Sports
Mendes: Why the Oilers are not 'Canada's team' in the Stanley Cup Final
In the aftermath of the Edmonton Oilers clinching their spot in the Stanley Cup Final, the question to Connor McDavid on the podium was predictable.
Winnipeg, Vancouver and Toronto also had Stanley Cup aspirations this spring, but Edmonton is the last Canadian team standing. And so the question to the Oilers superstar was somewhat inevitable, as Edmonton is on the precipice of wiping out a Canadian Stanley Cup drought that has lasted more than three decades.
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“Can you talk about being Canada’s team?” a reporter asked McDavid on Sunday evening. “Everybody coast to coast is cheering for the Oilers. Any added pressure with that?”
McDavid seamlessly stick-handled the question.
“We’re a Canadian team and we’ve got great Canadian fans,” responded McDavid. “And it feels good to maybe unite the country a little bit and bring people together.”
It’s a nice, easy narrative, isn’t it?
A hockey-obsessed nation that is starving for its championship trophy to rightfully be returned north of the border.
It’s a storyline repeatedly pushed by a Boston Pizza commercial that seems to play during every single TV timeout and intermission in these playoffs. The commercial opens by relaying the heartbreak of several Canadian teams since Montreal’s magical run to a Stanley Cup title in 1993.
Somebody has punched through drywall after Vancouver lost Game 7 to the Rangers in 1994.
A Toronto fan has thrown a plate through their television screen after losing to Carolina in the conference final.
An Oilers fan repeatedly runs over their flat-screen TV with a pickup truck following a second-round loss to Anaheim in 2017.
And a bitter Montreal fan tosses their AM radio to the ground after the Canadiens lost to Tampa in the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
(The Flames’ and Senators’ runs to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 and 2007 respectively were omitted from the commercial. But hey, there is only so much Canadian misery you can shoehorn into a 30-second spot.)
The message of the commercial is simple: Canadian NHL fans have only known bitter disappointment over the last 30 years. It’s time for hockey fans in this country to put aside their deep-rooted, historical rivalries and pull in the same direction.
As the commercial draws to a close, fans are gathered inside a Boston Pizza sports bar clad in merchandise that is just generic enough to skirt a trademark infringement suit from the NHL. But it’s clearly meant to show a Canucks fan and a Flames fan high-fiving at the bar. A Senators fan and a Canadiens fan standing side by side. An Oilers fan and a Leafs fan clinking full beer glasses together.
“A Canadian team hasn’t won the Stanley Cup in 30 years. Maybe it’s time to try something different,” the commercial urges. “This year, let’s team up with the fans we’ve always cheered against.”
This commercial and the reporter’s question to McDavid, however, are rooted in pure fantasy — not reality.
Will some casual hockey fans in Canada be pulling for the Oilers over the Panthers?
Absolutely.
Will some big NHL fans in this country be hoping that McDavid — the absolute best player of his generation — winds up with a Stanley Cup ring?
You bet.
But will the majority of die-hard hockey fans in this country be actively rooting for the Oilers as if they were cheering on their own team?
Forget it.
Sure, most Canadians want the Stanley Cup drought to end, but with a very important caveat: only if it happens for their favourite team. Otherwise, it’s just like watching your neighbour win the lottery. I suppose it’s nice for them, but what does it do for you?
Consider this social media poll from Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver after the two Stanley Cup Finalists were determined. Of the 1,531 people who cast a vote, more than 70 percent of them said they would be cheering for the Panthers. Only 16.4 percent said they would be actively rooting for Edmonton, while almost the same number (12.9 percent) said they would remain completely neutral.
And yes, Vancouver fans — who would have made up the vast majority of that poll — might be bitter because Edmonton did eliminate them in the second round.
But that’s the whole point.
You cannot simply ask a Vancouver fan to temporarily suspend their hatred of an Edmonton team that just bounced them from the playoffs. Nor can you ask a Calgary fan to ignore decades of hatred and bitterness in the Battle of Alberta to suddenly pull for their provincial rival. In fact, Calgary fans have full permission to sit out this entire Stanley Cup Final.
The trifecta of Montreal-Toronto-Ottawa will never cheer for one another, and while Winnipeg always seems like the most likeable Canadian team, it’s not like they have forged a national identity of any kind.
It’s a ridiculous question we wrestle with each time a Canadian team is still alive after Victoria Day. Should we embrace the last Canadian team standing for the sake of national pride?
But the answer is always in plain sight.
Consider the backlash in Toronto when the CN Tower — the city’s most iconic building — was lit up in red, white and blue in the summer of 2021 to commemorate the Montreal Canadiens reaching the Stanley Cup Final.
That felt awkward and it created such a stir that a spokesperson for the CN Tower had to release a statement explaining, “It is a federally owned and operated property that belongs to all Canadians.”
When the Canucks were the last Canadian team standing in the COVID-19 bubble in the summer of 2020, our James Mirtle and Sean McIndoe had a fun and spirited debate over the idea of Vancouver being Canada’s team.
But to definitively settle this argument, we should compare the Oilers’ run to what the Toronto Raptors accomplished five years ago. When the Raptors went on their magical run to the NBA title in the summer of 2019, it felt like the entire country was galvanized. There were massive viewing parties being held all across Canada.
In Abbotsford, B.C., more than 1,500 fans turned up to watch Game 5 of the Raptors-Warriors series inside the Abbotsford Centre. At the opposite end of the country in the Maritimes, there were massive viewing parties for Raptors games in places like Halifax and Moncton.
That summer, Cineplex Odeon opened up 33 movie theatres across the country to show Raptors games on the big screen.
“Canadian fans are invited to unite and rally behind the Raptors as they face-off against the Golden State Warriors, live on the big screen,” their press release stated.
Surely, they must be doing the same for Canada’s team — the Edmonton Oilers — here in 2024, right?
Alas, a Cineplex Odeon spokesperson told The Athletic this week, “Currently, we are not scheduled to show the Stanley Cup Final series in theatres as cinema rights haven’t been granted.”
And maybe that’s a technicality on the “cinema rights” point, but it doesn’t feel like the Oilers would have the nationwide appeal of viewing parties in every major city.
We do that for massive Olympic events. The FIFA World Cup. And yes the Raptors and Toronto Blue Jays, because they are the only professional teams based in Canada in their respective sports.
But if there are massive outdoor viewing parties planned for Oilers games in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Toronto this month, I certainly haven’t heard of them.
So to our American friends who think we’re obsessed with getting our trophy back, please know that we haven’t put the country on pause waiting to see if the Oilers bring home the title. Not everybody on this side of the border is on pins and needles. We’re not like England waiting for a FIFA World Cup.
The only time we’re all definitively pulling on the same rope is when we’re cheering for Team Canada in national competitions. The Olympics matter to us and on that front, this country has accomplished a lot since 1993. A trio of Olympic gold medals on the men’s side is a pretty nice consolation prize during a prolonged Stanley Cup drought.
(And we’re not pointing any fingers, but we do know of a certain country to our south that hasn’t won a gold medal on the men’s side since 1980. Forty-four years is a pretty good drought too, FYI.)
An Oilers championship — while erasing a 31-year drought for a Canadian-based team — does nothing for any other fan base in this country. Cities like Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg, who have never hoisted a Stanley Cup, don’t receive partial credit for an Oilers championship. And if anything, an Edmonton Stanley Cup championship will only further enrage Toronto fans, who are closing in on six decades without a title.
But if there is one reason we should be collectively pulling in Canada for an Oilers Stanley Cup this month, it would be to end this ridiculous notion that we’re all waiting for the Stanley Cup to come home.
And maybe if the Oilers win a Stanley Cup in June, we can put this whole “Canada’s Team” narrative to bed once and for all.
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic. Photo: Jeff Bottari / NHLI via Getty Images)
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.
“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Ponder was 23 years old.
Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.
Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.
The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.
Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.
Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)
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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.
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Sunday was “Senior Night” for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.
Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.
Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.
“These are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they’d come with fire,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. “We knew we’d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.”
It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 17 times.
Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Charlisse Leger-Walker, nicknamed “X-ray vision” by teammates, equaled her season high with 20 points for the Bruins (28-1, 18-0) while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.
“Anytime we play together we know we can win,” Leger-Walker said. “We did a good job looking into the scout. Every game we just think about going 1-0. People scouting us know that all five players on the court can score the ball.”
UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.
“Going undefeated [in conference] is a great step in the right direction towards what we want to accomplish,” said Jaquez, who appreciated the flowers she received before the game from USC. “I love this rivalry. It’s super fun to play against them and it was nice that they honored us too.”
UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.
USC (17-12, 9-9) opened the second half on an 11-2 run but gave up 14 second-chance points and allowed 22 offensive rebounds.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice, front, and forward Angela Dugalic celebrate as USC guard Kennedy Smith walks away during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“If we get more possessions than our opponent we’re most likely going to win,” Close said. “We didn’t allow one basket on an out-of-bounds play and they lead the conference in that.”
Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, USC’s leading scorer, got into early foul trouble but still finished with 12 points. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting in the first meeting.
“It was a great crowd, we were in the fight but we didn’t rebound or shoot well enough,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to keep them out of our paint. We swarmed Betts, double-teamed her and got it out of her hands but other people scored.”
Londynn Jones, who spent three seasons in Westwood (playing in 108 straight games) before transferring to USC for her senior year, was held to six points in the team’s first meeting and nine points (on four-of-10 shooting) in the rematch. The Trojans’ other senior, Kara Dunn, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points.
“I love Londynn,” Close said. “We think she looks better in blue, but we love her and I told her that. I appreciate all she gave to our programs.”
Asked if this is the best team she has ever coached, Close had a one-word answer.
“Yes.”
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Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.
The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”
“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.
“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”
A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.
Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.
Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.
Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.
On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.
Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.
The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.
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Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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