Statue to honour Murray
Wimbledon will pay tribute to retiring Scottish tennis ace Andy Murray with a statue at its home, the tournament chief executive Richard Lewis said Sunday. Murray said last week he plans to retire because of a hip injury that’s kept him sidelined for most of the past 18 months. He said if possible he would like to make Wimbledon, which takes place in early July, his last tournament. Murray twice won Wimbledon. He also led Great Britain to Davis Cup triumph in 2015. He is scheduled to play in the Australian Open beginning Monday.
Wheeler golden for Canadian women
Maddi Wheeler scored in overtime as Canada defeated the United States 3-2 on Sunday to win its fifth under-18 women’s World Hockey Championship. Wheeler, from Erinsville, Ont., drove hard to the net and jammed home her own rebound just 1:34 into overtime, giving Canada its first world title since 2014. Danielle Serdachny gave Canada an early 1-0 lead, picking up the rebound of an Alexie Guay shot from the point. The United States tied the game late in the second period before taking a 2-1 lead just more than six minutes into the third. Anne Cherkowski tied the game 2-2 with less than nine minutes remaining. “We are incredibly proud of our team’s effort and our athletes’ ability to overcome adversity when we found ourselves trailing in the game,” said head coach Howie Draper. Goaltender Raygan Kirk finished with 25 saves in the win and earned the tournament’s most valuable player honours.
Goaltender Holtby back at practice
Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby practised Sunday, apparently no worse for wear after Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson inadvertently wedged his stick through a hole in Holtby’s mask, injuring his left eye on Saturday night. It’s unclear if he’ll start against St. Louis on Monday, the first game of a back-toback set, but Caps’ coach Todd Reirden said the team doesn’t intend to recall another netminder, indicating Holtby is at least healthy enough to dress. “Obviously anything with your eyes is a little scary,” Holtby said. “It’s fortunate that it wasn’t anything too serious.”
Leafs give Moore new two-year deal
Forward Trevor Moore signed a two-year contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. The deal, which carries through to the 2020-21 season, carries an average annual value of
$775,000. Moore has split his season between the Maple Leafs and the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies. The 23-year-old has a goal and two assists in six games with the Maple Leafs. Moore has 19 goals and seven assists in 30 games with the Marlies this season.
South African great dies in hospital
Phil Masinga, the former South Africa and Leeds United striker who scored the goal the took his country to the World Cup for the first time, died Sunday. He was 49. The South African Football Association said Masinga died in a Johannesburg hospital from a “cancer related disease” just a month after being diagnosed. Masinga is best remembered for the long-range strike against Republic of Congo in 1997 that saw Bafana Bafana, then the champions of Africa, qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France. — Postmedia News Services