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Tiger-Cats defeat Argonauts in East final to advance to Grey Cup – Sportsnet.ca

Published

3 years ago

December 5, 2021

TORONTO — Dane Evans ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to a thrilling 27-19 road win over the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division final Sunday.

Evans’ one-yard run at 12:12 followed by Michael Domagala’s convert put Hamilton ahead 27-16. Evans gave the Ticats their first lead of the day, 18-13, on a one-yard run at 3:35 before Don Jackson ran in the two-point convert.

It was a remarkable comeback for Hamilton, which trailed 12-0 at halftime as its offence sputtered badly over the opening two quarters.

Toronto drove to the Hamilton 11-yard line, setting up Boris Bede’s 18-yard field goal – his sixth of the game – to pull Toronto within eight points with 1:10 remaining. But Hamilton’s Jaelon Acklin recovered the onside kickoff.

Evans entered the game early in the second quarter after starter Jeremiah Masoli lost a fumble to end a promising Hamilton drive. Evans finished 16-of-16 passing for 249 yards and a TD while Masoli completed four-of-six passes for 22 yards.

Toronto pulled to within 20-16 on Boris Bede’s 47-yard field goal at 8:45 before an energetic, season-high BMO Field gathering of 21,492. Many spectators arrived early and could be seen tailgating hours before kickoff.

Evans’ 30-yard TD strike to Acklin tied the score 12-12 at 9:18 of the third. But Evans, who extended the drive with a four-yard run on a fake field goal the play before, was sacked on the two-point convert attempt.

Papi White put Hamilton on the board at 5:19 of the third quarter when he returned a 59-yard Bede punt 92 yards for the touchdown. Domagala missed the convert.

Toronto took a 13-12 lead into the fourth after Bede missed from 41 yards out at 11:54.

Hamilton will have home-field advantage in next Sunday’s Grey Cup game at Tim Hortons Field. The Ticats will make a second straight championship appearance after dropping a 33-12 decision to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019.

Hamilton will face either Winnipeg or the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, linebacker Dexter McCoil Sr., and defensive back Jeff Richards all started for Toronto after successfully completing the CFL’s COVID-19 protocol.

The trio, along with rush end Charleston Hughes and receiver Llevi Noel, attended the Toronto Raptors’ home game Thursday, which violated the CFL’s protocols. All five were sent home by the club Friday.

Normally, the players would have to quarantine for four days and provide two negative tests before being able to resume team activities. But on Friday, the CFL announced they could return if they quarantined for 48 hours and provided three negative tests, the latest which was conducted Sunday.

Bethel-Thompson, McCoil Sr. and Richards all posted three negative tests, making them eligible to play Sunday. Hughes and Noel were both on Toronto’s injured list and didn’t dress for the game.

Bethel-Thompson was 24-of-38 passing for 283 yards in his first CFL start. He posted a 7-2 record as Toronto’s starter this season.

Toronto came in with a 6-1 record at BMO Field this season and won the four-game, regular-season series with Hamilton 3-1.

Bede’s field goal at 13:25 of the second staked Toronto to a 12-0 intermission lead. But the quarter had a bizarre ending as Evans completed a pass to Steven Dunbar Jr., whose fumble was recovered by Argos linebacker Henoc Muamba.

Muamba lateralled to Shaq Richardson, who returned the ball to the Hamilton 25-yard line before being stripped of the ball by Evans. That prevented at least another Bede field goal try as Hamilton regained possession, allowing Evans to hit a knee to end the half.

The score flattered Hamilton, whose offence sputtered throughout the opening half and lost two fumbles.

Bede’s 47-yard field goal at 8:44 of the second quarter staked Toronto to a 9-0 advantage.

Toronto controlled the opening quarter, twice driving inside the Hamilton five-yard line. But both times long, smart-looking drives stalled, forcing the Argos to settle for Bede field goals at 10 and 11 yards at 6:31 and 12:55, respectively.

Hamilton did drive to the Toronto 16-yard line, but Cordarro Law forced Masoli to fumble, and it was recovered by Chris Edwards to end a nine-play, 59-yard Ticats’ march.

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Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

19 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

19 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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