A pair of Blue Bombers quarterbacks led the team to victory on Saturday.
Starting QB Zach Collaros completed 18-of-23 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns while Sean McGuire, his backup, scored three touchdowns as the Bombers trounced the Saskatchewan Roughriders 33-9 in a CFL slugfest.
The game was played before a sold-out Banjo Bowl crowd of 33,134 fully vaccinated fans at IG Field.
Collaros completed touchdown passes of 39 yards to wide receiver Darvin Adams and 52 yards to slotback Kenny Lawler in the fourth quarter.
“I felt pretty good while we were out there,” said Collaros. “We didn’t have a ton of snaps in the first half. Put together a couple of drives, I think we scored touchdowns there.
“But it was either we scored quick or we were two-and-out or four-and-out, something like that. But I felt like we were executing decently. Obviously, at the end did some good things, and hope to build on it moving forward.”
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Winnipeg defeated Saskatchewan 33-9 at home on Saturday. 3:40
Saskatchewan starting quarterback Cody Fajardo was removed from the game midway through the third quarter due to concussion protocol after he was sacked by Winnipeg defensive end Willie Jefferson. Fajardo, who had completed 11-of-17 passes for 169 yards at the time, was replaced by Isaac Harker.
Fajardo did suffer a mild concussion, Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson said.
‘Means a little bit more to win both of these’
The game was also marred by a second-quarter brawl that resulted in two Roughriders getting ejected.
With back-to-back wins over the Riders, Winnipeg improved to 5-1 on the season and remained in sole possession of top spot in the West Division. Saskatchewan dropped to 3-2 and remained in second.
“I’m just really happy for the organization and for our fans,” Collaros said. “I know Labour Day and the Banjo Bowl are very important to the CFL, to this organization and to our fans, ultimately, and we feel that as players. We know that. We take it one game at a time, obviously, but it means a little bit more to win both of these.”
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Tens of thousands of football fans packed the stands to watch the Winnipeg Blue Bombers take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 17th Banjo Bowl, which feels extra special for many after missing out on an entire CFL season last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 1:36
Collaros also joked about MGuire’s three TDs — all on one-yard sneaks.
“I thought Canada was a hockey country,” he said. “Like, how did everybody not throw their hats on the field. The hat trick, you know?
“But I’m really happy for Sean. Sean’s a great guy, great football player. He works his butt off. I think he’s going to be a great player in this league.”
Saskatchewan’s Harker completed 10-of-13 passes for 89 yards and ran for 14 on three carries after Fajardo was pulled out of the action.
2nd-quarter brawl
The Bombers grabbed a 12-9 lead on McGuire’s second touchdown late in the first half. That’s when a brawl broke out with punches thrown, at least one facemask grabbed, players piling on top of each other and flags flying all over the end zone.
As a result, Saskatchewan defensive lineman Garrett Marino and defensive back A.J. Hendy were ejected from the game. No Bombers were ejected.
“The guys were a little bit fired up,” said Roughriders linebacker Micah Teitz. “It’s always testy down there and we felt like they were doing a little too much extra and you’ve got to stick up for your teammates when that happens. Unfortunately, we got some boys being ejected, which always hurts the team, so we can’t be doing that. That’s just football.”
Teitz was surprised no Bomber suffered a similar fate.
“That’s crazy,” he said. “Obviously, I didn’t get to see everything. I was in it. I don’t even know what to say about that. When there’s a huge thing like that, you obviously expect people on both sides to get gone and when it’s only us, it’s a tough one.”
Dickenson was also taken aback.
“It wasn’t good news when they [officials] told me that two of our guys got tossed and I asked how many of theirs and they said none,” he said. “We must have done something. They said punches were thrown, so I assume that our guys did it.”
That left Saskatchewan two starters short on defence.
“It’s super tough,” Teitz added. “I know we have to stick up for the boys but sometimes, throwing punches isn’t the answer. So, you’ve got to get them back on the field, so we’ve got to stop that.”
Saskatchewan placekicker Brett Lauther kicked field goals of 25, 24 and 30 yards, all in the first half as the Bombers did not allow a single point in the second half for the second straight game.
“Winnipeg is the class of the league right now,” Dickenson said. “I think they are better than the rest of us and I think it’s by quite a bit.”
Saskatchewan next plays host to the Toronto Argonauts on Friday while the Bombers travel to Edmonton to play the Elks on Saturday.
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.
