National Sports

MONTREAL — Back from his appearance at the Copa America, Canadian international Mathieu Choinière is focused on giving his best effort for CF Montreal — as long as he’s here.

Canada moved up eight spots in the latest FIFA men's rankings after finishing fourth at the Copa America.

TROON, Scotland (AP) — So much for the British Open being one last stand for Rory McIlroy in the majors this year. His best hope now is getting beyond one more day. And he has company from U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.

Evgeny Kuznetsov had his contract terminated Thursday after clearing unconditional waivers, bringing an abrupt end to the talented but inconsistent center's NHL career, at least for the time being.

TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors will host a pre-season game against the Washington Wizards in Montreal as part of this year's NBA Canada Series. The game announced Thursday will take place Oct.

After outscoring three lesser opponents by a combined 15-0 in qualifying action, the degree of difficulty increases considerably for Canada when it opens play Saturday at the CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship in Mexico.

VANCOUVER — Vanni Sartini loved the way his team played Wednesday, for half of the game at least. Sartini's Vancouver Whitecaps smothered visiting Sporting Kansas City for the first 45 minutes of the match before faltering in the second half.

HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Josef Martinez scored two second-half goals to help CF Montreal rally for a 2-2 tie with the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night. The game was delayed an hour 44 minutes at halftime because of thunderstorms in the area.

Pat Williams, a co-founder of the Orlando Magic and someone who spent more than a half-century working within the NBA, died Wednesday from complications related to viral pneumonia, the team announced. Williams was 84.

CASTIONS DI STRADA, ITALY — The Canadian women's softball team reached the final four of the World Cup with a 5-4 victory over host Italy on Wednesday.