
Inside the CFL: Alouettes are mishmash of good and bad at one-third mark
The CFL season is a marathon, not a sprint.
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While the Alouettes (4-2) sit atop the East Division at the one-third mark of the season, it might prove to be meaningless once the weather turns cold in October and November — especially if starting quarterback Davis Alexander, sidelined yet again with a hamstring injury, is out for another prolonged period.
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Montreal was 5-1 at this point last season and finished with the league's best record (12-5-1). Yet its players were sitting at home when Toronto defeated Winnipeg in the Grey Cup.
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Nonetheless, six games into an 18-game season is a good time to sit back and reflect on what we've seen and what we'd like to see moving forward — not that Als management necessarily will listen.
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Positive: We should no longer wonder whether Alexander is the real deal. He might have been third on the depth chart last season, but seized his opportunity when Cody Fajardo suffered — coincidentally — a hamstring injury. Alexander has won all eight games he has started, dating to last season, tying a CFL record held by Danny McManus.
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But it's more than that. Montreal's offence has a different feel to it when Alexander — unpredictable, mobile and explosive — is on the field. He rallied the Als from an 18-point third-quarter deficit against the Argonauts on Thursday night, passing for 196 yards during the second half.
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However, Alexander only lasted one game before reinjuring his left hamstring — something that forced him to miss two full games over a month. We can't imagine his recovery will be any shorter this time.
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Negative: While it's unfair to put all the blame on McLeod Bethel-Thompson, the Als lost two games when he replaced Alexander. Bethel-Thompson is accurate in practice, but not so much in games. And while he can still move at age 37, he lacks Alexander's mobility and moxie.
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Bethel-Thompson passed for 3,748 yards with Edmonton last season, but the Elks' record was 3-10 when he played. While third-string QB Caleb Evans is mobile, we don't believe he's the solution, either. With coming games at Calgary, against Saskatchewan and Edmonton, and at B.C. during the next month, the Als' 4-2 record could quickly change for the worse.
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Positive: Much like the Canadiens under head coach Martin St. Louis, there's no quit in the Als under Jason Maas.
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We had the Als written off in the third quarter against Toronto while trailing 25-7. But Montreal scored 19 unanswered points, a total that would have been higher except for two unsuccessful two-point conversion attempts. It was the largest comeback by the Als since Sept. 21, 2019, when the team overcame a 24-point deficit against Winnipeg.

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CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
‘I felt like the old Genie': Bouchard extends career with first-round win at NBO
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National Post
12 hours ago
- National Post
Genie Bouchard wins in Montreal to extend her tennis career. Raducanu and Osaka advance
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CTV News
13 hours ago
- CTV News
Canada's Bouchard extends career with first-round win over Arango at NBO
Eugenie Bouchard of Canada celebrates after defeating Emiliana Arango of Colombia during her first round match at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal on Monday, July 28, 2025. (The Canadian Press/Christopher Katsarov) Eugenie Bouchard is off to a triumphant start in her final tournament. The former world No. 5 — and first Canadian woman to contest a Grand Slam final in the open era — upset Colombia's Emiliana Arango 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 in the first round Monday night at the National Bank Open, extending her tennis career for at least one match. Bouchard, who also earned her 300th singles win, announced on July 16 that she would hang up her racket at the end of her hometown event. The 31-year-old from Westmount, Que., rose to prominence with a sensational season in 2014. At only 20, Bouchard reached the Wimbledon final and played in the Australian Open and French Open semifinals. She also won her only WTA title in Nuremberg, Germany. Bouchard, however, never returned to that level after losing to Petra Kvitova in straight sets in the championship game at the All England Club. Now ranked 1,062nd, Bouchard has moved away from the pro tennis circuit in recent years, spending more time on the PPA Pickleball Tour, where she ranks 12th in singles. Fans showed up at a mostly full IGA Stadium, welcoming Bouchard with loud applause when she stepped on the court and cheering her on — with mixed chants of 'Let's Go Genie!' and 'Allez Eugenie!' — at every point. After splitting the first two sets, Bouchard broke the 82nd-ranked Arango twice — first with a forehand, then from the Colombian's missed volley — to build a 5-1 lead in the decisive third. Arango broke back with Bouchard serving for the match to make it 5-2, but the Canadian went up 40-love in the ensuing game. Arango then sent her backhand wide on Bouchard's second match point. Bouchard waved and blew kisses to the crowd after the win. 'I told my family that if I won, I would come out of retirement,' she said from centre court. 'I felt like the old Genie out there.' She'll take on 17th seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the second round. Bouchard came out with flashes of her attacking style, pushing Arango out of position with a dangerous backhand before hitting a forehand winner to go up 1-0. Arango took a 3-2 lead in the first set, converting her third breakpoint, but Bouchard instantly broke back to loud applause. After holding serve to go up 5-4, the local favourite earned double breakpoint and hit a forehand winner down the line to take the set — and lift fans out of their seats for a standing ovation. Her momentum, however, didn't carry into the second set as Arango broke Bouchard three times to comfortably force a third. Earlier Monday, Canada's Kayla Cross and Ariana Arseneault dropped out of the NBO after the first round. Cross let a one-set lead slip away in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia, and Arseneault of Richmond Hill, Ont., lost 6-4, 6-2 to Japan's Naomi Osaka. Carson Branstine, who grew up in California but represents Canada through family ties in Toronto, took on Greece's Maria Sakkari in the final match of the night. Toronto's Victoria Mboko, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and Vancouver's Rebecca Marino advanced to the second round with wins Sunday. Andreescu's status for the remainder of the tournament is unclear after she hurt her left ankle on match point against Czechia's Barbora Krejcikova. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025. By Daniel Rainbird