Sports Express | November 13, 2026: Blue Jays Apologize for Santander's Anti-Muslim Posts

1. Blue Jays apologize to Muslim community over Santander's posts

Source: CP24

The Toronto Blue Jays apologized Thursday to the Muslim community and the team's fans for the "pain and harm" caused by outfielder Anthony Santander's social media posts. Team president and CEO Mark Shapiro said the club met with leaders of Toronto's Muslim communities, who shared the harm caused by what he called Santander's Islamophobic posts, and that the organization condemns Islamophobia and all forms of hate.

Santander shared anti-Muslim videos last week, in the aftermath of the U.S. midterm elections, and deleted them two days later. The 32-year-old Venezuelan has not commented publicly or apologized, and neither he nor the agency that represents him has responded to multiple messages. General manager Ross Atkins said Tuesday at the GM meetings in Las Vegas that he had spoken with Santander and asked him to address the controversy publicly: "There really aren't words to express my level of disappointment."

Steven Zhou of the National Council of Canadian Muslims called the roughly hour-long meeting "a positive step in the right direction," adding that the community now wants an apology from the player himself. The Blue Jays are MLB's only Canadian club; Statistics Canada's 2021 census counted more than 1.78 million Muslims in Canada, and about 10 per cent of Toronto's 2.8 million residents identify as Muslim. Santander, who signed a five-year, US$92.5-million deal in January 2025, hit .175 with six homers in 54 games last season.

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2. Alvarez and Crow-Armstrong win MVP awards unanimously

Source: Sportsnet

Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros won the American League MVP award and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs took the National League honour on Thursday, both as unanimous selections. It is the third time both leagues produced unanimous winners in the same year, after 2023 (Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuna Jr.) and 2024 (Aaron Judge and Ohtani).

Crow-Armstrong, 24, set career highs with a .280 average, 45 homers, 107 RBIs and 41 steals in 162 games, tying Kyle Schwarber for the major league home run lead and topping the NL in runs (119), slugging (.570) and OPS (.942). He also won his second Gold Glove and led the majors with 26 Outs Above Average. He is the first Cubs NL MVP since Kris Bryant in 2016.

Alvarez, 29, led the majors in batting average, walks (109), on-base percentage (.432) and slugging (.601) after playing only 48 games last season because of injuries. He is the first Astros AL MVP since Jose Altuve in 2017 and has hit .300 with 212 homers and 599 RBIs in eight seasons. Junior Caminero of Tampa Bay finished second in the AL and Bobby Witt Jr. of Kansas City third.

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3. Daniels' late TD stuns Giants as Commanders win 24-21

Source: Sportsnet

Jayden Daniels hit Stefon Diggs for a 32-yard go-ahead touchdown with 57 seconds left as the Washington Commanders beat the New York Giants 24-21 on Thursday night, surviving two interceptions from their quarterback.

Daniels finished 23 of 33 for 249 yards with three touchdown passes — to Ben Sinnott, Antonio Williams and Diggs — and ran 10 times for 28 yards. The win moved Washington to 3-5-1, two games behind the NFC East-leading Giants (5-3-1) and in possession of the tiebreaker after the teams tied last month.

Diggs' score was the 80th touchdown catch of his career, making him the 30th player in league history to reach the mark. Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw for a career-high 293 yards in his first home start since arriving from Minnesota, but was intercepted by Rasul Douglas in the final minute. New York's Dominic Zvada missed a 33-yard field goal; Washington's Drew Stevens made one from 46.

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4. Canadiens rout Bruins 5-2 but blue-line leaks persist

Source: Sportsnet

The Montreal Canadiens built a 5-0 lead and beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 at TD Garden on Thursday, ending Boston's four-game win streak and moving one point ahead of the Bruins into a tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning atop the Atlantic Division.

Jacob Fowler made 30 saves, 16 of them after Montreal went up 5-0, as the Canadiens improved to 12-3-4. "It wasn't our best game tonight," coach Martin St. Louis said — a welcome change from having to call it one of their worst.

The concern was controlled-entry defence: Montreal allowed 56 controlled entries, including 10 in a row in the first 10 minutes of the third period, according to SportLogiq. Nick Suzuki and Mike Matheson both said the group must close space earlier up the ice. It was the 13th time in 18 games the Canadiens led by at least two goals, and they blocked 23 shots.

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5. Boldy's hat trick extends Wild streak, Leafs lose fifth straight

Source: NHL.com

Matt Boldy scored a hat trick and the Minnesota Wild beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday to extend their point streak to 10 games. It was Boldy's second hat trick of the season and the sixth of his career; his goal at 3:59 of the third period put Minnesota ahead 3-2.

Kirill Kaprizov had three assists to stretch his point streak to 10 games (six goals, 12 assists), Jesper Wallstedt made 26 saves and Michael McCarron also scored for the Wild (14-3-4), who are 8-0-2 on the run and have won seven straight on the road. Danila Yurov added an empty-net goal.

Auston Matthews and Zack MacEwen scored for Toronto (8-11-2), which has lost all five games of a six-game homestand in regulation. "We can't take moral victories," coach Jim Hiller said. Minnesota's Joel Eriksson Ek left in the second period after colliding with Jake McCabe; coach John Hynes said he does not think the injury is serious.

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6. Jets score five in second period, rout Stars 8-3

Source: NHL.com

The Winnipeg Jets scored five goals in the second period and beat the Dallas Stars 8-3 on Thursday for their fifth straight win. Mark Scheifele had two goals and an assist, Dawson Mercer scored twice for the second game in a row, and Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi each had a goal and two assists; Stuart Skinner made 30 saves.

Scheifele reached 929 career points (378 goals, 551 assists), tying Dale Hawerchuk for the most in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise history, and moved past Hawerchuk and Blake Wheeler into second on the franchise assist list behind Thomas Steen (553).

Roope Hintz had a goal and an assist and Arttu Hyry also scored for Dallas (10-6-2), whose four-game point streak ended. Jake Oettinger allowed six goals on 27 shots before being pulled one minute into the third period. David Perron scored his first goal with the Stars. "Pretty ugly night," captain Jamie Benn said. "Unacceptable."

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7. Barrett's 31 not enough as Raptors fall to 76ers

Source: Sportsnet

Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points and Joel Embiid added 20 as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors 123-112 on Thursday night while playing without LeBron James, who was ruled out with a back injury.

RJ Barrett scored 31 points and Immanuel Quickley added 25 for the short-handed Raptors, who have lost four of five. Toronto played without Kawhi Leonard (knee) for a 10th straight game and Scottie Barnes (groin) for a fourth, led by as many as 16 in the first half but trailed 96-87 after three quarters.

Embiid crumpled to the floor clutching his right knee after colliding with Quickley in the first quarter but returned later in the period. The Raptors were playing the second game of a back-to-back after blowing a 22-point lead in Wednesday's 98-93 home loss to Boston.

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8. Grey Cup week in Calgary may be McMahon's last

Source: CBC

Grey Cup week is under way in Calgary, where the Edmonton Elks meet the Montreal Alouettes on Sunday at 66-year-old McMahon Stadium, and conversations have already begun about making this the last championship game held there.

The home of the Stampeders since 1960 and the site of the 1988 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, McMahon is the second-oldest pro football stadium in Canada behind Montreal's Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, which was built in 1915. In 2019, then-CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie predicted that Grey Cup would be the last at McMahon.

"McMahon Stadium is pretty tired, I'm afraid. It's time for a new building," said McMahon Stadium Society chair Steve Allan, noting replacement seat parts are no longer available and the new turf has an eight-year lifespan. The Calgary Stampede has hired a firm to study adding field sports to 17,000-seat GMC Stadium, the city is running its own feasibility study and the University of Calgary has raised about $23 million for a 5,000-seat campus stadium. "I would say this will likely be the last Grey Cup ever played at McMahon," Stampeders president Jay McNeil said.

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9. MacKinnon, Makar exit with lower-body injuries

Source: Pro Hockey Rumors

The Colorado Avalanche lost Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar to lower-body injuries in Thursday's game against the Ottawa Senators, the team announced, and neither returned.

MacKinnon was hurt while attempting to check Senators defenceman Artem Zub, appeared to favour his hip and stayed on the bench for a few minutes before limping to the locker room. Makar left seconds earlier, returned for one shift in which he barely moved, and was ruled out.

MacKinnon has 10 goals and 30 points in 19 games while averaging 20:40 of ice time; Makar has five goals and 23 points in 18 games at 22:54 per game. Colorado sits third in the Central Division with six regulation losses in 19 games after having just one at the same point last season, and has no cap space to replace either player.

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10. FIFA loses court bid to block UEFA probe

Source: The Independent

A New York court on Thursday rejected FIFA's attempt to block UEFA from obtaining documents from Thrive Capital and JP Morgan, in a case tied to the collapsed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project.

The plan, spearheaded by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, would have sold a minority stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors; it was abandoned in August after three continental confederations rejected it. UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA competitions and last month demanded answers, including why Thrive Capital — founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law — was given exclusivity to lead the investor group.

Judge Jeannette Vargas wrote that the court had already decided the U.S. FIFA parties "have no direct, substantial and legally protectable interest" in the matter and declined leave to intervene; another ruling is required before documents are released. The decision comes ahead of March's FIFA election, where Infantino seeks a fourth term. JFA honorary president Kozo Tashima has announced he will run, and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is considering a challenge.

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