HAMILTON — His first taste of the Grey Cup game was the most significant one of them all, historically speaking — the 100th edition of Canadian football’s title game.
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GREY CUP NOTES: American Blue Bombers see Grey Cup as ‘fabric of the country’ … Loss of Bighill for Cup sad, unfair
Collaros didn’t play in that 2012 game. He had a seat up in the press box, watching teammate and mentor Ricky Ray lead his Toronto Argonauts to a 35-22 win over Calgary.
On Sunday, Collaros will start his fourth straight championship game, the fifth of his career, as, for the first time in Grey Cup history, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers take on East champion Montreal.
One was sitting next to Collaros at Thursday’s media Q&A.
“I didn’t know too much about what a Grey Cup really was,” Bombers receiver Kenny Lawler said. “The honour and the pride the fans have for it, I soon had to learn. “Fans from all over the country come… fans of teams that aren’t even in the Grey Cup. They’re just a CFL fan, a Canadian, that loves football. And to see what this game does across the nation, it’s beautiful.”
The first time he saw the storied trophy that week he was taken aback.
“It was on a table, and I’m just looking, team after team, year after year, and this is actually a piece of history,” he said. “You’ve got everybody’s name on there. That is dope in itself. This is actually something that means a lot.”
Few get a bigger charge from the Grey Cup tradition than Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea, who waxes poetic about it every time he gets his team this close to it.
“You can show them pictures of when the guys won the Cup, and it was only the top, with the small base,” O’Shea said. “And they get that idea that 100 years ago guys were chasing the same dream. And they filled it full of beer and they drank out of it, just like these guys have had the opportunity to in the past. There is something powerful to that.”
WIN ONE FOR BIGGIE
Teammates have acknowledged all week seeing linebacker Adam Bighill sidelined provides all kinds of motivation.
It’s the old Win one for the Gipper adage, with a modern, Winnipeg twist.
“It adds a little bit,” defensive back Evan Holm said. “I love Biggie. He’s always finding ways to help the guys, even now. For the veterans and everyone that’s been around, we want to get them another one. Anybody who’s not playing, you just want to play for them. Honour your teammates.”
That’s O’Shea’s motto, magnified by the defensive captain’s iconic presence.
From the coin toss to the final play on defence, No. 4 makes the calls.
“I don’t think that’s something you even have to say,” Collaros said of the extra motivation. “It’s a feeling you get when a teammate, especially a teammate of Adam’s magnitude, goes down. Not just because of his talent, but his commitment to the organization, his work ethic, is just something you want to honour. You feel terrible that he’s not out there.
Injuries can hit anyone, so teammates can empathize with what Bighill is going through. On both sides of the ball.
“You’re really bummed because you wouldn’t want to miss this game. For anything,” receiver Drew Wolitarsky said. “And a guy like that, who’s put in everything, and more – it’s not fair. It’s not fair.”
The sadness extends from the locker-room to the GM’s chair.
“He’s just such a warrior, and the leader,” GM Kyle Walters said. “He’ll be around this week, he’ll be another assistant coach… trying to get them to see the game the way he sees the game. That’s a very difficult one to overcome.”
SIDELINED
Receiver Dalton Schoen also remained a spectator at Thursday’s practice and is not expected to play.
Others not taking part included receivers Nic Demski and Rasheed Bailey, plus linebacker Kyrie Wilson, all of whom are expected to suit up.
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NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
NEW YORK – Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart was named NHL first star of the week on Monday after leading all players with nine points over four games last week.
Reinhart had four goals, five assists and a plus-seven rating to help the Stanley Cup champions post a 3-0-1 record on the week and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.
New York Rangers left-winger Artemi Panarin took the second star and Minnesota Wild goaltenderFilip Gustavsson was the third star.
Panarin had eight points (4-4) over three games.
Gustavsson became the 15th goalie in NHL history to score a goal and had a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage over a pair of victories.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sports
Browns QB Deshaun Watson’s season ended by ruptured Achilles tendon, team said he’ll have surgery
CLEVELAND (AP) — Deshaun Watson won’t finish the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback for the second straight year.
He’s injured again, and the Browns have new problems.
Watson ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati, collapsing as he began to run and leading some Browns fans to cheer while the divisive QB laid on the ground writhing in pain.
The team feared Watson’s year was over and tests done Monday confirmed the rupture. The Browns said Watson will have surgery and miss the rest of the season but “a full recovery is expected.”
Watson was injured on a noncontact play in the second quarter of Cleveland’s 21-14 loss to the Bengals and carted off the field in tears.
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year after just six starts.
The 29-year-old went down Sunday without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson crumpled to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
He immediately put his hands on his helmet, clearly aware of the severity of an injury similar to the one Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sustained last year.
As he was being assisted by the team’s medical staff and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson grabbed a ball to begin warming up, there was some derisive cheers and boos from the stands in Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland fans have been split over Watson, who has been accused of being sexually inappropriate with women.
The reaction didn’t sit well with several Watson’s teammates, including star end Myles Garrett, the NFL’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, who was appalled by the fans’ behavior.
“We should be ashamed of ourselves as Browns and as fans to boo anyone and their downfall. To be season-altering, career-altering injury,” Garrett said. “Man’s not perfect. He doesn’t need to be. None of us are expected to be perfect. Can’t judge him for what he does off the field or on the field because I can’t throw stones for my glass house.
“Ultimately everyone’s human and they’re disappointed just like we are, but we have to be better than that as people. There’s levels to this. At the end of the day, it’s just a game and you don’t boo anybody being injured and you don’t celebrate anyone’s downfall.”
Backup quarterback Jameis Winston also admonished the uncomfortable celebration.
“I am very upset with the reaction to a man that has had the world against him for the past four years, and he put his body and life on the line for this city every single day,” he said. “The way I was raised, I will never pull on a man when he’s down, but I will be the person to lift him up.
“I know you love this game. When I first got here, I knew these were some amazing fans, but Deshaun was treated badly and now he has to overcome another obstacle. So I’m going to support him, I’m going to lift him up and I’m going to be there for him.”
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s tumultuous time with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks and five overall to Houston in 2022 to get him, with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam approving the team giving Watson a fully guaranteed, five-year $230 million contract.
With a solid roster, the Browns were desperate to find a QB who could help them compete against the top AFC teams.
The Browns had moved on from Baker Mayfield despite drafting him No. 1 overall in 2018 and making the playoffs two seasons later.
But Watson has not played up to expectations — fans have been pushing for him to be benched this season — and Cleveland’s move to get him has been labeled an abject failure with the team still on the hook to pay him $46 million in each of the next two seasons.
Watson’s arrival in Cleveland also came amid accusations by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions while he played for the Texans. Two grand juries declined to indict him and he has settled civil lawsuits in all but one of the cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games and fined $5 million for violating the league’s personal conduct policy before he took his first snap with the Browns. The long layoff — he sat out the 2021 season in a contract dispute — led to struggles once he got on the field, and Watson made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
Cleveland signed veteran Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs.
Before Watson got hurt this year, he didn’t play much better. He was one of the league’s lowest-rated passers for a Cleveland team that hasn’t scored 20 points in a game and is back in search of a franchise QB.
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