As this was written, it was a cool 16-degree morning in Edmonton with rain expected through the day, clearing just in time for kickoff at Commonwealth Stadium.
It’s a fitting forecast for a team and a city full of fans that have been under some dark clouds the last few seasons and the last few weeks in particular. The 2023 campaign has been one riddled with close calls, dashed hopes and mouths-agape disbelief as the Elks have stumbled to a 0-5 start. If you zoom out, you see the bigger, uglier picture of a now 19-game long home losing streak that stretches back to 2019.
And yeah, we all know how we arrived at Loss No. 5, with a miscue from a first-year returner that capped a nine-point swing and a one-point deficit that the Green and Gold team couldn’t overcome. It’s the kind of loss that lands on a team like a bag of bricks, the kind of outcome that sets Twitter aflame (which admittedly is like finding a house laced with kerosene-soaked sheets just waiting for a match) with instant experts hot-taking their way to solutions.
Still, I emerge from all of that to say this: The Edmonton Elks will win tonight. Win No. 1 is coming. The home losing streak will end at the de-clawed paws of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
What do I base this on? Let’s call it a combination of a gut feeling and the incremental progress that a struggling team has made in the midst of its shortcomings.
Look at last week. From CFL.ca’s Elks-Ticats game notes, which point out that the Elks dominated Saskatchewan in areas where advantages there usually indicate a win.
They held the following seven edges over the Riders last week but still did not win: Fewer turnovers: (one to the Riders’ three); higher time of possession (37:02), better field position (36 yl vs 32 yl), More big plays (two to one), more yards gained (369-358), sacks allowed: zero vs four by Saskatchewan and second-down conversion percentage (57 to 42).
The nine-point swing and Taylor Cornelius‘ interception nullified that of course, but the Elks checked a lot of the boxes that will usually get you a win. If they can continue to do that, they’ll get their breakthrough. And the Ticats just might be the right opponent for them at the right time.
A well-protected Taylor Cornelius would make a world of difference for the Elks, who are still seeking their first win of the season (Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca)
As we all know, things haven’t gone as projected for the Tiger-Cats so far this season. Bo Levi Mitchell landed on the six-game injured list after just his second appearance in his new colours. While the offence has shown improvement in the three weeks that Matthew Shiltz has taken over starting duties, he has had his share of trouble out West. Tonight marks his 11th career start and he stands at an even 5-5. Those five wins have all come against East opponents. He is 0-5 against West Division teams.
While Hamilton boasts an intimidating defence that’s managed 11 sacks this season (good for fourth in the league), they meet an Edmonton offensive line that despite giving up a league second-worst 16 sacks, pitched a shutout against the Riders. If Cornelius can get good protection, he may be able to show more of that dual threat ability that led to the team signing him to an extension last season. Cornelius, for what it’s worth, had been taking good care of the ball up until the conclusion of last week’s game. He had gone 74 passes without an interception, before Nic Marshall stepped up and made the game-sealing play at Mosaic.
And wouldn’t it be something if C.J. Sims — who let the go-ahead rouge roll into the end zone last week — made up for it this week with a return touchdown for the Elks? He’s been close, showing glimpses of what he might be able to do in his CFL debut game in Week 3 against the Argos, where he had 181 yards on six kickoff returns and 101 yards on three punt returns. Were he able to find the end zone, he’d snuff out another longstanding streak, giving Edmonton its first return touchdown since the 2015 season.
Losses like the one that the Elks took last week can go one of two ways. The negative can dwell and pull a team down, or they can in a strange way bring a room together. The sun came up last Friday morning after that crushing loss, and the clouds are set to part tonight over Commonwealth Stadium, where the Elks have a shot at putting a tiring narrative to bed and taking the first step in gaining control of their season.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — No. 1 Texas will start Arch Manning at quarterback Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe while regular starter Quinn Ewers continues to recover from a strained muscle in his abdomen, coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.
It will be the first career start for Manning, a second year freshman. He relieved Ewers in the second quarter last week against UTSA, and passed for four touchdowns and ran for another in a 56-7 Texas victory.
Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning.
Ewers missed several games over the previous two seasons with shoulder and sternum injuries.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008 and Saturday’s matchup with the Warhawks is Texas’ last game before the program starts its first SEC schedule against Mississippi State on Sept. 28.
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