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Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Northern Super League's inaugural final to take place at Toronto's BMO Field
TORONTO – The Northern Super League's inaugural final will be played at Toronto's BMO Field on Nov. 15, the league announced Friday at halftime of a match between Montreal Roses FC and AFC Toronto. The long-awaited Canadian women's professional soccer league kicked off a 25-game regular season in April with six founding franchises: Montreal, Toronto, Calgary Wild FC, Halifax Tides FC, Ottawa Rapid FC and Vancouver Rise FC. The regular season's top four teams advance to a home-and-away semifinal series. The two clubs with the highest aggregate scores advance to the championship. Toronto hosted Montreal in its first fixture on April 19 at BMO Field, the 30,000-capacity home of Major League Soccer's Toronto FC and the CFL's Toronto Argonauts. The club has otherwise played its regular-season matches at York Lions Stadium. BMO Field will also host six games at next summer's FIFA World Cup. Before Friday's action, Toronto (8-3-1) topped the NSL standings with 25 points, seven more than second-place Montreal (5-3-3) with one additional game played. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Ottawa (4-4-2) and Calgary (4-5-2) rounded out the top four with 14 points apiece, while Vancouver (3-5-3) and Halifax (3-7-1) ranked fifth and sixth, respectively. Tickets for the final go on public sale in early September. The game will also be broadcast nationally on CBC, TSN and RDS in French. 'This moment is for the players, coaches and clubs who have given everything to build this league from the ground up — the long days, the early mornings, and the sacrifices they've made, all with one goal in mind: to win the NSL Final,' NSL founder and chief growth officer Diana Matheson said in a statement. 'The Final is our chance to celebrate everything they've accomplished and to show the world what our athletes are truly capable of. It will be a historic moment — but also the start of something even bigger. We can't wait to share it with Canadians.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
MLB All-Star Game has slight drop in viewers despite having its first swing-off
NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball's All-Star Game — which featured the contest's first swing-off to determine the winner — averaged 7,185,000 viewers Tuesday night on Fox, according to Nielsen. It was Fox's most-watched telecast since the Super Bowl and the network's best audience for a Tuesday night since last year's Game 4 of the World Series. However, it was a 3.5% decrease from the 2024 game and the second-lowest for the Midsummer Classic. Kyle Schwarber's three home runs gave the National League a 4-3 victory in the swing-off after the American League rallied to tie it at 6-6 in the ninth inning after trailing by six runs in the seventh. The audience for the game in Atlanta peaked at 8.1 million viewers from 9:15-9:30 p.m. EDT. Major League Baseball and the players' association made the change in 2022 amid concerns about running out of pitchers because hardly anyone throws more than an inning in the game anymore, The game was decided by having three batters from each league take three swings each off coaches in what was baseball's equivalent of soccer's penalty-kicks shootout. Baseball continues to have the best ratings for an event featuring All-Stars. The NHL did not have an All-Star Game this year, while the NBA's averaged 4.7 million on TNT. The NFL's Pro Bowl games, a series of skills competitions and flag football, also averaged 4.7 million on ABC. Monday night's Home Run Derby averaged 5.73 million on ESPN, a 5% increase over last year. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP MLB:
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Is it October yet?
The Winnipeg Jets will open the 2025-26 NHL season the same way their last campaign ended — facing the Dallas Stars. The Central Division rivals will clash in a playoff rematch on Thursday, Oct. 9, at Canada Life Centre, which is two days after the league gets going in other markets. Dallas eliminated Winnipeg in six games this past spring, ending the Jets' Stanley Cup hopes in the second round. Winnipeg kicks off the new hockey year with a home-heavy schedule, playing eight of their first 12 games at the downtown rink. That stretch will be followed by a season-long six-game road trip through the Pacific Division, beginning Nov. 4 in Los Angeles and concluding Nov. 13 in Seattle. That marks the start of a gruelling run where the Jets will play 11 of 14 games on the road. JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES The Winnipeg Jets start the 2025-26 campaign at home in a rematch of last season's Stanley Cup second-round matchup against the Dallas Stars. The team's longest homestand runs from March 3 to March 17, starting with the Chicago Blackhawks and wrapping up with the Nashville Predators. Six other teams will visit Winnipeg during that stretch. In total, the Jets have nine sets of back-to-back games this season — four exclusively on the road, three at home, and two with a home-and-away split. Saturdays will be the busiest day on the calendar, with Winnipeg playing 18 games, including 10 at home. Three of those will be afternoon matinees. The Jets also have three Sunday afternoon games scheduled. Divisional play includes 26 games — four each against Dallas, Chicago, Colorado, Minnesota and St. Louis, and three against Utah and Nashville. Winnipeg will face all 16 Eastern Conference teams twice, once at home and once on the road, and play the eight Pacific Division teams three times each to round out the schedule. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Other notable games on the calendar include: The NHL's national broadcast schedule will be announced later this summer, with most Jets games airing on TSN3 and additional coverage split between Rogers Sportsnet and Amazon Prime. All 82 games will be carried on 680 CJOB radio and simulcast on Power 97. Training camp opens Sept. 17, with six preseason games scheduled between Sept. 21 and Oct. 3. X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyreReporter Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Kyle Schwarber's 3 homers in All-Star Game's first tiebreaking swing-off lift NL over AL
ATLANTA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber went 3 for 3 to put the National League ahead as they won the first All-Star Game home run swing-off 4-3 following a 6-6 tie in which the American League rallied from a six-run deficit on Tuesday night. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. In baseball's equivalent of soccer's penalty-kicks shootout, the game was decided by having three batters from each league take three swings each off coaches. The change was agreed to in 2022 to alleviate the concern of teams running out of pitchers. Schwarber was named All-Star MVP after going 0 for 2 with a walk in the game.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 days ago
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
Contingency plans unclear for 2026 World Cup wildfire smoke risks
While some organizations have published clear air quality thresholds or contingency protocols for wildfire smoke, FIFA's plans remain unclear less than a year out from the 2026 World Cup. A day after Toronto's air quality was among the worst in the world, the organizing committee for the World Cup in Canada declined to reveal guidelines for postponement or air-quality-related contingencies with FIFA. No policies are posted publicly. The World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Canada will stage 13 games — seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto. The Air Quality Health Index rating for Toronto was over 10, or 'very high risk,' on Monday morning, dropping to a 'high risk' rating of 8 by late afternoon. In the CFL, meanwhile, games can't be played when the AQHI surpasses a threshold of seven, according to an agreement between the league and its players. CFL stadiums are also equipped with air-quality sensors to provide real-time readings. The CFL postponed the Saskatchewan Roughriders-Calgary Stampeders game in Regina from Friday night to Saturday afternoon this past weekend due to air quality issues, as wildfires from northern Saskatchewan pushed the AQHI above 10. Many minor soccer associations in Canada also recommend delaying or rescheduling games if the AQHI is 7 or higher. Dr. Andrew Halayko, a professor of physiology and pathophysiology at the University of Manitoba, calls anything above 10 a 'no-brainer' for postponing sporting events. He also believes sporting events on days when the AQHI rises higher than 7 should be rescheduled due to health concerns. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Halayko adds that while people should be able to make their own health decisions, sometimes the general population needs guidance. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025.
