Quick Hits CA

🎾 Australian Open: It was a shocker down under this morning, as No. 13 Naomi Osaka surprisingly lost her third-round Australian Open match, ending her hunt for a repeat title. At least we won’t have to decide between cheering for her and world No. 1 Ash Barty, who’s on to the fourth round.

• As for Canada, No. 14 Denis Shapovalov advanced to the fourth round last night with No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime looking to join him today, and Gabriela Dabrowski is holding down the fort in women’s and mixed doubles.

🏒 NHL: It’s been a tough go for Canadian NHL teams recently, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are no exception. The hot and cold team managed to blow another lead in a 6–3 loss to the NY Rangers on Wednesday. Sigh.

• Speaking of tough losses, despite Ontario hoping toease COVID-19 restrictions at the end of January, the province will be keeping large-seating arena capacity at 500 people through at least February 21st. Double sigh.

🏂 Snowboard: Canada’s national snowboarding team for Beijing has been named, headlined by previous Olympic medalists Sébastien Toutant, Mark McMorris, Max Parrot, and Laurie Blouin. With Toutant defending the gold and Blouin coming off a world cup bronze, this team is shreddin’ for success.