Friday’s game between the Pistons and Cavaliers was delayed for roughly 12 minutes — all because the horn at Little Caesars Arena would not turn off.

During a timeout midway through the third quarter with the Pistons leading 65-64, an electrical malfunction caused the horn to keep running, prompting officials to stop the game until arena staff could fix the issue.

“I’m here at the scorer’s table, and there was a complete malfunction electrical-wise here,” sideline reporter Jorge Sedano said during the ESPN broadcast. “You can see this gentleman here working frantically to try and get everything reset.”

Sedano added that both the clocks and the score went out across the entire arena.

“Clearly you hear the horn still going off, and there’s a level of frustration here trying to figure that out,” he said. “I spoke to both coaching staffs — [Pistons head coach] J.B. Bickerstaff and [Cavaliers head coach] Kenny Atkinson — and asked them, ‘Guys, have you ever dealt with anything like this at any level?’

“They both shook their heads and said, ‘No, this is definitely a first.’”

According to the Associated Press, the malfunction was ultimately caused by a power surge.

Fans across the arena looked visibly frustrated — as some covered their ears — as the horn continued to blare.

The delay was also long enough that both the Pistons and Cavaliers started to warm up again until it was fixed.

The horn finally turned off after 12 minutes, which prompted a loud roar from the Detroit crowd.

“There you go,” play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco said on the broadcast once the horn turned off. “The horn is stopped, and the fans applaud.”

For the remainder of the game, the scoring crew was tasked with using a manual airhorn while the arena was without the main scoreboard.

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors are well aware that they need to find a way to play a consistent 48 minutes and hold on to leads against the NBA’s best teams.

The only question is: how?

“I think we have to be better at communicating when we have the momentum to keep the momentum, not getting so caught up into being up 10 by the fourth quarter, actually just pushing even harder when we get those leads like that,” said all-star Brandon Ingram on Friday after stepping off the court at OVO Athletic Centre, the Raptors’ practice facility. “I think it falls on all of us.

“We have to have communication at that time to have a push, another push, until the game is over.”

The Raptors led by as many as 10 points on Tuesday night in a 116-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The next night, Toronto led the San Antonio Spurs by as many as 15 points and had a 12-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

Those losses dropped the Raptors to 4-15 against the league’s top 10 teams with three of those wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers before they acquired 11-time all-star James Harden in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 4.

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Ingram said that consistency was the focus of Toronto’s practice on Friday.

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“We went over the things that we could do a little bit better, some of the lapses that we had during the games, in both games, on the defensive side of the ball, screen and roll,” said Ingram. “We just had a few miscommunications that could have helped us out, some of our fourth quarter execution, just trying to pick a pace up in the fourth quarter and not slow down as much.”

The loss to San Antonio was the fifth time this season that Toronto had lost after holding a double-digit lead, the most in the NBA. Head coach Darko Rajakovic said that it wasn’t possible to stop blowing leads, that it’s not a switch that can be flipped.

“We also had a bunch of games that we were down 10, 15 and we came back and won the game,” said Rajakovic. “So is the recipe to be 15 points down so we can get back in the game and win? Maybe there’s the solution, right?

“It really comes down to execution of every single play.”

Rajakovic also pointed to two injuries on Wednesday that limited the Raptors’ ability to close out against the Spurs.

Rookie centre Collin Murray-Boyles, who had been tasked with defending San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama, left the game early after he aggravated a sprained left thumb. All-star Scottie Barnes, who suffered a right quad contusion against OKC, was struggling to walk by the fourth quarter against San Antonio.

Murray-Boyles rested on Friday but Barnes went through the whole practice.

Toronto (34-25) is still in a playoff position, sitting in fifth in the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers (33-26). Ingram said that although he was disappointed in the back-to-back losses, “it felt good” to test his team’s mettle against the Western Conference’s two best teams.

“The thing that I love about this group is the resiliency,” said Ingram, noting that Toronto was down by 25 to OKC but battled back. “We had a chance to shift the momentum, but we made a couple mistakes that we can learn from.

“I’m just happy to be in those games, being able to go back to the film and learn and see what we can do better for the next game.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2026.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

Shedeur Sanders is the Godfather of Browns gift-giving.

The quarterback — one of a trio of potential starters on the Cleveland roster — sent a rather unique gift to new coach Todd Monken for his birthday, and it’s certainly left an impression.

“I’ve talked to [Sanders] three times, I think, he’s come in to see me,” Monken told CBS Sports from the NFL combine this week. “In fact, for my birthday, I got this package. Like, all of a sudden, Feb. 5, this package comes. I thought it was from my wife. … Open it up, it’s this porcelain horse head. And it’s from Shedeur. He sent me a gift on my birthday.

“And I asked him, ‘What was the meaning?’ And he said, ‘Well, I just really liked it. I got myself one.’ I said, ‘Well, great. Awesome.’”

Is it a sign of Sanders’ impending Michael Corleone-esque rise above fellow QB hopefuls Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel on the Browns’ depth chart?

No word on that yet, but Watson and Gabriel will come face-to-face with the porcelain horse head — a la Jack Woltz — when they meet in Monken’s office.

“I put it between all the Cleveland helmets and put it up there for [Sanders] to see when he comes in the office,” the coach said of the gift.

Monken, who revealed in Indianapolis just how close he’d been to joining John Harbaugh’s first Giants staff before getting the Browns job, was asked about the three quarterbacks he’s inherited and plans for an open competition.

What he’s seen so far of Sanders, he’s liked.

“I think what you see is elite playmaking ability,” Monken told reporters Wednesday. “That’s in him. You’ve seen it, we’ve seen it, you saw it in college, you saw it on tape last year. Sure, there’s a ways to go, but what rookie isn’t? What first-year player doesn’t have a long way to go? I’m excited to get started with him and all of our quarterbacks and all of our players.”

Sanders, a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, went 3-4 in his first season with the Browns, throwing seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions after taking over as the starter in Week 12.

The Cowboys won’t let George Pickens hit free agency.

Dallas is planning to place the franchise tag on receiver George Pickens on Friday following a career-best first season with the team, according to Yahoo.

Spotrac estimates the tag will be worth roughly $28 million for receivers.

“I’m talking to George all the time by virtue of my excitement for him,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently said of Pickens, according to the team website.

“He’s better than, as far as what he contributed to our team, showing the potential that he could contribute. I’m looking forward to getting things worked out so George can be a Cowboy a long time.”

The franchise tag does not guarantee that Pickens will be with the Cowboys next season, but gives the sides extra time to negotiate a long-term deal and would allow Dallas to maintain his rights for a possible trade.

Pickens, 24, is coming off a sensational season with Dallas following a polarizing three-year tenure with the Steelers that resulted in him being traded for just a third-round pick ahead of the 2025 season.

The receiver posted career-highs in receptions with 93, targets with 137, receiving yards with 1,429 and touchdowns with nine across 17 games.

Those numbers could land Pickens a potential contract in line with No. 1 receivers, but Dallas could be avoiding going to such prices by utilizing the franchise tag.

The tag allows them time to find a deal that works for both parties, compared to letting him hit free agency and potentially losing a talented player in a bidding war.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones recently said the team had been “leaning” toward doing so, according to ESPN.

“I would love to (stay),” Pickens said, according to the Cowboys’ website. “But when you can’t control it, you kind of just hope for the best.”

The Cowboys are already paying No. 1 receiver CeeDee Lamb $34 million per year, which factors into how much they would want to spend on a second big contract for the position.

Dallas has massive needs on defense, and money spent on Pickens affects what is available to help the other side of the ball.

“Those are all things that we’re looking at, so we’ll make decisions based on where we ultimately come down,” Jones said, per ESPN. “I mean, obviously, what we need to get accomplished on the defensive side of the ball is going to affect a lot of things. … It’ll be a work in progress.”

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has made it known that he wants Pickens on the roster next year.

“I think it’s vital. I think it must be done,” Prescott said, according to the Dallas team site. “I think obviously from Jerry to everybody down understands that, and one the impact on this offense and the team and the great player that he is, we’ve got to find a way to keep him here.”

Brady Tkachuk’s first game back with the Ottawa Senators wasn’t an easy one.

The Senators captain returned to the nation’s capital riding the high of a gold medal with Team USA at the Olympics, but his on-ice performance hasn’t been the headline.

Earlier this week, Tkachuk was one of 20 American players who visited the White House and attended the State of the Union following an invitation from President Donald Trump.

But what many Canadian and Senators fans took issue with was an AI-doctored video shared by the White House that made it appear he was disparaging Canadians.

The altered clip, shared by the White House’s TikTok account, inserted fabricated audio of Tkachuk referring to Canadians as “maple syrup eating f—s,” with the expletive bleeped in the video. The video carries a note saying it “contains AI-generated media.”

“It’s clearly fake because it’s not my voice and not my lips moving,” Tkachuk said following the Senators morning skate. “I’m not in control of any of those accounts. … I know that those words would never come out of my mouth.”

0:31
U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team declines Trump’s invite to attend State of the Union

The rest of the day didn’t get any easier for Tkachuk.

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During the first TV timeout against the Detroit Red Wings the Senators showed video of all its players and staff who competed or worked at the Olympics, ending with Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson.

The display earned an equal amount of boos and cheers.

Tkachuk did earn the support of the home crowd when he opened the scoring with a power-play goal late in the first period.

The captain was once again in the middle of things midway through the second period.

Tkachuk was watching the play and when he went to turn up ice Simon Edvinsson stepped into him. Tkachuk’s own stick hit him in the face, dropping him to the ice.

Dylan Cozens jumped to his captain’s defence and both Edvinsson and Cozens were sent to the box.

“I just didn’t see him and just felt like he lowered his shoulder on me,” Tkachuk said.

Tkachuk returned to the ice before play resumed and skated to the penalty box to confront Edvinsson drawing a 10-minute misconduct.

“I didn’t know that was like an auto 10-minute,” admitted Tkachuk. “I was just expressing my frustration. I didn’t realize that would be a 10-minute.

“Definitely wouldn’t have done it that way if I knew I was gonna get a 10-minute.”

2:21
Winter Olympics 2026: U.S. defeats Canada’s men’s hockey team for 1st gold medal since 1980

Head coach Travis Green wasn’t a fan of how things played out.

“I don’t want him to be in the box for 10 minutes,” Green said. “You don’t see that call made very often.”

The Senators played a solid game but fell 2-1 in overtime, giving up a crucial two points to a division rival.

Ottawa (28-22-8) is now sit seven points back of the Boston Bruins for the final wild card in the Eastern Conference.

“I definitely felt that we deserved a better result,” said Tkachuk. “I thought we did a lot of great things (Thursday). Their goalie stood on his head and played a great game and just unfortunate we didn’t get the two points that we wanted.”

The Senators schedule doesn’t get any easier as they prepare for a five-game road trip. With the NHL trade deadline set for March 6, Ottawa doesn’t have much time to prove its a contender.

“We’ve got to worry about just our own destiny, our own game,” said Green. “We’re going to lose some games. We got a point out of (Thursday), probably should have got two. All you can do is play and play well.”

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

The stretch run of 25 games to the end of the regular season began for the Montreal Canadiens at home on Thursday night. Montreal is on pace for 104 points which would get them into a playoff spot easily.

However, any letdown would also be costly as the standings are extremely tight this season.

The New York Islanders forced overtime with an extra attacker in the final two minutes, then won it in the extra session 4-3.

Wilde Horses 

Noah Dobson had extra motivation for the Islanders’ visit. It was the first time that he faced his former club since the summer trade. Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche didn’t feel that Dobson was worth the commitment as he approached his free agency.

They felt that he was asking for too much money, and they weren’t ready to commit long-term. Enter GM Kent Hughes who had no issue with an eight-year commitment to Dobson. It’s working out well for the Canadiens so far, as Dobson has been outstanding in his first season in Montreal.

Dobson opened the scoring by streaking down the left side and ripping a shot into the far corner. In the second period, he counted a second on a slap shot from the point on the power play. Dobson gets only a small amount of power play time on the second unit, yet he has 12 goals on the season.

Dobson already has surpassed his point total from last year. His career best is a remarkable 70 points. Dobson won’t hit that this year, but he is on pace for a strong 57 points. He’s not featured offensively in the lineup behind Lane Hutson, but he is contributing a strong season.

It was an untidy game that often looked disjointed. The smooth connections that the Canadiens showed entering the break weren’t there after the break. However, even when they are not at their best, they are staying in the games now. That’s what talent does.

Finally, that talent came through on the power play midway through the third period. It was the strangest of goals. Juraj Slafkovsky let a slap shot go that blew up his stick. While the stick was flying towards Ilya Sorokin, so was the puck moving at about 20 miles per hour.

It bounced off Ivan Demidov’s skate, then ricocheted across the net where Cole Caufield had an easy tap in from four inches. Sorokin was playing a game of Where’s Waldo. It was Caufield’s 33rd goal of the season. He’s third in the entire league.

1:38
‘Distasteful’: Olympic hockey captain says Trump joke overshadows U.S. women’s team success

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If it wasn’t clear to many Canadiens fans that the rookie of the year this season is Matthew Schaefer before the contest, it certainly is clear now. While Demidov had a difficult night, Schaefer was New York’s best player by far.

Schaefer counted twice to get the Islanders back into the contest. The game changed on a two-man advantage for the Islanders for 1:53. Samuel Montembeault was looking strong, and the Isles were frustrated, but it all changed on the power play.

Slafkovsky took a weak one with a slight slash on a stick called for interference, then Mike Matheson committed a high sticking foul. After that, Schaefer took over. The 18-year-old has 18 goals on the season. This is a remarkable rookie total for a forward.

The league record for goals for a rookie defender is held by Brian Leetch with 23 in 1989. That was a different era with almost two more goals scored per game than now, so when Schaefer beats that mark, it will truly be a special season in league history.

It would have been quite a bold call to choose Schaefer for the Olympics, but the best player on the ice is the best player on the ice regardless of his age. There can be no doubt that Schaefer will be on the 2030 team.

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Canada closes out Milano Cortina games with heartbreak and hope

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The top end of the roster is still a bit thin with question marks at first line winger to play with Caufield and Suzuki, and at second line centre contemplating whether Oliver Kapanen is enough for that role. However, for overall depth, the roster is in magnificent shape.

When Zachary Bolduc is a healthy scratch, that’s an extremely deep set of 12 forwards. Bolduc did nothing wrong. He’s actually improving his game consistently this season under intelligent tutelage.

There are simply not enough spots for all the great players. Newhook’s return forced a difficult decision for the head coach, Martin St. Louis. He was forced to decide between Alexandre Texier and Bolduc. Texier played on the fourth line with Jake Evans and Newhook in the Islanders game.

The only pause for reflection on this decision is this: By keeping the Anderson, Gallagher, and Danault line intact, there’s an underlying message that veterans won’t be insulted. It also says that the head coach wants success right now. He’s not trying to build the game of Bolduc as much as he wants to manufacture wins right now.

It’s only one game at this point, though. It’s not a continuous choice to let Bolduc stagnate. It would be best if there were a rotation. One night Bolduc sits, then the next night Texier. Perhaps the coach can see clear to the concept that Gallagher can use a little rest himself at this late stage of his career.

All in all, it’s an extremely a nice problem to have the idea that there is too much talent on the squad.

Oh! Patrik Laine.

Quite a nice problem to have with the deep construction of this roster by General Manager Kent Hughes in four seasons. In 2022, Rafael Harvey-Pinard was on the first line with Jesse Ylonen. Remarkable.

It’s not the time to panic about who sits. It’s time to celebrate the depth of this rebuild.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.

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Why U.S. men’s hockey team is facing backlash for call with Trump

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PHOENIX — Despite it only being three games entering Thursday’s road game against the Suns, the LA Lakers’ post-All-Star break play illustrated a sentiment that’s been evident all season: The team’s ceiling is only as high as Deandre Ayton’s buy-in to what the Lakers need from him.

And Ayton is the biggest X-factor for whatever success the Lakers will achieve this season — which the last week has illustrated. 

Take last Friday’s win over the Clippers, for instance — a game in which Ayton finished with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting to go with seven rebounds in 28 minutes. The final stat line doesn’t stand out, but his energy did. 

Ayton had one of the game’s biggest highlights when he threw down an alley-oop from LeBron James in transition to give the Lakers a 14-point lead, providing one of the biggest jolts of energy to the crowd inside Crypto.com Arena after he sprinted up the floor to make the play happen.

Even though it ultimately came in a narrow loss, Ayton’s play in Tuesday’s home game against the Magic demonstrated what the Lakers need from him, at least offensively. 

Ayton was using his 7-foot, 252-pound frame to punish Orlando’s switching defense. His activity near the rim led to 21 points and 13 rebounds — his first 20-point game and double-double in nearly a month. 

The Lakers getting him involved — especially during the second quarter when he had 13 points and four rebounds — paid off. 

“Most definitely, the ball finds energy,” Ayton said. “They believe in me when I’m down there, sealing, and they see me running hard to the rim and crashing. They reward me, just add more and just keep stacking as many possessions as I can with that, just to have a certain rhythm throughout the game.”

But then there are also games like Sunday’s loss to the Celtics, when the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft shows why his previous two teams, the Suns and Trail Blazers, moved on from him. And why he was available for the Lakers to sign in free agency over the summer in the first place despite how talented he is. 

Ayton had just as many fouls (four) as points against the Celtics, shooting 2 of 6 from the field in 25 minutes.

Beyond Ayton’s scoring, or the Lakers’ ability to get him the ball in advantageous positions, his energy wasn’t present in the ways the Lakers needed it to be. 

“There’s positive trends,” coach JJ Redick said. “There [were] some real positive trends defensively. His spirit and engagement and stuff has been really good. I think for all the guys, if he has a smaller player on him, that’s an advantage for us. Let’s just get him the ball. I think it’s just thematically across the team, we have to pass it to each other more and trust each other more.”

Redick also pointed to a sequence in which Ayton didn’t sprint down the floor, with the Lakers having a potential 5-on-4 advantage against the Celtics after Jaylen Brown fell to the floor, as an example of what the Lakers need Ayton to do consistently. 

“We’ve got a 5-on-4 and he goes at about 20% speed where it’s clearly a man-down situation,” Redick said. “So in terms of him running and putting pressure on the rim and offensive rebounding, particularly against switches and smaller players, he could be better there.”

The focus on Ayton, who signed a two-year, $16.2 million contract with the Lakers ($8.1 million player option for 2026-27) after his buyout with the Trail Blazers, is because of how he transforms the Lakers when he’s involved, bought in and locked in.

The Lakers entered Thursday with a 23-9 record in games Ayton’s had at least seven rebounds. They were also 16-3 in games Ayton’s had at least 10 field-goal attempts.

The challenge for Ayton, and the Lakers, is that most of the games he’s been most involved offensively have also been when the team has been without at least one of Luka Doncic, James or Austin Reaves. 

Of the 19 games Ayton’s had at least 19 field-goal attempts, only four have been when the Lakers’ Big 3 were all available and played. 

And with fewer touches to go around, the Lakers need Ayton to maintain his level even if he isn’t as involved offensively — a dilemma a lot of big men who are reliant on their playmakers offensively often face.

The Lakers need the little things from Ayton, like screening, sprinting up and down the floor or being a commanding interior presence. Ayton has been consistent with that, evident by his 3.7 screen assists per game, which tied for sixth in the league entering Thursday. But a drop-off can’t happen if he isn’t getting the ball.

“He’s done OK,” said Marcus Smart, who sits next to Ayton in the Lakers’ locker room. “He definitely could be better; we all could. But the thing I love about it is he understands it and he’s working. We all are trying to figure it out; this is new to everybody. He’s doing his best, but he understands it’s another notch that we need him to go to, and we’re going to try to get him there and help with that. But he knows he’s got to do his part as well.”

Captain of the U.S. women’s ice hockey team, Hilary Knight, responded to comments U.S. President Donald Trump made to the men’s team after both won gold at the Winter Olympics, saying his wisecrack about also having to invite the women to the White House to celebrate their achievement is “overshadowing” the success of both teams.

While celebrating its gold medal win against Canada on Sunday, the men’s team received a call from Trump, who invited the team to Tuesday’s State of the Union speech.

1:37
Milano-Cortina Olympics: Canada heartbroken after losing gold to U.S. in women’s hockey

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“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team,” he said. “You do know that. I do believe I probably would be impeached.”

A video of the interaction, which shows some of the players on the men’s team laughing at the remark, went viral shortly after.

Knight, a five-time Olympic medallist, shared her perspective on Trump’s comment during a SportsCenter interview on Wednesday.

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“I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke, and unfortunately, that is overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold medal feats,” she said.

“We’re just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men’s and women’s at the same time, and really not detract from that with a distasteful joke,” Knight continued.

“I think the guys were in a tough spot, so I think it’s a shame this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on,” she added.

Trump’s remarks and the reaction from the men’s team prompted a wave of criticism, which Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Canada to clinch gold, addressed during an appearance on Good Morning America on Tuesday.

“People are so negative about things,” he said. “I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support … how proud we are of them [the women’s team]. The same way we feel about them, they feel about us.”

According to the New York Times, in a separate interview outside of a Miami nightclub on Monday night, Hughes told reporters, “Everything is so political, we’re athletes, we’re so proud to represent the U.S., and when you get the chance to go to the White House and meet the president … That’s so patriotic.”

The men’s team attended Trump’s address on Tuesday evening and was greeted by a standing ovation from Democrats and Republicans alike as they waved and raised their medals to the crowd.

Kelly Pannek, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, PWHL Minnesota Frost player and Knight’s Olympic teammate, told media on Wednesday that the rhetoric in Trump’s phone call did not come as a shock.

“The phone call, specifically, it’s not surprising, to be frank. I don’t know why we’d expect differently,” she said, but added that both teams were celebratory of the other’s achievements.

“I think that’s something we all know, being there, what it felt like to have their support throughout the tournament,” Pannek said.

“To support them, and how great a moment it was for everyone that was a fan of both teams to come together and say how great it was … It really was such a special feeling being there, even being able to spend the time with them after their win and the respect that they were showing us,” she continued.

The women’s team declined Trump’s invitation to the White House on Monday, citing timing and “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Erin Hanson wants to make taking it on the chin in football much safer in Canada.

Guardian Sports officially launched the Guardian Flex chinstrap on Thursday for individual and team sale, with the CFL being among the leagues to have reviewed the item. The product has been engineered to reduce the impact of blows to the facemask.

According to the company, the chinstrap reduces Head Acceleration Response Metric (HARM) scores by up to 35 per cent and targets facemask impacts, which research suggests account for about half of all hits and are an area where traditional helmets underperform.

The chinstrap will be far less noticeable to fans than the Atlanta-based company’s Guardian Cap. Introduced 14 years ago, the soft padded shell fits over a football helmet and is secured by elastic straps attached to the facemask.

While the cap does not eliminate concussion risk, studies have shown it can reduce it by 15 to 34 per cent.

“The Guardian Cap helps address impact reduction on head-to-head, or head-to-ground blows,” said Hanson, Guardian Sports’ chief executive officer and co-founder. “Now the Guardian chinstrap is the first to improve an area where approximately half of all impacts occur.

“The Guardian chinstrap addresses a critical gap in football safety.”

Across North America, particularly at the minor and high-school levels, there has been an effort to reduce head contact in tackling. Players are taught to keep their heads up, initiate contact with their shoulders and then wrap with their arms.

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However, players still butt heads — offensive and defensive linemen do so on nearly every play. At every level, tacklers sometimes lack the time to use proper technique and will do whatever they can to bring the ballcarrier down, resulting in contact involving the facemask or head.

Guardian’s chinstrap has a hard outer shell with a foam insert and what the company describes as SoftShox technology — a hydraulic shock-absorbing mechanism positioned where the player’s chin rests that engages to help absorb force from impacts to the facemask.

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The chinstrap became available for presale last August, and on Sept. 13, Notre Dame offensive lineman Billy Schrauth became the first player to wear it in a game.

Compatible with all major helmets, the white chinstrap comes in two sizes — small/medium and large/extra large — and retails for $69.

Guardian has shared samples and research with the CFL, which in turn did so with its teams. Each franchise will decide whether to purchase the chinstraps, though the expectation is all nine will carry them this season.

CFL players choose their own equipment — including helmets, facemasks, chinstraps, shoulder and leg pads — and teams are required to make approved options available.

The CFL mandated the use of Guardian Caps in 2023 during training camp and regular-season contact practices. All offensive and defensive linemen, running backs and linebackers had to wear them.

That year, then-CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the introduction of Guardian Caps helped create a 42 per cent decrease in training camp concussions. In 2024, the league extended the use of the caps to defensive backs and receivers while allowing players to wear them during games.

On Aug. 24, 2024, Saskatchewan running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon, a native of Mont-Saint-Hilarie, Que., became the first pro football player to wear the cap during a CFL regular-season game versus the Montreal Alouettes. Others, such as B.C. Lions defensive back T.J. Lee, have followed.

This season, Alaric Jackson, a Windsor, Ont., native and starting offensive lineman with the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, donned the protective headgear during games. And on Jan. 26, New England guard Jared Wilson became the first player to wear a Guardian Cap in the Super Bowl, doing so in the Patriots’ 29-13 championship loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The CFL is not the only football league in Canada examining the new chinstrap.

“U Sports is following the advancement of student-athlete protective equipment,” the governing body of Canadian university sport told The Canadian Press. “Once the Guardian Sport chinstrap is approved for play by Football Canada, U Sports athletes will be permitted to use it on a volunteer basis in competitions and training.”

Guardian caps are also available to U Sports football players, with a number having used them during practices in 2025. U Sports said only a few wore them in regular-season games in 2025 and none in bowl games or the Vanier Cup.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026.

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