This Week in Sports: Team Canada secures Olympic gold medal in Milan, McDavid starts a historic run, Vicky Mboko cracks top 10

There were certainly no shortage of headlines coming out of the world of sports this week. (Images via Jeff PACHOUD / AFP, Tnani Badreddine/DeFodi Images/Yahoo Canada Illustration)

Canada is starting to move through the gears at the 2026 Winter Olympics, having collected its first gold medal while hitting double-digits in the overall medal count.

There will be more gold medal hopes as we go and there are several other Canadian athletes on other grand sporting stages making their own mark.

Over the past week, we’ve seen Vicky Mboko and Felix Auger-Aliassime make great runs to finals at their respective tennis tournaments, Scottie Barnes lead the way for the Toronto Raptors at NBA all-star weekend, and also the Canadian men’s cricket team participate in the T20 World Cup.

Here’s everything you might’ve missed out on from Canadians over the past week and what you can look forward to in the week ahead.

McDavid relishing first opportunity on Olympic stage

When Team U.S.A. was allowed to add NBA players to its basketball roster for the Summer Olympics back in 1992, it was a landmark moment for basketball as a global sport.

Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and several more superstars formed the “Dream Team” and basketball nirvana ensued. Fans and even opponents relished every moment to see some of the best players ever put on an unforgettable show as the U.S. romped to a gold medal.

NHL players haven’t participated in the Winter Olympics since 2014, which makes these Games a first for several players, but no one bigger than Connor McDavid.

Look down the list of names on this Canadian men’s hockey roster and it gives you those “Dream Team” vibes, and at the centre of it all is Jordan on skates — McJordan, if you will.

McDavid has already become the all-time points leader among Canadians at a single Olympics with two goals and seven assists over Canada’s first three games. With three more points, he’ll have the all-time record by any NHL player at a single Olympics.

Of course, he will want a gold medal more than any of these individual accolades. Canada is looking poised to do that, starting the tournament with three straight wins, including a 10-2 standout victory over France on Sunday to close out Group A.

Raptors soak in all-star weekend in Los Angeles

It was a banner weekend for the Toronto Raptors organization in Los Angeles with plenty of representation at the NBA’s 2026 all-star weekend.

Rookies Alijah Martin and Collin Murray-Boyles were selected for the Rising Stars Game, Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram were selected as all-stars, while head coach Darko Rajaković was given the honours of coaching “Team World” at the main event. Former Raptors Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell also featured for their respective teams.

That main event took on a different look this year, pitting the league’s international stars against American all-stars. There were three teams in all, the two U.S. teams named “Stars” and “Stripes.” Barnes was representing Stars and made the most of his opportunity with 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block across these mini-games.

His biggest highlight came in the first game against Team World, knocking down a game-winning three-pointer with both Victor Wembanyama and Karl-Anthony Towns scrambling to contest. The funniest part of it all is that, because of the new format, Barnes initially hadn’t even realized the shot won his team the game.

Barnes went on to lift the trophy, his Stars team defeating a Stripes team featuring veterans LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard 47-21 in the final. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was named MVP.

Playing for Team Stripes, Ingram finished scoreless across three games including sitting the final.

He wasn’t the only Raptor to warm the bench, with coach Carmelo Anthony leaving Murray-Boyles glued to the bench in the Rising Stars game. That, though, may have had more to do with Murray-Boyles continuing to nurse a thumb injury and wanting to use this break in the schedule to expedite the healing process.

Team World finished winless in its two games but Kitchener, Ont., native Jamal Murray made his all-star debut. Reigning league MVP and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t play due to an abdominal strain.

Canadian athlete of the week: Mikaël Kingsbury

You win an Olympic gold medal after Canada goes eight long days without one, you are the nation’s athlete of the week.

Who else could it be but Mikaël Kingsbury, the ski legend delivering in the men’s dual moguls category that was included in the Winter Olympics for the first time ever. He came ever so close in his usual men’s moguls category, tying for the highest overall score but then getting demoted to silver due to a tie-breaker.

It is quite the fairytale ending for Kingsbury, who earlier revealed that this would indeed be his last Olympic appearance. Having carried the flag at the opening ceremony, he is ensuring it remains up high through the Games.

Kingsbury wraps up his Olympic career with two gold medals and three silvers, having also won gold at PyeongChang 2018.

‘I’m sure you have many titles ahead of you’: Muchova praises Mboko after finals run

Vicky Mboko continued her remarkable ascension on the WTA circuit with a run to the finals of the Qatar Open.

Mboko was thoroughly impressive throughout, defeating seventh-ranked Mirra Andreeva, Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, and 27th ranked Jelena Ostapenko before losing to 11th-ranked Karolina Muchova in the final.

Muchova is a former French Open finalist and has reached the semis of both the Australian and U.S. Open as well. The Czechia native lavished praise on Mboko during her title speech.

“I’d like to congratulate Victoria, you’re still a teenager if I’m not mistaken. You play with so much maturity and you play incredible,” Muchova said. “It’s been an incredible week for you. Congratulations, I’m sure you have many titles ahead of you. Wherever your team is, congrats guys and good luck the rest of the season.”

The result moves Mboko up to a career-best 10th in the WTA rankings and just 14 points behind Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina for ninth. Aryna Sabalenka remains the top-ranked player in women’s tennis, over 2,000 points ahead of second-ranked Iga Swiatek.

It’s hard to believe that Mboko was ranked outside the Top 300 just over a year ago.

While she’s accomplishing plenty in singles, Mboko also completed a side quest in doubles in Doha, teaming up with Coco Gauff for a fun experience even though they lost their opening match.

Felix Auger-Aliassime maintained his good run of form, following up his tournament win in Montpellier by reaching the final of the Rotterdam Open.

After some strong performances, it was surprising to see him get convincingly beaten 6-3, 6-2 in the final by Australia’s Alex de Minaur. The Canadian knocked over Alexei Popyrin, Hamad Medjedovic, Tallon Griekspoor, and Alexander Bublik en route to the final.

Losing the final was of noteworthy significance when it comes to the ATP rankings, as de Minaur’s victory pushed him above Auger-Aliassime in the rankings into sixth.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is currently sitting pretty atop the rankings, nearly 3,000 points ahead of Italy’s Jannik Sinner.

Elsewhere, Canadian Denis Shapovalov reached the semifinals of the Dallas Open where he lost a tight three-setter to ATP No. 9 Ben Shelton. Shapovalov’s run pushed him up five spots to No. 35.

Canada on cricket’s biggest stage at men’s T20 World Cup

The Canada men’s senior cricket team is making its second straight appearance at the T20 World Cup.

Having earned its place through regional qualifiers, Canada was slotted in Group D alongside the most recent finalist South Africa, former finalist New Zealand, the previous edition’s semifinalist Afghanistan, and the U.A.E.

India is hosting the 2026 event and is considered the favourite to win it all as defending champion.

Canada has played two matches thus far, opening its tournament on Feb. 9 with a 57-run loss to South Africa before losing to the U.A.E. on Feb. 13, in disappointing fashion. Having looked on course for victory until the latter stages, that loss would have stung.

Dilpreet Bajwa is captaining the team, having received the appointment just prior to the tournament. Navneet Dhaliwal, Harsh Thaker, Ansh Patel, and Saad Bin Zafar — captain at the previous edition — have been among Canada’s best performers.

Making its debut in the T20 World Cup hosted by the U.S. and West Indies two years ago, Canada pulled off a thrilling upset to defeat the Republic of Ireland for its first-ever win at the tournament.

Canada has two matches remaining in the group phase, against New Zealand on Feb. 17 and Afghanistan on Feb. 19.

Canada Soccer reaches new deal with CSME

A deal that was once under massive scrutiny now has a light at the end of the tunnel.

Canadian Soccer Media and Entertainment (CSME), formerly recognized as Canada Soccer Business (CSB), had an original deal with Canada Soccer that shared a fixed amount representing a very small share of its revenue in recent years. So little, in fact, that the men’s national team refused to play a friendly match back in June 2022, which was supposed to be in preparation for the FIFA World Cup later that year.

The women’s team also had several protests in 2023.

Canada Soccer’s revenue has seen a significant spike over the past decade on the back of the women’s national team winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the men’s national team qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in 36 years, and a general ascension beyond those major accomplishments.

The main improvement in the deal now is that Canada Soccer and CSME will divide revenue from sponsorship, broadcast and licensing rights through a tiered sharing structure. Canada Soccer will receive 50 per cent of gross revenue for the first $10 million through each year of the deal. For every additional million dollars of revenue, Canada Soccer will earn a continued 1 per cent increase in the share of gross revenue.

Compared to the previous payments Canada Soccer received, this will see an initial bump anticipated in the neighbourhood of at least five times what was being earned prior.

The new agreement extends to 2037 but can be reviewed every three years. Ahead of a men’s World Cup where Canada will play the role of co-hosts, this is massive news for the future of the sport.