‘Heated Rivalry’ creators in spotlight at Canadian media industry conference

Tens of thousands of Senegal football fans lined the streets of Dakar on Tuesday as the Lions of Teranga began a victory parade to celebrate their triumph in the Africa Cup of Nations final against #Morocco.

Auger-Aliassime embraces mentor role as Mboko rises ahead of Australian Open.

It seems just a moment ago the Auger-Aliassime went down the road Mboko is about to travel. He was precocious teen who was so good, so young that his life changed in an instant.

And he can offer some advice about keeping it all in perspective.

“Maybe if you’re a big movie star and you get to a certain status, it’s tough to go down. But I’ve had my experiences where you can be in the top 10 and then you can lose a couple of matches and the people are like, ‘Oh, he’s not like that anymore.’ They treat you differently,” Auger-Aliassime said.

“You go out there and you still have to go one-on-one with a player that wants to beat you — even more when you’ve gone up the ladder. So, tennis humbles you quickly.”

Mboko began the 2025 season ranked No. 333. By the end of it, she had won the prestigious National Bank Open at home in Canada and was in the top 20 of the WTA rankings.

The accolades came quickly: the tributes and the hype, the media requests and the courtside seats to Toronto Raptors games.

And even the ultimate status symbol for a successful tennis player: a new Rolex ambassadorship.

But Mboko says she’s the same person.

“So many things have happened in the past year and so many new experiences that of course have changed the way my life is now. I had to adapt quite quickly,” she said. “But I still have the same people around me and I feel like I haven’t really changed that much, personality-wise.”

Auger-Aliassime has used the opportunity he has to speak to the greats of the sport. And he said that when you see them behind the scenes, it’s like they’re still 18 years old. They’re still goofing around, still making the same jokes.

Only the public perception changes.

“When you go around the site and the hotels, people treat you a little bit different. You need the right people around that are able to tell you the truth and not just what you want to hear,” he said.

Mboko’s larger-than-life likeness can be seen around the grounds at the Australian Open, part of a quartet billed as the “New Faces, Taking Names.”

She is featured with 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who is already in the top 10 and 24-year-old Jack Draper, who also reached the top 10 before an arm injury stalled his progress.

Investigation clears Canada after skeleton withdrawals spark Olympics row.

Canada’s skeleton team have been cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation into the withdrawal of four athletes from last week’s North American Cup in Lake Placid, the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) said on Thursday.

The probe was launched after Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) pulled four women’s sliders from the Lake Placid event, reducing ranking points for all competitors and ending American Katie Uhlaender’s bid for a sixth Olympics despite winning the race.

Rival federations alleged the move was aimed at protecting Canada’s Olympic quota for Milano Cortina 2026.

“The current IBSF Rules allow National Federations to withdraw athletes from competition at any time,” IBSF said in a statement.

“The IIU (Interim Integrity Unit) dismissed the complaints as the current IBSF Rules and Regulations did not give grounds for a breach of the International Rules, the Code of Conduct, and respectively the Code of Ethics.”

Despite clearing Canada, the IIU reminded the federation to uphold the spirit of fair play when acting within the rules.

“Whilst acting within the letter of the IBSF Code of Conduct, it is expected that all parties concerned should also act within the spirit of the Code, whose aim is to promote fair play and ethical conduct at all times,” it said.

The IBSF added that its Sport Committee will review the rules in the spring and may propose adjustments to prevent similar disputes.

BCS had earlier defended the decision as prioritizing athlete safety and development, while acknowledging the unintended impact on ranking points.

Uhlaender, 41, a double world champion, hoped to qualify for Milano Cortina via ranking points. The American told DW.com she learned of the withdrawal plan from Canada head coach Joe Cecchini, a long-time friend, and said the decision “nailed my coffin” for a sixth Games.

BCS had offered a robust defense of the decision, telling Reuters it was made with “careful consideration of athlete health, safety and long-term development as well as the needs of the program as a whole.”

The withdrawals also affected Denmark, Israel and Malta. Their representatives plus those of the U.S. raised the issue with the International Olympic Committee’s athletes’ commission.

Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris, Reuters

#Canada’s skeleton team denies accusations of Olympic sabotage by U.S. slider.


Canada’s skeleton team refutes accusations by American Katie Uhlaender that Canada’s coach sabotaged her chances of sliding in the Olympic Games.

Athletes from all countries are chasing qualification points for the Milano Cortina Games.

At a North American Cup race, which is a developmental event below the World Cup, Canada withdrew four of six women Sunday in Lake Placid, N.Y. The smaller field reduced the number of Olympic qualification points available.

The 41-year-old Uhlaender is third among U.S. women in world rankings. She says Canada’s decision killed her chances of competing in a sixth Olympic Games.

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton says in a statement that the four withdrawn athletes were new to the sport and had a rough week in two of three scheduled races in Lake Placid.

The organization says its actions were appropriate and were within the rules.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2025.

Infantino defends World Cup ticket prices, cites ‘crazy’ demand, FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Monday defended controversial ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup, revealing that organizers had received a record 150 million requests for tickets in the past two weeks.

Speaking at the World Sports Summit in Dubai, Infantino stressed that all revenues from next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada would be pumped back into football around the world.

Infantino’s comments were his first public remarks since the ticketing furore erupted earlier this month, with fan groups branding ticket prices as “extortionate” and “astronomical”.

FIFA later responded to the criticism by announcing that a sliver of tickets on sale would be priced at $60.

“In the last few days, you’ve probably seen there is a lot of debate about ticketing and ticket prices,” Infantino told the Dubai conference on Monday.

“We have six, seven million tickets on sale and we started two weeks ago. I can tell you in two weeks, 15 days, we received 150 million ticket requests. This shows how powerful the World Cup is.”

Infantino said the majority of ticket requests had come from the United States, followed by requests from Germany and Britain.

“If you think that in 100 years of history of the World Cup, FIFA has sold 44 million tickets in total, so in two weeks for the next World Cup, we could have filled 300 years of World Cups,” Infantino said. “This is absolutely crazy.”

“And what is important, what is crucial is that the revenues that are generated from this are going back to the game all over the world and FIFA is the only organization in the world...that finances football in the entire world.

“Without FIFA there will be no football in 150 countries in the world. There is football thanks to these revenues that we generate from the World Cup which we reinvest all over the world.”

Fan group Football Supporters Europe (FSE) had been among the most prominent critics of #FIFA’s pricing strategy for 2026.

The group said earlier this month tickets would cost almost five times more than tickets for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Hockey #Canada apologizes for handshake oversight after win over Czechia.

Hockey Canada issued an apology on Saturday after its players skipped the post-game handshakes following an emotionally charged 7-5 win over Czechia at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

It is customary for teams to shake hands following games at the World Juniors, but Canada skated off the ice on Friday in Minneapolis without doing so after a heated affair that included some pre-game antics, plenty of chirping between players and post-whistle scrums.

“Following last night’s game, Canada’s National Junior Team skated off the ice before shaking hands with Czechia,” Hockey Canada said in a statement. “Hockey Canada takes full responsibility for this oversight and we have apologized to the team, Czech Ice Hockey Association and IIHF for our mistake.”

Carter George looking to help pen Canada’s world junior redemption story


The Canadian goaltender did his part at last year’s world junior hockey championship in Ottawa — a tournament on home soil that looked poised to be a career highlight.

It instead turned into a nation’s capital nightmare.

Canada crashed out at the quarterfinal stage for a second time in 12 months with a disastrous performance that resulted in top-to-bottom criticism and a subsequent program overhaul. George, meanwhile, dusted himself off — getting back with the Ontario Hockey League’s Owen Sound Attack provided an early boost — and is thankful for another crack at international glory.

“I learned lots about myself and lots about how to handle those kinds of situations,” said the Thunder Bay, Ont., product. “It was frustrating and super difficult that next week and a bit. It didn’t really sink in right away. Once it did, that’s when it was pretty tough.”

George topped last year’s tournament field with a .936 save percentage, 1.76 goals-against average and two shutouts, but the netminder’s teammates found a way through the oppositions’ goalies just nine times in four games after a 4-0 victory over Finland before fading quietly into the crisp January air.

A champion at the under-18 level and a second-round draft pick of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, George had never experienced anything like the soul-crushing heartbreak of failing to even make the medal round at an event he had circled since minor hockey.

“It’s a blessing to be able to get a second chance,” said the 19-year-old. “Every guy in that room and all the staff is going to do anything to make sure we win gold.”

Canada opens round-robin action at the annual showcase Friday in Minneapolis against Czechia — the team that ended its hopes the last two years.

Alan Millar, the general manager of the men’s under-20 program, said there’s a poise in George’s approach.

“Plays the right way,” Millar said last week at training camp in Niagara Falls, Ont. “He’s got a real good mind for the game in terms of never too high, never too low.”

Star forward Gavin McKenna, who like George is one of six returnees from last year’s roster, said the goaltender never wavers.

“In those high-stakes moments, you might expect him to fold,” said the player many observers expect to go No. 1 at the 2026 NHL draft. “But he’s always just so calm, no matter the situation. It’s hard to come by.”

Mark Hunter, part of Canada’s management group and GM of the OHL’s London Knights, said George’s ability to push through in difficult moments stands out.

#Canada tabs former NHLer Kyle Turris for shootout tips ahead of world juniors.


Every time a linesman placed the puck at centre ahead of a shootout attempt, the former NHLer was a man with a plan. The confidence flowed from there as pressure lapped at his skates.

Canada is hoping some of that calm and poise rubs off ahead of the world junior hockey championship.

The men’s under-20 program brought the retired forward into the fold at training camp to help with shootout approach and mindset should the team once again find itself in that high-stakes situation.

“There’s actually a lot to it ... a lot more than people think,” Turris said earlier this week in Niagara Falls, Ont. “Having a plan is really important, and then executing on the details to give yourself the highest probability of success.”

The 36-year-old, who played 14 NHL seasons, would spend five to 10 minutes before each game pre-scouting opposing goaltenders solely for shootout purposes — just in case.

“See tendencies and how he moved and what I thought would be open,” explained Turris, who helped Canada win gold at the 2008 world juniors. “I always knew what I was doing.”

The process bore plenty of fruit. Turris retired in 2022 tied for 16th on the NHL’s all-time shootout list (minimum 75 attempts) with success rate of 38 per cent (30-for-79).

Hockey Canada invited Turris, who has stayed tightly connected to hockey, including work with the under-17 and under-18 programs, to share his institutional knowledge as the country looks to rebound off consecutive quarterfinal exits at the showcase set to begin Boxing Day in Minnesota.

The ugly performance last year in Ottawa was accented by a stunning 3-2 loss to Latvia in the preliminary round where Canada went 0-for-8 in the shootout, putting the hosts in a difficult spot for the medal round.

“It just gives them different ideas,” head coach Dale Hunter said of having Turris around for camp. “The kids are just absorbing it.”

During one session at the end of a long practice, Canada’s potential takers took shot after shot, with some speaking to Turris before and after each attempt. The goal is to have a pool of shootout names ready based off camp performance and past success.

“A lot of the strategy,” said forward Jett Luchanko. “It’s a game within a game.”

Gavin McKenna, one of six returnees from last year’s flop in the nation’s capital, was among the unlucky eight against Latvia some 12 months ago.

“Shootouts are a big key,” he said. “We want to have every little detail down.”

Turris, whose official title is shootout and goal-scoring consultant, said the fact he was even at camp speaks to how much coaching has changed since his time with the junior program. Canada also brought in former NHL centre Mike Eagles to work on faceoffs.

“When I came up, the coach would speak to the team as a whole and would never speak individually to a player,” Turris said. “Now coaches have to have individual relationships with the players to get the most out of the player, to contribute that performance to the greater sum of the whole team. It’s a very different mentality.

“It results in having more coaches and more resources to encourage those relationships.”

The No. 3 overall pick by the Phoenix Coyotes at the 2007 NHL draft finished with 425 points (168 goals, 257 assists) in 776 games with four teams, including parts of seven seasons with the Ottawa Senators and two more with the Edmonton Oilers. He added 32 points (18 goals, 14 assists) in 69 playoff contests.

After hanging up his skates, Turris finished a business degree from the University of Wisconsin.

He followed that up with time as a consultant for the BCHL’s Burnaby Express and a six-month internship with the Vancouver Canucks. He was recently named general manager of the North Shore Winter Club — his former stomping ground, and where current NHL stars Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini used to roam the halls — in North Vancouver, B.C.

“I just can’t sit still,” said Turris, who has three children with wife Julie. “I constantly want to be working at something or towards a goal.”

It’s a path he hopes one day leads back to the NHL.

“I’m trying to accrue experiences in every aspect,” he said. “So when I have an opportunity, I’ll be more well-seasoned.”

Turris took a shootout attempt at the end of one session this week, beating goaltender Carter George on a move off his right skate before firing inside the post to loud cheers and raised arms.

One thing Turris isn’t able to teach his charges, however, is handling the emotions of a shootout when thousands of eyes — and millions more on TV — are trained on your every movement.

“They’ve been in a ton of high-pressure situations,” he said. “It’s just working through it. You find out who can and can’t at some point.”

Turris certainly could.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2025.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

Former NHLer Willie Mitchell denies sexual assault allegations in civil lawsuit. Former National Hockey League defenceman Willie Mitchell has denied allegations of sexual assault made against him in a civil lawsuit, laying out his version of events surrounding a night of drinking in Tofino, B.C., in September of 2022.

Mitchell, a one-time Vancouver Canuck who played in the NHL from 1999 to 2016, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in October by a woman identified in court records as S.D.K. The plaintiff alleges she was sexually assaulted by Mitchell after becoming intoxicated during a social evening connected to a fishing tournament in the coastal B.C. community.

Woman alleges former Canuck Willie Mitchell sexually assaulted her in 2022

In a response filed Nov. 20 in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver, Mitchell denied assaulting the plaintiff and disputed key portions of her claim, asserting sexual activity was consensual and that he had no reason to believe the plaintiff lacked the capacity to consent.

S.D.K.’s statement of claim and Mitchell’s response present sharply different accounts of what occurred on Sept. 11–12, 2022. The plaintiff’s allegations have not been tested in court.

According to Mitchell’s response, he attended the annual Race for the Blue fishing tournament in Tofino on Sept. 11, 2022, an event that included social activities and gatherings throughout the community.