National Sports

SEATTLE — The Seattle Thunderbirds dug a deep hole in their Western Hockey League playoff series by dropping three of the first four games against the Portland Winterhawks.

TORONTO — Bo Bichette believes the Blue Jays' offensive outburst on Monday will help Toronto's hitting get back on track. But to do that, he and his teammates have to stick with their process.

CHARLOTTETOWN — The Charlottetown Islanders showed no mercy in sweeping the Moncton Wildcats in the opening round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs.

TORONTO — The cooling off process continues for the CFL and CFL Players' Association.

CALGARY — The Battle of Alberta has officially started with a friendly hockey wager between the city councils in Calgary and Edmonton, and some elite Canadian soccer players with ties to both cities have also made bets.

TORONTO — Robbie Ray did not travel with the Seattle Mariners for their series in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Instead, he was placed on Seattle's restricted list on Monday.

The old Crown and Anchor bar in Red Deer, Alta., was famous for its line drawn down the middle when hosting hockey fans during the fierce Battle of Alberta playoff games of the late-1980s. Calgary Flames fans sat on one side.

JÖNKÖPING, Sweden — Canada's men's team won its only match of the day while its women's team split its games Monday on the second day of competition at the world junior curling championships.

Tony Gabriel can sympathize with striking CFL players. The Hall of Fame tight end was involved in the league's first strike in 1974, which was staged during training camp but settled before the season began.

HELSINKI — Pierre-Luc Dubois scored twice as Canada remained undefeated at the world hockey championship with a 5-1 win over Slovakia on Monday.