National Sports

Reaction to the death of Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford, the ace of the mighty New York Yankees teams in the 1950s and ’60s.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The trophy was ready. Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat delayed its appearance. The NBA Finals are not over, not after Butler and the Heat pulled off a virtuoso performance in Game 5 on Friday night.

BAIE-COMEAU, Que. — Olivier Coulombe had a goal and an assist, and the Victoriaville Tigres downed the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4-3 on Friday to remain unbeaten to open the 2020-21 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season.

PARIS — The Latest from the French Open (all times local): ___ 2:30 a.m.

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ground running in NHL free agency by welcoming some gritty, local flavour up front. By the time the sun went down, they had addressed a big need on their blue line.

A crease carousel highlighted the opening of NHL free agency. And whenever next season begins, some fans will need a program — or a scan of their smartphones — to keep track of all the changes.

CALGARY — The Calgary Flames landed coveted goaltender Jacob Markstrom when NHL unrestricted free agency opened Friday with a six-year contract worth US$36 million.

NEW YORK — During an era when the Yankees won the World Series so routinely it was joked that rooting for them was like rooting for General Motors, their ace pitcher owned the most fitting nickname: “The Chairman of the Board.

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning gave his goalie coach Ian Clark a gentle ribbing as the NHL's free agency period opened on Friday. “I joked with Ian this morning — ‘You’re doing too good of a job with our goalies.

OTTAWA — Newly acquired goaltender Matt Murray signed a four-year, US$25-million deal with the Ottawa Senators on Friday. The Senators traded forward prospect Jonathan Gruden and this year's 52nd pick in the NHL draft to get Murray on Wednesday.