National Sports

OTTAWA — Steve Staios was busy on his first free agency opening day as general manager of the Ottawa Senators, but be believes his team has come out more experienced and better balanced.

TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was scratched from the lineup for Monday afternoon’s Canada Day game against the Houston Astros because of pain in his right hand.

BROSSARD, Que. — Juraj Slafkovsky got a Canada Day payday. The Montreal Canadiens signed the forward to an eight-year, US$60.8-million contract extension beginning in 2025-26.

LONDON — Bianca Andreescu powered into the second round at Wimbledon on Monday while fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov produced one of the first upsets at the grass-court Grand Slam. The 24-year-old Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont.

CF Montreal's Mathieu Choinière, Toronto FC's Federico Bernardeschi and Vancouver's Ryan Gauld are joining Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets at the MLS all-star game later this month.

DUESSLEDORF, Germany (AP) — Kylian Mbappé and France advanced to the European Championship quarterfinals after Randal Kolo Muani's deflected shot secured a 1-0 win over Belgium on Monday.

MONTREAL — Aaron Brown will be competing in the 200 metres at the Paris Olympics. The Toronto native won the national title in the event with a time of 20.09 seconds at the Canadian Olympic track and field trials on Sunday.

Having wrangled the Rubik's Cube of an 18-player Olympic roster, coach Bev Priestman and her staff leave Tuesday for a pre-tournament camp in Spain.

NEW YORK CITY — A series of Canadian clashes will feature early in the NHL calendar next season, including a tilt between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — England star Jude Bellingham is being investigated by UEFA over a potentially offensive gesture made during a European Championship win against Slovakia.