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Toronto Argonauts: 2024 Grey Cup Champions
VANCOUVER — The Toronto Argonauts were the hottest team in the league going into the playoffs. That momentum took them all the way to a win in the 111th Grey Cup.
The Argos used a dominant defensive effort to top the favoured Winnipeg Blue Bombers 41-24. Nick Arbuckle, filling in for injured Argos’ starting quarterback Chad Kelly, threw for over 250 yards with a pair of touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.
The win gives the Argos their 19th-ever Grey Cup and marks the second time in three years that they have taken one at the expense of the Bombers, who made their fifth consecutive appearance in the game.
Arbuckle connected with eight different receivers to lead a balanced offensive attack.
Zach Collaros dealt with an injured finger in the second half, but returned to play. He threw three of his four interceptions after the injury occurred. Collaros finished the night 15-30 for 202 yards.
Rookie Ontaria Wilson led the Bombers’ receivers with 99 yards on five catches.
The Duke of Sussex Prince Harry helped get things going with an appearance at the game at BC Place, while The Jonas Brothers rocked an enthralled crowd of 52,439 at BC Place in the Twisted Tea Grey Cup Halftime Show.
The Argos’ defence made quick work out of the Bombers’ first offensive drive, taming a crowd that was famished for a big Winnipeg play.
After a 23-yard return from Janarion Grant, Arbuckle showed a lot of poise in his first drive of the day. The peak of his 11-play, 51-yard drive came when he converted a second-and-17 to Deonta McMahon to get in scoring range. Lirim Hajrullahu converted a 16-yard field goal to open the scoring at 7:03 of the first quarter.
Collaros made just two of his first five passes for just three yards before he connected with Ontaria Wilson for a 49-yard pickup to move to Toronto’s 10-yard line. That drive also saw Oliveira get hist first touches of the day, before backup quarterback Terry Wilson came into the game and forced his way into the end zone from three yards out at 14:38. Sergio Castillo‘s convert put the Bombers up 7-3 with just a second left to play in the game’s opening quarter.
The Bombers appeared to be headed for a similar scoring play when Collaros found Kenny Lawler for a 22-yard gain to get to Toronto’s 35-yard line. With Collaros hungry for more, the Argos’ defence came up big at its eight-yard line. Jake Ceresna forced Collaros to throw the ball out of bounds and then d-lineman Robbie Smith sacked Collaros on second down, bringing Castillo out to hit a 19-yard field goal that gave the Bombers a 10-3 lead at 8:46 of the second quarter.
After Arbuckle found Damonte Coxie for a 39-yard gain to get to the Bombers’ 13-yard line, it was Winnipeg’s defence that made a key stop. Willie Jefferson sacked Arbuckle, turning what could have been a touchdown into a 34-yard Hajrullahu field goal to make it a 10-6 game at 12:47. The veteran kicker had a body make contact with him after the make, that left him limping on the sidelines as he watched his teammates.
The Argos got one more shot at a score, thanks to defensive back Benjie Franklin, who intercepted Collaros as he looked for Keric Wheatfall. Hajrullahu, visibly impacted by the earlier hit, coolly sent a 45-yard field goal through the uprights with 21 seconds left in the half. The Bombers went into the locker room at the break holding a 10-9 advantage.
The Argos’ first offensive drive of the third quarter fizzled midfield, but punter John Haggerty managed to tie the game at 10 aside with a 67-yard punt at 2:28.
The third quarter featured a pair of big defensive plays. With the Argos’ plodding their way up the field, Jefferson got to Arbuckle and forced a fumble and while the Argos recovered, they were forced to punt. Bombers’ returner Lucky Whitehead had the ball popped loose from him at his team’s 17-yard line and recovered by the Argos’ Jack Cassar, setting up the Argos’ offence in a prime scoring situation.
Arbuckle only needed one play to find rookie receiver Kevin Mital, who ran the ball in for the team’s first touchdown of the day. Hajrullahu’s extra point went through at 9:11, putting his team in front 17-10.
The Bombers tried to take any momentum earned on that touchdown away immediately. Arbuckle looked for Damonte Coxie on the sideline, but was picked off by Terrell Bonds, getting the Bombers’ fans in the building up on their feet and lively again. The energy stayed high as Oliveira broke through for a 35-yard gain to the Argos’ 35-yard line. Castillo finished off the quick drive with a 40-yard field goal to make it a 17-13 game at 12:42.
The third quarter closed with a frenetic sequence of events. Haggerty had his punt blocked by Michael Ayers at end of third quarter. Officials called Winnipeg’s Kyrie Wilson for a push in the melee which led to a loose ball interference call, giving Toronto a first down. Two plays later, Arbuckle was intercepted by Jefferson, which got the Bombers to the red zone. With Collaros out of the game momentarily to have a bleeding finger on his throwing hand attended to, Wilson came into the game but was unable to finish the drive. Castillo hit from 23-yards out at 2:23 of the fourth quarter, making it a one-point game, with the Argos up 17-16.
After those unsettling plays, Arbuckle settled in for a poised, eight-play, 68-yard that featured a gutsy seven-yard run, before he capped it with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dejon Brissett. Hajrullahu’s convert gave the Argos a 24-16 lead over the Bombers at 7:52.
Collaros returned to the game with his hand bandaged, but immediately looked deep on a pass, but was intercepted by DaShaun Amos, who ran the ball back deep into Winnipeg territory. A penalty moved the Argos to the eight-yard line. The Bombers’ defence held and forced Hajrullahu back onto the field, where he sent 14-yard field goal through to put his team up 27-16.
The Argos’ defence looked for the dagger in the game when Robert Priester intercepted Collaros and ran it 61 yards for the score. Hajrullahu’s convert pushed the score to 34-16 at 12:07, as the Argo fans in the building began to celebrate. Linebacker Wynton McManis added to the party as the clock ticked down, pulling in a tipped Collaros pass for the Argos’ fourth pick of the night.
Argos head coach Ryan Dinwiddie got an early Gatorade shower from the Argos’ sideline, with the party getting underway early.
For the Bombers, Brady Oliveira broke the plane with 47 seconds to play, but by that point many of their fans had filed out of the stadium. The Argos’ supporters cheered their team on as the final seconds ticked away, with the players rushing the field to begin a party that will last all week.
Riqui Puig goes supernova for LA Galaxy: "He deserves everything"
Riqui Puig goes supernova for LA Galaxy: "He deserves everything"
Justin Ruderman
Friday, Nov 1, 2024, 10:45 PM
The sweep is complete.
Led by another standout performance from Riqui Puig, LA Galaxy advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals by blowing out the Colorado Rapids for a second straight game – this time a 4-1 rout at Dick's Sporting Goods Park to wrap up their Round One Best-of-3 Series in just two matches.
Puig produced his second straight brace of the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs with two second-half stoppage time goals, while attacking partners Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil also got on the scoresheet. Additionally, Friday's result secured the Galaxy's status as an early frontrunner to reach MLS Cup presented by Audi on Dec. 7.
“We knew it was going to be a challenging game: altitude, opposition at home, playing for their season,” head coach Greg Vanney said postmatch. “We knew they had to win today and we needed to try to play against that a little bit.
"At times we went too fast. At times it was fine. But at the end of the day in the playoffs, it doesn't really matter. You get through and you move on to the next round.”
Riqui's MVP form
Paintsil, who scored the eventual game-winning goal just before halftime, had nothing but praise for Puig.
“I think he deserves everything,” Paintsil said of the FC Barcelona-formed playmaker, whose 13g/15a on the season propelled the league's third-best offense of 2024 (69 goals). However, those numbers weren't enough to make him a finalist for this year's Landon Donovan MLS MVP award.
"If people don't see it, we as players, as a team, we see it for ourselves," Paintsil added. "We are a team and even if he doesn't really [get] recognized as the MVP and everything, I think for him it doesn't matter.
"The most important thing that is really in his mind is to win the league. That is [more] important than winning MVP. MVP is a plus for a player, but winning the league is much more important than everything for a player or a club."
Despite being snubbed from the MVP shortlist, Puig has responded on the pitch when it matters most. By scoring four (and assisting another) of his team’s nine goals in their Round One sweep, Puig looks poised to lead the Galaxy on a quest for silverware.
“[My form] doesn't happen if I don't have the team that I have,” Puig said. “I need to say thank you to all my teammates, the staff, the coach. We are making an amazing season, but we need to finish really good and hopefully we can win this MLS [Cup] because it's what we want.”
For Vanney, Puig's red-hot form has come at the perfect time.
“He's an important player for us. He drives our team from possessions to attacks," Vanney said. "He finishes things for us. I think Riqui, on any day, would trade in the opportunity to win an MLS Cup before an MVP trophy. He's continued to develop inside of our team. He continues to be the engine and the motor inside of our group.
"... I'm happy that Riqui's playing great now because this is the stage in which you make the biggest statement right now, not during the regular season.”
Championship mentality
After becoming the first team to advance to the Conference Semifinals, the Galaxy now await the winner of the Real Salt Lake-Minnesota United FC series in the next round. Whichever opponent emerges, LA will host the match at Dignity Health Sports Park as they chase a historic sixth MLS Cup title.
“We do [have a championship mentality],” Paintsil said. “We take every game at a time and as you can see we're doing everything possible to have that kind of mentality, as we have been always having [since] the beginning of the season.
"There are little doubts about people towards us, but we don't really care about what people say. We just go game by game and then we will just see what happens," Paintsil said. "But our goal is to be in the final.”
Justin Ruderman -
@JustinRuderman_
Los Angeles Dodgers, all of them, are World Series champs
Los Angeles Dodgers, all of them, are World Series champs
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
Oct 31, 2024, 02:32 AM ET
NEW YORK -- The 2024 World Series is over: Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers are champions in five games, the first title for him and, for the team, the eighth in franchise history.
There were heroes and goats, as there are in every Fall Classic, but no storybook showdown of Ohtani versus Aaron Judge. There were dramatic grand slams, stunning comebacks and horrible defensive miscues. The New York Yankees' title drought reached 15 years, and their captain, Judge, faced struggles that sometimes reached nightmarish levels.
In the end, what we got was a pure baseball matchup decided by baseball factors, and mostly by the fact the Dodgers had more good players than their opponent. They earned it -- as a group.
"They were the better team in this series," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, while praising his own heartbroken club.
This championship, and the way Los Angeles achieved it, is less about the names on the marquee and more because of the ensemble. It belongs to them all, as much to the supporting cast of Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux and Max Muncy as to Ohtani and fellow stars Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. To anonymous relievers as much as more heralded starters such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty. None of this is by accident. The Dodgers won this way because they were built to win this way.
Every season, the Dodgers rank near the top of the majors in categories such as rookie WAR and in total appearances on the transaction wire. Think about that: With all of the resources poured into the L.A. payroll -- the Dodgers spent more than $1 billion this past offseason -- the Andrew Friedman-led front office never stops tweaking the roster mix, addressing needs both immediate and imagined. The Dodgers excel at turning other teams' excesses into gold, with journeymen such as Ryan Brasier, Brent Honeywell and Anthony Banda becoming crucial contributors to the bullpen. Every bit as much attention is paid to the bottom 10 slots on the 40-man roster as it is to the top three.
"It's about getting the right players, the right people," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Talent is a lot, but it's not everything. You still have to be cohesive. I just think we do a great job of getting the right players in our clubhouse."
The Dodgers have as much star power as any team we've seen in recent years, but they could never be accused of taking a stars-and-scrubs approach, or constructing a top-heavy roster. Depth or stars? We'll have both, thank you.
"We have a culture here at the big league level," Roberts said. "But the scouting and player development is second to none."
After a second title in five years, the Dodgers, from top to bottom, are what Roberts says -- second to none.
Los Angeles Dodgers: 2024 World Series Champions
NEW YORK -- To win it all, the Dodgers had to give it all. Had to stare down an ugly early deficit. Had to empty their bullpen. Had to rally against Gerrit Cole and then against the Yankees’ best relievers. Had to get a World Series-clinching save from starter Walker Buehler, of all people.
With an unflappable team effort, the Dodgers claimed their second World Series title in the last five years and their first in a full season since 1988 by beating the Yankees in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
And in this 7-6 victory, they earned their champagne celebration the hard way, becoming the first team in a World Series-clinching win to come back from five or more runs.
Genshin Impact: Genshin Misadventures - Natlan Nationals, Day 8 (in Sume...
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San Bernardino Valley College cancels football?
Inland college notes: Players respond following cancellation of San Bernardino Valley College football season
SBVC administration, in collaboration with team staff and players, pulled the plug on the season Oct. 3.
By Dennis Pope | preps@pressenterprise.com | Press-Enterprise
PUBLISHED: October 23, 2024 at 12:37 p.m.
Following the unprecedented cancellation of their season after just two lopsided losses, members of the San Bernardino Valley College football team voiced their frustration at the situation.
The short-handed Wolverines, who have already endured back-to-back 0-10 seasons, came into Week 1 with fewer than 40 active players.
Three weeks, several injuries, and one missed game later, SBVC administration, in collaboration with team staff and players, pulled the plug on Oct. 3.
“They cancelled it because of the low numbers,” said new head coach Nate Turner, who did not arrive on campus until July. “We couldn’t hit the ground running with recruiting like we wanted to so after the first two games we realized we’d lost even more numbers, and at that point it wasn’t going to benefit our student-athletes, so we’ve decided to regroup and bring it back next year.”
Turner, on a one-year contract, said it is his intention to recruit and prepare SBVC’s football program for the 2025 season.
“I’m still employed and I’m still the football coach here,” Turner said. “We have to take care of what we can control so I’m going to recruit the local talent. I don’t think about any decisions that I don’t have any control over.”
Sophomore Kaleb McNeal, a Cajon High graduate, said it became clear as early as June that this team was going to have issues.
“They insisted that we were going to have a 10-game season, and everything was going to be good, but we had seen it coming,” McNeal said. “I’m desperate to get out so I kept playing in it.”
After review by the CCCAA, it was determined that this season will not count against any of the SBVC players’ eligibility.
“We were able to get our year back so I’m not too, too worried about it,” McNeal said. “I’m just ready to work and go where I go from here.”
Among the players already drawing interest from other schools, McNeal intends to transfer after finishing off his associate’s degree in the spring.
“I’ll be transferring. I don’t know where yet, but I’ll be transferring,” he said.
Sophomore Antonio Calleros, a Ramona High grad, wanted to use this season to springboard to an NCAA scholarship. Undecided on whether he’ll return, Calleros said he does not want to go back under the same conditions.
“They fired six or seven coaches right before the season. I didn’t have an offensive line coach,” Calleros said. “I want to return but there are some people there that don’t really care, and some people even faked injuries to keep from playing. There were some people there that didn’t want to have a season.”
“A few guys would leave or be late, or fake injuries or be concussed out of nowhere so they’d get a medical redshirt and get their year back,” added sophomore Ian Beauregard. “I think there were some people who took advantage of the situation.”
Beauregard, a Cajon grad who transferred into SBVC from Mt. San Jacinto College, wants to continue playing but does not plan to return to San Bernardino for football.
“Oh no,” Beauregard said. “I hope they get the help they need to succeed, but I won’t be going back.”
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