National Sports

EDMONTON — The end is near for the bubbled NHL playoffs, and those in charge of the rinks say it's been smooth as an ice sheet — except maybe when teams come to play for three periods and stay on for another five.

IMOLA, Italy — Filippo Ganna on Friday became the first Italian to win the men’s time trial at the road cycling world championships — and he did it on home turf.

HILDESHEIM, Germany — Canadian Jeff (The Silencer) Smith staved off a comeback to beat Germany's Franz Roetzsch 6-5 in first-round action Friday at the 140,000-pound ($238,325) German Darts Championship.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ryan Fitzpatrick handles the Jacksonville Jaguars as well as anyone in the NFL. It doesn’t matter which uniform the journeyman quarterback is wearing, either.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Los Angeles Lakers are a victory away from returning to the NBA Finals — and only another comeback from 3-1 down by the Denver Nuggets can stop them.

A major college football season that was in peril six week ago as conferences succumbed to concerns about COVID-19 is reconstituting. The West Coast got back in the game Thursday night, The Pac-12 set Nov.

Thursday's Games NBA Western Conference Final L.A. Lakers 114, Denver 108 (Lakers leads series 3-1) --- NFL Miami 31 Jacksonville 13 --- MLB American League Cleveland 5 Chicago White Sox 4 Toronto 4 N.Y.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A two-word message — Respect Toronto — was emblazoned on the T-shirts the Blue Jays put on shortly after locking down a playoff berth Thursday night.

It's been an impressive start to an NFL career for Canadian Chase Claypool. The Pittsburgh Steelers' rookie receiver showed his athleticism in his NFL debut, a 26-16 win over the New York Giants on Sept. 14.

The Toronto Blue Jays activated right-hander Nate Pearson before Thursday night's home game against the New York Yankees. Pearson spent just over a month on the injured list due to right elbow tightness.