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Quarterback Trevor Harris back in action for Roughriders’ clash with Alouettes

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REGINA – Trevor Harris may not be at 100 per cent physically but after missing six games, the Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback is ready to get back on the field on Friday night against the Montreal Alouettes.

Harris was injured late in the second quarter of a 36-20 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 23. The 38-year-old pivot was put on the six-game injury list after spraining his left MCL on a tackle by Ticats defensive lineman Nick Usher.

Shea Patterson took over the starter’s role in his absence.

After going through rehabilitation and working himself into game shape, Harris is set to face the defending Grey Cup champions in a clash of first-place teams.

He is confident he is well enough to contribute offensively.

“I’m good enough (physically). I can do what I need to do. I can escape the pocket if I need to. I can move through progressions. I can do what I need to do. But I guarantee, if you ask the 24 starters, ‘Do you feel 100 per cent?’ you’re not going to get very many yesses. Can I do everything I need to do and then some? Of course, I wouldn’t be putting myself in a situation and the team in a situation where I couldn’t go out there and play effectively and protect myself,” said Harris.

Harris signed with the Riders in 2023 and although he’s been effective when healthy, he’s had to deal with two significant injuries. His 2023 season ended after five games when he suffered a tibial plateau fracture of his right knee in a loss to the Calgary Stampeders.

Because of the injuries, Harris has only played in eight of Saskatchewan’s 27 games in the past two seasons. When asked if he felt snakebitten by the injury bug at any point, Harris provided a short and somewhat terse reply.

“No, I don’t believe in that,” said Harris.

Harris isn’t the only veteran starting quarterback dealing with an injury this season. Montreal’s Cody Fajardo, who led the Alouettes to the 2023 Grey Cup title, has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since a 37-18 loss to the Toronto Argonauts on July 11.

Montreal has won three straight games in Fajardo’s absence, including a 20-16 victory over the Riders on July 25. Als head coach Jason Maas has been coy in recent days about who will be the starter for Friday’s game but on Thursday morning the Alouettes announced that Davis Alexander would get the start with Fajardo serving as backup.

Alexander has been impressive this season, completing 51 of 69 passes for 687 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. It will be his third straight start after taking over from Caleb Evans in the victory over the Riders on July 25.

Fajardo spent three seasons as Saskatchewan’s starting quarterback before signing with the Alouettes in 2023. Given Fajardo’s history with the Riders, Maas was asked if the quarterback was pushing to get the start on Friday.

“No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that plays too much into it, to be quite honest with you. He’s as excited as anybody to play and it just so happens that we’re playing in Saskatchewan, which he has very fond memories of, and all that stuff. It’s a great place to play a game. You want to compete every week, and it’s one of those special places where competing and playing is fun,” said Maas.

Also returning to the lineup for the Riders are running back A.J. Ouellette and middle linebacker Jameer Thurman. Ouellette missed the last three games with a hip injury while Thurman spent one week on the injury list with an elbow issue.

BALL HAWKS: Although the Riders are allowing the most passing yards in the CFL at 306 yards per game, they’re levelling the scales with interceptions. In nine games, they have 14 interceptions, just one short of their totals for the 2023 and 2022 seasons. Linebacker Rolan Milligan leads the league this season with six interceptions. The franchise record for most interceptions in a season is 27, set in 1993.

IT’S ALL ABOUT FIELD POSITION: The Alouettes have had superb field position for their drives this season. They currently are first in the league with an average starting position of their own 40-yard line. Montreal has forced 21 turnovers this season, leading to drives that start on average at the opponent’s 55-yard line.

SUPER MARIO: Saskatchewan’s Mario Alford has a career total of 11 return touchdowns, including one this season. In 27 games with the Riders, Alford has eight return TDs — four on punt returns, three on kickoff returns and one on a missed field goal. He’s the franchise leader in return touchdowns with one more than Corey Holmes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Christian McCaffrey is placed on injured reserve for the 49ers and will miss at least 4 more games

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.

The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.

McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.

McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.

The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.

After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.

He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.

Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.

The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.

San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.

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AP NFL:

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Canada’s Newman, Arop secure third-place finishes at Diamond League track event

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BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.

Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.

Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.

Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.

Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.

Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.

Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

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Bologna prepares for Champions League debut with draw at Como while Juventus held

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MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.

Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.

Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.

AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.

Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.

Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.

Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.

Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.

Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.

Unbeaten sides

Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.

Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.

On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.

Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.

The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.

Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.

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AP soccer:

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