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Hamilton presents NBA superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander key to city
He’s an NBA superstar and champion, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has never forgotten his roots.
Gilgeous-Alexander received the key to the city of Hamilton from Mayor Andrea Horwath at a public rally Thursday at Hamilton Stadium.
Horwath also announced the 27-year-old basketball star will also have a street named after him after capping an epic 2024-25 season by leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a thrilling seven-game league championship victory over the Indiana Pacers.
“Growing up as I travelled across the world, to countless states, cities and countries people always asked where I was from,” Gilgeous-Alexander told a raucous gathering in the north end zone after hoisting the NBA championship trophy over his head. “I took pride in letting everyone know I was from Hamilton.
“Hamilton is different from every other city in Ontario, Hamiltonians carry a different sense of grit, determination, pride and energy than the rest of the province and honestly, I couldn’t shy away from that. I carry that with me every day and everywhere I go so you guys can only imagine how (much) overwhelming joy there was when I found out I was getting a key to the city I love and a street named after me.”
Gilgeous-Alexander returned to Hamilton Stadium on Thursday night. He was honoured to start the second quarter of the CFL game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the B.C. Lions.
Looking over thousands of people — including many youngsters and children donning Gilgeous-Alexander’s No. 2 jersey — hit the NBA star hard. Gilgeous-Alexander stepped on to the stage wearing a Ticats short with the No. 2.
“Early on, I had my shades on so you couldn’t see me tearing up a little bit but it was very special,” he said. “I’ve been on that field in various amount of ways growing up and for me to be on it in that fashion was special.
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“A full circle moment. All of it kind of feels like that when I come back home. Not a lot of people know about this city but the support I feel no matter where I am in the world is special and I’m appreciative of that at all times.”
Rowan Barrett, the executive vice-president and general manager of Canada’s national men’s team, also spoke of Gilgeous-Alexander at the rally. And Ron Foxcroft, a longtime basketball official and chairman/CEO of Fluke Transportation & Warehousing, presented Gilgeous-Alexander with a gold basketball.
This past season was one to remember for six-foot-six, 195-pound Gilgeous-Alexander. In addition to leading the Thunder to its first NBA title, he was named the Finals MVP and regular season MVP while winning the league scoring title.
He became just the fourth player to accomplish that feat in one season, joining Hall of Famers Shaquille O’ Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan.
“It’s a very proud day for Hamilton,” Horwath said. “We’re all very proud of Shai and we stand in awe of his achievements.
“I think we’re all on Cloud 9 here in the Hammer today. What it means for Hamilton is, I think, something we all know, which is we have a lot of greatness in this city.”
After the season, Gilgeous-Alexander signed a four-year, US$285-million extension with the Thunder. That makes him the highest-paid player in the NBA on an annual salary basis.
Gilgeous-Alexander also signed multi-year extension with Converse that makes him the creative director of Converse Basketball. The deal, reportedly worth $15 million annually, came after O’Neal pursued the Canadian to sign with Reebok.
O’Neal is currently the president of Reebok Basketball, a role he assumed 2023.
Gilgeous-Alexander is also the cover athlete of NBA 2K26. Heady stuff for a player who didn’t make his high school basketball team in the ninth grade.
“Everyone says your hard work pays off and sometimes it doesn’t pay off in the way you want it to,” he said. “You don’t always get what you want and what you dream for.
“And for that kid that didn’t even make that team to get to this moment and get what he kind of dreamt for and worked for, it’s special and not taken for granted. It’s a blessing and I just try to soak up all of the moments.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Blue Jays slugger George Springer has been cleared to return to game action after suffering a concussion over two weeks ago, Toronto manager John Schneider said Wednesday.
The 35-year-old outfielder/designated hitter hasn’t played since July 28 when he was hit in the helmet by a fastball thrown by Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kade Strowd.
Springer, who was on hand for batting practice before Toronto’s game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, was expected to play for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday.
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“Play DH tomorrow and then see if he needs a game in the outfield to see how he feels,” Schneider said in his pre-game availability. “But he’ll be doing that tomorrow.”
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Springer has been one of the top offensive performers this season for the Blue Jays (70-50), who had a 4 1/2-game lead on the Boston Red Sox in the American League East standings entering play Wednesday.
Over 101 games, Springer has a .291 average, 18 homers, 57 RBIs and an on-base and slugging percentage of .889.
Strowd’s 96-m.p.h. pitch appeared to hit Springer’s shoulder before making contact with his helmet near the ear flap. After laying prone for a moment or two, Springer got up slowly and left the field with some assistance.
He was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list on July 29.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Two delightfully shaggy new faces will be on display at the Toronto Zoo starting on Friday.
The nine-month-old brothers are Scottish Highland cattle, with long, woolly, reddish coats and fringe over their eyes.
The zoo’s manager of wildlife care, Marc Brandson, says the two were born and raised at a local Ontario farm before moving to the zoo about a month ago.
He says they completed a quarantine period and now live just outside the Eurasia Wilds area of the zoo.
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Membership holders can visit the brothers at a pre-screening on Thursday, while other visitors can see them starting Friday.
Brandson says there is “a lot of excitement” around the pair because of how popular the Highland breed already is.
He says the zoo is hoping to have the brothers walk through the public area of the zoo as part of its animal ambassador program, which can give visitors a closer look at certain animals.
“Each and every day, our outreach and discovery staff are working to get them to that level,” he said.
“Having a bonded pair is a really great social situation for Highland cows. These brothers are very calm and they are gaining confidence each and every day that they interact with their caregivers.”
The brothers don’t have names yet, and Brandson says the public should stay tuned on ways to contribute naming ideas.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says the federal government needs to do more to fight Canada’s devastating forest fires.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday in Ottawa, the Alberta MP accused Ottawa of “inaction” on wildfires. She also blamed that lack of action for new measures restricting activities in the forests of two provinces — even though those bans were imposed by the provinces themselves.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last week banned hiking, fishing, camping and the use of vehicles in its forests in response to the heightened wildfire risk.
Rempel Garner said that while she understands the fear Maritimers feel, restricting individuals’ movements is “not right.”
“Whenever there’s a major crisis, what the Liberal government has done by their inaction has conditioned Canadians to expect that the only response they can see out of their federal government is to restrict their movement,” Rempel Garner told reporters.
“We’re calling on the federal government to actually get serious about this issue.”
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Conservative MP Marc Dalton presented a bill last year to stiffen penalties for wildfires caused by arson. It never made it past first reading and died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of this year’s election.
Rempel Garner said that’s one area where the Liberals could have taken action on wildfires. She also called on the federal government to dedicate more resources to wildfire control.
In its 2021 election platform, the Liberals promised to train 1,000 community-based firefighters to fight wildfires and to work with provinces and territories to get them more firefighting planes.
Last month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that Alberta-based water bomber manufacturer De Havilland was facing a four-year backlog of orders.
“Four full wildfire seasons ago, the Liberals promised more water bombers, more firefighters,” Rempel Garner said. “Where are they?”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston brushed off the criticisms of the forest entry ban at a press conference later Wednesday.
“I find it remarkable, the interest in travelling in Nova Scotia woods by people who aren’t in Nova Scotia and probably haven’t been here much in their life,” Houston told reporters.
“We’re only concerned with keeping people safe. We’ll do what’s necessary to protect lives, and that’s what we’re doing in this case.”
So far this season, the total area of the country burned by wildfires is nearly the size of the entire province of New Brunswick.
— With files from Sarah Ritchie.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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