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Alouettes select OL Tiger Shanks in first round of CFL's Canadian college draft

Alouettes select OL Tiger Shanks in first round of CFL's Canadian college draft

Montreal Alouettes
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The offensive tackle position in the CFL traditionally has been occupied by American-born players. Tiger Shanks eventually hopes to buck that trend with the Alouettes.
The Als selected the 6-foot-5, 325-pound Shanks fifth overall Tuesday night as the CFL conducted its Canadian college draft. Originally from Vancouver, Shanks spent much of his childhood in China before his family relocated to Lake Oswego, Ore.
He was a four-year starter at the right-tackle position at UNLV before deciding recently to make himself eligible for the CFL selection process. He's the only offensive lineman in the school's history to earn first-team all-Mountain West honours. But he chose not to proceed with speed or quickness testing at his pro day due to a nagging hamstring injury. He wasn't selected in the recent NFL draft, nor has he received a rookie mini-camp invitation.
While there were a variety of Montreal- and Quebec-based players who were rated highly, Als general manager Danny Maciocia said he took the best available prospect.
'He had 50 starts at UNLV. That's high-level competition,' Maciocia told The Gazette in a text message. 'He's a competitor with a high-level football IQ. He's a mature and confident young man.'
Montreal-born Damien Alford, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound wide receiver who transferred from Syracuse to Utah last season, went first overall in the draft to the Calgary Stampeders. Alford has accepted a rookie mini-camp invitation from the Kansas City Chiefs.
Université de Montréal defensive-lineman Jeremiah Ojo, 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds, went seventh overall to the Toronto Argonauts, the defending Grey Cup champions. Ojo first will be attending rookie mini-camp with the New York Giants.
And Christopher Fortin, an offensive lineman who went to the University of Connecticut, completed the first round (eighth overall), going to Calgary. The 6-foot-5, 300 pounder is a native of St-René, Que.
The Als selected University of Calgary safety Nate Beauchemin in the second round (14th overall). Beauchemin, 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds, is a native of Kelowna, B.C., and should make an immediate impact on special teams. He was a playmaker last season for the Dinos, intercepting four passes along with forcing one fumble. He had 39 tackles.
Shanks becomes the highest CFL draft pick in UNLV history. He's only the sixth Rebels player to ever appear in the CFL draft, and the first since offensive lineman Brett Boyko and tailback Shaquille Murray-Lawrence both were selected in 2015. Boyko had been the highest UNLV draft choice, going 14th overall to the B.C. Lions.
Shanks tied the school record by starting 51 games, primarily at right tackle. He entered his senior season as a member of both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award watch lists. The Outland is awarded to the best interior lineman in college football while the Lombardi is presented to the NCAA's outstanding offensive or defensive lineman.
Shanks was part of a Rebels team that went 11-3 last season, while producing its first national ranking in school history. He was considered UNLV's best offensive lineman, spearheading a dominant rushing offence and helping drive the Scarlet and Gray toward the top of the Mountain West conference, according to the Las Vegas Sun. UNLV defeated California in the L.A. Bowl.
Shanks was considered a late bloomer; a three-star prospect coming out of high school who had only five Division-I offers — Idaho, Idaho State, Sacramento State, San Jose State and UNLV. Following a redshirt year and shaky freshman season, he allowed only one sack in both 2023 and '24. Last season he also allowed only 11 pressures over 410 pass-blocking snaps.
During his media availability on Monday, Maciocia waxed enthusiastically about the depth and talent available this year.
'This is as good a class as you're going to come across,' he said. 'I'm fairly confident quite a few of these players are going to be playing at the next level. This (crop) is pretty dynamic. This one's pretty good. You're going to be drafting into the third and fourth rounds and you're still getting potentially quality Canadians that have the ability to start at some point in time. This is as good a draft as I've been associated with.'
Tuesday morning the CFL held its global draft. The Als selected University of Memphis punter Joshua Sloan (seventh overall) before taking punter-placekicker Joshua Hutley 16th overall out of Concord University.

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Argos players, coaches and staff receive their '24 Grey Cup rings
Argos players, coaches and staff receive their '24 Grey Cup rings

Winnipeg Free Press

time26 minutes ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Argos players, coaches and staff receive their '24 Grey Cup rings

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US Open '25: Decades ago under dark of night, Oakmont began removing trees and started a golf trend
US Open '25: Decades ago under dark of night, Oakmont began removing trees and started a golf trend

Winnipeg Free Press

time35 minutes ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

US Open '25: Decades ago under dark of night, Oakmont began removing trees and started a golf trend

Last month, Scottie Scheffler made mention of a trend in golf design that rubs him wrong — removing trees from courses. This week, the world's best player and favorite to win the U.S. Open will play a course that did just that, but didn't become one bit easier the way some layouts do when the trees go away. Under the dark of night three decades ago, the people in charge of Oakmont Country Club started cutting down trees. They didn't stop until some 15,000 had been removed. The project reimagined one of America's foremost golf cathedrals and started a trend of tree cutting that continues to this day. While playing a round on YouTube with influencer Grant Horvat, Scheffler argued that modern pro golf — at least at most stops on the PGA Tour — has devolved into a monotonous cycle of 'bomb and gouge': Hit drive as far as possible, then gouge the ball out of the rough from a shorter distance if the tee shot is off line. 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In an ironic twist that eventually led to where we (and Oakmont) are today, the layout was completely lined with trees in 1973 when Johnny Miller shot 63 on Sunday to win the U.S. Open. That record stood for 50 years, and the USGA followed up with a course setup so tough in 1974 that it became known as 'The Massacre at Winged Foot' — won by Hale Irwin with a score of 7-over par. 'Everybody was telling me it was my fault,' Miller said in a look back at the '74 Open with Golf Digest. 'It was like a backhanded compliment. The USGA denied it, but years later, it started leaking out that it was in response to what I did at Oakmont. Oakmont was supposed to be the hardest course in America.' It might still be. In a precursor to what could come this week, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott played practice rounds last Monday in which McIlroy said he made a 7 on the par-4 second and Scott said he hit every fairway on the front nine and still shot 3 over. 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McCARTHY: Did RBC Canadian Open's new venue make the grade?
McCARTHY: Did RBC Canadian Open's new venue make the grade?

Toronto Sun

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  • Toronto Sun

McCARTHY: Did RBC Canadian Open's new venue make the grade?

Party, beer, hockey and some golf — breaking down the latest installment of our national event Get the latest from Jon McCarthy straight to your inbox Canadian Nick Taylor on the 14th hole, 'the rink' during the RBC Canadian Open Golf Pro Am in Alton, Ont., Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Photo by Peter Power / THE CANADIAN PRESS CALEDON, Ont. — A fan with fake abs shaved into his hairy beer belly is flexing for mobile phones as the masses prepare for another well-lubricated rendition of our national anthem. The rowdiest of the Saturday afternoon crowd at TPC Toronto hang and bang on the makeshift hockey boards. The well-heeled are also in the vicinity, but kept safely above the fray in cozy corporate suites. CBS stars Amanda Balionis and Colt Knost are minutes from charging onto the tee in duelling Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers hockey sweaters. Social media teams buzz about, trying to decide which part of the intentional chaos to point their cameras. In the middle of it all, Mackenzie Hughes and caddie Julien Trudeau stand on the tee box having a conversation about the wind. Welcome to the RBC Canadian Open. More specifically, welcome to the Rink Hole. 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. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. 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 Don't have an account? Create Account 'It's a lot of fun. I'm very proud to be Canadian. It's a great country. I'm very proud to be from here. I can feel that pride out there for us and just for people being Canadian,' Hughes said after firing his way into contention during Saturday's third round. 'Yeah, really enjoying it. Like I said, the support's been phenomenal.' The rink hole, now in its seventh iteration, has become a microcosm of the RBC Canadian Open, and of modern professional sports as a whole. In a media and entertainment world fighting for the next viral moment, big events are spending plenty of time, money, and brain power on figuring out how to put all the ingredients together to create perfect bite-sized content that will find its way into your algorithm. Jon McCarthy has something for every golfer, with a notably Canadian slant. 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. 'We're not just a golf tournament, we're a sports and entertainment property,' tournament director Ryan Paul said. 'I know we continue to try to build on the Canadiana of this event and where we can add to that.' In a sea of sameness on the PGA Tour schedule, the RBC Canadian Open is showcasing its differences. We might secretly cringe at listening to the 10th off-key version of O Canada belted out at the Rink Hole or at seeing Mounties used as models for a world audience, but the shame of selling out was strictly a 90s thing. When getting noticed is the end game, it's simply called leaning into your strengths. A marshall on the 14th 'rink hole' wearing a referees jersey during the RBC Canadian Open Golf Pro Am in Alton, Ont., Wednesday, June 4, 2025. PETER POWER/THE CANADIAN PRESS Looking around TPC Toronto this week, all you see is lots of people having fun, some watching golf, some not. And if you ask around the PGA Tour, the tournament has developed a reputation, both for its vibe, and for punching above its weight as a tournament and a product. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It's become a very, very good tournament,' two-time champion Rory McIlroy said before missing the cut for the first time in five appearances. 'I think because of that, and you see guys playing each and every year, I think the field then starts to become stronger because you see your peers do something, and we're all like sort of sheep out here. Once one person does something, we all sort of try to do the same thing.' None of this would be possible without a compelling tournament and world-class competition on the golf course. And McIlroy has done a lot of the heavy lifting to deliver on both of those items. The superstar golfer hasn't been shy about his appreciation for national opens, and his strong relationship with RBC has guaranteed the Canadian Open retains a very healthy status as long as it can retain the Northern Irishman. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. All this recent success has given Golf Canada the positive energy and upward trajectory it needed to make the rather ambitious move to rural Caledon and TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley for the first time in 2025. With Golf Canada in the midst of moving its headquarters to this new venue 75 km northwest of downtown Toronto, it's no secret that TPC's North Course (one of three at the sprawling three course facility) will be the de facto home for the tournament for at least a generation of golfers. There will still be trips to classic private golf clubs such as St. George's and Hamilton, but with each of those courses only willing to open their gates to the tournament every five years or so, expect plenty of stops here in Caledon. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. There was always to be some bumps in the road this week, perhaps even literal ones as upwards of 80,000 people over the course of the week attempted to make their way from GTA cities to rural Caledon. Wednesday night's storm only exacerbated parking issues as grass lots turned to mud, even causing lot closures during Thursday's opening round. The tournament's social media team spent much of the early rounds apologizing to ticketholders who made their voices heard loudly on social media. There will undoubtedly be some changes and logistical improvements made based on what is learned this week, but the tournament's future at TPC Toronto is now a reality. On the links, the ability of the North Course to stand up to PGA Tour competition will remain something of a mystery after the greens were never able to dry out over the four days, allowing players to stay in attack mode and possibly causing some problems with putting speeds. A tricky breeze on Friday gave some hope that the course could show some teeth down the road. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I thought the greens were maybe a little bit on the slower side than we normally face, and they never really firmed up over the week,' Adam Hadwin said on Sunday. 'But the fairways started to roll out and made hitting some of the fairways a little bit more difficult. The angles had to be spot on. Yeah, rough was up. I thought it provided a good test.' In the end, it once again wasn't to be the week for Hughes, who will no doubt be back in Caledon next year to try to live out his childhood dream of winning his national Open. 'I just do the best I can to control what I can control, and whatever happens happens,' Hughes said. Good advice, and all you can do, whether playing in a tournament or organizing one. Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Uncategorized Relationships Canada

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