If Blue Bombers receiver Nic Demski scores his sixth touchdown of the season against the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday, he will have to come up with a different way of celebrating — or it will cost him.
Sports
Computer chip in CFL balls means Demski’s TD celebration is a no-go
Not on Thursday.
The teams will be using footballs with computer chips inserted, part of the CFL’s effort to broaden its statistical data.
The Bombers and Alouettes have been told they can’t keep any balls as souvenirs, and shouldn’t throw them to fans, either.
“So I just want to say I’m sorry to the fans right now,” Demski said. “Hopefully the fans can appreciate the reason why. That’s installed in my mind, when I score. Hopefully I can think twice before I do that.”
“It’s a big fine,” receiver Kenny Lawler said. “I’ll have to run up to him (Demski) and tell him. If you want to see a game cheque this week, don’t throw that ball.”
In the euphoria of the touchdown moment, it might be a hard habit to break.
“I was joking with Demski, I guarantee that at some point he’s just going to subconsciously score and toss that thing in the stands,” fellow receiver Dalton Schoen said. “So we’ll see what happens with that.”
Schoen is under the impression it’s not just a one-week thing.
“I’ve never thrown one in the stands, and I guess I’ll never get to,” he said. “I was going to try that at some point.”
Schoen has already held onto two from this season: his first touchdown and another one that meant a lot to him in Montreal.
“A double-move, in the rain, tough catch,” he said. “I like to keep a couple, just to give to people back home who’ve been supporting me, family and stuff like that.”
On the relatively rare occasion that Jefferson intercepts a pass or picks up a fumble and goes to the house (he has done it five times in his career), he brings the ball home.
“I give them to my wife and my daughters,” he said.
This week, at least, they’ll have to settle for a replacement ball from equipment manager Brad Fotty.
All this raises a question nobody seems able to answer.
NOT GREEN WITH ENVY
Ask Deatrick Nichols if opposing quarterbacks are throwing his way much, and he breaks into a grin.
“No, not at all,” the Bombers defensive back said. “It’s part of the game. You can’t let that distract you or feel like you’re having an off or bad game, or you think you should do more. But that’s why I like this team. It really doesn’t matter who gets the credit.”
The man playing right next to him is getting a ton of it these days.
Demerio Houston leads the CFL with seven interceptions, returning the last one for a touchdown.
Earlier this week, head coach Mike O’Shea gave some of the credit to Nichols, who in his third CFL season is getting the ultimate compliment: Teams staying away from him.
Nichols just calls his year “solid.”
“We’re 8-2,” he said. “I’m feeling great. I can’t ask for any more.”
Not even a little more action?
“Not at all. That’s my teammate. We work with each other, we grind, we sweat, tears and everything together. It’s just his time to shine.”
On Nichols’ other side, safety Brandon Alexander is expected to play, despite missing practice all week.
“He should be fine,” O’Shea said. “He’s just under the weather.”
SPECIAL APPRECIATION
Winnipeg’s punt-return game has been lacking since the injury to Janarion Grant.
O’Shea says it’s a combination of his team’s blocking and a trend to really good punt cover teams.
“We’re at a point in the CFL now where the punters are phenomenal, the placement, the distance, the hang,” O’Shea said. “Team are getting creative with how they cover, who they cover with. I don’t know that too many fans are specifically watching the punt game and punt cover teams … usually you’re probably off getting a beer at that point.
“It’s too bad. Because it’s a pretty neat time in the CFL right now for punt teams.”
You can take the man out of special teams, but you can’t take special teams out of the man.
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.
The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.
Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.
At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.
Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.
Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.
The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.
“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.
“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”
Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.
The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.
“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.
Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.
“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”
Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.
He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.
Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.
“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”
Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.
“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.
Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.
Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.
“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”
Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.
Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.
Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.
Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.
Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.
“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
News1 min ago
Purple place: Mets unveil the new Grimace seat at Citi Field
News5 mins ago
Cousins caps winning drive with TD pass to London as Falcons rally past Eagles 22-21
News9 mins ago
Suspects speed away in stolen pickup truck as owner, friend bounce around in back
Media1 year ago
12 Bizarre Things People Did Just To Make Social Media Content
Sports5 years ago
AP source: Bears acquiring quarterback Nick Foles from Jaguars – Sportsnet.ca
Investment5 years ago
dynaCERT Inc. Invites You to Join Us at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference | INN – Investing News Network
-
Economy13 hours agoLiberals announce expansion to mortgage eligibility, draft rights for renters, buyers
-
Sports12 hours agoPenguins re-sign Crosby to two-year extension that runs through 2026-27 season
-
News15 hours agoFeds wary of back-to-work legislation despite employer demands: labour experts
-
News15 hours agoVoters head to the polls for byelections in Montreal and Winnipeg
-
Politics15 hours agoNext phase of federal foreign interference inquiry to begin today in Ottawa
-
News15 hours agoOntario considers further expanding pharmacists’ scope to include more minor ailments
-
Sports23 hours agoSlovenia’s Tadej Pogacar wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal
-
Real eState15 hours agoNational housing market in ‘holding pattern’ as buyers patient for lower rates: CREA
