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Many CFL teams enter week with questions at quarterback position

Many CFL teams enter week with questions at quarterback position

National Post5 days ago
The bye week comes at an opportune time for Dru Brown and the Ottawa Redblacks.
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Ottawa (1-6) will have time to recover from its 30-15 loss Sunday to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Redblacks, who have now dropped four straight, resume play July 31 hosting the Calgary Stampeders (5-1).
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The time off should especially benefit Brown. He was forced from Sunday's game in the second quarter after taking a hard hit from Hamilton's DaShaun Amos, who came clean off the edge on a blitz.
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Replays showed Amos struck the bottom of Brown's facemask with the crown of his helmet. Brown's helmet flew off, though his chinstrap wasn't fully secured.
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Brown left the game and didn't return. Amos received a 25-yard penalty for roughing the passer.
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Brown was replaced by Dustin Crum, who finished 16-of-22 passing for 149 yards and an interception while rushing six times for 43 yards. He completed six-of-eight attempts for 66 yards and an interception before leaving the contest.
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Brown had missed three previous starts this season with a hip injury. Ottawa's lone win, a 20-12 decision over Calgary on June 21, came with Crum under centre.
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But at least Brown has time to recover. Many other CFL teams enter the week with questions at quarterback as they prepare for upcoming games.
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Davis Alexander's quest for a record-setting ninth straight win to start a CFL career is on hold. The Montreal Alouettes placed the 26-year-old American on the six-game injured list after he aggravated a hamstring ailment in their 26-25 comeback win over the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday night.
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Alexander's 10-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter capped Montreal's comeback from a 25-7 deficit. But as he scored, Alexander grabbed the back of his leg.
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He remained on the field for Montreal's unsuccessful two-point convert attempt. Alexander had just returned after missing the Alouettes previous two contests with the injury.
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With Alexander out, veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson is expected to again be Montreal's starter after serving in that capacity during Alexander's two-game absence. The Alouettes visit Calgary (5-1) on Thursday night.
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Meanwhile, the Chad Kelly watch in Toronto continues. The CFL's outstanding player in 2023 hasn't played this season as he recovers from a leg injury suffered in last year's East Division final.
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Kelly was again a limited practice participant Tuesday.
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Nick Arbuckle, who earned MVP honours in Toronto's 2024 Grey Cup victory over Winnipeg, has started all six of the Argos' regular-season contests in 2025. Arbuckle has completed 150-of-210 passes (71.4%) for 1,691 yards with nine TDs and eight interceptions but has been sacked a CFL-high 16 times this season.
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Kicking it old school: Why these childhood friends never want to stop playing soccer together
Kicking it old school: Why these childhood friends never want to stop playing soccer together

CBC

time33 minutes ago

  • CBC

Kicking it old school: Why these childhood friends never want to stop playing soccer together

CBC Ottawa's Creator Network is a place where young digital storytellers from diverse backgrounds can produce original video content to air on CBC and tell stories through their own lens. Victories. Losses. Injuries, career changes, moves, fatherhood. Over their more than a decade on the pitch, "No New Friends" soccer players have seen it all, says longtime player and co-organizer Nick Pouponneau. He attributes the 60-minute Ottawa Footy Sevens soccer league games to helping him and other players navigate life both on and off the field. "No matter what happens, it's always going to be there for me, whether we win, whether we lose," Pouponneau said. "Soccer to me … it's a way of life." Pouponneau decided to profile the longtime team and explore how the sport has shaped its members in a video for CBC Ottawa's Creator Network. 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"We came to Canada in 1995 … from a war-torn country, and then one of the ways I made friends ... was through soccer," confirmed longtime player Francis Mavula, whose family came from Burundi, and whose brother also plays on the team. Mavula said soccer went on to shape the course of his life. After dreaming of becoming a professional player, he scored a soccer scholarship and went on to captain the men's team at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. "Soccer has had such a huge impact on my life. I think outside of my parents, it's been the biggest influence in who I am," he reflected, adding that he remains in touch with teammates despite being sidelined this season by a broken ankle. The sport also had a big impact on Pascal-Olivier Ouandji, who joined the team more recently. Raised in Cameroon and Kenya, he moved to southern France as a teen to pursue serious soccer at a high school affiliated with a soccer club, later coming to Ottawa with a plan to pursue sports journalism. 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"A lot of times you'll see guys hang back and have those more deep conversations from, like, 'Hey, I'm really struggling with XYZ thing,' or, 'I'm feeling stressed about work.' Just get advice from that kind of brotherhood perspective." Now that many of the players have become dads themselves, they say the team's weekly games are a way to pass on that passion for sport and time with friends to the next generation. But despite the increasingly family feel of the weekly games and the age of the longtime players, they stress that competition is still fierce. "That's what's so great about sports. It's a continuous challenge, and especially as you get older, the challenge changes, and ... gets more difficult as well, right?" said Goss. The team was league champion last year and is in the playoffs again this season. "I mean, you know what these young guys are like. 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Watch live coverage of World Aquatics Championships from Singapore
Watch live coverage of World Aquatics Championships from Singapore

CBC

time33 minutes ago

  • CBC

Watch live coverage of World Aquatics Championships from Singapore

Click on the video player above to watch live coverage of Monday's finals session at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Having already secured one, Summer McIntosh continues her drive for five individual gold medals at 2025 worlds with the women's 200-metre individual medley at 8:19 a.m. ET on Monday. The 18-year-old superstar from Toronto will be joined in the race by compatriot Mary-Sophie Harvey of Trois-Rivières, Que., after the pair qualified for the final on Sunday — placing 1-2 in their heat, respectively. McIntosh owns the world record in the event with a time of 2 minutes 5.70 seconds, set during national trials in June. Reporter Devin Heroux will be on site in Singapore speaking to Canadians following their races, and will join The Ready Room show live on YouTube every day after finals, with Brittany MacLean Campbell hosting from Toronto. The show will include Canadian highlights, athlete interviews and analysis. Watch live coverage of every race at the swimming worlds on and CBC Gem, with finals beginning at 7 a.m. ET each day. The full competition schedule is available here. McIntosh kicked off her world championship campaign Sunday by taking down American icon Katie Ledecky in the women's 400m freestyle final, touching the wall in 3:56.26. "I think I'm at my best. I'm in the best shape of my life. So now I just have to act on that and put it into all my races," McIntosh said after Sunday's final. The result in the 400m free final helped McIntosh extend her Canadian-best career gold medal total to five at long-course worlds, and with her ninth medal overall moved into a tie with Kylie Masse and Penny Oleksiak for most ever by a Canadian. WATCH l CBC Sports' The Ready Room recaps opening day of swimming finals: Summer McIntosh wins gold in the 400m free, defeating American Katie Ledecky | THE READY ROOM 17 hours ago Day 1 of the swimming world championships started fast, with Summer McIntosh winning gold in the women's 400m freestyle, beating out Katie Ledecky of the USA, who took bronze. We hear from McIntosh as well as Canadian Ilya Kharun, who had a disappointing 50m fly. Brittany MacLean Campbell & Devin Heroux tell you everything you need to know from the world swimming championships.

After weeks of struggling, Tigers hope D-backs can cure ills
After weeks of struggling, Tigers hope D-backs can cure ills

Canada News.Net

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  • Canada News.Net

After weeks of struggling, Tigers hope D-backs can cure ills

(Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images) A sense of relief enveloped the Detroit Tigers after their 10-4 victory over visiting Toronto on Sunday afternoon. That snapped a six-game losing streak and was just their second win in 14 games. Detroit will now open a three-game home series against Arizona, beginning on Monday night. 'It's a sense of accomplishment,' manager AJ Hinch said. 'Obviously, we need a good feeling at the end of the day, we needed it all week. It's a fun win; it's a good win.' The American League Central Division leaders hope it wasn't just a one-game reprieve. 'It's not like the end of things,' first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. 'It's not like it's all good now. We needed to play a clean, good baseball game. But seeing a W in the win column is definitely refreshing. It's like when you haven't got a hit in a while and seeing one fall. Sometimes that's all it takes.' Right-hander Troy Melton will make his second career start for the Tigers in the series opener. Melton's debut didn't go as planned -- he gave up six runs and seven hits in five innings at Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Melton's outing wasn't a complete washout. He struck out seven and tossed two scoreless innings to finish up his outing. Melton is being given a chance to earn the No. 5 spot in the rotation. Keider Montero, who had a tenuous hold on that spot, was demoted to Triple-A Toledo on Saturday. Melton, 24, was Toledo's top starter this season. He posted a 2.72 ERA in eight games with nine walks and 56 strikeouts across 36 1/3 innings. 'He really needed the challenge up in the big leagues,' Hinch said. 'I think we saw, specifically in the back half of his outing, why we're excited about his present and his future.' He'll be opposed by former Tiger Eduardo Rodriguez (3-6, 5.50). Rodriguez bounced back from two poor outings to toss 6 1/3 shutout innings against Houston on Tuesday. Rodriguez surrendered 12 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings in his previous two starts. Rodriguez believed he could have gone longer Tuesday but he was taken out after getting struck in the leg by a comebacker. 'I feel like that was the best I felt with my fastball all this year,' said Rodriguez, who is 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA in seven career starts against Detroit. With the Arizona front office in sell mode heading toward the trade deadline, the on-field product has suffered. The Diamondbacks have lost five of their last six games, including back-to-back shutouts against Pittsburgh heading into this series. The offense has produced just eight runs during the six-game span. 'Those things are natural,' outfielder Corbin Carroll said of the distractions caused by the trade deadline. 'Our coaches did a good job of trying to prevent something like that from happening, but I think stuff like that can creep in. I think it's also a little bit the nature of where some of the hitters, including myself, are at. Just a product of a couple of things.' Third baseman Eugenio Suarez could have an eventful week. He's one of the biggest names on the trade market and the Tigers could be one of his suitors.

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