IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Freddie Freeman swinging onto baseball's biggest stage for the first time, Jose Altuve & Co. back for more. Luis Garcia, Framber Valdez and a fresh set of Houston arms facing Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and these eager, young Atlanta bats.
And the endless quest for Mr. Dusty Baker.
Braves-Astros, a lot to savor in this World Series - even a family faceoff. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker's son, Troy, is a Houston hitting coach.
“It's like the Snitkers are going to have a World Series trophy in their house here,” dad said Saturday night. “I don't know who is going to own it, but we're going to have one. So that's a pretty cool thing, too.”
A matchup six decades in the making, pairing former National League rivals who've played more than 700 times, including five postseason series. Think of The Hammer and The Toy Cannon teeing up home run derby at the Astrodome, or Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz vs. Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio on a June evening on TBS.
Because of scheduling and COVID-19, the Astros and Braves haven't seen each other since 2017. They'll now meet for Game 1 on Tuesday night in Houston.
The Astros opened as a 3-2 favourite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
But before we begin, let's just say it: There are many baseball fans who might not be thrilled to see either team here in late October.
Altuve and Astros teammates Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel will forever wear the label of cheaters after being part of a team that devised an illegal, sign-stealing scheme on its way to the 2017 championship.
At Minute Maid Park, they're cheered. At every other ballpark, they're heckled - and worse - as the game's worst villains.
“Ever since the news came out, the bad news that we've had to deal with about what happened in 2017, I think we've all wanted to prove what kind of class of players that we are and team that we are,” AL Championship Series MVP Yordan Alvarez said.
“I wasn't here with the team in 2017, but I've gotten booed just as equal as anybody else. So I think we all have the same mentality that we really want to win a World Series to demonstrate that we are just a great team,” he said.
The Astros are in the World Series for the third time in five years and got there minus ace Justin Verlander, who missed the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The Braves overcame a season-ending knee injury to dynamic star Ronald Acuna Jr. in July and surged after being stuck at 52-55 in early August. Boosted by NL Championship Series MVP Eddie Rosario, Atlanta is making its first appearance in the Fall Classic since 1999.
Yet while the roster and stadium have changed, the sights and sounds in Atlanta still remain. Throughout the NLCS, fans at Truist Park emphatically chopped and chanted during big moments for the Braves.
In an era of social reckoning that saw the Cleveland Indians change their name to the Guardians and Washington's NFL team get rid of a name considered racist, the scene in Atlanta is sure to draw increased attention.
On the field - and the bench - a lot of eyes will be on Baker.
He won the World Series as a player with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981 and has taken five teams to the playoffs as a manager but never won the crown.
Baker took this job in 2020 in the wake of Houston's cheating scandal - “there's a few things I still hadn't accomplished” - and at 72, with a lifetime of credentials, gets another chance.
“Last year I felt like a substitute teacher, really. I was an outsider,” Baker said. “But this year, they made me feel like I was one of them and they were definitely always one of me. That's what it's all about. Everybody talks teamwork, they talk about a team, but it's a feeling that you get for each other.”
Baker's history in this matchup runs especially deep. Playing with Braves great Hank Aaron in 1968, he got first major league hit at the Astrodome in a loss to Jimmy Wynn and Houston.
Over the years, these teams met a lot, starting when the 1962 expansion Houston Colt .45s took on the Milwaukee Braves. There were the days of catcher Joe Torre trying to throw out young Joe Morgan, the Niekro brothers pitching against each other and fireballing Nolan Ryan facing Dale Murphy.
The .45s became the Astros in 1965 and from 1997-2005, the clubs played five times in the NL Division Series, with Atlanta winning three of the matchups. Houston moved from NL Central to the AL West in 2013.
Snitker certainly followed all of them. The 66-year-old Atlanta manager has spent four decades in the Braves' organization as a player, coach and skipper.
He tuned in Friday night when the Astros and son Troy beat Boston in the clinching Game 6 of the ALCS.
“That was neat. Proud of him. Got to FaceTime with him. Watched the celebration,” he said, hours before the Braves finished off the Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS.
“I told him the first time, it's not this easy, you know, it's really hard to get there, as we're seeing. But it's been a great experience for him and I'm happy for him. I said, I hope I can join you,” he said.
Hours later, he and the Braves were on their way.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
A cyclist turned herself in and received a fine after striking a four-year-old girl who was crossing the street to catch a school bus.
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
In the quiet and leafy Vancouver neighbourhood of South Cambie, best known for its botanical garden, playoff fever is about to set in.
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
Biden wants the 2024 election to be a referendum on Trump's record and plans, but he also wants voters to look favourably on his own policies and actions
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.