National Sports

Six years ago Kevin Rouet gave up his day job as an engineer to focus on rugby. Today he is in charge of Canada at the Women's Rugby World Cup, which kicks off this weekend in New Zealand.

Connor McDavid has seen enough big-time opportunities slip through hockey's fingers. The NHL made a business decision when it opted against sending its stars to the 2018 Olympics in South Korea after participating at five straight Winter Games.

TORONTO — Three months into the job as interim manager of the Toronto Blue Jays and John Schneider appears to have settled into the job quite nicely. Winning games out of the gate helped with the transition.

TORONTO — Quarterback Zach Collaros and receiver Nic Demski of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders linebacker Jameer Thurman were named the CFL's top performers for September on Wednesday.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens have signed defenceman Logan Mailloux to a three-year, entry-level contract, the club announced on Wednesday. The deal is worth US$750,000 in the first season and $832,500 in the next two campaigns.

TOKYO (AP) — Denis Shapovalov put up a near-perfect serving performance to beat Steve Johnson 6-3, 7-6 (3) at the Japan Open on Wednesday. The seventh-seeded Canadian conceded only one point on his first serve and had 11 aces.

Players aren't the only ones feeling pressure as the NHL season gets underway. The men behind the bench know their jobs depend on their team's performance, too.

Tuesday's Scoreboard MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL American League Seattle 7 Detroit 6 (First game, 10 innings) Seattle 9 Detroit 6 (Second game) Boston 6 Tampa Bay 0 N.Y. Yankees 5 Texas 4 (First game) Texas 3 N.Y.

SASKATOON — Tristan Zandee had a goal and an assist, and netminder Harrison Meneghin stopped 28 of 29 shots as the Lethbridge Hurricanes knocked off the previously unbeaten Saskatoon Blades 3-1 in the only Western Hockey League game on Tuesday night.

MONTREAL — The Ottawa Senators set the tone early for the first of three consecutive games against the Montreal Canadiens.