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It appears as though veteran quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson has played his last snap in the CFL.
The 34-year-old took to his Instagram page on Wednesday morning to reveal that he has signed with the New Orleans Breakers of the USFL and is hoping to use the opportunity to garner another shot at the NFL.
Dear CFL,
I came to you 5 years ago dealing with the pain of a dream deferred. I was at a moment in my life where I felt I had self sabotaged my childhood dream away by losing sight of why I played the game. For 5 years you tested me, challenged me, battered me, doubted me, cheered me, healed me, strengthened me, crowned me, and freed me. Through that process you rejuvenated my sporting soul and I will forever be grateful.
You are under appreciated. The 3 down game is under appreciated. Your amazing population of participants are under appreciated. You have one of the longest and most storied histories of any sports league in North America and guess what your present is pretty great too. Week in and week out a miraculous and engaging product is on display. It was an honor and a privilege to get to know you.
I want to thank all my teammates, coaches, mentors, friends, and colleagues that have made my last 5 years magical. I have been on multiple championship teams and multiple teams that couldn’t find a way to win consistently. The difference is inches of play, teamwork, brotherhood, trust, and love. However, every year I became a better person and player. Thank you for chiseling me into my better self.
Now on to 2023. What is the hardest part of playing football? The time you sacrifice with loved ones. My amazing partner Chinaka, daughter Aziza, and my whole family have given me space to partake in the insanity it requires to pursue perfection. It is time I stay closer to home and chase my dream with family by my side.
My next journey begins with the New Orleans Breakers of the USFL and will then continue with considerable NFL interest this fall. I do not want this decision to be in any way seen as a dismissal of the XFL. I love the CFL and hold it in the highest regard. Playing in the states this year allows family and football to overlap and I could not pass up on that opportunity.
Please take good care of yourself and continue to display the pinnacle of what sport is all about.
Thank you and much love,
McLeod
Bethel-Thompson led the CFL in passing yards in 2022, completing 66.8 percent of his passes for 4,731 yards, 23 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He helped the team capture victory in the 109th Grey Cup but exited the game in the fourth quarter after suffering a dislocated thumb. The six-foot-four, 220-pound passer underwent surgery for the injury and is expected to make a full recovery.
The pro football journeyman has played in alternative professional leagues in the past, spending time in the Arena Football League and United Football League in between NFL stops. He spent the cancelled 2020 CFL season playing in The Spring League, which formed the foundations of the current USFL.
While the USFL can’t compete with the CFL financially, money doesn’t appear to be the quarterback’s primary concern. His partner, Chinaka Hodge, is currently serving as head writer for an upcoming Marvel series on Disney+ called Ironheart.
The native of San Francisco, Calif. played 74 games over five seasons with the Argonauts, throwing for 13,261 yards, 70 touchdowns, and 49 interceptions. He was named an East Division all-star in 2021 and 2022 and led the league in touchdown passes in 2019.
Bethel-Thompson went unselected in the 2011 NFL Draft but spent time with a number of teams in the league, including the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles. He did not dress for any regular season NFL games. He will be 35 by the time the 2023 NFL season gets underway.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
