RAPTORS ANNOUNCE BROADCAST SCHEDULE FOR RESTART OF 2019-20 SEASON

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday their broadcast schedule for the restart of the 2019-20 NBA season. Sportsnet and TSN will each carry four “seeding” games.

Sportsnet has the Raptors’ first game back Saturday, Aug. 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Additional contests on Sportsnet include Aug. 3 vs. Miami, Aug. 5 against Orlando and Aug. 10 vs. Milwaukee.

TSN will open its coverage Friday, Aug. 7 when the Raptors face Boston. TSN’s slate includes Aug. 9 vs. Memphis, Aug. 12 against Philadelphia and the Raptors’ final seeding game Aug. 14 vs. Denver.

Veteran play-by-play voice Matt Devlin will call all the action. Jack “The Coach” Armstrong will lend his expertise as the analyst on TSN telecasts with former NBA first-round draft pick Leo Rautins handling colour commentary on Sportsnet.

Sportsnet 590 The FAN, 680 News and TSN 1050 Toronto will be the radio home for Raptors broadcasts. Eric Smith will handle the play-by-play role for games on Sportsnet 590 The FAN and 680 News with Paul Jones serving as the analyst. For games on TSN 1050 Toronto, Jones will serve as the play-by-play voice with Armstrong and Sherman Hamilton sharing analyst duties. 

The Raptors will also compete in three inter-squad scrimmages in final preparation for the resumption of the season. TSN will carry two of the scrimmages – July 24 vs. Houston and July 28 against Phoenix, with Sportsnet broadcasting July 26 vs. Portland.

RAPTORS BROADCAST SCHEDULE FOR RESTART
Date	Opponent	Venue	Eastern Time	TV / RADIO
Saturday, Aug. 1	vs. LA Lakers	Arena	8:30 p.m. (ESPN)	Sportsnet ONE, Citytv / TSN 1050
Monday, Aug. 3	at Miami	HP Field House	1:30 p.m. (NBATV)	Sportsnet ONE / Sportsnet 590 The FAN
Wednesday, Aug. 5	at Orlando	Visa Athletic Center	8 p.m.	Sportsnet ONE / TSN 1050
Friday, Aug. 7	vs. Boston	Arena	9 p.m. (TNT)	TSN / 680 News
Sunday, Aug. 9	vs. Memphis	Visa Athletic Center	2 p.m.	TSN / TSN 1050
Monday, Aug. 10	at Milwaukee	HP Field House	6:30 p.m. (ESPN)	Sportsnet ONE / Sportsnet 590 The FAN
Wednesday, Aug. 12	at Philadelphia	HP Field House	6:30 p.m. (ESPN)	TSN / TSN 1050
Friday, Aug. 14	vs. Denver	TBD	TBD	TSN / Sportsnet 590 The FAN

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RAPTORS SCRIMMAGE SCHEDULE
Date	Opponent	Venue	Eastern Time	TV / RADIO
Friday, July 24	vs. Houston	Arena	7:30 p.m.	TSN / TSN 1050
Sunday, July 26	vs. Portland	Visa Athletic Center	6 p.m.	Sportsnet / TSN 1050
Tuesday, July 28	vs. Phoenix	Arena	3 p.m.	TSN / TBD

-RAPTORS-

The Athletics announced they’ve released infielder Ryan Goins. The 32-year-old had been in the A’s Summer Camp player pool after joining the organization on a minor-league deal over the offseason. Goins is most well-known for his time with the Blue Jays from 2013-17. Over that stretch, he logged pretty significant playing time in the middle infield. […]

Athletics Release Ryan Goins — The baseball bats fanatic

media@bluejays.com | bluejayspressbox.com | @BlueJays

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Toronto, Ontario

July 18, 2020

BLUE JAYS STATEMENT ON 2020 SEASON HOME

The Toronto Blue Jays extend its sincerest thanks to Mayor Tory, the City of Toronto, and Toronto Public Health; Premier Ford, the Province of Ontario, and the Chief Medical Officer of Health; and Deputy Prime Minister Freeland, the Government of Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, for their detailed consideration and partnership throughout this process.

“From the onset of discussions with league and government officials, the safety of the broader community– our fans – and the team remained the priority of everyone involved, and with that, the club completely respects the federal government’s decision,” said Mark Shapiro, President & CEO, Toronto Blue Jays. “Though our team will not be playing home games at Rogers Centre this summer, our players will take the field for the 2020 season with the same pride and passion representative of an entire nation. We cannot wait until the day comes that we can play in front of our fans again on Canadian soil.”

The club is in the process of finalizing the best home location for the remainder of the 2020 season and will share an update as soon as it is available.  

– BLUE JAYS –

Los Angeles Lakers veteran guard Rajon Rondo suffered what is being dubbed a “significant” hand injury at practice on Sunday.

Lakers Guard Suffers Significant Hand Injury at Practice — Heavy.com

Rajon Rondo sustained a fracture to his right thumb during Sunday evening’s practice in Orlando. He will undergo surgery to repair the fracture this week and is expected to return to full basketball activities in 6 to 8 weeks.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 13, 2020

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS STATEMENT ON TORONTO BEING SELECTED AS AN NHL HUB CITY

The National Hockey League announced tonight that the City of Toronto has been selected as one of the League’s hub cities as part of their Return to Play plan for Eastern Conference teams for the 2019-20 season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment would like to extend their appreciation to the National Hockey League, as well as the National Hockey League Players Association and of course its players. The Maple Leafs, working in concert with the NHL, NHLPA, and health officials from the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario, are determined to create and maintain a safe and secure hub city experience for the players and the league alike. More importantly, we are also deeply committed to help ensure the health and safety of the residents of Toronto by adhering to the strict and comprehensive protocols of the hub strategy so that the experience is a positive one for all.

The Club would also like to extend a special thanks to the Government of Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Ontario Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Williams, Ontario Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism & Culture Industries Lisa MacLeod, Toronto Mayor John Tory, as well as Toronto Medical Officers of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa and Dr. Vinita Dubey for their invaluable expertise and feedback throughout this process.

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ACHARA UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY

Toronto FC announced that rookie midfielder Ifunanyachi Achara underwent successful surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his left knee on Tuesday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Tim Dwyer and Dr. Danny Whelan at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto. Achara will begin rehabilitation and will miss the remainder of the 2020 season.

Many — myself included — assumed the new extra innings rule would mean bunts, bunts, and more bunts. Not so fast.

New extra innings rule will not create a sacrifice bunt-fest — HardballTalk | NBC Sports

New extra innings rule will not create a sacrifice bunt-fest

By Craig CalcaterraJul 9, 2020, 9:39 AM EDT1 Comment

Last month we learned that Major League Baseball will be implementing a new extra innings rule aimed at reducing the length of games: each extra inning will start with the batting team placing a runner on second base. The runner, which will be the player who made the final out of the previous inning, is considered to have reached base via error. If he scores, his run will be counted as an unearned run.

When the new extra innings rule was first announced I and many others suspected that it would lead to a sacrifice-bunt-a-rama. That, teams would always try to move the runner over with a bunt, thinking that having a runner on third base with one out would be better than most other scenarios because a run could score on a wild pitch or a sac fly in addition to a base hit. In my own case this belief was bolstered by anecdotal evidence: I’ve been to three minor league extra inning games and in all three of them both the visiting and home team began their respective halves of the tenth with a sac bunt attempt.

As is almost always the case, however, it’s a good idea to set aside conventional wisdom and your own lyin’ eyes when assessing something where there is broader data available. We learn that today via an article from MLB.com’s Mike Petriello, who crunched numbers in an effort to see whether that 10th inning sac bunt is a good idea and whether an increase in bunts would accompany the new extra innings rule.

You should read the whole article because it breaks down the strategy from multiple perspectives — and includes an analysis of not just whether the team on offense should bunt but whether the team on defense should issue an intentional walk — but the upshot is that, in thousands of minor-league extra innings games . . .

• The visiting team bunted to start their inning only 22 percent of the time under the new extra innings rule;
• The home team, when tied, bunted to start the inning only 31 percent of the time under the new extra innings rule; and
• The home team, when behind, bunted to start the inning just 13 percent of the time under the new extra innings rule.

Some of this is immediately intuitive. If you’re the home team, in the bottom of the 10th, down by two runs, you’re going to need at least two runs to avoid a loss, and in that case you do NOT want to give up the out a bunt will cause. Some of this makes sense the moment you set aside the conventional wisdom, look at the numbers and realize what the run expectancy is for a runner on second with no outs vs. a runner on third with one. There are, obviously, adjustments to be made based on who the specific hitter is, who the runner is, and all of that, so the base run expectancy doesn’t rule all, but on the whole, bunts are far less favored than might first be believed.

Which, given that we’re in an age where every front office staff knows this data just as well as the stat folks at MLB.com do, and that they’re going to instruct their managers and coaches about all of this as well, means that we’re not gonna see a huge number of bunts as a result of the new extra innings rule. Or at least we shouldn’t.

Follow @craigcalcaterra

Curlers who make their living on the cash bonspiel circuit expressed sadness, disappointment and deep concern over the postponement of the Grand Slam of Curling season, which was announced Wednesday. Read More

Curlers dismayed as Grand Slam of Curling season postponed until April of 2021, trimmed to two events — Winnipeg Sun