Ottawa Charge in the playoffs
The Ottawa Charge looked to take a commanding 2-0 over the Montreal Victoire in their best-of-five playoff series. CTV's Kimberley Fowler has a recap.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Montreal Gazette
37 minutes ago
- Montreal Gazette
Davis Alexander era off to a good start for Alouettes
By Now that Davis Alexander has reached a certain status level as the Alouettes' starting quarterback, he might want to eschew having to play exhibition games next season. Alexander in general, and the Als' offence in particular, struggled mightily in the first half against Ottawa on May 24 in the teams' first exhibition game. Montreal failed to score a touchdown over the opening 30 minutes and even had trouble generating first downs that afternoon. Based on two weeks' of training camp workouts to that point, there was a modicum of reason to wonder — especially since Alexander and the starters didn't play the following week on the road against the Redblacks. Wonder no more. While one game does not a season make, the early reviews on Alexander are positive. Despite starting only four games last season — all wins — the 26-year-old fourth-year veteran showed the moment wasn't too big for him on Friday night. Alexander and his teammates delivered a beat-down on the Toronto Argonauts, handling the visitors with ease during this complete 28-10 victory at Molson Stadium in their regular-season opener before 21,480 Molson Stadium spectators. The Argos might be the defending Grey Cup champions, but on this night they looked like chumps. 'His mental toughness,' said receiver Tyson Philpot, who scored Montreal's first offensive touchdown on a 26-yard pass from Alexander late in the first quarter. 'He raises the level of competition. He demands excellence from all of us. As a receiving corps we know we have to show up for him. 'I think that's the start of the D.A. era right now.' Simply based on statistics, there was nothing spectacular about Alexander. He completed 19 of 26 passes for 205 yards along with the touchdown to Philpot, who suffered a freak season-ending foot injury last August against Hamilton. Alexander also was intercepted once in the third quarter, while underthrowing Philpot on a long attempt that was as good as a punt. In the process, Alexander showed a quarterback need not throw for 300 yards to be effective. He was accurate with his passes and was able to find receivers while moving the pocket. Austin Mack was Montreal's leading receiver, catching five passes for 51 yards. Philpot had four receptions for 48 yards. Alexander utilized seven different receivers. 'I'm not going to say the pre-season doesn't mean anything to me,' Alexander said. 'You know I go out there and compete every single time. Maybe it was knocking a littler bit of rust off? Or just a different type of competitive juice. We've got playmakers everywhere. We had guys making crucial second-down conversions, and our run game was spectacular. 'I refer to it as cowboy football,' he added. 'If things break down it's on me as a quarterback to make something happen.' This might have been the Alouettes' most-balanced offensive attack since Jason Maas became head coach in 2023. Canadian tailback Sean Thomas-Erlington gained 86 yards on 17 carries. Alexander had four carries for 50 yards, while American rookie Travis Theis chipped in with three carries for 22 yards. The Als had 163 yards rushing. Montreal generated 22 first downs along with 354 yards' net offence while running 55 plays and controlling the ball for 34 minutes. 'He (Alexander) showed me a little bit of everything,' Maas said. 'He did some really good things throwing the ball down the field, did a lot of great things with his legs. Some toughness and leading us on offence. I thought he did a tremendous job of making really good decisions and didn't put the ball in harm's way. 'We still have to look at the film and get better; I know that.' The teams were meeting for the first time since last November's East Division final, when the Alouettes committed six turnovers and lost 30-28 at home, denying themselves the opportunity of defending their CFL title. If Montreal was seeking revenge on Friday night, it succeeded. 'I'd be lying if I didn't say that a big part of that came from that sour taste we had in our mouth from that game,' said linebacker Tyrice Beverette, last season's division finalist as outstanding defensive player. 'We know we left something on the field. We know we were the better team that (day), but didn't come out to play. We wanted to show the world tonight who was the better team.' Toronto quarterback Nick Arbuckle might have been the Grey Cup's most valuable player last season, but Montreal's' defence made his life miserable. While Arbuckle passed for 273 yards and a touchdown, he also was intercepted twice — a trademark that has dogged him throughout his inconsistent career. Arbuckle also fumbled just before halftime when under duress from defensive-tackle Shawn Oakman. Rush-end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund recovered the ball, returning it 17 yards for a touchdown. Short-yardage quarterback Caleb Evans scored the Alouettes' other touchdown on a one-yard run in the third quarter after James Letcher Jr. returned the opening second-half kickoff 67 yards. Jose Maltos added two field goals and a single. Montreal's next three games are on the road beginning next Friday at Ottawa.
The Province
39 minutes ago
- The Province
Meet Eba, B.C.'s whale-poop-sniffing dog
The whale-poop-sniffing canine stands at the front of the research boat while her owners drive downwind of a path left by killer whales Eba, a scent-detection dog trained to pick up the smell of killer whale fecal matter, stands at the front of a boat on an outing to collect samples. VIA WILD ORCA Eba the dog started her life on the streets of Sacramento. Now, she spends much of her time at the front of a boat in the Salish Sea, sniffing out killer whale poop. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Eba's owner is Deborah Giles, a killer whale scientist with the Seadoc Society, which uses science and education to advance the health of marine wildlife and their ecosystems. The pair will be on Pender Island Friday evening, where Giles is scheduled to give a talk called From Poop to Policy, about what feces can tell us about the health of individual southern resident killer whales and the endangered population as a whole. Giles' sister found Eba in Sacramento and Giles adopted her, bringing her to San Juan Island, where she lives. She and her husband, Jim Rappold, trained Eba to pick up the scent of whale poop using a previously collected sample, teaching her to think of play time when she catches a whiff of the marine mammal's excrement. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The whale-poop-sniffing canine stands at the front of the research boat while Giles and her husband drive downwind of a path left by killer whales. 'In a nutshell, we follow her nose to the scat sample,' Giles said. An ideal sample looks like thick pancake batter and is about the size of a saucer for a tea cup splayed out on the surface of the water, but it can also be brown and as small as a lentil, she said. Giles then scoops the poop out of the ocean using a lab-quality plastic beaker on the end of a pole, skimming the surface of the water. She decants the fecal matter into tubes, which are put into a centrifuge on the boat and spun to separate the sample from sea water. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The samples are kept in a cooler until they're back on land and put in a deep freezer. 'Those are the ones that we love the most,' she said. While there are other scientists collecting and analyzing whale poop, Giles said hers is the only team she knows of that works with a scent-detection dog. The method allows them to collect scat without getting close to the animals and disturbing them with their presence. Without the dog, collecting fecal samples generally requires following closely behind whales, but because one of the main threats to the endangered species is vessel disturbance, she doesn't want to be part of the problem, Giles said. The samples are tested for hormones indicating stress, pregnancy and nutrition, as well as toxicants. Giles also collects breath droplets hanging in the air using a drone that swoops down after a whale has exhaled and dived back down. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We're trying to create individual health records. Just like you have a health record with your doctor,' she said. 'It's really trying to get a very, very clear idea of what's happening with the individual whales.' The aim is to take those individual records and look at the collective health of the southern resident killer whales, which face threats due to lack of prey, particularly Chinook salmon, physical and noise disturbance from vessels and chemicals in their environment and food chain, Giles said. 'All of that information is information that we can give to managers in Canada and in the U.S. to help drive policy to hopefully recover these whales,' she said. If the whales are healthy and thriving, it means the habitat is healthy, which is good news for people as well, she said, because any toxic chemicals affecting killer whales also affect anyone who consumes fish from the Salish Sea. Giles' talk, part of Ocean Week Victoria, runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at 4418 Bedwell Harbour Rd. Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Local News News Vancouver Canucks
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Argonauts fall flat against Alouettes in season opener
MONTREAL — Davis Alexander threw for one touchdown and 205 yards as the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Toronto Argonauts 28-10 to open their Canadian Football League season on Friday. Article content Montreal (1-0) earned its revenge after the visiting Argonauts defeated the Alouettes 30-28 in last year's East Division final en route to their 19th Grey Cup title. Article content Article content Alexander — in his first game since the Alouettes traded '23 Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo — rushed for 50 yards on four attempts to improve to 5-0 as a starter in the CFL. Article content The 26-year-old quarterback also threw one interception on a warm, hazy night as prairie wildfire smoke drifted into Quebec on Friday. Tyson Philpot caught one touchdown pass, Issac Adeyemi-Berglund returned a fumble into the end zone, and Caleb Evans rushed for a major before 21,480 at Molson Stadium. Article content The Alouettes' defence held the Argos to just 34 rushing yards, and Alexandre Gagne tied a CFL single-game record with seven special teams tackles. Article content Veteran QB Nick Arbuckle, last year's unexpected Grey Cup MVP, threw for one touchdown, two interceptions and 273 yards on 20-for-32 completions for Toronto (0-1). The Argonauts lineup featured 13 different starters compared to last year's championship game. Article content Toronto also started a second consecutive season without starting QB Chad Kelly, who broke his tibia and fibula late in last year's East final. Montreal kicker Jose Maltos went 2-for-3 with a rouge. Toronto's Lirim Hajrullahu went 1-for-1 on a 45-yard field goal. Article content Montreal took a 15-3 lead heading into halftime when Adeyemi-Berglund returned a fumble 17 yards into the end zone after Shawn Oakman laid out Arbuckle with 32 seconds left in the second quarter. Article content The play stood after review — instead of being ruled an incomplete pass — despite the fact Arbuckle released the ball before Oakman's hit. The league ruled that Arbuckle did not have a throwing motion before the ball left his hands. Article content Things only got worse for the Argos as James Letcher Jr. returned a kickoff 67 yards to open the second half. Article content Alexander then ran 12 yards and completed three passes to set up Evans' one-yard QB sneak into the end zone as the Alouettes took a 22-3 lead 4:29 into the half. Article content Derek Slywka intercepted Alexander's deep pass with five minutes remaining in the third quarter for his first pick in the CFL. Article content Alexander appeared to injure himself late in the third quarter when a Toronto defensive lineman fell on his legs. He rolled round on the field, holding his left knee in pain, but ultimately stood up on his own and returned to play on the next drive.
