Saturday Sports: Jones – “People Will Call Me Crazy…”

CFL

The Montreal Alouettes have picked up where they left off last season.

Walter Fletcher scored a pair of long touchdowns and the Alouettes continued to look solid to start their Grey Cup title defence, emerging with a 23-20 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Friday.

The Alouettes are now 2-0 to start the season, while the Elks dropped to 0-2.

Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo connected on 20 of his 30 pass attempts for 269 yards and two majors. David Cote kicked a 53-yard field goal for the Als.

Both of Edmonton’s losses were hard-fought, close affairs, leading head coach Chris Jones to believe they are about to turn a corner.

“People will call me crazy, but we can play with every single football team or beat every team in this league, it is just a matter of playing our A game,” he said. “We certainly have not done that.”

• More than 50-thousand people are expected to be in the stands Saturday night as the BC Lions host the Calgary Stampeders in their home opener. The game will feature a concert by rapper 50 Cent before kickoff. B-C is looking for its first win of the season, while Calgary is trying to start its campaign with a perfect 2-and-oh record. 

NBA

The Dallas Mavericks kept their season alive with a emphatic 122-84 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Mavs’ stars shone, with Luka Doncic scoring 25 of his 29 points in the first half and Kyrie Irving adding 21 points. The Celtics still lead the series 3-1, and Game 5 is in Boston on Monday.

CEBL

In round two of the CEBL’s Battle of Alberta, it was more of the same as the Edmonton Stingers (5-2) came away with a 91-84 win over the Calgary Surge (2-5) on Friday night.

After handing Calgary an 18-point loss in game one of the CEBL season, Edmonton’s follow-up victory might not have been as convincing – nearly blowing a 20-point lead – but it got the job done in more ways than one. The victory not only snapped a two-game skid for the visiting Stingers, it also kept them a perfect 4-0 on the road.

MLB

Kevin Gausman says there’s mounting pressure on the Blue Jays’ starting pitchers as Toronto’s offence continues to sputter. Gausman struck out six over 5 1/3 innings, but allowed three runs on eight hits as Toronto fell 3-1 to the Cleveland Guardians. The right-hander says the pitchers almost have to be perfect when the Jays can’t score runs.

WCBL

Moose Jaw 12 Weyburn 6
Regina 9 Medicine Hat 2
Saskatoon 3 Swift Current 2
Brooks 25 Fort McMurray 11
Okotoks 22 Edmonton 1
Sylvan Lake 14 Lethbridge 4

NHL

The Stanley Cup will be in the building tonight when the Florida Panthers face the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the championship final. Florida is up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series and would capture its first title in franchise history with a win. Edmonton winger Zach Hyman says the Oilers still have an unwavering belief because the team never gives up.

(Canadian Press, CEBL Comms)