National Sports

TORONTO — Clint Dempsey was on the BMO Field sidelines for last year's MLS Cup final, shelved by a heart condition that threatened his future.

PARIS — A decade of dominance as the world's two best soccer players has left Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi level with five Ballon d'Or awards each.

TORONTO — It appears Toronto FC striker Jozy Altidore will do his talking on the field Saturday in the MLS Cup final. The U.S. international certainly had little to say Thursday at a news conference.

MONTREAL — Jean Pascal wants to leave the ring as a winner. The Laval, Que.

RIVIERE-DU-LOUP, Que. — A teenage hockey player from Quebec has been suspended for the rest of the season after using his stick to attack a referee in the neck area. The incident occurred Nov. 23 in Riviere-du-Loup, northeast of Quebec City.

Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon says claims in a lawsuit alleging he sexual harassed a female employee at his sports marketing company are "meritless." The suit, which was filed Monday in Orange County, Calif.

Vancouver forward Bo Horvat will miss up to six weeks with a right foot fracture, the Canucks said Thursday. The team said a more concrete timeline for Horvat's recovery will be available after he sees a specialist.

MONTREAL — Gymnastics Canada suspended an Edmonton-based coach on Thursday amid allegations he sexually abused some of his former students.

NAGOYA, Japan — Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were in second place after Thursday's short program at the ISU Grand Prix final, the last major international competition before the Pyeongchang Olympics.

MOSCOW — Russia Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says the state will never acknowledge the accusation of state-sponsored doping that prevents the Russia team from competing at the Pyeongchang Olympics because it considers it false.