Saturday Sports: Argos Down Stampeders, Berries & Dawgs Advance

CFL

• Again when the Toronto Argonauts needed a spark, Janarion Grant delivered. Grant and DaShaun Amos scored key second-half touchdowns to lead Toronto past Calgary 39-25 on Friday night in the CFL. The Argos erased a 15-7 halftime deficit at BMO Field by outscoring the Stampeders 32-10 in the second half. Five nights earlier, Calgary outscored Toronto 21-0 in the fourth quarter for a 27-23 home victory.Grant’s electrifying 86-yard punt return TD at 6:35 of the third quarter put Toronto ahead 16-15 before Nick Arbuckle found David Ungerer III for the two-point convert.

  Calgary (4-5) fell to 0-5 on the road and has just one win in its last 11 games away from McMahon Stadium. The Stampeders haven’t recorded a back-to-back sweep of Toronto since ’08.

  Toronto heads on a bye week before hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-3-1) on Aug. 22. And they could have a familiar face back by then.

  On May 7, the CFL suspended quarterback Chad Kelly for Toronto’s two exhibition games and at least its first nine regular-season contests for violating its gender-based violence policy. It followed an independent investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both Kelly and the club.

  Kelly, the league’s outstanding player last season, had to undergo confidential assessments by an independent expert and attend mandatory counselling sessions conducted by a gender-based violence expert. Both must be completed to the satisfaction of the CFL, which could reinstate Kelly but also modify the discipline.

  “I don’t know,” Dinwiddie said regarding Kelly’s situation. “Once I get some clarity I’d love to talk about it with (media).”

• The Montreal Alouettes will again look to quarterback Davis Alexander to lead the team to a home win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday. Montreal will host the Ticats today after beating Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field 33-16 last week. Alexander, who threw for one touchdown, one interception and 262 yards, will start again as Cody Fajardo remains on the injured list.

MLB

Vladimir Guerrero extended his hit streak to 21 games on Friday as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1 at Rogers Centre. Guerrero singled twice in the game but was more prominent on the defensive side after making a running catch on a foul ball in the sixth inning. Guerrero crashed into the netting and the first row of the seats in making the catch that ended Oakland’s inning with the score tied at the time.

WCBL

Saskatoon 6 Medicine Hat 2 (Berries win series 2-1)
Okotoks 4 Lethbridge 3 (Dawgs win series 2-1)
Division Finals: Moose Jaw vs Saskatoon, Sylvan Lake vs Okotoks

OLYMPICS

• Canada will look to add to its 24 medals as the Paris Games enter its final 48 hours of competition. Team Canada currently has the same amount of medals as the country won in Tokyo in 2021, a record for non-boycotted Olympics. Among the medal hopefuls today will be Edmonton’s Marco Arop, who will race for gold in the men’s 800-metre final in track-and-field.
• Other Canadian athletes will also try to reach the podium on the track on Saturday. Repentigny, Quebec’s Thomas Fafard will run in the men’s 5,000-metre final, and the Canadian women’s 4-by-400-metre relay team will also try to medal in its event final.
• The gold medal will be handed out today in men’s basketball at the Paris Olympics, with the heavily favoured U-S team replete with NBA stars set to take on host France for the title. France, which defeated Canada in the quarterfinals, is led by San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama while the U-S roster includes all-time NBA greats such as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.
  

CEBL

• The top-seeded Niagara River Lions escaped with a 78-75 win over the host Montreal Alliance on Friday in the East Final at Verdun Auditorium thanks, once again, to Khalil Ahmad, the two-time Clutch Player of the Year who drained two straight three-pointers to seal the victory. The River Lions now advance to Sunday’s Championship Final.
• Meanwhile Mitch Creek’s 27-point performance helped the Vancouver Bandits stave off a late Calgary Surge rally on Friday for an 89-87 win at Verdun Auditorium. The import forward set a franchise single-game playoff scoring record with the game-high performance as he helped the Bandits advance to their second-ever Championship Final appearance.

NFL

• MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Atlanta rookie Michael Penix Jr. completed 9 of 16 passes for 104 yards in the Falcons’ 20-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Friday night in the preseason opener for both teams. Penix, the former Washington star drafted eighth overall, started and played the first five drives. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and receiver Tyreek Hill were among the veterans who weren’t in uniform for Miami. Canadian QB Nathan Rourke was 3/13 for 37 yards for the Falcons.
• BALTIMORE (AP) — Jake Elliott made a 49-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Philadelphia Eagles a 16-13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Friday night. Elliott missed an extra point off the left upright in the first quarter, and his 50-yard kick hit the right upright with 16 seconds remaining in the game.
• PITTSBURGH (AP) — C.J. Stroud threw a touchdown pass to Tank Dell in his preseason debut to help the Houston Texans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-12 on Friday night. Held out of the Hall of Fame game last week against Chicago, Stroud completed 2 of 4 passes for 41 yards.

(Canadian Press)