National Sports

TORONTO — Sheldon Keefe saw a different Auston Matthews back in January. Creating offence had never been a problem for the Maple Leafs' star sniper.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Randal Grichuk homered, doubled and drove in five runs to lead the Toronto Blue Jays to a 10-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.

The venerable supports of pandemic-era sports media coverage — television and streaming — have been critical lifelines for reporters tasked with remote filing in the absence of regular in-person access.

Canadian athletes and officials applauded Thursday's news that Pfizer and BioNTech are donating COVID-19 doses to inoculate athletes and officials preparing for the Tokyo Games. The Olympics and Paralympics are happening, they said.

TORONTO — Blue Jays outfielder George Springer is not expected to be ready to return to Toronto’s lineup when his latest stint on the 10-day injured list ends May 13, general manager Ross Atkins said Thursday.

Brent Hayden didn't need this on top of everything else. The Canadian swimmer is among athletes trying to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics amid the COVID-19 pandemic while also dealing with credit card fraud.

The Canadian women's rugby sevens team, already embroiled in an ugly split with its coach arising from a formal complaint under Rugby Canada's harassment and bullying policy, is now dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19.

TORONTO — Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen returned from injury on Thursday to make a rehab start with Toronto's American Hockey League affiliate.

CALGARY — Canada's top players in women's hockey will finally get to play real games later this month in Calgary.

While Yeferson Soteldo has just one training session with Toronto FC under his belt, the expectations for the 23-year-old Venezuelan international winger are already sky-high.