Andy Murray beats Canadian Milos Raonic to win his second Wimbledon title

Andy Murray claimed his second Wimbledon title with a flawless 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(2) defeat of Canadian Milos Raonic in Southwest London today Sunday July 10th.

Raonic was bidding to become Canada's first grand slam singles champion, but failed. Speaking after his victory, Andy Murray said

"This is the second most important tournament for me every year. I had some great moments here and tough losses too so that makes it extra special. I 'm proud to get my hands on the trophy again.

Check Out Canadian Curler Mike McEwen Continental Cup Dope Shot

Canadian Milos Raonic rolls into Brisbane quarter-finals

Milos Raonic, of Canada, celebrates his third round win over Julien Benneteau, of France, in Rogers Cup tennis action in Toronto on August 7, 2014. CP

John Pye The Associated Press
Third-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic fired 17 aces and didn’t face a break point as he advanced to the Brisbane International quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan Thursday in his opening match of the year.

“Finished last year and we definitely thought I could do a lot better with my serve, so we spent a lot of time this off season on that and I’m happy that it’s going well,” Raonic said.

The 24-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., said he’s coming off his best off-season ever, and is ready to make his breakthrough at the Grand Slam events.

Canada Knock Off Russia To Win World Series

Canadian players celebrate with their medals after defeating Russia 5-4 in the gold-medal game at the world junior hockey championship Monday night at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

CP
The sweetest sound was the final buzzer.

Canada built a four-goal lead on Russia and could taste gold at the world junior championship. What followed was a harrowing struggle just to hold on.

"We didn't panic or certainly tried not to panic," Sam Reinhart said.

There were moments of panic, but by the time Monday night was over, gold medals were hanging around the players' necks and they sang along with "O Canada" while locking arms on the blue-line on home ice at Air Canada Centre after a thrilling 5-4 victory over Russia.

Canada semi-final bound after blowout win over Denmark

The Canadian Press
Connor McDavid made hockey look fun. Canada made it look easy.

McDavid had a goal and two assists and captain Curtis Lazar scored twice as Canada blew out Denmark 8-0 Friday night at Air Canada Centre in the quarter-finals of the world junior championship. It was a show of force from the undefeated Canadians, who advance to play Slovakia in the semifinal Sunday.

"It was too much for us to face in Canada with their speed and physicality," Danish coach Olaf Eller said. "We faced an amazing team, which, with their speed and extremely quick transition game, killed us."

McDavid earned player of the game honours and deservedly so. The projected No. 1 pick dazzled in his first game at Air Canada Centre, recording one assist falling down, scoring a goal by deking the goalie out of the net and picking up another assist by turning a defenceman inside out.

California High School Ban "I Can't Breathe" T-Shirts at Basketball Tournament

AP

Brendan O'Connor GAWKER
Both boys' and girls' varsity basketball teams from a Northern California high school were disinvited from a tournament because of concerns that players would wear "I Can't Breathe" t-shirts during warm-ups, the Associated Press reports.

Mendocino Unified School District Superintendent Jason Morse told the AP that the boys' team was ultimately re-invited to the tournament at nearby Fort Bragg High School "after all but one player agreed not to wear the shirts anywhere on the Fort Bragg campus during the three-day tournament."

"Too few girls accepted the condition for the team to field a tournament squad," the AP reports.

The words, Eric Garner's last, have become a slogan for protestors demonstrating against police brutality and racism in the American justice system. After a Staten Island grand jury failed to indict the NYPD officer who placed Garner in the chokehold which killed him many athletes began wearing shirts with the words printed on them during warm-ups before games.

Kenya’s Kandie Breaks World Record at Athens Marathon

Kenyan runner Felix Kandie broke the course record of Olympic Champion Stefano Baldini at the Athens Marathon on Sunday with a time of 2 hours 10 minutes and 37 seconds.

 

According to the online Race News Service, the Kenyan running in warm weather condition, improved the record by 18 seconds and broke his personal best by more than five minutes.

 

Italian Baldini had won the Olympic gold ten years ago in a time of 2:10:55.

 

Two time Athens Marathon winner Raymond Bett was second in 2:12:34 while Josphat Chobei completed the Kenyan podium with 2:15:38 for third place.

Blatter Defends Synthetic Pitches for Women’s World Cup In Canada

FIFA President Joseph Blatter has dismissed criticism of the decision to use synthetic pitches at the 2015 women’s football World Cup in Canada.

 

Blatter told Germany’s Sport Bild, magazine published on Wednesday, that artificial surfaces are “the future of football.’’

 

The head of football’s world governing body said he could well imagine the men’s World Cup also being staged soon on synthetic pitches.

 

“We are open to the suggestions of the respective local organisers and this has been possible for years for the men’s World Cup in line with FIFA regulations,’’ he was quoted as saying.

 

A group of leading players filed a lawsuit at the beginning of the month claiming sexual discrimination over the decision to use synthetic pitches for the women’s tournament in Canada.

 

The players include two FIFA Women’s Player of the Year winners, German Nadine Angerer and American Abby Wambach.

 

Players claimed the synthetic pitches pose unique safety risks and are considered inferior for international competition.

 

Blatter said the decision was not about men’s or women’s football, but rather about providing professional conditions for a world championship.

 

“We guarantee that in terms of quality the women’s World Cup will not be inferior in any way to men’s World Cup.’’

San Francisco Giants Wins World Series

John Rieger/USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2, to win Game 7 of the 2014 World Series and earn their third championship in the last five seasons. Though starting pitcher Tim Hudson could not escape the second inning in the game, the Giants’ bullpen shut down the Royals the rest of the way to lead San Francisco to yet another World Series win.

Madison Bumgarner pitched five innings of near-perfect relief and the San Francisco Giants held off the Kansas City Royals 3-2 Wednesday night in Game 7 of the World Series for their third championship in five seasons.

With both starters chased early, this became a matchup of bullpens. And no one stood taller than the 6-foot-5 Bumgarner, who added to his postseason legacy with a third victory this Series.

After center fielder Gregor Blanco misplayed Alex Gordon's drive for a single and two-base error, Bumgarner got Salvador Perez to pop foul to third baseman Pablo Sandoval for the final out.

The Giants ended a Series streak that had seen home teams win the last nine Game 7s. San Francisco took this pairing of wild-card teams after earning titles in 2012 and 2010.

Imagine Dragons to Fire Up This Year's Grey Cup's Halftime Show

Imagine Dragons thrilled their Vancouver fans in February, and the band has promised a similar performance at the Grey Cup in November.

Photograph by: Mark Van Manen, PNG Files , Vancouver Sun

Grammy-winning American rock band Imagine Dragons will be breathing some fire into this year's Grey Cup halftime show, it was announced Thursday.

The Las Vegas-based band known for popular singles Radioactive and It's Time will be performing during the Canadian Football League's championship game at BC Place on Nov. 30.

"You know, I'm not that familiar with Canadian football," Imagine Dragons bassist Ben McKee admitted in a phone interview Wednesday. "I know you get one less down and the field is 10 yards longer and there's less timeouts. I'm for all that stuff - more action and less deliberation on the field."

McKee promised a high-flying performance in the same vein as the ones the band gave on its latest arena tour supporting blockbuster album Night Visions earlier this year. The band's last appearance in Vancouver was at Rogers Arena in February, a huge leap from the previous concert they had played here at the Commodore Ballroom in 2013.

"We like to be very hands-on with the production and we like to have a creative input in every aspect of our performance," McKee said. "Playing a halftime show in a stadium full of fans, you have to elevate everything and magnify it. We're going to bring out some special things for the Grey Cup."

Europe win the Ryder Cup against US

Europe completed their mission in the singles to win the 40th Ryder Cup 16½-11½ against the United States at Gleneagles.

Captain Paul McGinley's side led 10-6 going into the final day and reached the 14½ needed to win the Cup outright when Welsh rookie Jamie Donaldson beat Keegan Bradley 4&3.

Rory McIlroy struck first with a 5&4 win against Rickie Fowler before fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell came back from three down to beat Jordan Spieth 2&1.

Martin Kaymer chipped in on 16 to defeat Bubba Watson 4&2 and Justin Rose scrapped back from four down against Hunter Mahan to grab a half on the last and take Europe to within half a point.

The 38-year-old Donaldson, playing in the 10th match, sealed the win against Bradley with a stunning approach to the 15th green to spark scenes of euphoria in the Perthshire hills.

McGinley said: "I'm very proud of every one of these players. I couldn't have asked for an ounce more from them. I've been involved in so many Ryder Cups and seen mistakes we've made.

"I've changed things a bit, bringing in the fifth vice-captain has been a factor in helping to prepare the guys, especially in the afternoon sessions, but we have had 12 players who have been awesome."

Europe have now won eight of the last 10 Ryder Cups, while the US have not won an away match since 1993.

BBC

Milos Raonic beats Giraldo to secure Canada's Davis Cup World Group spot

Milos Raonic secured Canada's spot in the elite 16-team Davis Cup World Group for the fourth consecutive year.

The hard-serving 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Colombia's Santiago Giraldo 6-1, 7-6, 7-5 to give Canada an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Earlier in the week Raonic had beaten Alejandro Gonzales and Vasek Pospisil defeated Gira

Colombia won their only point of the Davis Cup tie in doubles on Saturday when Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah topped Pospisil and Daniel Nestor.

The draw that will determine Canada's opponent in the 2015 World Group will be held in Dubai on Thursday, Sept. 18.
 

Milan 'San Siro' to host 2016 Champions League final

Italy’s northern city Milan will host the Champions League final in 2016 at San Siro stadium, Italy’s leading sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport said on Monday.

According to the newspaper, the UEFA leaders have found an agreement which will be made official on Sept. 18.

A renovation plan of the stadium worth 60 million euros (77 million U.S. dollars) to be completed by 2016 has convinced the UEFA that Milan was the best choice to host the final, La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote.

“The last fears have been removed,” Sports Councillor of the Milan Municipality Chiara Bisconti was quoted as saying by the Milan-based newspaper.

The fact that a year earlier Milan will host the world exposition – which will run from May 1 to Oct. 31 in 2015 – has reassured the UEFA that the ongoing construction works of a new subway station in the stadium area will also be completed, she said.

The last time that Italy hosted a final of the Champions League was in 2009, at the Stadio Olimpico in capital Rome, when Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0.

Serena Williams Gets $4 Million for Winning US Open

Tennis superstar, Serena Williams, has been given $4 million for winning the US Open!

This is the 6th time in history that she has won the tournament. Her victory also means this is her 18th Grand Slam singles title.

 

The final match of the tournament took place in Flushing Meadows, New York on Sunday, September 7th.

 

Williams, who is ranked as the number one tennis player in the world, defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 6-3 in straight sets, BBC reports.

 

Speaking on her win, she said “I couldn’t have finished things in a better way. It is a pleasure for me to win here, I am really emotional. I couldn’t ask to do it at a better place.”

 

Wozniacki, who is a close friend of Williams, congratulated Serena saying, “she really deserved it today and played better than me.”

 

Great sportsmanship!

 

Serena Williams & Caroline Wozniacki

UEFA Champions League Draws

The 2014-15 UEFA Champions League draw took place on Thursday in Monaco following the conclusion of the final round of play-off fixtures. And with 32 of the top clubs in Europe vying for the Old Big Ears, the road to the final at the Olympia Stadium in Berlin is never going to be easy.    

 

AS Roma and AS Monaco are the two clubs from Pot 4 everyone wants to avoid, while Liverpool will present any of the favourites with a nightmare scenario from Pot 3.  

Here's the full draw for the 2014-15 Champions League Group Stage:

2014-15 Champions League Draw: Group Stages

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Atletico Madrid	Real Madrid	Benfica	Arsenal
Juventus	FC Basel	Zenit	Borussia Dortmund
Olympiacos	Liverpool	Bayer Leverkusen	Galatasaray
Malmo	Ludogorets	AS Monaco	Anderlecht
Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
Bayern Munich	Barcelona	Chelsea	FC Porto
Manchester City	Paris Saint-Germain	Schalke 04	Shakhtar
CSKA Moscow	Ajax	Sporting Club	Athletic Bilbao
Roma	APOEL	Maribor	BATE Borisov

UEFA.com

Team USA Rocking on Without Stars, Beats Brazil 95-78

Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis were great in their win over Brazil. (USATSI)

USA Basketball won't have Kevin Durant or Paul George or Kevin Love. They won't have Blake Griffin or Russell Westbrook either. LeBron James, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard aren't going to play when the competition isn't happening in the Olympics. But Team USA is still full of great talent from the NBA and it was on display in Chicago.

Playing in front of their hometown crowd, Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis reminded us of the super-human ways in which they're capable of playing basketball. We've only seen 10 somewhat disappointing games from Rose since he tore his ACL in the 2012 playoffs, but his speed, quickness, strength, and incredible impact he's capable of having on a basketball game were all on display against Brazil.

Davis led all scorers with 20 points and was impossible for Brazil's NBA big men to keep up with. Nene, Tiago Splitter, and Anderson Varejao all found themselves trailing Davis running the floor at some point in the game. He was catching lobs, challenging shots inside, and he even knocked down a couple of midrange jumpers to show off his versatility. Davis' hustle and effort to dominate the game were on display in the fourth quarter as he went diving out of bounds and into the stands on the sideline to save a ball.

James Harden added 18 points for Team USA and Stephen Curry put on a shooting display early in the first quarter. We were also treated to Kenneth Faried's relentless hustle on the boards early on as he helped boost an early lead for Team USA that quickly got to double digits.

Commonwealth Games Scottie dogs 'disrespectful to Muslims'

Around 40 Scottie dogs were used in the opening ceremony in Glasgow last Wednesday to lead teams around Celtic Park.  Photo: GETTY

Malaysian politicians and religious leaders have attacked the use of Scottie dogs during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, claiming it was disrespectful to Muslims.

Around 40 Scottie dogs were used in the opening ceremony in Glasgow last Wednesday to lead teams around Celtic Park.
 

The dogs, which all wore tartan dog coats with the name of each team on them, were widely praised on social media, with many people stating they thought they had "stolen the show". Hamish, who led out the Scotland team, received one of the biggest cheers of the night.
 

Judy Murray tweeted after the ceremony: "Scottie dogs in tartan coats at CG opening ceremony. Barkingly brilliant."
 

However, not everyone was as impressed. Political and religious leaders in Malaysia have claimed the use of dogs connected to Muslim countries was "disrespectful".

Many Muslims refuse to have direct contact with dogs, which are considered by some to be "unclean" in Islamic culture. Some overseas Muslim groups have reportedly previously called for a jihad on dogs.

Possibly making matters worse was the fact that Jock, who was supposed to lead out the Malaysian team, sat down and refused to move as soon as his coat was put on, meaning he had to be carried by the team representative.

Mohamad Sabu, the deputy president of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party said: "Malaysia and all Islamic countries deserve and apology from the organiser.

ITF Rules out Israel as Davis Cup Venue Due to Gaza Crisis

Israel's Davis Cup match against Argentina next month is being moved out of the country because of the conflict in Gaza.

The Sept. 12-14 World Group playoff will not go ahead as scheduled in Tel Aviv "due to concerns arising from the military conflict between Israel and Hamas," the International Tennis Federation said Thursday.

The ITF said the match will be moved to a neutral venue outside Israel or to Argentina.

The ITF's Davis Cup Committee made the decision after a risk assessment of the situation in Israel and Gaza.

"The committee determined that, while the military conflict seemed to be slowing down, there was no certainty that this would be the case at the time of the tie that is due to take place in five weeks," the ITF said in a statement.

"The committee felt that its first priority was to ensure the safety of the players, officials and the public and regretfully decided that the tie would not be held in Israel as originally scheduled."
Israel has the option of nominating a neutral venue in a different country. If approved by the ITF, Israel will still be considered the home nation and have the financial responsibility of running the event.

If Israel does not agree to play in a neutral venue, the ITF said, the committee has the right to schedule the match on a neutral ground or in Argentina.

"The situation in Israel is very fluid at the moment and yet security in Israel is of an exceptionally high standard," Davis Cup Committee chairman Juan Margets said. "Ultimately the outcome rested on the lack of certainty of the situation at the date of the tie, on the decision of other sports not to compete in Israel at this time and on the ITF's duty to ensure the safety of players, officials and spectators."

The ITF decision came three days after the men's ATP tour canceled the inaugural Israel Open that was set to be played Sept. 15-21 in Tel Aviv, because of security concerns. It would have been the first ATP tournament held in Israel since 1996.

UEFA has already barred Israeli football clubs from playing European matches at home because of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The European Short-Course Swimming Championships in Israel have been postponed by a year until 2015. The European swimming federation did not mention the military conflict in announcing its decision.

Also Thursday, the ITF decided that Kiev would remain as the venue for Ukraine's World Group playoff against Belgium on Sept. 12-14.

The ITF had considered a change of venue because of the fighting in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels.

"The committee determined that, given the current information available, Ukraine would be allowed to host the tie at the Palace of Sports as scheduled," it said. "The committee will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine."

World No.1, Rory McIlroy wins PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy awoke Sunday to a storm that forced him into a waiting game and then discovered a film crew inadvertently showed the golf world the pass code to his iPhone as he typed it in.

Ninety minutes later he faced the burden of keeping some of the biggest stars in golf at a distance and slugging it out with soggy Valhalla Golf Club to win the 96^th edition of PGA Championship.

Two hours into his final round, he had lost the lead he earned through the tournament's first 54 holes and looked puzzled as his game looked frazzled.

The world's No. 1 player finally gathered himself and remained collected the rest of the way as fireworks exploded on the prairies and backwoods of the Bluegrass State.

Barely beating the setting sun and approaching thunder and lightning, McIlroy held off Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson to win the last major of the season.

Ignited by an eagle from 7 feet on the par-5 10^th hole, and basically slamming the door shut on his competitors with a birdie from 10 feet on the 17^th, the former Boy Wonder won his fourth major of his young career, three of them in his last nine starts and two in his last two.

Canada loses U-20 opener 1-0 to Ghana in FIFA U-20 Women's WorldCup

Canada's Emma Fletcher (right) is tackled by Cynthia Yiadom during first half action in 2014 FIFA U-20 women's World Cup action in Toronto on Tuesday August 5, 2014.

The pressure of playing at home, in the biggest match of their young careers, proved costly for Canada’s under-20 women’s soccer team Tuesday.

The Canadians dropped a 1-0 decision to Ghana in the opening game for both teams of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, a disappointing result for a host team that’s hoping to go far in this tournament.

“This is our first major tournament, and also it’s at home, we had a lot of people in the stands for us. It was a little added pressure,” said forward Nichelle Prince. “We knew it was coming, but it’s kind of different when you step on the field, and we had to get adjusted to that. It took us a few minutes to do that.”

Sherifatu Sumaila scored the game’s lone goal in the 22nd minute against a Canadian team that was on its heels in the early going. Sumaila capitalized on a cross from Edem Atovor, pouncing on a rebound after Canada’s ‘keeper Kailen Sheridan had pushed a shot away.

“I don’t think it was too much pressure, but it was certainly new pressure,” said Canadian coach Andrew Olivieri. “The biggest word right now is ‘adapt’ for them.”

Olivieri also said it was “a bit of a curse” not having to go through a qualifying tournament prior to the World Cup — Canada automatically qualified as the host country.

So Canada was lacking big-game experience “. . . not playing in big matches that you have to win. So this is the first match they’re faced with the need to get a result,” he said.