National Sports

MONTREAL — Lionel Messi superfan Pier-Marc Brunelle is finally getting the chance to see his idol play live. And he can’t believe that it’s happening in Montreal of all places.

TORONTO — As Vladimir Guerrero Jr., came to the plate in the sixth inning the fans at Rogers Centre gave him a standing ovation, already anticipating that he'd be able to drive in the tying run and maybe the go-ahead score. He didn't disappoint.

CLIFTON, N.J. (AP) — Madelene Sagstrom and Rose Zhang left Nelly Korda and everyone else way behind Saturday in the Cognizant Founders Cup.

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic already had a balky right knee and an achy left ankle when he fell hard on his back while battling his primary defender, Lu Dort, for a loose ball.

PWHL New York is changing coaches after reaching a mutual agreement with Howie Draper , who decided to step down and return to his former job coaching the University of Alberta women’s hockey program, the league announced Saturday.

MONTREAL — Messi Mania has arrived in Canada. Lionel Messi is part of Inter Miami CF's starting 11 for Saturday's Major League Soccer match against CF Montreal at Stade Saputo.

TORONTO — Summer McIntosh and Javier Acevedo, representing the young and old hands of the Canadian Swimming squad, met poolside for what turned out to be an awkward greeting on Saturday.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Connor Bedard scored twice in his world championship debut, and Canada overcame a surprise early deficit to open its title defence at the world hockey championship with a 4-2 win over newcomer Britain on Saturday.

ROME — Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime continued his successful run on clay with a 6-1, 7-6 (8) win over Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp in second-round action Saturday at the Italian Open.

TORONTO — Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.