Laval Rouge et Or: 2013 Vanier Cup Champions


The Laval Rouge et Or football machine keeps rumbling along like an unstoppable tank.
Pascal Lochard led a running game that piled up 449 net rushing yards as the Rouge et Or wore down the young Calgary Dinos for a 25-14 victory in the Vanier Cup game on Saturday afternoon.
It was Laval's second Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship in a row, their third in four years and their record eighth overall in only 17 years since its well-financed football program started.
"It's incredible to go back to back and win it here in front of our fans," said Laval quarterback Alex Skinner, who got nowhere trying to throw the ball against a tough Calgary defensive secondary and just ran it on nearly every play in the second half.
Among Laval's trio of running backs, the 2012 Vanier Cup MVP Maxime Boutin got 190 yards, Lochard had 198 and Guillaume Bourassa had 30, while graduating receiver Guillaume Rioux had a 31-yard run.
The team set Vanier Cup records for rushing yards — breaking their own mark of 373 set last year — and rushing first downs with 26.
Lochard had Laval's only touchdown in the fourth quarter. Boris Bede, despite struggling with his kicking all afternoon, managed to tie a Vanier Cup record with five field goals.

Big crowd

The win on a chilly, windy day in front of a raucous, overflow crowd of 18,543 at 12,000-seat Telus Stadium kept Laval undefeated at 12-0 this season. Calgary fell to 11-1.
Jake Harty and Chris Dopko scored touchdowns for the Dinos, who were looking to avenge a 29-2 loss at Laval in the 2010 Vanier Cup game.
Calgary has not won a Vanier Cup since 1995 and was not expected to reach the title game this year after losing 19 starters, including 11 on defence, from last year's squad.
But they found a way to stay in the game and took over momentum in the third quarter when quarterback Andrew Buckley got the passing game going for a pair of TDs and a brief 14-12 lead. But Laval's running game took over the rest of the way, eating up the clock with long drives.
"For a while, things were going good, but there was no way we were able to compete on the line of scrimmage," said Dinos coach Blake Nill. "To be honest, we made two big plays.
"We had a screen play to (Mercer) Timmis and a long pass to (Rashaun) Simonise, and we were able to put the ball in the end zone twice. But at the end, we just couldn't stop the run. We tried putting bigger people in and to make adjustments, but we just flat out couldn't stop them."
Buckley went 19-for-29 for 247 yards and also rushed for 82 yards, but there was little else to the Calgary attack besides Harty's nine catches for 112 yards. Laval's top-ranked rush defence held Timmis to 33 yards on 12 carries.
The Rouge et Or dominated territorially, but ran into a bend-but-don't-break Calgary defence that kept the visitors in the game until the final quarter. Skinner was 8-for-21 for only 93 yards.
The Dinos got through the first half down only 6-0 thanks partly to some bad Laval penalties and place kicking. A 42-yard TD run by Maxime Boutin and an 80-yard punt return by Guillaume Rioux were called back for holding.
"We let them in the game," said Laval coach Glen Constantin, who got a seventh Vanier Cup title to go with one loss — an overtime setback to McMaster in 2011 in Vancouver. "We had our opportunities in the first quarter.
"There were 14 points called back and we knew that if those guys kept close we'd be in difficulty. But our kids showed a lot of grit. They just took over. They're proud guys."
The Rouge et Or moved to the Calgary 23 on the opening drive, but Bede missed right on a 30-yard field goal attempt and settled for a single. A 37-yard attempt with the wind to open the second quarter hit an upright and fell for no points.
Bede finally made one from 40 yards midway through the second quarter, but Constantin took the points off the board due to a roughing the kicker call. Three plays later, Bede was good again from 19 yards.
The Dinos conceded a safety with 2:18 left in the half.
Lochard, the game MVP, carried on seven consecutive plays to the Calgary three to open the second half and Bede was good from 10 yards.
The Dinos bounced back, as Buckley hit Simonise with a 42-yard pass to help set up Harty's six-yard TD run around the right side at 7:59 to cut Laval's lead to two points.
Laval blocked a punt to set up a 16-yard Bede boot, but the Dinos marched back on a 39-yard screen pass to Timmis to set up Buckley's six-yard TD toss to Dopko. Laval answered with Bede's fourth field goal of the day.
Skinner kept the ball on the ground all the way as Laval marched 89 yards on seven plays for Lochard's eight-yard TD run at 9:12.
Constantin did not look pleased as his players doused him in Gatorade with time still on the clock, but another drive that ended with Bede's fifth field goal of the game from 12 yards clinched it in the final minute.
Despite the loss, Nill saw the Vanier Cup as prime experience for a young team.
"That's the nature of the beast — we're not mature enough yet to compete here when it counts," he sad. "This will be a huge experience for them.
"But like I told the kids: that's the fifth time I've ended up No. 2 and I can't deal with that. If you want to be No. 1, you've got to beat these guys (Laval). We were doing it on their home turf and I thought our guys did very well."

Saskatchewan Roughriders: 2013 Grey Cup Champions



REGINA - There is jubilation in the Rider Nation.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders won the fourth Grey Cup championship in franchise history on Sunday, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 before a sellout crowd of 44,710 at Mosaic Stadium.
The victory was the third straight by a home team in the Grey Cup, following the B.C. Lions (2011) and Toronto Argonauts (2012).
Saskatchewan also made history by winning for the first time at home, in the third Grey Cup game played in Regina. In the previous two Regina-based Grey Cups, the winning teams were the Baltimore Stallions (1995) and Edmonton Eskimos (2003).
Tailback Kory Sheets powered the Roughriders to victory, rushing for 197 yards on 20 carries to earn Grey Cup MVP honours. The game’s outstanding Canadian was Roughriders slotback Chris Getzlaf. Both awards choices were unanimous.
The Roughriders led 31-6 at halftime, setting a Grey Cup record for the most points over the first 30 minutes. 
Saskatchewan’s 25-point lead was the second-largest by a team at halftime in Grey Cup history. Hamilton set the record in 1986, when it led the Eskimos 29-0 at halftime.
The Roughriders scored four first-half touchdowns, courtesy of 15- and 42-yard scoring strikes from Darian Durant to Geroy Simon, along with short runs by Sheets and Jock Sanders. The Riders also got a 20-yard field goal by Chris Milo.
The Tiger-Cats’ Luca Congi had field goals of 45 and 24 yards in the first half.
Hamilton quarterback Henry Burris scored the only touchdown of the third quarter, running 18 yards for a major. The Tiger-Cats trailed 31-13 at three-quarter time. Congi’s 33-yard field goal on the first play of the first quarter made it 31-16.
The Riders’ offence eventually got rolling again, when Sheets punctuated an 82-yard drive with his second major of the game. Milo’s convert put the Riders ahead 38-16 with 5:02 remaining.
The Roughriders promptly recovered a fumble, whereupon Durant threw his third touchdown pass of the day – a 26-yarder to Weston Dressler.
Hamilton responded with a two-yard touchdown run by C.J. Gable, who scored with 1:56 remaining and the outcome no longer in doubt.
The Roughriders had previously won Grey Cups in 1966, 1989 and 2007. Kent Austin, the Tiger-Cats’ current head coach, was the winning starting quarterback in 1989 and the victorious head coach in 2007.


BoBA 2013 ISML Predictions: Bonus Exhibition, Day 4

ARENA 01: [Gilgamesh] Orihara Izaya by >=500
Over/Under: 11000
Over

ARENA 02: [Yagami Light] Uchiha Itachi by >=500
Over/Under: 11000
Over

ARENA 03: [Kyon] Itsuka Shidō by >=500
Over/Under: 11000
Over

ARENA 04: [Edward Elric] Nanase Haruka by >=500
Over/Under: 11000
Over

ARENA 05: L Lawliet [Sakata Gintoki] by >=500
Over/Under: 11000
Over

ARENA 06: Sakamaki Izayoi [Takasu Ryūji] by >=500
Over/Under: 11000
Over

ARENA 07: Levi [Heiwajima Shizuo] by >=500
Over/Under: 11000
Over

ARENA 08: Usui Takumi [Accelerator] by >=500
Over/Under: 11000
Over

ARENA 09: [Patchouli Knowledge] Alice Margatroid by >=500
Over/Under: 12000
Over

ARENA 10: Hinanawi Tenshi [Flandre Scarlet] by >=500
Over/Under: 12000
Over

ARENA 11: [Fujiwara no Mokō] Konpaku Yōmu by >=500
Over/Under: 12000
Over

ARENA 12: [Yakumo Yukari] Ibaraki Kasen by >=500
Over/Under: 12000
Over

ARENA 13: Akatsuki [Fino Bloodstone] Koto by >=500
Over/Under: 15000
Under

ARENA 14: [Nase Mitsuki] Rachel Alucard Mankanshoku Mako by >=500
Over/Under: 15000
Under

ARENA 15: Naruse Ibara [Matsumae Ohana] Tōma Kazusa by >=500
Over/Under: 15000
Under

ARENA 16: [Miyauchi Renge] Charlotte Belew Celia Cumani Aintree by >=500
Over/Under: 15000
Under

2channel Anime Saimoe 2013: Will the Madoka Hype die down?


2channel Anime Saimoe 2013: Will the Madoka Hype die down?
No expectations set for Homura Akemi to become a major contender next year

By Jo-Ryan Salazar
November 24, 2013

Saimoe Prime Minister-elect Madoka Kaname returned home to her family on Sunday afternoon to celebrate her win over Sayaka Miki in the General Election for the coveted office on Saturday. The position is a ceremonial one, which involves participating in a series of functions involving other moekkos and top government officials and is flexible to allow other events to take place, such as classes and other occasions. Kaname defeated Miki 277-191 in a match that saw one of the lowest turnouts ever seen in an election.

The only member of the Puella Magi Holy Quintet failing to qualify for the finals in Homura Akemi, who has a following in her own right but will be severely weakened due to the success of Kaname, Miki, Mami Tomoe and Kyouko Sakura. In fact, Akemi does not see herself as a major player to succeed Kaname.

"I'm already a Stella candidate in the International Saimoe League and I am the strongest of all the Puella Magi Party there," Akemi said. "I feel I have a better chance at performing well next year in the ISML than the 2channel Anime Saimoe Tournament, so this tournament that just finished is not my highest priority.

"Don't get me wrong; in fact, I love this tournament and I want to do well next year. However, some voters may not have been impressed with how I handled the situation with Madoka weeks ago, and it was chronicled by many people here.

"I have bigger issues to worry about, and I am pretty well aware of them. The good thing is that my intervention is not necessary at this point. This way, I can focus on qualifying for ISML next year and see if I can improve on my results.

"If you were to ask me the future of this tournament, it needs to continue, but it must be restructured to allow for better security of voting and the rules must be set in stone before the process begins. Anything changed in the middle of the tournament will compromise its credibility beyond repair.

"I think the event organizers need to absorb the blow and start preparing the process for next year's Anime Saimoe Tournament. The Saimoe movement cannot end with this year's race. Also, they must open voting to foreigners once again. This way, the races can become more competitive and exciting.

"It's something that is possible and reasonable. But the event organizers must put it to work. They must put the wheels in motion."

As for the International Saimoe League, a special exhibition tournament is taking place from Nov. 17 through Dec. 12. Keep it here with the Bedlam on Baltic Avenue for continuing coverage of the International Saimoe League and the 2channel Anime Saimoe Tournament.