National Sports

OTTAWA — Retired defenceman Chris Phillips was honoured by the Senators on Tuesday night by having his No. 4 raised to the arena rafters ahead of Ottawa's game against the Buffalo Sabres.

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James is stepping to the plate for ballplayers furious over baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred's handling of the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scam.

MONTREAL — A well-known Quebec boxing promoter is defending himself before a tribunal against accusations stemming from two of his boxing cards, including claims he fixed a bout and hosted members of criminal biker gangs in reserved ringside seats.

TORONTO — Navneet Dhaliwal will captain Canada in the 2020 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League A tournament. The competition, part of the qualification process for the 2023 World Cup, runs March 14-27 in Malaysia.

TORONTO — Randy Ambrosie has started floating a new playoff format to CFL fans. On Saturday night, the CFL commissioner began his annual cross-country trek in Ottawa by offering a new twist on the league's current post-season format.

HALIFAX — HFX Wanderers FC have signed Montreal-born Haiti international defender Jems Geffrard.

VANCOUVER — Jim Benning has had enough of watching other teams compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Andrew Nicholson was vacationing in Bali during the Chinese New Year break when he got the call that would send him home to Canada. The coronavirus was spreading across China, and the Chinese Basketball Association was suspending its season.

The Toronto Wolfpack's depleted squad has taken another hit with James Cunningham sidelined by hamstring surgery. The 25-year-old hooker/scrum half went down in the Wolfpack's 32-10 loss at Wigan Warriors last Thursday.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens traded defenceman Marco Scandella to St. Louis on Tuesday for the Blues' second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2021.