National Sports

Jason Spezza says the Toronto Maple Leafs had conversations — physically distanced, of course — at the start of training camp to discuss the uncertainty of what lay ahead.

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Canada opened the Olympic men's water polo qualification tournament with an 11-7 victory over Brazil at the Zwemcentrum Rotterdam on Sunday. Captain Nicolas Constantin-Bicari was one of five Canadian players with two goals.

MELBOURNE, Australia — All Canadian singles players are out of the Australian Open after Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic suffered losses in the round of 16 on Sunday.

NEW YORK — To every sport, there’s a season, a spot on the calendar that fans mark for the big event. World Series, October. College hoops, March. Indy 500, Memorial Day. For dog owners, it’s right around Valentine’s Day.

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — Vincent Kriechmayr matched two legends of Alpine skiing at the world championships Sunday by adding downhill gold to the super-G title he won three days ago.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks put on their work boots Saturday — literally. Coming into yet another battle against the Calgary Flames, the team was on a six-game losing skid.

NEW YORK — Left-hander James Paxton is returning to the Seattle Mariners after an injury filled second season with the New York Yankees. The 32-year-old left-hander and the Mariners agreed Saturday to an $8.

TORONTO — Having lost three of four and trailing their rivals by a goal through 40 minutes Saturday, the Canadiens were staring down an uncomfortable week filled with no games and lots of questions.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Vancouver's Rebecca Marino needed less than an hour to defeat German Mona Barthel 6-4, 6-3 in the Phillip Island Trophy's opening round Sunday.

HALIFAX — Charlottetown Islanders goalie Colten Ellis made 23 saves as his team earned a 3-0 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax Saturday.