The Alouettes couldn’t take what former Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau used to call the “usual route” for championship parades when the Canadiens were a dynasty, winning six Stanley Cups during the 1970s.
Chunks of Ste-Catherine St. are dug up now as Montreal’s never-ending Construction Festival continues 12 months a year. So the Alouettes had to find a new route for their Grey Cup parade Wednesday after beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-24 in the championship game Sunday in Hamilton.
No, Mayor Valérie Plante didn’t insist on the players riding bicycles. Instead, they were on four double-decker buses that wound their way through a huge crowd. Thankfully, the buses didn’t have to navigate around any orange construction cones. Behind the buses were Montreal police officers on horseback, and behind them were locked-out Videotron workers from Gatineau with picket signs (new Alouettes owner Pierre Karl Péladeau is CEO of Videotron).
This was the first Grey Cup parade for the Alouettes since they went down Ste-Catherine St. in 2010 after beating the Saskatchewan Roughriders 21-18 in the championship game in Edmonton, becoming the first CFL team in 13 years to win back-to-back
That dynasty never happened, but the Alouettes will be looking to build one now under Péladeau, team president Mark Weightman, GM Danny Maciocia and head coach Jason Maas.
“We said from Day 1 we are proud to be from Montreal, from Quebec and Québécois,” Maas said when he addressed the massive crowd at Quartier des spectacles after Wednesday’s parade. “My word to you is this team will work their f—ing asses off and grind for No. 9. We love you. I love this team, this organization, and thank you. Merci beaucoup!”
Nobody could have predicted this championship when Péladeau, the billionaire president and CEO of Québecor, purchased the Alouettes in March. At the time, the franchise was struggling just to stay alive financially, never mind winning the Grey Cup.
“We have to make sure we’re ready to build back, we’re ready to invest, we’re ready to use the proper elements and recipes to make the Alouettes something Montrealers can be proud of,” Péladeau said after purchasing the team.
“Being involved and having the opportunity to own the Alouettes, it’s personal,” he added. “If I can bring something to the Alouettes, I think it’s a good thing. This is why I’m involved. I think I can bring … people together. Sports, more than anything else, brings people together. This is important.”
On Wednesday, the Alouettes brought Montrealers together to celebrate and the turnout was impressive. With many schools closed because of teachers being on strike, there were lots of children at the parade. There were people of all ages and colour, speaking English and French, with plenty of Quebec flags and a couple of Canadian flags mixed in.
It was beautiful, despite the damp weather. And there was no riot.
“As a season-ticket holder, it’s been a long time,” Frankfurt said. “We haven’t had anything to celebrate in Montreal for a long time, so this means a lot.”
Clahane said he never expected the Alouettes to win the Grey Cup when the season started, but he felt confident the morning of the game with the team looking for its eighth straight victory after starting the season 6-7.
“We all heard what they said before the game about nobody respecting them,” Clahane said. “I just knew they were going to shock everyone.”
Alouettes safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy made headlines after an emotional post-game interview with RDS in which he criticized the CFL for a lack of respect he felt the team and the province received at the Grey Cup, including a lack of French signage at Tim Hortons Field. On Wednesday, he encouraged fans to cheer so loud that the rest of Canada could hear.
“Montréal, make some noise!” he screamed.
When Péladeau took the stage, he said in French: “We brought back our Cup!”
He then started an “Olé! Olé! Olé!” chant.
“We had a great team,” Péladeau then said in English. “Thanks to all of you, we did it! We did it! We did it!
“Congratulations, guys,” he said to the players. “You deserve it.”
“The Grey Cup is where it belongs,” he said. “This franchise deserves it, you fans deserve it. These players deserve it. I would not be here without all of you and all of them. It’s been a winding road and nobody believed I’d be up here but you guys, and for that, merci beaucoup! I love you very much.”
This was a day when Montreal showed it still knows how to party — no matter what the route is.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
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AP cricket:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
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