Rasheed Bailey’s nine-yard touchdown catch after a Calgary Stampeders’ turnover broke a third-quarter tie and helped boost the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to a 24-11 victory on Friday.
With the game tied 11-11 late in the third quarter, Winnipeg defensive back Demerio Houston intercepted Calgary quarterback Jake Maier to register his third pick of the season.
Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros then engineered a seven-play, 54-yard drive capped by Bailey’s touchdown with 1:37 remaining in the third to give the team its first lead of the game.
Winnipeg then capitalized on Calgary kicker Rene Paredes’s missed 47-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth. Bombers receiver Janarion Grant returned the ball 102 yards, leading to Sergio Castillo’s 17-yard field goal and a 21-11 lead.
The victory in front of 30,561 fans at IG Field bumped up Winnipeg’s record to 4-1. Calgary fell to 1-3.
Castillo was also good on field goals from 47 and 12 yards out, keeping him a perfect 11-for-11 this season. It extended his active streak to 21 consecutive field goals from last Sept. 16.
Bombers running back Greg McCrae recorded a 68-yard catch-and-run touchdown and Jamieson Sheahan added a punt single.
Calgary got a touchdown off a three-yard run by Dedrick Mills, who finished with 14 carries for 97 yards.
Paredes made one field goal from 30 yards. Winnipeg conceded a single on a punt by Cody Grace.
Collaros completed 20 of his 28 pass attempts for 231 yards with two touchdowns.
Maier was 14-of-25 passing for 122 yards with one interception.
Calgary led 10-1 after the first quarter, the score was tied 11-11 at halftime and Winnipeg led 18-11 after the third.
Paredes put the first points on the board with his 30-yarder 4:09 into the first quarter.
Winnipeg appeared to force a turnover when Bombers defensive back Evan Holm knocked down a pass in the end zone on third and two that was intended for Stampeders receiver Rysen John. However, Winnipeg was called for illegal contact.
Calgary continued from Winnipeg’s 11-yard line and Mills finished the drive with his three-yard TD run at 11:42 to go up 10-0. He had seven carries for 74 yards in the opening quarter.
Winnipeg got a point as time expired when Sheahan’s punt hit the goal line pylon for a single.
The Bombers then gave the visitors a point by conceding a punt single four minutes into the second quarter for the 11-1 score.
The energy in the stadium improved after Castillo connected on his 47-yarder at 11:40, then McCrae got behind coverage and scored his touchdown with a minute and a half to go in the half.
After both teams traded punts and couldn’t find the red zone, Houston intercepted Maier.
Winnipeg ensured its victory with a 15-play, 99-yard drive that used up almost 10 minutes on the clock and ended with Castillo’s 12-yarder at 13:03.
0-FOR-7
The Stampeders have now lost their last seven games in Winnipeg. Calgary’s last win at IG Field — a 29-10 victory — was on July 7, 2017.
UP NEXT
The Bombers travel to Ottawa to take on the Redblacks in a July 15 afternoon game. The Stampeders are in Saskatchewan to face the Roughriders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2023.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
