TORONTO — Nick Arbuckle made his first CFL start in more than two years a memorable one – and rewarded starved Argonauts fans with a victory in their first home game in nearly two years.
Arbuckle threw one touchdown pass and dove in for his own to lift the Argos to a 30-23 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, in Toronto’s long-awaited return to BMO Field on Saturday.
Moments after the win, he scooped up his 15-month-old daughter Aaliyah, who wore a custom-made No. 9 Argos jersey. Aaliyah wasn’t yet born the last time her dad started a CFL game, with Calgary in 2019.
“This was the first game that my daughter’s ever been to. And we got the win,” Arbuckle said with a grin.
DaVaris Daniels scored on the reception, while D.J. Foster added a rushing touchdown for Toronto (2-1).
Darvin Adams and Rasheed Bailey had touchdown receptions for the Bombers (2-1), while Jesse Briggs scooped up a fumble and ran 83 yards in Winnipeg’s first loss of this abbreviated season.
The victory was revenge for Toronto, who dropped a 20-7 decision in Winnipeg a week earlier. It was also a fitting victory for the Argos, who hadn’t played a game at their BMO Field home for 665 lone days – not since a big 39-9 victory over Ottawa on Oct. 26, 2019. Then the global COVID-19 pandemic erased the 2020 CFL season.
“It’s great,” Argos rookie head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said. “We were happy to be playing at home, show them the new Argos, so we appreciated it.”
A smiling Argos general manager Pinball Clemons took the mic pre-game to address the sundrenched 9,866 fans in attendance on a steamy 28 C afternoon. Ontario COVID-19 guidelines allowed for 15,000 fans at the game.
“Hopefully we can get some more guys coming to our next game, and we can build off that,” Dinwiddie said. “We want to build relations with the fans . . . players are out there now shaking hands and doing those things to let them know we appreciate them.”
Arbuckle made his Argonauts debut a week earlier when Dinwiddie sent him in the second half in place of veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Dinwiddie had said there was a sense of familiarity with Arbuckle, as Dinwiddie had been the quarterbacks coach in Calgary when Arbuckle played there.
The 27-year-old quarterback completed 23-of-32 pass attempts for 310 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Bombers QB Zach Collaros was 18 of 33 for 204 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Boris Bede booted three field goals for Toronto, from 52, 31 and 37 yards.
The tone of the game changed early in the second half when Daniels took a massive hit from Brandon Alexander that knocked his helmet off before he hit the ground. Daniels was down for several nervous minutes before he was helped off the field. Alexander was whistled for unnecessary roughness – and a 15-yard penalty – on the play.
“That changed the attitude of the offence a little bit,” Arbuckle said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get going and score as many points after that as we wanted to. We were all kind of playing with a little bit of an edge and unfortunately kind of showed up in the (referee’s) whistle a few times, but we felt like we needed to protect a guy that they injured with what we felt like was a cheap shot.”
Foster scored Toronto’s first touchdown of the game, running it in from 10 yards out at 7:39 of the first to cap a 61-yard touchdown drive from Arbuckle.
Former Argos QB Collaros had a pass attempt picked off by Dexter McCoil Sr., that led to an Argos field goal that summed up the Bombers’ slow start to the game.
Bede booted two field goals in the quarter and Toronto led 13-0 to start the second quarter.
The Bombers finally got on the scoreboard when Jackson Jeffcoat batted the ball out of Arbuckle’s hands from behind. Briggs scooped up the ball and sprinted virtually unchallenged for an 83-yard touchdown at 3:14 of the second.
Winnipeg pulled to within 16-14 on Adams’ 51-yard touchdown catch at 12:04 of the second.
Arbuckle threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Daniels to cap a 63-yard drive that sent Toronto into the dressing room at halftime with a 22-14 lead.
Arbuckle tossed a 31-yard pass to rookie Dejon Brissett – brother of Indiana Pacers/former Toronto Raptor power forward Oshae Brissett – that put Toronto on the one-yard line. Arbuckle muscled his way in for the touchdown at 7:55 of the third for a 29-15 lead.
The Bombers made things interesting in the final minutes when Collaros capped his 83-yard drive with a seven-yard TD pass to Bailey at 12:48 to slice the difference to seven points. But it was too little too late.
“You can tell from our demeanour right now that we’re upset about that,” Alexander said. “We laid an egg on our side. You can’t do nothing about it now, but just go back and watch film and correct a couple things. We all left a lot of plays out there, myself included.”
Bombers special teams ace Mike Miller had two tackles on the afternoon to break the CFL all-time special teams record. He now has 191, topping the 190 tackles by Jason Arakgi (2008-2016 with the B.C. Lions).
Because of COVID-19, the CFL pushed back the start of the season by nearly two months, and shortened the regular season from 18 to 14 games with no pre-season.
The Argos host the Edmonton Eskimos on Thursday, while the Blue Bombers return home to host Calgary on Aug. 29.
Vancouver Canucks winger Dakota Joshua is set to make his season debut Thursday after missing time for cancer treatment.
Head coach Rick Tocchet says Joshua will slot into the lineup Thursday when Vancouver (8-3-3) hosts the New York Islanders.
The 28-year-old from Dearborn, Mich., was diagnosed with testicular cancer this summer and underwent surgery in early September.
He spoke earlier this month about his recovery, saying it had been “very hard to go through” and that he was thankful for support from his friends, family, teammates and fans.
“That was a scary time but I am very thankful and just happy to be in this position still and be able to go out there and play,,” Joshua said following Thursday’s morning skate.
The cancer diagnosis followed a career season where Joshua contributed 18 goals and 14 assists across 63 regular-season games, then added four goals and four assists in the playoffs.
Now, he’s ready to focus on contributing again.
“I expect to be good, I don’t expect a grace period. I’ve been putting the work in so I expect to come out there and make an impact as soon as possible,” he said.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be perfect right from the get-go, but it’s about putting your best foot forward and working your way to a point of perfection.”
The six-foot-three, 206-pound Joshua signed a four-year, US$13-million contract extension at the end of June.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
