National Sports

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The surprises started early at the Australian Open on Thursday. No. 3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza became the highest-seeded player to exit at Melbourne Park, just minutes after No. 6 Anett Kontaveit lost.

TORONTO — Days after complaints about his sexually graphic Twitter exchanges, Dave Bedford is out as the CEO of Athletics Canada. The national sport organization announced Wednesday evening that Bedford was retiring immediately, by mutual agreement.

SEATTLE — Former Vancouver Whitecap Andy Rose has joined the Seattle Sounders as an assistant coach.

MONTREAL — On a stage laid out directly onto the Bell Centre ice, the Montreal Canadiens introduced newly hired general manager Kent Hughes on Wednesday afternoon. The Beaconsfield, Que.

Toronto FC held its first practice under new coach Bob Bradley on Wednesday, missing some players and with plenty of questions still to be answered at the California camp. Just getting out of snowy Toronto on Tuesday was an achievement.

Adrian Tracy isn't finished chasing down CFL quarterbacks just yet. The veteran defensive lineman retired last season, mostly due to the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NHL's plan to shoehorn nearly 100 pandemic postponements into its jam-packed schedule window came into focus Wednesday.

CALGARY — Sean McEwen is staying put. The Calgary Stampeders signed the veteran centre to a two-year contract extension Wednesday. The 2021 CFL all-star was scheduled to become a free agent next month.

Stephanie Labbé, whose safe hands helped Canada to Olympic women's soccer gold in Tokyo last summer, has announced her retirement. The shock news comes just twodays after Labbé finished runner-up for The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper.

Canada's sending a stacked snowboard team to the Beijing Olympics, with four medallists from the 2018 Winter Games returning. Sebastien Toutant, who won gold in men's big air at the Pyeongchang Olympics, headlined the lineup unveiled on Wednesday.