that same colour scheme, were available for purchase. Gilgeous-Alexander spoke about how, as he travelled the world, his teammates and friends would say he was from Toronto, not wanting the headache of explaining the geography of Lake Ontario, with his hometown some 70 kilometres southwest. Essentially, Hamilton is to Toronto as Newark is to New York City. 'It's almost like I liked explaining,' Gilgeous-Alexander said, saying he always got specific when given the chance when he was younger. Indeed, several fans were wearing T-shirts that quoted Gilgeous-Alexander as saying, 'I'm from Hamilton.' 'It's almost like I liked telling them what Steel City meant to me. It instilled pride and joy (in) me (and allowed me) to be able to be different. Hamilton is different from every other city in Ontario. Hamiltonians carry a different sense of grit, determination, pride and energy than the rest of the province. And honestly, I couldn't shy away from that.' That was a babyface promo worthy of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, bizarrely the only other person who Hamilton has given the key to the city, per Hamilton Spectator columnist Scott Radley. (Notably, Austin was not known as the 'Southern Ontario rattlesnake.') So much of Canada's basketball rise has focused on Toronto, and deservedly so. Most of the players who have funnelled into the NBA since 2011 have been from Toronto or one of its suburbs. That is true on the woman's side, too. Toronto has the Raptors, and will have the WNBA's Tempo starting in 2026. Advertisement But it's clear Gilgeous-Alexander resonates with Hamilton, and perhaps it is that steady brand of superstardom. Videos leading into the event showed clips of him playing at two high schools in Hamilton — St. Thomas More Catholic and Sir Allan MacNab Secondary. As the video synced several voices up to say, 'The NBA MVP is from … Hamilton, Ontario,' the crowd roared. This was a hype rally for a guy who generally refuses to get hyped. For an afternoon, he gave in, lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy as fireworks usually reserved for Ti-Cats touchdowns went off behind him. 'I don't play for any of those things. I play … because I love the sport,' Gilgeous-Alexander said when asked about his understated nature. 'I've had fun with it my whole life. And I play it to see how much I can get out of it and who I can be at the end of the day. And hopefully today I'm not the best version of myself. So I'm not too over the moon. I'm not too excited.' For an afternoon, he made an exception. 'I've always been so proud to be from the city,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'And it means the world to know that I am someone that this city is proud of.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canadian teenager Mboko beats Osaka to win first WTA title
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko defied a swollen right wrist to come from a set down on Friday to outwit the four-time major champion Naomi Osaka and claim her first senior tour title at the Canadian Open. The 18-year-old, who was given an invitation into the main draw by the organisers, won 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 and joins Faye Urban and Bianca Andreescu as the only home-town players to take the crown at the 133-year-old tournament since tennis became open to professional players in 1968. To the roars and cheers of the partisans watching on centre court as Mboko dropped to her knees after Osaka fired a shot into the net. Mboko then ran to hug her family and coaches in the court-side box. 'Seeing so many people standing up and cheering for me, it was kind of a surreal experience,' said Mboko. "I would have never thought something like this would have come so suddenly. It just proves that your dreams are closer than they seem. 'It's been an incredible week here in Montreal.' In her run to the title, Mboko overcame four players who had won titles at the four Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York. In the first round on 30 July, Mboko ousted the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. In the last-16 three days later, she saw off the 2025 French Open champion Coco Gauff. In the semis, Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, was dispatched. Osaka, who has won two US and two Australian Opens, was dismantled in two hours and five minutes. "I don't really want to take up too much time," said Osaka. "So I will just say thank you to everyone. Thank you to my team, the ball kids, the organisers and the volunteers." On Wednesday, in the final set of the match against Rybakina, Mboko fell heavily and on Thursday went to hospital for X-rays and an MRI scan on her wrist. She was given the all-clear to play just before the final. 'There's some moments where my wrist was aggravating me a lot and it was hard to move, but I feel like it was the final. I just kept saying to myself: 'You have one more to go.'' Following the victory, Mboko will rise 60 places to 25th in the WTA world rankings and feature for the first time among the seeded players at the US Open in New York, which starts on 24 August.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Guerrero leads Blue Jays against the Dodgers after 4-hit game
Toronto Blue Jays (68-48, first in the AL East) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (66-49, first in the NL West) Los Angeles; Friday, 10:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Blue Jays: Max Scherzer (2-1, 4.39 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 44 strikeouts); Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (5-2, 3.29 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 42 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dodgers -149, Blue Jays +125; over/under is 9 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Blue Jays play the Los Angeles Dodgers after Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s four-hit game on Wednesday. Los Angeles is 66-49 overall and 36-23 at home. The Dodgers have the second-ranked team batting average in the NL at .255. Toronto has a 30-29 record in road games and a 68-48 record overall. The Blue Jays have a 54-22 record in games when they record at least eight hits. The teams meet Friday for the first time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Shohei Ohtani has 15 doubles, seven triples and 39 home runs while hitting .276 for the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman is 16 for 40 with two doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games. Guerrero ranks second on the Blue Jays with 44 extra base hits (26 doubles and 18 home runs). Bo Bichette is 19 for 46 with two doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Dodgers: 5-5, .251 batting average, 2.79 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs Blue Jays: 5-5, .337 batting average, 5.63 ERA, outscored opponents by 13 runs INJURIES: Dodgers: Tommy Edman: 10-Day IL (ankle), Kirby Yates: 15-Day IL (back), Hyeseong Kim: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Tanner Scott: 15-Day IL (elbow), Michael Kopech: 60-Day IL (knee), Kike Hernandez: 10-Day IL (elbow), Roki Sasaki: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tony Gonsolin: 60-Day IL (elbow), Evan Phillips: 60-Day IL (forearm), Kyle Hurt: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Grove: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brusdar Graterol: 60-Day IL (shoulder), River Ryan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gavin Stone: 60-Day IL (shoulder) Blue Jays: Joey Loperfido: day-to-day (knee), George Springer: 7-Day IL (head), Shane Bieber: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bowden Francis: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Burr: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nick Sandlin: 15-Day IL (elbow), Andres Gimenez: 10-Day IL (ankle), Yimi Garcia: 15-Day IL (ankle), Anthony Santander: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alek Manoah: 60-Day IL (elbow), Angel Bastardo: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
