Sports
Report: CFL reaches agreement to sell Alouettes


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MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes ownership issue has been resolved.
According to a source, the CFL has reached an agreement to sell the franchise and will make the formal announcement Friday at a news conference in Montreal.
The source requested anonymity as neither the league nor Alouettes have released details of the agreement.
But the move will come roughly a week after the CFL entered into an exclusive negotiation with Quebecor Inc. regarding ownership of the franchise.
Quebecor Inc.’s president/chief executive officer is Pierre Karl Peladeau, a Montreal businessman who has a reported net worth of US$1.9 billion.
The 61-year-old Peladeau is also a former leader of the Parti Québécois.
It’s unclear whether Quebecor or Peladeau will be the principle owner of the franchise.
Quebecor Ltd. also has a sports and entertainment division that includes the Quebec Remparts and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, both of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, as well as the Videotron Centre, an indoor arena in Quebec City.
Quebecor Ltd. unsuccessfully attempted to get an NHL expansion franchise for Quebec City in 2015.
The CFL took over operation of the Alouettes last month, appointing former president Mario Cecchini as interim president.
Earlier this week, the QMJHL announced it had hired Cecchini as its commissioner to replace Gilles Courteau, who recently stepped down from the post after 37 years.
But the league said Cecchini wouldn’t take over immediately because he was involved in the sale of the Alouettes. The QMJHL added interim commissioner Martin Lavallee will continue in that role until Cecchini could take over.
The CFL’s assuming control of the Alouettes marked the second time in roughly four years that it had been forced to do so. The league took over the franchise May 31, 2019 from Robert and Andrew Wetenhall.
The CFL sold the Alouettes to Ontario businessmen Sid Spiegel and Gary Stern, Spiegel’s son-in-law, in January 2020. But Spiegel died in July 2021 having never seen the club play as the CFL didn’t operate in 2020 due to the global pandemic.
Spiegel’s estate had maintained a 75 per cent ownership stake in the franchise, with Stern assuming the other 25 per cent. Last August, Stern announced he was stepping away from day-to-day operations with the team and leaving his position on the CFL board of governors.
However, Stern didn’t give up his ownership stake in the franchise.
Cecchini was hired as Alouettes president in 2020, signing a three-year contract. But last December, Cecchini was informed by Spiegel’s estate that his deal wouldn’t be renewed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2023.





Sports
Canadian momentum build continues at women's curling worlds with wins over Italy, Scotland – CBC.ca
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Canada’s Kerri Einarson improved to 4-1 in round-robin play with a sweep of her matches Monday at the world women’s curling championship.
“We’ve had a few really tight battles and a few where we’re very grateful to win,” Birchard said. “It feels similar to last year when I know we dropped one or two early but then powered through the rest of the week.
“We need to keep the momentum going. We’re feeling strong and feeling good out there on the ice. All we can do is keep getting better.”
The Canadians meet the Swiss in Tuesday’s afternoon draw at the Goransson Arena before taking on New Zealand in the evening.
WATCH | Canadians defeat Scotland for 3rd straight victory:
Canada’s Kerri Einarson moves into sole possession of second place at the world women’s curling championship by beating Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison 9-8.
Einarson scored four in the first end against Morrison, but the Scots replied with four in the second.
The Canadians started slowly building a lead, and went up 9-5 after steals of one in the seventh and eighth ends.
Morrison got two back in the ninth, and made it close with a steal of one in the 10th.
WATCH | Canada’s Einarson beats Italy’s Constantini at women’s curling worlds:
Canada’s Kerri Einarson improves to 3-1 in round-robin play with a 7-2 victory over Italy’s Stefania Constantini at the world women’s curling championship.
“We talked about it after the second end and it was essentially like we blanked the first two ends and it was just going to be an eight-end game from there on. We really parked it,” Birchard said. “We were firing after that and there were no real missteps. I feel like we put together a pretty good game.”
In the earlier match, Italy faced a triple-raise double-takeout to score in the ninth end but gave up a steal of two to end the game.
The top six teams in the 13-team field qualify for the playoff round. The final is scheduled for Sunday.
Einarson won bronze at last year’s world championship in Prince George, B.C.
WATCH | Einarson talks worlds on CBC Sports’ ‘That Curling Show’:
Fresh off her fourth straight Scotties title, the skip joins That Curling Show to talk about what makes her team so dominant, having her kids be able to watch the final and how she’s prepping for worlds.
Sports
Carson Briere, son of Flyers GM Danny, charged for pushing wheelchair down stairs – CTV News


Three misdemeanour charges were filed Monday against the son of Philadelphia Flyers interim general manager Danny Briere after a video posted on social media showed him and another Mercyhurst University athlete pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a staircase.
Police in Erie, Pa., filed charges of criminal mischief, criminal conspiracy to commit mischief and disorderly conduct against Carson Briere, who completed his third hockey season at Mercyhurst. Patrick Carrozzi, listed as a senior member of the school’s lacrosse team, faces the same three charges, according to documents filed with District Judge Sue Mack.
The two are scheduled to appear in court on May 22.
Briere and Carrozzi are seen on a surveillance video at the top of a staircase of a local bar, where they push the wheelchair down the steps on March 11. Police say their actions posed a potential danger to anyone coming up the stairs, while also creating a hazardous condition by blocking the staircase.
The wheelchair’s owner, identified as Sydney Benes, filed a complaint saying the fall down the stairs damaged the left brake handle, broke the right arm rest’s plastic molding, bent a rear handle and caused the wheels to drag when moving forward. Benes said the wheelchair was purchased a year ago, costing US$2,000.
It’s unclear if Briere or Carrozzi have lawyers who can speak on their behalf.
Briere and two other athletes were placed on interim suspension, while the school investigated the matter.
A message seeking comment left with a Mercyhurst athletic department spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
Last week, the 23-year-old Briere apologized in a statement released through the NHL’s Flyers.
“I am deeply sorry for my behaviour on Saturday,” he said. “There is no excuse for my actions, and I will do whatever I can to make up for this serious lack of judgment.”
Danny Briere, who was promoted to run the Flyers after Chuck Fletcher was fired two weeks ago, said he was shocked to see his son’s actions and called them “inexcusable,” while saying his son “accepts full responsibility for his behaviour.”
Mercyhurst previously released a statement saying the actions displayed in the video fall short of the school’s “belief in the inherent dignity of each person,” adding the school’s “tradition also reminds us that students and all people who make poor choices deserve opportunities to learn, change behaviours and atone for harmful actions.”
Carson Briere previously was dismissed from Arizona State’s hockey club in 2019 for what the school called a violation of team rules.
Sports
Quick Reaction: Raptors 111, Bucks 118


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O. Anunoby37 MIN, 22 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 8-12 FG, 4-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/-
Not much more you could ask for from OG tonight, except maybe for some more touches down the stretch. His run of great form continued against the Bucks tonight where he played phenomenally on both ends. |
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P. Siakam39 MIN, 13 PTS, 12 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL, 5-14 FG, 1-5 3FG, 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -12 +/-
Siakam is one of the better players in the league in terms of finding ways to impact the game when his shot isn’t falling, but boy the shot would have been nice to have tonight. He’s cooled down a bit from his unfathomably hot start earlier in the season. It’s not a cause to be concerned just yet, but as the team around him starts to hit their stride, it’ll be even sweeter as Pascal does as well. |
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J. Poeltl31 MIN, 20 PTS, 6 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 10-18 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, -17 +/-
It was nice to finally have someone who can take the Brook assignment without Nurse having to implement an entire scheme to make up for the lack of size. Even so, it wasn’t the greatest performance from the big man tonight, who went a shocking -17 in his 30 minutes. |
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S. Barnes13 MIN, 5 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 2-3 FG, 1-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -5 +/-
The X-ray came back negative thankfully, but Scottie missed the second half with a wrist injury. He was playing well up until his departure. While the loss is tough to swallow, it’s important to keep in mind that Mr. 4th Quarter had to watch it from the locker room. |
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F. VanVleet38 MIN, 23 PTS, 4 REB, 11 AST, 1 STL, 9-21 FG, 3-8 3FG, 2-3 FT, 0 BLK, 4 TO, 3 +/-
Fred always plays well against the Bucks and tonight was no different. He kept the ball moving and made shot after shot for a team that desperately needed it. |
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P. Achiuwa20 MIN, 5 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 0 STL, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, 7 +/-
The numbers are underwhelming sure, but Precious looked like vintage Precious tonight. In a good way, too. Getting Precious back into a rhythm this season hasn’t been easy but he’s slowly finding his step, and was absolutely a positive on the floor tonight in a matchup where his physicality on defence was necessary. |
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G. Trent Jr.33 MIN, 18 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 6-18 FG, 5-10 3FG, 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 3 +/-
This is a different Raptors team when Gary is on. He played great early on but it trailed off toward the latter half. I think he’ll continue to excel in his role off the bench, but in particular with Scottie out for the second half, Gary couldn’t deliver when they needed it tonight. |
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C. Boucher16 MIN, 5 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 2-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-1 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -3 +/-
A pretty unremarkable stretch from Boucher all things considered. The Bucks are not a great match-up for him either and it showed. |
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W. Barton13 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0-6 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -10 +/-
The Barton minutes were, too put it bluntly, bad. He got an extended run in the fourth and it cost the team a lot more than it should have. The backup PG revolving door may continue until game 82 at this rate. |
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Nick Nurse
Outside of a questionable lineup to open up the fourth, Nurse did fine to put us in a position to win against perhaps the best team in the league. |
Things We Saw
- The Raptors clearly wanted to let the Bucks shoot from 3, and it almost worked. They took 45 threes tonight and only made 16.
- OG Anunoby took one shot in the fourth quarter after playing a stellar three quarters offensively. As easy as it is to say I’d love to see him be more assertive, the Raptors also have to make an effort to find him in these situations.





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