National Sports

TORONTO — Ontario is not ready to approve play for its two American Hockey League teams in the province, creating some uncertainty for a new five-team Canadian Division.

With COVID-19 problems cropping up and four teams currently idled, the NHL has revised its virus protocols in a bid to keep the shortenend season on track.

TORONTO — The Toronto Argonauts significantly upgraded their defensive line on Thursday, signing CFL veterans Charleston Hughes and Cordarro Law.

Olympic ice dance champion Scott Moir will be guiding Canada's future stars. The 33-year-old from Ilderton, Ont., has been hired as head coach and managing director of the Ice Academy of Montreal's second campus in southwestern Ontario.

MONTREAL — CF Montreal has acquired Argentine midfielder Joaquin Torres and Egyptian midfielder Egyptian Ahmed Hamdi on loan for the 2021 season. Both deals also includes an option to purchase the player.

Canada will send at least three teams to a revamped, expanded CONCACAF Champions League, the top-tier club tournament for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Led by a trio of superstars, the Brooklyn Nets have the most potent offence in the NBA, averaging a league-leading 122.3 points a night, on a NBA-best 50.1 per cent shooting.

WINNIPEG — Flames forward Sam Bennett was scratched from Calgary's lineup days after his agent revealed he wants a trade.

The Toronto Raptors have secured general manager Bobby Webster for several more years. The Raptors re-signed Webster, one of the architects of the 2019 NBA championship team, to a multi-year deal on Thursday. No terms of the agreement were released.

Norway is predicted to top the medals table and Canada to drop to fifth in the Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to one forecast released a year before the Games are to open. The Beijing Olympics are set to begin on Feb. 4, 2022.