Photo: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
The CFL awards took place on Thursday night at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina ahead of the 109th Grey Cup between the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Below is a list of those who were honoured.
Photo: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Most Outstanding Rookie — REC Dalton Schoen, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ receiver Dalton Schoen has been named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie after becoming the first first-year player to lead the league in receiving in over two decades.
Schoen made 70 receptions for 1,441 yards and 16 touchdowns in his first season, averaging 20.6 yards per catch. No player has led the league in both receiving yards and average yards per catch since Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee Milt Stegall achieved the feat in 2002. He is the first member of the Blue Bombers to win this award since Chris Matthews did so in 2012.
The former Kansas State walk-on made 12 receptions of over 30 yards and 41 second-down conversions this season. He is the first rookie to lead the league in receiving yards since Curtis Marsh of the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2000.
Schoen received 48 first-place ballots, beating out Montreal Alouettes’ receiver Tyson Philpot. Schoen is expected to receive significant NFL interest this offseason.
Photo: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Affairs — OL Dan Clark, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saskatchewan Roughriders’ centre Dan Clark has been awarded the prestigious Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Award in his hometown of Regina.
The award honours a Canadian player who embodies the attributes of Canada’s veterans, including strength, perseverance, courage, comradeship, and contribution to local communities. It is named after long-time CFL commissioner Jake Gaudaur, a Second World War veteran.
“Dan represents the wealth of character and strength found among the tremendous players in our league,” said the CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie. “He stands tall in the Riders’ locker room as a veteran and as a leader, and every bit as important is what he stands for in the community. He is an incredible role model to his teammates, the entire league and all Canadians.”
In his tenth CFL season, Clark battled back from a broken fibula and shifted ankle bone suffered in Week 2 to play four more games for the Riders in 2022. It was his second major injury in four years after he suffered a serious car accident in 2019.
Clark remained heavily involved in Saskatchewan’s day-to-day operations while rehabbing his injury. He is also extremely active in the community, leading several team initiatives that champion mental wellness, healthy relationships and anti-bullying, including work with the Red Cross, Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, and the Game Changers Playbook.
He was selected for the award by a panel made up of representatives from Veterans Affairs Canada, TSN broadcaster Glen Suitor, CFLPA executive director Brian Ramsay, and commissioner Randy Ambrosie.
Photo: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Most Outstanding Defensive Player — DL Lorenzo Mauldin IV, Ottawa Redblacks
Ottawa Redblacks’ defensive lineman Lorenzo Mauldin IV has been named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player following a breakout season in 2022.
The 30-year-old terrorized opposing quarterbacks all year long, making 43 tackles, a league-leading 17 sacks, and two forced fumbles over 18 starts at defensive end. This was Mauldin’s first year as a full-time CFL starter, signing with the Redblacks following a two-year stint as a rotational player with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“So proud of what you did on the field for the club,” Ottawa general manager Shawn Burke tweeted to Mauldin on Thursday. “Just as proud of what you brought to our team in the locker room and our Ottawa community off the field.”
A pending free agent, Mauldin told the media on Wednesday night that he intends to pursue free agency this winter. He is the first member of the Redblacks ever to be named the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
The former third-round NFL draft pick garnered 32 first-place votes at the league level to beat out the West Division’s nominee, Calgary Stampeders’ defensive end Shawn Lemon, for the award.
Photo: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Most Outstanding Special Teams Player — KR Mario Alford, Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saskatchewan Roughriders’ return specialist Mario Alford has been named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player after establishing himself as a dominant return man in Riderville.
The 30-year-old was traded to Saskatchewan in July after losing his job with the Montreal Alouettes to Chandler Worthy, his opponent for this award. He played 13 games for the Riders, returning 44 punts for 530 yards and a touchdown, 38 kickoffs for 990 yards and two touchdowns, and three missed field goals for 129 yards and one touchdown.
Photo courtesy: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman — OL Stanley Bryant, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ offensive lineman Stanley Bryant has been named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman for a record fourth time in his career.
The 36-year-old started 17 games at left tackle this season, missing one game due to rest. He anchored an offensive line that allowed 29 sacks on the season, which was the second-fewest league-wide. The Blue Bombers recorded an average of 113.5 yards per game, which also ranked second in the CFL.
Bryant is the only offensive lineman in CFL history to win this award more than twice. He is a seven-time league all-star and three-time Grey Cup champion.
The East Carolina product received 34 first-place ballots to defeat Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ offensive lineman Brandon Revenberg for the award.
Photo: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Tom Pate Memorial Award — REC Emmanuel Arceneaux, Edmonton Elks
Edmonton Elks’ receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux has been awarded the Tom Pate Memorial Award, recognizing his outstanding sportsmanship and significant contributions to his team and community.
The 35-year-old returned to the CFL in 2022 after a two-year absence, taking on a leadership role with a young Elks team. He caught 39 passes for 513 yards and one touchdown in 12 games.
The award is given out by the Canadian Football League Players’ Association in honour of former Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ Tom Pate, who passed away in 1975 at age 23 after being critically injured in a game.
Photo: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Coach of the Year — Mike O’Shea, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ head coach Mike O’Shea has won the Annis Stukus trophy as the CFL’s Coach of the Year for a second consecutive year, beating out his Grey Cup opponent Ryan Dinwiddie of the Toronto Argonauts.
O’Shea led his team to a West Division title for a third consecutive year, posting a club record 15 wins. He is the first coach to lead the Blue Bombers to double-digit wins in six straight years since the legendary Bud Grant.
The native of North Bay, Ont. is the first individual to win this award in back-to-back years since Charlie Taaffe did so in 1999-2000. O’Shea received 44 first-place votes for the award.
Photo: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Most Outstanding Canadian — Nathan Rourke, B.C. Lions
B.C. Lions’ quarterback Nathan Rourke has been named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian for the 2022 season.
The 24-year-old entered the season as a first-time starter and took the league by storm through nine weeks, establishing a record-setting pace while leading his team to an 8-1 record. He finished the year having completed 255-of-324 passes for 3,349 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 10 games while adding 39 carries for 304 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Rourke’s season-long trajectory was derailed in Week 11 when he suffered a Lisfranc sprain to his right foot. He returned late in the year and led B.C. to a victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the West Semi-Final.
The native of Victoria, B.C. received 41 first-place votes for this award to beat out Toronto Argonauts’ receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr., the East Division’s nominee.
Rourke is the seventh member of the Lions to win this award, joining linebacker Bo Lokombo, defensive lineman Ricky Foley, receiver Jason Clermont, defensive lineman Brent Johnson, running back Sean Millington, and receiver Jim Young.
Photo: Arthur Ward/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Most Outstanding Player — QB Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The 34-year-old threw for 4,183 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions through 17 games this year, missing one late-season contest due to rest. His single-season passing touchdown total ranks second all-time in team history, trailing only the 48 touchdowns thrown by Khari Jones in 2002.
Collaros was acquired by the Blue Bombers via trade in October 2019 ahead of their postseason run that culminated in a Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He led Winnipeg to another championship in 2021 after beating the Ticats at Tim Hortons Field, this time as four-point favourites.
The Cincinnati product suffered an ankle injury late in the West Final and was unable to take the field for the final drive of the game. He did not participate in Winnipeg’s first two practices of the week but is expected to do so on Friday. He confirmed on Thursday that he will start in the Grey Cup on Sunday despite the injury.
Collaros received 47 first-place votes for this award to claim it over Montreal Alouettes’ receiver Eugene Lewis.
LONDON – Canada will meet three-time champion Germany in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain this November.
Canada secured a berth in the quarterfinals — also called The Final 8 Knockout Stage — with a 2-1 win over Britain last weekend in Manchester, England.
World No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal anchored a five-player squad that included Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C.
The eight-team draw for the quarterfinals was completed Thursday at International Tennis Federation headquarters.
Defending champion Italy will play Argentina, the United States will meet Australia and Spain will take on the Netherlands. Schedule specifics have yet to be released but the Final 8 will be played Nov. 19-24.
Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz were unbeaten in doubles play last week to help Germany reach the quarterfinals. The country’s top singles player — second-ranked Alex Zverev — did not play.
The Canadians defeated Germany in the quarterfinals en route to their lone Davis Cup title in 2022. Germany won titles in 1988, ’89 and ’93.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Canada, fuelled by a 2-1 win over the U.S. and scoreless draw with Mexico, has jumped two places to No. 38 in the FIFA men’s world rankings released Thursday.
Of the top six CONCACAF teams, Canada was the only one to move up. Mexico was unchanged at No. 17 while the U.S. and Panama each fell two rungs to No. 18 and 37, respectively
Costa Rica slipped one spot to No. 50 and Jamaica two places to No. 61.
It marks Canada’s highest ranking under coach Jesse Marsch, who was hired in mid-May when the Canadians were ranked 50th. Since then, the team has climbed to No. 49, 48, 40 and now 38.
Canada has been as high as No. 33 in the men’s ranking, achieved in February 2022 under John Herdman with Canada, named the “Most Improved Side” in 2021 by FIFA, turning heads with an unbeaten run in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
The new rankings encompass 184 internationals involving teams from all six confederations including 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, Oceania and South America.
The top 10 was unchanged with Argentina ahead of France, Spain, England, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Colombia and Italy. But the gap at the top is closing with Argentina losing 2-1 away to Colombia and 3-1 at home to Italy.
Teams 10 through 15 were also unchanged. But there was movement after that in the form of Japan (, up two), Iran (No. 19, up one) and Denmark (No. 20, up one). Egypt (No. 31), Ivory Coast (No. 33), Tunisia (No. 36) and Algeria (No. 41) all jumped five places while Greece (No. 48) climbed six spots.
The biggest movers were Brunei Darussalam (No. 183) and Samoa (No. 185), who vaulted seven spots on the back of two wins apiece.
Qatar suffered the biggest drop, tumbling 10 places to No. 44.
San Marino remains at the bottom of the rankings in 210th place despite recording its first victory in more than 20 years, San Marino defeated Liechtenstein 1-0 on Sept. 5, ending a 140-game winless run since a 1-0 decision over the same opponent in April 2004.
Liechtenstein fell four places to No. 203.
Canada’s next match is an Oct. 15 friendly against Panama at Toronto’s BMO Field. The next men’s ranking will be released Oct. 24.
—
Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024
It has been a difficult start to the NFL season for quarterback Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers.
Carolina has dropped its opening two games after Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. And Young, the first player taken in the ’23 NFL draft, was 18-of-26 passing for 84 yards with an interception while being sacked twice.
As a result, veteran Andy Dalton will start Sunday when Carolina faces the Las Vegas Raiders (1-1).
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., the Chargers’ win was the most accurately predicted moneyline selection by Proline bettors. A whopping 92 per cent of wagers were on Los Angeles beating Carolina with 92 per cent also picking the Chargers to cover -4.5.
In other action that went in favour of Proline bettors: Kansas City edged Cincinnati 26-25 (86 per cent correctly selected the Chiefs to win); Houston got past Chicago 19-13 (81 per cent); the New York Jets defeated Tennessee 24-17 (78 per cent); Pittsburgh beat Denver 13-6 (76 per cent), Washington beat the New York Giants 21-18 (73 per cent); and Seattle toppled New England 23-20 (62 per cent).
However, only five per cent of bettors had the Raiders upsetting Baltimore 26-23.
And there was one winner of Proline’s second week main NFL pool of $407,613.
In NFL futures bets after the second week of the season, the odds for offensive player of the year got shorter for running backs Breece Hall (Jets) and Bijan Robinson (Atlanta) and Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. But they got longer for running backs Kyren Williams (Rams), Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco) and Jonathan Taylor (Colts).
Quarterbacks Bo Nix (Denver), Jayden Daniels (Washington) and Caleb Williams (Chicago) all had their odds for offensive rookie of the year go up while they went down for running back Ray Davis (Buffalo), tight end Brock Bowers (Raiders) and receiver Malik Nabers (Giants).
Quarterbacks Patrick Mahones (Chiefs), Aaron Rodgers (Jets) and Jalen Hurts (Eagles) all had their odds for regular season MVP go up. But quarterbacks Jordan Love (Packers), Lamar Jackson (Baltimore) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati) all saw theirs go down.
Kansas City, Philadelphia and Houston had their Super Bowl odds increase while Green Bay, Baltimore and Cincinnati all decreased.
Not surprising, the week’s top events were all NFL games. In order, they were; Buffalo-Miami, Chicago-Houston, Cincinnati-KC, Raiders-Ravens; and Saints-Cowboys.
A Proline retail player cashed in a $26,183 winner from a $10 bet on a 12-leg major-league baseball parlay. Another won $24,602 from a $10 wager on a 12-leg NFL parlay.
A third received $1,737 from a $3 bet on a six-leg NFL parlay.
A digital bettor earned $2,927 from a $25 bet on a five-leg NFL parlay while a second had a $704.35 return from a $1 wager on a seven-leg NFL parlay.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
