National Sports

WINNIPEG — Brier champion Brad Gushue bounced back from an opening-draw loss to beat Sweden's Niklas Edin 1-up on Thursday at the Elite 10 curling competition.

MONTREAL — It was only a matter of time before the relentless Pittsburgh Penguins broke through Montreal's defences for good.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — James van Riemsdyk thought about the possibility of back-to-back hat tricks. Then again, five goals over two nights and a career milestone will do just fine.

TORONTO — The bid group hoping to bring the 2026 World Cup to North America has unveiled its 23 candidate cities but not without a crack to its much-ballyhooed unity theme. The list of potential host cities includes Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto.

INDIANAPOLIS — Toronto's DeMar DeRozan figured out how to beat Indiana at its own game. He sped things up and eventually, the Pacers wore down.

R.J. Barrett and his family were waiting for the valet to bring their car around at an Orlando, Fla., steakhouse when Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum drove up in the family vehicle instead. Tatum got out, holding the Gatorade U.S.

NEW ORLEANS — Tom Benson, a successful auto dealer and longtime owner of the New Orleans Saints who brought the franchise its only winning seasons and the "Benson Boogie," has died.

GANGNEUNG, Korea, Republic Of — Billy Bridges lived through the lean years of Canadian sledge hockey, when the privilege of playing for Canada's national team came with a hefty $15,000 price tag.

LOS ANGELES — The former president of ESPN said he resigned from the sports network after an extortion plot by someone who sold him cocaine.

WORCESTER, Mass. — The College of the Holy Cross says it will stop using the image of a knight as a logo and mascot even though trustees last month decided to keep the nickname Crusaders for its athletic teams.