SUNDAY SPORTS

CFL: Rivalry Weekend in the Canadian Football League continues on Sunday as the 6-2 Saskatchewan Roughriders host the 6-3 Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Labour Day Classic XLVIII.  The Riders have won nine straight LDC’s and are 31-16 all-time on this weekend.

The Roughriders have activated slotback Weston Dressler for the clash, four days after signing him to a free agent deal.  Darian Durant will start at quarterback for Saskatchewan.

Kickoff is 2:00 on TSN and the CKRM Rider Radio Network.

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL:  Second-ranked Alabama and No. 5 Ohio State were able to win their season openers while unveiling their new quarterbacks.

Blake Sims performed well in the Crimson Tide’s 33-23 win against West Virginia, completing 24 of his 33 passes for 250 yards and rushing for 42 yards. Sims was able to find Amari Cooper 12 times for 130 yards, while T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry combined to run for 239 yards and three touchdowns.

Alabama’s defence surrendered 365 passing yards but held the Mountaineers to 28 yards on 24 carries.

J.T. Barrett threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns as the Buckeyes picked up their 25th consecutive regular-season win, beating Navy 34-17 in Baltimore. Barrett ran for 50 yards and completed 12 of his 15 passes, including an 80-yard TD toss to Devin Smith.

Darron Lee returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

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NFL: The St. Louis Rams have cut Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team.

The Rams selected the SEC co-defensive player of the year at Missouri with the 249th overall pick out of 256 overall during May’s draft. Sam came out as gay following his final season at Missouri.

The defensive end played well in spurts during preseason but couldn’t make a team stocked with pass-rushers.

Meanwhile San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith has apologized to the organization and its fans after receiving a nine-game suspension from the NFL for a series of off-field legal issues.

Smith has issued a statement saying he has learned a lot and is working hard to grow from his experiences.

Smith missed five games last season to undergo treatment at an inpatient facility following his DUI arrest Sept. 20. In November, he pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a June 2012 party at his home.

Smith also was arrested April 13 at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly making a bomb threat. No charges were filed.

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MLB:  Baltimore padded its A-L East lead and did some post-season prep as well. The Orioles have an eight-game advantage atop the division after a 3-2 win over Minnesota. The O’s also made a pair of trades for Boston infielder Kelly Johnson and Chicago White Sox outfielder Alejandro De Aza.

Jake Peavy took a no-hitter into the eighth inning as San Francisco beat Milwaukee 3-1. Mark Reynolds ended the no-no bid in the eighth. Elsewhere in baseball, the Blue Jays shut out the New York Yankees 2-0. And the L-A Angels won their fifth straight 2-0 against rival Oakland. L-A is now four games ahead of the A’s in the competitive A-L West.

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U.S. OPEN:  Canada’s best tennis players are both into the fourth round of the U-S Open. Milos Raonic needed three tiebreak sets to get past Victor Estrella Burgos on the men’s side. Eugenie (yo Bouchard meanwhile defeated Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in women’s play.

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PGA:  Ryan Palmer and Jason Day are co-leaders at the midway point of the PGA’s Deutsche Bank Championship near Boston.

Palmer followed Friday’s 8-under 63 with an even-par 71 to stay atop the leaderboard. Day had a chance to take the outright lead until he bogeyed his final hole for a 3-under 68.

Matt Kuchar and Billy Horschel are one stroke back and one ahead of five others.

(The Associated Press)