National Sports

ATLANTA — Phil Niekro threw a pitch that baffled hitters and catchers. Heck, he didn’t even know where it was going most of the time.

Roger Federer is withdrawing from the Australian Open while he continues preparing to return to action after two operations on his right knee, his agent told The Associated Press on Sunday.

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators signed forward Tim Stuetzle to a three-year, entry-level contract on Sunday. The Sens selected the 18-year-old native of Viersen, Germany with the third overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

EDMONTON — Canada defenceman Braden Schneider will miss Sunday's game against Slovakia at the world junior hockey championship after being handed a one-game suspension by the IIHF.

MONTREAL — Canadian pitcher Derek Aucoin, who played two games for the Montreal Expos in 1996, died of brain cancer on Saturday night, his family said. He was 50.

HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats re-signed running backs Sean Thomas Erlington and Don Jackson on Sunday. Erlington, 28, has played 32 regular-season games with the Ticats over three seasons.

With tennis, like so much of the world, shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, Naomi Osaka found herself with time to read and think. And while she won the U.S.

TORONTO — Every weekend, Hakim Mohamed and his nine-year-old twin daughters Amira and Anisa run. They head from their Regent Park house in downtown Toronto toward Riverdale Park. They'll run for an hour, in all kinds of weather.

SAN ANTONIO — Kyle Lowry can't remember the last time he was 0-2 to start the season.

EDMONTON — Sweden extended its win streak to 53 games in the preliminary round of the world junior hockey championship with a 7-1 win over the Czech Republic in the tournament opener for both teams on Saturday.