National Sports

MONTREAL — Defence has been the strong point on the Montreal Alouettes this season, but that will be put to the test by Bo Levi Mitchell and the Calgary Stampeders.

Penny Oleksiak believes she's swimming faster these days. The world championship will tell her if she's right.

EDMONTON — Veteran defenceman Andrew Ference, who won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011, has announced his retirement from professional hockey after 16 NHL seasons.

TORONTO — Sebastien Bourdais is trading in his helmet for his smarts this weekend at the Honda Indy Toronto.

WASHINGTON — A committee of Major League Baseball owners and executives can determine how much money the Washington Nationals should receive from the Baltimore Orioles for television broadcasts of their games, an appeals court ruled Thursday.

EDMONTON — "Maybe next year," the mantra of losing sports teams to give hope to their fans, means something different to Edmonton Eskimos running backs Kendial Lawrence and John White.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Impact added depth at left back with the acquisition of Shaun Francis from the San Jose Earthquakes on Thursday.

TORONTO — It may be the middle of summer in Toronto, but Will Power thinks the streets surrounding Exhibition Place could have an element of a Canadian winter on Sunday afternoon.

NEW YORK — The charade only ended in the final years of Chuck Blazer's life. Stripped of his extravagances, soccer's gregarious and greedy dealmaker was forced to admit to his years of corruption and confined to a New Jersey hospital.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Impact has acquired left-back Shaun Francis from the San Jose Earthquakes. The Impact will send San Jose either a second round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft or US$50,000 in general allocation money.