National Sports

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Redblacks have signed two key American defensive players to one-year extensions. The reigning East Division champs inked defensive lineman Jonathan Newsome and defensive back Sherrod Baltimore to deals on Thursday.

TORONTO — The Canadian Football League will stage a regular-season game in Atlantic Canada in 2019, continuing the drive to put a franchise in Halifax within a few years.

OTTAWA — Mark Borowiecki hopes Ottawa will one day have a downtown arena. As an Ottawa native and a defenceman for the NHL's Senators, he said a new facility in the city's core would be a boon for its citizens.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Former Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee pleaded guilty Thursday to harassing a 19-year-old male hotel shuttle driver.

TORONTO — The Canadian Hockey League began its holiday break on Monday with half the season already in the books.

CALGARY — Former Vancouver Canucks top defenceman Kevin Bieksa will bring plenty of NHL experience to Canada's blue line as the country seeks to win its fourth straight Spengler Cup title.

The Vancouver Whitecaps will kick off their 2019 MLS season by hosting Minnesota United while Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact open on the road — at Philadelphia and San Jose, respectively. All three games will take place March 2.

Canada's Simon d'Artois notched his first World Cup ski halfpipe win of his career on Thursday in Secret Garden, China. The 26-year-old from Whistler, B.C., scored 93.60 points in his final run to beat out New Zealand's Nico Porteous (89.

TORONTO — The summer of 2015 was jam-packed with thrilling Canadian sports performances. Sprinter Andre De Grasse was becoming a household name, racing to two victories at the Pan American Games in Toronto.

ZURICH — Belgium ends 2018 atop FIFA's rankings with World Cup winner France at No. 2. FIFA says Belgium is a single ranking point — 1,727 to 1,726 — ahead of a French team which won their World Cup semifinal in Russia. Brazil is No.