Backlund, Wolf lead Flames to 3-1 win over Kings

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tyreek Hill caught a short touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa in the third quarter, and the Miami Dolphins snapped their three-game NFL losing streak with a gritty 23-15 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.

Rookie receiver Malik Washington rushed for his first NFL touchdown on the opening possession of a much-needed turnaround game for the beleaguered Dolphins (3-6), who had lost three games by a combined 10 points since their last victory on Oct. 6. Miami had lost six of seven since its opener, all but ruining a season that began with Super Bowl aspirations.

The Dolphins’ solid defence stepped up impressively at SoFi Stadium, forcing two turnovers and keeping the Rams out of the end zone despite yielding 327 yards.

Matthew Stafford passed for 293 yards and rookie Joshua Karty kicked five field goals for the Rams (4-5), whose three-game winning streak ended with a major offensive regression. Los Angeles failed to score a touchdown for only the eighth time in coach Sean McVay’s eight seasons, and it couldn’t score an offensive touchdown for only the second time in four years when Stafford was in uniform.

Tagovailoa passed for only 207 yards, but he made a series of big throws while the Dolphins converted six third downs, most of them at key moments. Tagovailoa was 9 of 12 for 137 yards on third downs alone.

Hill had three receptions while playing through a wrist injury, and Jason Sanders kicked three field goals.

After scoring 76 points in its three straight wins, Los Angeles failed to score a touchdown for the first time since Nov. 5, 2023, at Green Bay while Stafford was injured.

Puka Nacua had nine catches for 98 yards, and Cooper Kupp made seven receptions for 80 yards.

Miami needed less than three minutes to score first. After Tagovailoa hit Jaylen Waddle for 36 yards on third and long, Washington — a sixth-round pick from Virginia — took a pitch 18 yards for a score on his second career rushing attempt.

Los Angeles’ offence managed just 27 yards on its first five drives, and Stafford threw an interception in his sixth straight game when Anthony Walker Jr. dived to catch a tipped ball right before the first quarter ended.

Tagovailoa threw his first interception since Sept. 12 to Christian Rozeboom in the second quarter, but Kyren Williams fumbled on the Rams’ next play. Rams rookie Jared Verse sacked Tagovailoa and recovered the fumble at the Miami 36 four plays later, but the Rams could only manage a field goal.

After Karty missed a 57-yard field goal attempt when a false start wiped out his successful 52-yarder in the third quarter, the Dolphins drove from midfield for Hill’s 1-yard TD catch and a 17-6 lead.

Los Angeles drove to the Miami 4 in the fourth quarter, but McVay settled for a fourth field goal that made it a one-score game with 6:31 to play.

Miami’s Odell Beckham Jr. then made a key catch for a first down in the stadium where he badly injured his knee while winning the Super Bowl with the Rams three seasons ago, and the Dolphins drove for Sanders’ 50-yard field goal with 2:38 left.

SAVING FLORIDA

Miami’s win saved the state of Florida from what would have been an unprecedented 0-12 weekend by its NFL and college teams at the FBS and FCS levels.

It also meant that the Dolphins, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville didn’t combine to go 0-3 for a third consecutive week for what would have been the first time since Florida became a three-team NFL state in 1995.

The state’s FBS teams went 0-6 this weekend, and Florida’s three FCS schools all lost as well.

INJURIES

Dolphins: CB Kendall Fuller got hurt on the fourth play of the second half and went into the concussion protocol. … RT Austin Jackson (knee) went on injured reserve hours before kickoff. The Southern California product shouldn’t be out for the season, coach Mike McDaniel said.

Rams: With Rob Havenstein (ankle) sidelined, RT Joe Noteboom (ankle) started in his first appearance since the season opener, but struggled against Miami rookie Chop Robinson.

UP NEXT

Dolphins: Host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

Rams: Visit the New England Patriots on Sunday.

— AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.

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TORONTO – Canada must defend itself against an emerging Russia in the High Arctic, says one of Canada’s most decorated veterans, a man who helped defeat Germany in the Second World War.

Richard Rohmer, an honorary lieutenant-general and former major-general in the Canadian Armed Forces, took a breather inside Queen’s Park on Monday after helping lead Remembrance Day ceremonies outside.

The 100-year-old was a reconnaissance fighter pilot in the war, helped attack the Germans from the sky on D-Day and in 1945 took out a key bridge in Holland, leaving the retreating Germans without an escape route.

Adolf Hitler’s army surrendered soon after that.

Rohmer is now sharing a warning for Canadians about the freedoms they enjoy.

“We’re starting to get great messages now about the need to defend our High Arctic against the Russians who are sitting on the other side of the water,” he said.

“And it’s time we started to defend ourselves, which we don’t.”

Over the summer, the Pentagon warned of increasing Russian destabilizing activities in the Far North, along with more naval co-operation between Russia and China in the area.

Climate change is also leading to worries about Canada’s sovereignty in the North, a vast, remote area that may become more accessible to Russia and China as the Arctic Ocean thaws.

“We have to build up our forces again,” said Rohmer, who flew 135 missions in his P-51 Mustang during the Second World War.

“It’s good for Canadians to learn about the military on days like this so that we can start to get more interest among the young people.”

An image of the famed plane was etched into the Veterans’ Memorial wall outside Queen’s Park in 2006.

But Rohmer was unable to accomplish one final mission: get the name of the wall engraved on the side facing the legislature, which is currently blank.

So during his speech, he asked Premier Doug Ford to step up.

“It is the Veterans Memorial wall and a few words, letters, somehow, premier, on that side would be helpful to let all strangers know — when they appear and see this wall, they don’t know what it is,” he said.

“At the moment, it’s just a blank wall, but the premier is the kind of man who likes to get things done and I’m giving him another suggestion.”

Ford smiled and nodded.

Nearly 150,000 Allied troops stormed the French beaches on D-Day, including 14,000 Canadians. About 359 Canadians were killed that day and another 5,000 died in the ensuing months of battle.

Rohmer, a lawyer and prolific author, returned to Normandy this year for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. He was part of D-Day and played a critical role in Germany’s defeat.

In the lead up to the end of the war in 1945, Rohmer was an artillery specialist as a fighter pilot. One day, he had instructions to take out a key bridge held by the Germans in Holland with a “super heavy artillery gun,” he said.

As he zeroed in on a bridge on the Meuse River in Venlo, he took heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire.

“I was shot at a lot,” he said with a grin.

He pulverized the bridge.

“But I finally knocked the bridge down overnight and that was the last bridge that the Germans had to get out,” Rohmer said.

“So that caused the German army to ultimately surrender.”

Next May, Rohmer plans to return to the Netherlands, where he finished his tour of duty.

“I want to be there for May the fifth, the day the war stopped and Holland was liberated,” Rohmer said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2024.

EDMONTON – An Alberta soldier says he’s reflecting this Remembrance Day on the number of local troops being shipped overseas.

Lt.-Col. Bryn Wright, commanding officer of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, was one of hundreds who bowed their heads Monday for a solemn ceremony that comes as conflicts escalate in Europe and the Middle East.

Wright, who enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2008 and deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, said this year was particularly important to him because many from Edmonton’s military community are deployed overseas, including more than 40 people from Wright’s regiment alone.

“This city, the people here, always step up to the plate when things are bad, whether it be back at the Boer War, World War I, World War 2, all the way through to now,” he told those gathered at Edmonton City Hall.

An 11-piece pipe band sent chills through the air as their tune “Highland Cathedral” echoed through city hall. As the band played on, cadets stood at ease in a straight and narrow line.

Randy Boissonnault, the local member of Parliament, said 2.3 million Canadians fought in the country’s most significant conflicts. Roughly 118,000 were killed in action.

“We stand here in this moment as a direct result of their sacrifices,” he told those gathered at Edmonton City Hall.

Boissonnault, comparing democracy to a flower garden, said Canadians must be like its gardeners as thousands of Canadian troops are deployed overseas. He noted many are training Ukrainian soldiers to defend themselves against Russia.

“We all must tend to democracy,” he said.

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said Alberta’s capital city has a deep military history spanning more than 100 years, with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment tracing its history back to 1908.

Outside the building, the traditional folk song “Scotland the Brave” could be heard as hundreds more Edmontonians stood in the teeth-chattering cold to look up at the city’s cenotaph, guarded by four armed soldiers.

At the stroke of 11, they fell silent as a bugle sounded “The Last Post.” Veterans and their families joined other dignitaries to lay wreaths at the foot of the cenotaph.

Wright said he was pleased with Monday’s turnout.

“You can see by the numbers that today is not just about speeches,” he said. “It’s about reflection on where we came from and what our history is and remembering those who served and fell and those who continue to serve.

“It is very heartwarming for the members of the regiment to know that the city supports us.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, in a statement, said Remembrance Day honours those who died and those soldiers who fight personal battles when they come home.

“We honour the veterans who carry these invisible wounds of service and we stand with the families who supported them through every challenge,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2024.

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