SPORTS briefs
Maple Leafs promote Pridham to assistant general manager
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas has taken the first steps toward building his front office team.
The team announced Wednesday that Brandon Pridham has been promoted to assistant general manager. The announcement comes a day after the team parted ways with assistant GM Mark Hunter and former Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello left his senior adviser position with the club for a front office job with the New York Islanders.
Pridham first joined the Leafs as assistant to the general manager in August 2014. The team said he will continue in his role to assist with salary cap analysis, contract negotiations and collective bargaining agreement interpretation for the team.
NFL awards Super Bowls to Arizona, New Orleans
ATLANTA - The NFL has awarded future Super Bowls to Arizona and New Orleans. The decision was made Wednesday at the league’s annual spring meeting in Atlanta, which will host the 2019 Super Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The 2023 title game will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, while the MercedesBenz Superdome in New Orleans will be host in 2024.
Eugenie Bouchard fails test at French Open qualifying
PARIS - Eugenie Bouchard’s rough ride is showing no signs of slowing down. The Canadian tennis star retired after trailing Dalila Jakuopovic of Slovenia 6-0, 2-1 in the first round of French Open qualifying on Wednesday.
Now ranked 167th in the world, Bouchard is well outside a spot that would earn her direct entry into a Grand Slam.
The 24-year-old native of Westmount, Que., has experienced a steady tumble since reaching No. 5 in the world in 2014, highlighted by an appearance in the Wimbledon final. This will mark the first time since the 2013 Australian Open that Bouchard will not compete in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
Olympic curler new president of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
CALGARY - Olympic curler Cheryl Bernard has been named the new president and chief executive officer of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Bernard, who skipped Canada to women’s silver at the 2010 Winter Olympics, takes on her new job next month. Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is located in Calgary at WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park. It houses 100,000 artifacts in a dozen galleries and features 657 inductees across 66 sports.
Sabres sign 2016 draft pick Asplund
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Sabres have signed prospect forward Rasmus Asplund to a three-year entry level contract.
Asplund is from Sweden and was selected by Buffalo in the second round of the 2016 NHL draft. The 20-yearold had a career-best eight goals and 28 points in 50 games in his third full season with Swedish Hockey League’s Farjestad BK. Overall, Asplund has 20 goals and 62 points in 170 career SHL games. He represented Sweden in two World Junior hockey championships.