National Sports

The Toronto Raptors' game in Utah on Friday will have a distinctly international flair.

TORONTO — Linebacker Bear Woods and running back/returner Chris Rainey go way back. They grew up in Florida, born a year apart. They've been college rivals (Rainey at Florida, Woods at Troy) and teammates (2014 with the Montreal Alouettes).

TORONTO — If not for a no-girls rule, Isabelle Charest might have ended up shooting pucks instead of skating in circles. Canada's chef de mission for the Pyeongchang Olympics followed her older sister Nathalie into speedskating.

MIAMI — A sports agent and a baseball trainer convicted of illegally smuggling Cuban players into the U.S. have been sentenced to prison.

VANCOUVER — Kingsley Jones stops a tackling drill on a perfect fall morning to calmly explain what he wants to see from his players.

HAMILTON — Jeremiah Masoli is finishing the season off with a bang. The Hamilton quarterback has throw for over 300 yards his last four starts, including a career-best 438-yard performance in last weekend's 41-36 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks.

LOS ANGELES — From laughingstock to lift off.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks are probably glad they traded Cory Schneider to a team in the Eastern Conference.

LOS ANGELES — What jinx? Sports Illustrated boldly predicted an Astros' World Series title on its cover in 2014 — after Houston had lost more than 100 games for three straight years — proclaiming: "Your 2017 World Series Champs.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Playing on the road against a quality opponent while trying to break out of a losing skid is just the kind of situation the Toronto Maple Leafs brought Patrick Marleau in for.