National Sports

Curling Canada has gone international to find a replacement for longtime high-performance director Gerry Peckham.

CALGARY — Veteran forward Rebecca Johnston returns to the Canadian women's hockey team for the final two games of a Rivalry Series against the United States.

TORONTO — Saskatchewan Roughriders Darnell Sankey and Anthony Lanier II will be among the CFL players entering the league's negotiation window this weekend.

Canadian featherweight Kyle (The Monster) Nelson is looking forward to welcoming (The Korean Superboy) Doo-ho Choi back to the cage at Saturday's UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas.

VANCOUVER — Felix Auger-Aliassime will look to help Team World defend its Laver Cup title when the tournament comes to Canada this fall. The 22-year-old from Montreal became the first player named to captain John McEnroe's six-man team Thursday.

TORONTO — Lucia Stafford says the key to her early-season track and field success is simple. She's happy. Life is good.

HUA HIN, Thailand — Top-seed Bianca Andreescu advanced to the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open tennis tournament with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Russia's Anastasia Zakharova on Thursday. The native of Mississauga, Ont.

CALGARY — Connor Bedard scored the shootout winner, in addition to his league-best 44th goal of the season, to lift the Regina Pats past the Calgary Hitmen 6-5 on Wednesday.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lauri Markkanen had 28 points and 13 rebounds and Mike Conley added a three-point play and two clutch free throws in the closing minutes to lift the Utah Jazz to a 131-128 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs feel like they can keep up with the NHL-leading Boston Bruins. They just need to do it for three consecutive periods. Pavel Zacha scored twice in the third as Boston surged past the Maple Leafs 5-2 on Wednesday.