National Sports

TORONTO — Raptors all-star guard Fred VanVleet sat out Thursday's do-or-die Game 6 of Toronto's opening-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

ESTORIL, Portugal — Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the quarterfinals of the Estoril Open tennis tournament with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Spain's Carols Tabener on Thursday.

SAINTE-THÉRÈSE, Que. — Mike Bossy was a fighter who wanted to beat the cancer that eventually killed him, Quebec Premier François Legault said Thursday before attending the Hockey Hall of Famer's funeral service north of Montreal.

The Canadian women's rugby sevens team returns to action on home soil this weekend, almost a year to the day that coach John Tait stepped down in the wake of an independent review into a complaint from current and former players.

GENEVA — Canada's Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant won their final preliminary matches Thursday at the world mixed doubles curling championship to finish second in their group and set up a playoff showdown with Norway.

Football Canada president Jim Mullin is "cautiously optimistic" the amateur game in Canada has weathered the COVID-19 storm. The global pandemic shut down much of the sport in this country the last two years, especially tackle football.

KAUFBEUREN, Germany — Joakim Kemell scored in overtime to complete a hat trick, and Finland came back to beat Canada 6-5 in quarterfinal action Thursday at the world men's under-18 hockey championship.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps have acquired Paraguayan international midfielder Andrés Cubas via transfer from French club Nîmes Olympique.

TORONTO — It's been a competitive start for Ontario's fledgling sports-betting market but Greg Warren is anticipating that to ramp up shortly.

TORONTO — Three years after the Raptors last played post-season basketball at home, nobody on this side of the border wants to see Toronto's run end yet.