Saturday November 15, 2008
SPORTS FRONT PAGE 
Alouettes the East's last great hope
The Grey Cup countdown clock, which has been in downtown Montreal for Alouettes players to walk and drive past for months, is now down to single digits.And if the stakes are high for the home team, which plays the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL's East final for the right to advance to next Sunday's finale, there are also some tense expressions at the league's Toronto headquarters.
OUTSIDE THE BOX
Almost from the get-go, he felt lost.A first-round draft pick, fifth overall, of the Colorado Rockies in 1978, Mike Gillis injured a knee in his first training camp, had surgery, and didn't feel healthy for three years. ''I fought, really, to hang on,'' he said. ''There wasn't anywhere, really, where you could go to get help.''
HOCKEY
Wellwood loses the fat and finds the net
Toronto Maple Leafs centre Matt Stajan goes back a long way with Kyle Wellwood.The two were teammates with the OHL's Belleville Bulls in 2001-02, again with Canada's entry in the 2003 world junior hockey championships, and with the Maple Leafs and their farm team in St. John's.
Burke gets permission to start talking
If the Toronto Maple Leafs' ownership group already hasn't contacted the unemployed Brian Burke about its vacant president and general manager portfolio, the final stumbling block to do so was removed yesterday.
AROUND THE RINKS
BUFFALOED
Not a single NHL player enjoys reviewing the nightly highlights to find a player such as Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Mike Van Ryn get his head crunched into the end boards on a hit-from-behind.
BIEKSA SIDELINED
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa is expected to miss two weeks with a broken foot.Bieksa leads Canucks defenders in scoring with 11 points in 13 games and the team in average ice time with 24 minutes 38 seconds. He was hurt by a teammate's shot against the Nashville Predators on Nov. 4, but finished that game and played three more before the fracture was discovered on Thursday.
LIGHTNING: MELROSE FIRED, TOCCHET IN CHARGE
Barry Melrose's return to the NHL as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning lasted 16 games. Now, the job belongs to assistant Rick Tocchet.Melrose was fired yesterday less than five months after he left the television booth to coach a team that finished with the league's worst record last season.
Series champion Phillies increase price of tickets
The Philadelphia Phillies are raising ticket prices for next year after winning their first World Series title since 1980. Most tickets will increase by $2 or $3 in 2009 and top premium seats will cost $50, an increase of $6.
Emergency staff cleared in Russian player's death
Emergency medical personnel weren't at fault in the death of Russian player Alexei Cherepanov, a New York Rangers prospect, during a game near Moscow, officials from the Continental Hockey League said yesterday.
Pock suspended for five games
New York Islanders defenceman Thomas Pock was suspended for five games yesterday for elbowing Ottawa Senators forward Ryan Shannon the previous night. Shannon, who was making his Senators debut, had to be helped to the dressing room.
BASEBALL
Yankees ready pitch for Sabathia
Joe Girardi said this week he'd enjoy showing free agents around the new Yankee Stadium. CC Sabathia is one of the players the New York Yankees' manager has in mind for a tour of the spacious clubhouse, players' lounge, indoor batting cage and underground hot tub.
Yankees make pitch to Sabathia
Joe Girardi said this week he'd enjoy showing free agents around the new Yankee Stadium. CC Sabathia is one of the players the New York Yankees' manager has in mind for a tour of the spacious clubhouse, players lounge, indoor batting cage and underground hot tub.
COLUMNISTS
What's to blame for poor CFL playoff ratings?
In the wake of surprisingly poor CFL playoff audiences last week, the league will review its decision to air the games on Saturday, the league's commissioner Mark Cohon said on Thursday.
FOOTBALL
Buono puts his mind toward another Grey Cup appearance
Wally Buono was sitting at the head of a long table talking football earlier this week, when the discussion turns to the 2000 Grey Cup champion B.C. Lions and their powerful backfield of Robert Drummond and Sean Millington.
Four teams, two games, one goal
Of all the one-on-one battles that make up any Calgary Stampeders-B.C. Lions showdown, theirs has been the most one-sided: the receiver against the cornerback, with the pass-catcher winning every time.
Four teams, two games, one goal
Conventional wisdom suggests a good offence always has a healthy mix of both throwing and running the football.But don't tell that to the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos, who will clash today in the CFL's East Division final at Olympic Stadium.
Patriots' stadium laying off staff
Gillette Stadium, the home of the New England Patriots, will lay off about 5 per cent of its staff because of a drop-off in bookings.
All-star safety Lynch ready to retire
John Lynch, a nine-time Pro Bowler with the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will announce his retirement in Tampa on Monday.
Coaches, teams very similar
Greg Marshall and Steve Sumarah will be on opposite sides tomorrow, but the two Canadian university football coaches have plenty in common.Marshall, of Western Ontario, and Sumarah, of Saint Mary's, are both former offensive co-ordinators of the teams they'll be leading in tomorrow afternoon's Mitchell Bowl.
BASKETBALL
Raptors in a quandary, to a point
Heading into tomorrow's game against the Miami Heat, the main question for the Toronto Raptors is whether starting point guard Jose Calderon will be able to play.Calderon, who tweaked his right hamstring in Wednesday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, spent yesterday's practice pedalling a stationary bike.
NBA: LOWERS BOOM ON PLAYERS INVOLVED IN DONNYBROOK
The NBA has suspended Steve Nash and Matt Barnes of the Phoenix Suns and Rafer Alston of Houston Rockets for their roles in a fight. Alston and Barnes were suspended for two games without pay and Nash for one.
OTHER SPORTS
Somebeachsomewhere on pace for $3-million in career winnings
Harness horses seldom are accorded the status of media stardom, but the final Canadian start for brilliant three-year-old Somebeachsomewhere tonight is getting the kind of treatment once reserved for a visiting dignitary - or a hockey star such as Wayne Gretzky or Sidney Crosby.
SPORTS ON TELEVISION THIS WEEKEND
(All times Eastern)TODAYBASKETBALL NBA, Golden State Warriors at LA Clippers, KTLA, 3:30 p.m. NBA, Indiana Pacers at Chicago Bulls, WGN, 8:30 p.m. NBA, New Orleans Hornets at Houston Rockets, RaptorsTV, 8:30 p.m.
SPEED SKATING: WORLD CUP
Clara Hughes of Winnipeg had a sixth-place finish in the women's 3,000-metre race at a World Cup speed-skating meet yesterday.Renate Groenewold of the Netherlands won the race in 4 minutes 4.85 seconds, beating out Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic (4:05.54) and fellow Dutch skater Diane Valkenburg (4:05.70). Hughes crossed the line in 4:07.37, while Kristina Groves of Ottawa was seventh in 4:07.76.
Canadians take early leads in Paris
Canadian figure skaters are overachieving again in this final full season before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.Yesterday, both Patrick Chan and Joannie Rochette defeated world champions in their short program events at the Eric Bompard Trophy, a Grand Prix series event in Paris.
RUGBY: WALES 34, CANADA 13
Wales needed two consecutive penalty tries to free itself from a feisty Canada as it laboured to win their rugby international 34-13 at Millennium Stadium yesterday.The first of teenaged winger Leigh Halfpenny's two tries regained Wales the lead just before halftime, but it led only 13-6 until the start of the last quarter, when the powerful Welsh scrum was collapsed twice in 10 minutes by the Canadians on their own try line, and referee Stu Dickinson didn't hesitate to award penalty tries.
IT'S BEEN A GOOD WEEK FOR...IT'S BEEN A BAD WEEK FOR...
IT'S BEEN A GOOD WEEK FOR...ADRIAN PETERSONHis father nicknamed him AD growing up because of his boundless energy and ability to keep running all day. He showed on Sunday he hasn't changed much since then, churning out 192 yards to lead the Vikings to a 28-27 win over the rival Packers in the NFL's most closely contested rivalry. And after becoming the first NFL runner over 1,000 yards for the season in the process, Peterson is starting to draw comparisons with Bears great Walter Payton. Sweetness indeed.
Stanford breaks free of logjam at top
American Angela Stanford shot six-under 66 to vault past first-round co-leader and former world No. 1 Anika Sorenstam after the second round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational yesterday in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Els, Dyson share lead in Singapore
Ernie Els of South Africa and Simon Dyson of England shared a two-stroke lead at the Singapore Open yesterday, with play delayed for a second day because of rain.
Federer falls to Murray
Andy Murray has ousted defending champion Roger Federer from the Masters Cup, rallying for a 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 victory yesterday. Federer appeared to be bothered in the third set by his sore back.
Ballesteros improving, may go home next week
Seve Ballesteros is improving after brain surgery on a malignant tumor and is likely to be released from hospital next week.
Third death reported after New York race
New York City Marathon officials say a 41-year-old man who collapsed during the race died on Thursday. This is the third death connected to the marathon, which was run on Nov. 2.
Fans hijack buses in bid to reach game
Fans of an Argentine team were so desperate to get to a game on time that they hijacked two buses and forced the drivers at knifepoint to go faster. Sixty-three men and three women were arrested and charged on Thursday. They never made it to the game.
Tour de Georgia cancels 2009 race
The Tour de Georgia cancelled its 2009 race because of financial struggles, yet plans to return in 2010. The seven-day race, billed as North America's premier professional cycling event, could not find a title sponsor the past two years.
NASCAR implements cost-saving measure
NASCAR has suspended all testing at its sanctioned tracks next season in a cost-cutting measure that should help teams save several millions in their 2009 budgets.
