Columnists

Five Canadian golfers are ready for the challenge of trying to figure out a long, wet golf course at the year’s second major, Bob Weeks writes.

Auston Matthews is goalless through four games of Toronto's second-round series against Florida. Mitch Marner did not register a shot in the last two games. But Leafs coach Craig Berube is sticking with them together on the top line for Game 5 against the Panthers.

A lawyer representing Callan Foote, one of the five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team who are on trial after being charged with sexual assault, suggested Tuesday the complainant in the case has had an agenda by referring to the defendants throughout the trial as “men” rather than “boys.”

In the final seconds of Florida’s 2-0 win in Game 4, Leafs forward Max Domi hit Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov into the boards from behind. The NHL announced on Monday that it was fining Domi $5,000, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, for boarding.

A lawyer representing Dillon Dube, one of five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team who have been charged with sexual assault, suggested Monday that while someone slapped the complainant on the buttocks during a sexual encounter in Michael McLeod’s hotel room, the slap was “playful.”

How hot is Mikko Rantanen right now? In one word: scorching. The Dallas Stars entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs with some of the shortest championship odds and, three games into the second round, it appears justified.

The strength of any football league is always rooted in the play and depth of its quarterbacks. And while that’s mostly about the starters, if there is one thing Canadian Football League teams have come to understand in recent seasons it’s that almost every team is going to have more than one quarterback start a game.

Brad Marchand praised the Leafs following Florida's overtime win in Game 3. "You saw the way they prepared for the game," the Panthers winger said. "They have that killer instinct right now. We have to do a better job preparing to start the game and the carry it through. They’re going to come out hard."

Auston Matthews hasn't scored yet in the Maple Leafs' second-round series against the Panthers, but he's been aggressive and making plays in other areas. Mark Masters has more on how both the Leafs and Panthers head coach Paul Maurice believe Matthews finding the back of the net is inevitable.