National Sports

VANCOUVER — If you squint really, really hard, you can still see a possible path to the playoffs for the Vancouver Whitecaps. The club needs a lot of results to go its way, however, starting with a win over visiting Austin FC on Saturday.

LODZ, Poland — Kiera Van Ryk scored 22 points to lead Canada to a 3-1 victory over Bulgaria on Friday at the FIVB women's volleyball world championship.

EDMONTON — Maybe the Edmonton Elks should wear their road whites when they take the field Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.

PARIS — Canadians Brandie Wilkerson and Sophie Bukovec were eliminated from the Paris Elite16 beach volleyball event after splitting a pair of matches on Friday.

MONTREAL — When Jeff Gorton signed on to become the Montreal Canadiens’ new executive vice-president of hockey operations last fall, the two pillars he wanted to improve were hockey development and analytics.

VICTORIA — There is no beating Pascal Siakam to the gym in the morning. The Toronto Raptors forward is setting the pace at training camp in Victoria, as the first at practice and the last to leave.

SYDNEY, Australia — Breanna Stewart and the United States used a dominant defensive effort to beat Canada and reach the gold-medal game of the World Cup for the fourth consecutive tournament.

MONTREAL — With only two games left in CF Montreal’s season, second place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference appears to be all but locked up — barring an unexpected meltdown from the first-place Philadelphia Union.

TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays locked up a playoff spot Thursday afternoon without taking the field, securing a berth when the Boston Red Sox defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-3.

VANCOUVER — It wasn't a game that mattered in the standings, but head coach Bruce Boudreau was still disappointed in how his Vancouver Canucks let a third-period lead evaporate on Thursday.