HAMILTON — Vernon Adams Jr. and the B.C. Lions are on a nice roll.
Adams threw four first-half touchdown passes to lead B.C. past the struggling Hamilton Tiger-Cats 44-28 on Sunday night. The Lions (4-1) have won four straight and over that stretch Adams has nine TD tosses and no interceptions.
“He (Adams) is locked in and ready to go,” Lions head coach/co-GM Rick Campbell said. “You can see all of the obvious things but even the stuff like when he uses his feet to buy time or run for a first down.
“Those are huge plays in the game. It gets demoralizing for a defence when they think they did everything right and then the quarterback improvises and makes a play.”
Adams, who entered the contest as the CFL’s leading passer, finished 26-of-36 passing for 383 yards while rushing three times for 15 yards. He threw for 321 yards and the four TDs in staking B.C. to a commanding 34-11 halftime lead.
“Everything I saw on film they showed me out there,” Adams said. “I was just going through my reads and giving these guys the opportunity that they would make the play for me and that was it.
“For the most part I was seeing it very well, the receivers were getting depth on their routes making the plays, the O-line gave me time.”
B.C.’s offence set the tone early, with Adams capping B.C.’s two opening possessions with TD passes. He found Justin McInnis on a five-yard strike at 6:00 after hitting William Stanback on a 45-yard touchdown pass at 2:08 as the Lions amassed a combined 147 yards on just 10 plays.
“That’s what we need to do when you come here and you’re playing a good team and in a hostile environment like this,” Adams said. “The fans are talking crazy to you and stuff.
“We knew we had to come and score early.”
And effectively put Hamilton (0-5) in trouble early.
“It (wasn’t) the start we wanted, but at the end of the day we’ve got to figure ourselves out, still keep fighting,” said Ticats cornerback Jamal Peters. “It’s still early in the season.
“We’ve just got to go back to the drawing board and see what we messed up and get ready for the next week.”
B.C.’s offensive success wasn’t surprising given its unit entered action leading the CFL in net yards (408.3 per game). But the Lions stood fifth in offensive points (24.3).
Hamilton stood second in offensive yards (390.5 per game) but had to play catch-up right from the start. The Ticats have lost five straight to start a season for the first time since 2017 when they dropped to 0-8.
Hamilton starter Bo Levi Mitchell completed 32-of-48 passing attempts for 374 yards and three touchdowns before a Tim Hortons Field gathering of 20,210. He connected with Kiondre Smith on a four-yard TD toss to end the game.
McInnis and Stanback, both with two, and Alexander Hollins had B.C.’s touchdowns. Sean Whyte booted the converts and three field goals, pushing his streak of consecutive kicks made to a career-best 31.
McInnis registered 10 catches for 144 yards while Hollins added six receptions for 116 yards. Stanback rushed for 82 yards on 14 carries, including a three-yard TD run at 13:09 of the fourth.
James Butler and Luther Hakunavanhu scored Hamilton’s other touchdowns. Marc Liegghio had three converts and two field goals while Nik Constantinou added a single.
Butler ran for 27 yards on nine carries but had nine catches for 108 yards.
Liegghio booted a 28-yard field goal at 5:05 of the third but Whyte countered with a 35-yard boot at 8:30. Mitchell’s four-yard TD pass to Hakunavanhu at 13:51 cut B.C.’s lead to 37-21.
Whyte’s 28-yard boot at 14:33 of the second staked B.C. to its 23-point halftime advantage. That didn’t sit well with the home crowd, which booed the Ticats off the field.
McInnis was Adams’ favourite first-half target with eight catches for 131 yards and the two TDs while Hollins recorded five receptions for 106 yards and the touchdown. B.C’s offence rolled up 348 net yards — compared to 139 for Hamilton — and scored on six-of-eight possessions.
Mitchell was 10-of-18 passing for 115 yards and a TD. The Ticats also didn’t help themselves with seven penalties for 54 yards.
Liegghio’s 22-yard field goal at 11:02 cut B.C.’s lead to 31-11. Mitchell threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Butler at 5:39 but Adams countered with a 69-yard TD toss to Hollins at 6:32 that put B.C. ahead 31-8.
Adams and McInnis combined on a seven-yard passing TD at 1:26 to stretch B.C.’s lead to 21-1. Whyte’s 39-yard boot at 4:30 put the Lions ahead 24-1.
Constantinou drew loud cheers from the home crowd after his 60-yard punt went for a single at 14:13 of the first.
UP NEXT
Tiger-Cats: They have a bye week before hosting the Toronto Argonauts on July 20.
Lions: Host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-0) on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2024.
Montreal police say they’ve arrested a man in connection with the theft of tens of thousands of dollars in golf merchandise tied to the Presidents Cup PGA Tour being held this week in the city.
Police say that on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 a person entered a downtown Montreal hotel and stole numerous official items and clothing “from a major golf tournament.”
The tournament is taking place at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in the city’s L’Île-Bizard–Ste-Geneviève’s borough through Sunday.
Police say a 46-year-old man was arrested in downtown Montreal on Thursday and was arraigned Friday on a number of charges including theft.
The accused remains detained until his next court appearance.
Police say the investigation is ongoing to locate the stolen golf items and apparel, adding that anyone with information is invited to come forward.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors are expected to confirm today that Vince Carter’s No. 15 will be the first number to be retired by the NBA franchise.
Carter will attend an MLSE Foundation event this afternoon at the renovated Vince Carter Court at a park in the city’s northwest end.
Raptors president and vice-chairman Masai Ujiri will also be on hand along with some current players and city officials.
Reports this week said that Canada’s lone NBA team would honour Carter on Nov. 2 when Toronto plays the Sacramento Kings at Scotiabank Arena.
Carter, an eight-time all-star, played parts of seven seasons with the Raptors. He was named NBA rookie of the year in 1999 and won the Slam Dunk Contest in 2000.
He was the Raptors’ first superstar and is credited for raising the profile of the team and igniting enthusiasm for basketball across Canada.
Carter guided the Raptors to the Eastern Conference semifinal in 2001. Toronto had a chance to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 but Carter’s shot at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced out.
He asked for a trade in 2004 and was dealt to New Jersey in a mid-season deal that saw the Raptors receive little in return. The Nets, who are now based in Brooklyn, plan to retire Carter’s number in January.
Carter played 22 seasons in the NBA before retiring after the 2019-20 season. He’ll be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame next month.
The Raptors are celebrating their 30th anniversary this season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 58th home run, going deep for the fifth straight game to help the New York Yankees wrap up their second AL East title in three years with a 10-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.
Giancarlo Stanton had four RBIs that included his 27th homer, Alex Verdugo also homered and Gerrit Cole outpitched Corbin Burnes in a possible postseason preview. Judge and Stanton homered in the same game for the 14th time this year, tying Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in 1961 for the most in Yankees history.
New York assured itself a first-round bye and home-field advantage in a best-of-five AL Division Series starting Oct. 5.
Baltimore, which clinched a postseason berth by winning Tuesday night’s opener of the three-game series, will be in a best-of-three Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.
Stanton homered in the second to put the Yankees ahead and hit a three-run double in a six-run sixth.
Judge hit a two-run homer in the seventh against Bryan Baker and has 144 RBIs, the most in the major leagues since Ryan Howard’s 146 in 2008. Judge matched his career best by homering in five consecutive games.
Making his last start before the playoffs, Cole (8-5) allowed two hits in 6 2/3 innings, struck out five and walked one, lowering his ERA to 3.41. He struck out Anthony Santander with a 98.1 mph fastball that ended the eighth after plate umpire David Rackley called a ball on the previous pitch, a knuckle-curve that appeared to be just above the strike zone. Cole glared as the umpire as the pitcher walked back to the dugout.
Cole was given a standing ovation when he walked to the dugout with two outs in the seventh and tipped his cap to the crowd of 42,022.
Burnes (15-9) allowed two hits in five innings, one walk and nine strikeouts — including eight on cutters. Burnes came out after 69 pitches and is likely to start the Orioles’ postseason opener on Tuesday. He had a 1.20 ERA in five September starts.
Stanton lofted a slider at the bottom of the strike zone into the left-field seats after missing badly at a slider on the prior pitch.
Austin Wells, in a 4-for-42 slide, forced in a run when he walked with the bases loaded against Cionel Pérez. Stanton drove the next pitch on one hop to the wall in right-center for a 5-1 lead. Stanton has 72 RBIs after hitting 6 for 18 with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in his last five games.
Anthony Rizzo added a two-run single against Baker.
Emmanuel Rivera hit a ninth-inning sacrifice fly for the Orioles.
UP NEXT
Orioles: LHP Cade Povich (2-9, 5.59) starts a series opener at Minnesota on Friday, when LHP Pablo López (15-9, 4.11) will be on the mound for the Twins.
Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (16-9, 3.98), 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA since the All-Star break. starts Friday’s series opener against Pirates RHP Jared Jones (6-8, 4.14).
