TORONTO – Ochai Agbaji’s relatively small stature won’t stop him from defending some of the biggest and best forwards in the NBA.

All-star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were Agbaji’s main defensive assignments in the Toronto Raptors’ 119-118 pre-season victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Those are tough marks for the six-foot-five Agbaji, who gives up an inch to Brown and three to Tatum, but the Raptors’ forward is up for the challenge.

“I embrace that every single night,” said Agbaji. “That’s the fun in this, showing up and having those matchups, having the defending champs and knowing that you got to turn it up to a different level.

“It’s just always fun, whatever matchup it is, whether it’s them or Kevin Durant or whoever it is, it’s just always fun to match up with them.”

Agbaji averaged 6.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 27 games for the Raptors last season after Toronto acquired him in a trade with the Utah Jazz on Feb. 8. He was listed as a shooting guard for all of those games — his natural position — but on the relatively undersized Raptors, he’ll spend most of this coming season playing against bigs.

“It’s got to be a helpers’ mentality on defence,” said Agbaji. “Everyone’s obviously in that helping mindset ready to take cover whenever their man is in a post-up situation or gets beat off the ball.

“That’s just how it is and it’s got to be a collective effort every night.”

Brown averaged 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in his third all-star campaign last season. Tatum garnered MVP votes and was named an all-star for the fifth consecutive year as he averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists last season.

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Despite battling against two scoring juggernauts, Agbaji had a game-best plus-29 defensive rating on Tuesday and limited them to below-average points with Brown getting 19 and Tatum 24.

Agbaji scored 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists Tuesday. Those points came on 7 of 11 shooting, including going 1 for 4 on three-point attempts.

“For me, the priority is what he’s doing defensively, and he affected the game, and in a big, big way,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “Tonight, he was also able to score in transition and create those opportunities.

“He can do so many other things that can affect our game (besides) shooting.”

The Raptors face the Nets in Brooklyn on Friday for their final pre-season game.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

&copy 2024 The Canadian Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The world’s second Sphere is planned to be built in the capital of the United Arab Emirates after the opening of the first giant dome entertainment complex in Las Vegas.

Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism and Sphere Entertainment Co. announced the plan late Tuesday to bring a Sphere to the Middle East.

Under the deal, Abu Dhabi will pay a franchise fee to Sphere Entertainment to build the second location using its designs. Abu Dhabi’s government will pay to build the structure, as well as annual fees to Sphere Entertainment “for creative and artistic content.”

The announcement offered no financing information, nor did it say where the Sphere would be built in the Emirati capital. Abu Dhabi’s government did not immediately respond to questions about the project Wednesday. Sphere declined to comment beyond the initial announcement.

The massive $2.3 billion Las Vegas Sphere opened in 2023 as the gambling capital’s most expensive entertainment venue. A high-resolution LED screen wraps halfway around the 17,500-seat audience. It has hosted concerts and sporting events inside the world’s largest spherical structure standing at 366 feet (111 meters) tall and 516 feet (157 meters) wide.

However, efforts to build a second Sphere abroad have been choppy. London Mayor Sadiq Khan rejected a plan to build one in the city’s east over multiple concerns last year, including light pollution.

Abu Dhabi has been trying to differentiate itself as a travel destination from neighboring Dubai in the UAE, an energy-rich federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula.

The UAE is also preparing to open the first casino in the country. While the only one currently under construction is in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, other sheikhdoms in the country are believed to be actively considering having their own.

Sphere is the brainchild of James Dolan, the executive chair of Madison Square Garden and the owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers.

Stock in Sphere closed more than 6% higher Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange to $48.91 a share. That’s a major boost after Benchmark last month downgraded Sphere Entertainment to “sell” over “concerns over the Sphere’s “scalability, high production costs and a potentially underwhelming profitability outlook.”

Meanwhile, some projects in the UAE have failed to be built or been delayed for years after being announced in economic downturns.

Trademark filings show Sphere Entertainment Co. trademark filings made as well in Japan, Oman and Qatar, though there’s no announced plans for similar venues. Companies often protectively trademark their names in other markets without necessarily having business there.

BOSTON – After splitting two pre-season games with the lowly Washington Wizards, the Toronto Raptors were schooled by the higher class Boston Celtics on Sunday at the TD Garden.

The Celtics jumped out to a 41-20 first-quarter lead, and increased it to 69-37 at halftime en route to a comfortable 115-111 victory over the visiting Raptors.

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Drew Peterson led the Celtics with a game-high 23 points, while Lonnie Walker the Fourth chipped in with 20 and Payton Pritchard had 19 points and nine assists.

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Gradey Dick led the Raptors with 18 points, while Jamal Shead and Jakob Poeltl each had 14 points. Poeltl chipped in with 13 rebounds.

The Celtics outrebounded the Raptors 50-45, and led in blocks 5-2, steals 7-6 and turnovers 13-11.

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Boston was 18-for-53 from three-point range, while the Raptors went 10-for-25.

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Raptors host the Celtics on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2024.

Over his quarter century in the National Hockey League, Mark Messier witnessed sweeping technological changes to the game, from the advent of lighter hockey sticks to the use of video reviews.

Now, the Canadian Hall of Famer believes hockey is poised for another leap as it moves into the streaming era.

Messier will be among the on-air talent for Amazon Prime Video’s new NHL broadcast, Prime Monday Night Hockey, the league’s first exclusive national broadcast package with a digital-only streaming service in Canada.

Shows will be broadcast from the home team’s arena, kicking off Monday when the Montreal Canadiens host the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre – with U.S. sports announcer John Forslund doing the play-by-play.

Amazon’s new venture could set the stage for a major shakeup in broadcast rights when Rogers Communications Inc.’s current 12-year deal with the NHL expires in 2026.

“(I learned) I have to evolve as a player if I’m going to be able to play for 26 years. I think the same thing can be said in the way we bring the game to life for people watching on TV,” Messier said on a call from Toronto.

“The technology’s changing all the time — sophistication in cameras, ideas of how we bring and immerse the fans into the game have all changed.

“You have to be willing to change in order to keep up.”

Prime Monday Night Hockey broadcasts will include Rapid Recap, an interactive feature where those who join a game in progress can watch a two-minute highlight package compiled with artificial intelligence.

Mark Shopiro, head of Prime Video Canada, said more innovations will be introduced throughout the season, but the current focus is “getting the broadcast right and giving a great product to fans.”

Amazon acquired the rights to broadcast all national, regular-season Monday night NHL games for the next two seasons through a deal with Rogers. The move has fuelled speculation that Amazon will bid for the Canadian broadcasting rights to all NHL games when they become available after the 2025-26 season.

“If someone thinks that two years from now, Amazon – which is this gigantic company that’s clearly very bullish about making an imprint in the sports world – will say, ‘We’re just going to do this for two years, just dabble and see where it goes and then go away,’ I would be stunned, quite honestly,” said Adnan Virk, who will co-host Prime Monday Night Hockey with Andi Petrillo.

“I cannot imagine how they wouldn’t be a part of the package.”

When asked about the NHL broadcasting rights, Shopiro said he “can’t speculate on future deals.”

A Rogers spokesperson said the Canadian media giant plans “to be at the table” when the NHL rights come up for renewal, but wouldn’t comment further.

NHL’s chief content officer and executive vice-president Steve Mayer couldn’t speak to the upcoming negotiations, but said “we hope this is a long relationship at the NHL with Amazon and obviously, we’re just starting things off with these two years.”

Rogers’ Sportsnet will continue to broadcast national games on Wednesdays for the next two years, along with Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays, also available on CBC and other Rogers-owned channels.

One observer said the NHL is the biggest winner in the Amazon-Rogers deal because the price for the broadcast rights has now been “driven up,” adding that hockey fans are the biggest losers.

“You’re forcing your current subscribers to subscribe somewhere else. If you want to watch national Monday night games, you have to have Amazon Prime,” Toronto Metropolitan University sport media professor Laurel Walzak said.

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“Now, instead of paying the subscription fee for Sportsnet, you’re also paying a subscription fee for Amazon Prime. So the fan is paying double.”

She said this speaks to a larger trend in sports, where leagues are now signing rights deals with multiple parties.

In July, the NBA inked an 11-year agreement with Disney, NBC and Amazon.

Petrillo, who has worked for CBC and TSN, said she understands why there might be some backlash to the NHL’s move to streaming.

“I know exactly where people are coming from when you get so used to something for your entire life — channel surfing, sitting down and just wanting to subscribe to one thing and have everything on that,” said Petrillo, who will also host a Prime show on Thursdays called NHL Coast to Coast, featuring highlights, analysis and interviews.

“But the habits of people are dictating where the industry is going. And more and more people have cut the cord. They’re going the way of streaming … We’re going where they are.”

Amazon hopes to hook hockey fans with top-shelf broadcasts, using 30 HD cameras per episode that film in high dynamic range at 60 frames per second.

“I think the technology and advancement in cameras and angles, being able to put cameras in different positions than we’ve ever been able to in the past, is really going to elevate the experience,” said Messier, who joins a team of analysts including Blake Bolden, Thomas Hickey, Shane Hnidy and Jody Shelley.

Virk said Prime Monday Night Hockey will lean harder into statistics than most hockey shows.

“We’re going to use numbers in a way that will differentiate it from other broadcasts. We’ll use more analytics,” he said.

“I don’t mean to disparage any of the other broadcasts, but I think this Amazon broadcast will be very smart and (geared) towards educated hockey fans.”

What’s more, he said the show’s theme song, recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is “a banger.”

“I’ll tell you right now, (as someone who) grew up on the ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ theme, the music alone will have people paying attention.”

&copy 2024 The Canadian Press

WASHINGTON – Chris Boucher scored 22 points for the Toronto Raptors in a 113-95 pre-season loss to the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

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Boucher, who grew up in Montreal, added seven rebounds. Scottie Barnes had 16 points and eight rebounds for Toronto.

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Kyle Kuzma led the hometown Wizards with 22 points.

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The Raptors fell to 1-1 in pre-season play.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.