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Sunday, August 30, 2015

{allcanada} Hathaway Finally Scores Road-Course Win

 

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario -- Jason Hathaway has raced in every event in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 history. He's been a race winner and a championship contender.

After Sunday's race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, he can add highlight to his résumé: Road-course winner.

Hathaway, a self-professed "oval guy" held off road-course aces L.P. Dumoulin and Jeff Lapcevich following a late-race restart to win the Pinty's presents the Clarington 200.

More importantly, the moved the 38-year-old from St. Thomas, Ontario, to second in the championship standings heading into the season finale at Kawartha Speedway on Sept. 19. He is nine points behind Scott Steckly, who finished seventh, and has the same points total as Andrew Ranger. Ranger won the pole position and led the most laps (15) before tire issues dropped him to sixth.

D.J. Kennington finished fourth  and J.F. Dumoulin fifth.

Hathaway's weekend started off with an up and down Saturday. His crew had to change an engine prior to qualifying, but he added a sponsor when Muskoka Aviation Centre in Gravenhurst, Ontario, joined his team for Sunday's race.

Hathaway's No. 3 Muskoka Aircraft Center/HGC Chevrolet took the lead from Dumoulin with three laps to go following the race's final restart. Dumoulin had gone to the front on Lap 42 after Lapcevich and Alex Tagliani, who led 12 laps, had tangled for the lead.

Following Ranger and Steckly, Tagliani, rookie Cayden Lapcevich and Kerry Micks rounded out the top 10.

After the race, Jeff Lapcevich, who had finished second in the four of the last six races at CTMP, announced Sunday's event was his final with the series as he will turn his attention his son Cayden's race career.

The Pinty's presents the Clarington 200 had seven lead changes among seven different drivers.

The 2015 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will conclude the season Sept. 19 with the Pinty's 200 at Kawartha.

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{allcanada} Blue Jays complete sweep of Tigers

 

TORONTO - When Mark Buehrle won a World Series with the Chicago White Sox in 2005, he constantly felt like no matter the deficit they'd win the game. The 2015 Toronto Blue Jays are similar, only with a super-sized offence.

"Here, shoot, if we don't score eight runs, we had a bad day," Buehrle said after a 9-2 win against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre. "We're confident. We're coming to the field every day thinking we're going to win."

The Blue Jays have reason to feel that way. After sweeping the Tigers, they're 21-5 in August and lead the American League East by 1 1/2 games over the New York Yankees.

On Sunday, Toronto provided everything that has become commonplace since a flurry of pre-trade-deadline moves: an offensive onslaught, strong pitching and reliable defence in front of a sellout crowd. Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar each hit a two-run home run, Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion each had a solo shot, and the Blue Jays added to their major-league best run production.

"If this isn't the feel of a championship team, I don't know what is," Martin said. "I feel like we're great offensively, we're great on defence, we're pitching great, our bullpen has depth. I like what we have going right now."

It's hard not to like what the Blue Jays have going. They've been dominant in the month since acquiring shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, ace David Price, outfielder Ben Revere and relievers La Troy Hawkins and Mark Lowe. Confidence is at an all-time high, something manager John Gibbons credits those trades for.

"With the trades: Tulowitzki, Price, Hawkins, Lowe, Revere, (infielder Cliff) Pennington, we just took off after they happened," Gibbons said. "I don't know how it could but the addition of those guys that has pushed us to this point. It gave everybody a shot in the arm."

While Tulowitzki has struggled at the plate, his defence remains a major upgrade over Jose Reyes. Tulowitzki doubled Sunday after Gibbons moved him down from the leadoff spot to fifth in the order. Revere went 0 for 4 with a walk in the No. 1 hole, but that didn't stunt the Blue Jays' production at all.

In a lineup that has become a modern-day murderer's row, Encarnacion continued his torrid hitting by going 2 for 3 with his 30th home run of the season. He extended his hitting streak to 25 games and is three short of Shawn Green's franchise record set in 1999.

Encarnacion is hitting .409 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in that time. His first-inning home run gave him 35 RBIs in August, setting a Blue Jays record for any month, and he has an extra-base hit in eight straight games.

Pitching with a lead almost all afternoon, Buehrle (14-6) cruised through six-plus innings, allowing one earned run on five hits. The lefty didn't feel well but gutted through another solid start.

"It's getting that time of year, and I battle through every start I go out there," Buehrle said. "I'm still going out there trying to give us a chance to win. We're still scoring runs. When these guys are out there scoring that many runs, it makes it a lot easier."

The Blue Jays have scored 718 runs, the most in the majors.

Almost a month ago Buehrle said the Blue Jays felt like, "Whose butt are we gonna kick today?" That hasn't changed.

"It still feels the same way," he said. "These guys are swinging the bat right now and scoring runs. It just seems like everything we're doing, we're doing right."

After his team was out-scored 29-6, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, like many others, was impressed by the Blue Jays' power.

"We ran into the best offensive team in the league," Ausmus said. "They can put up runs in a hurry."

Notes — With a two-run double in the eighth, second baseman Ryan Goins extended his hitting streak to 10 games. ... The Blue Jays play host to the Cleveland Indians beginning Monday. ... Tigers starter Alfredo Simon (11-9) gave up six earned runs on six hits, including all four home runs. ... The Blue Jays wore Maple Leaf red caps in honour of Canadian baseball day.

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{allcanada} Impact fire head coach Klopas after TFC loss

 

MONTREAL - The Montreal Impact fired head coach Frank Klopas early Sunday morning.

Assistant coach Mauro Biello will take over on an interim basis.

Biello, 43, is in his sixth year on the Impact coaching staff. He joined Montreal in 2009 after a 19-year professional playing career, including 16 years in an Impact uniform.

The move comes hours after Montreal fell 2-1 to Toronto FC — its third loss of the week and fourth straight defeat in league games.

Montreal (8-11-5) has picked up just 11 points out of a possible 33 in its last 11 outings — a 3-6-2 stretch that started with a 3-1 loss in Toronto on June 24.

The Impact are one point out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings with 11 games left in the regular season.

Klopas was in his second season as Montreal's head coach after joining the team in December 2013.

Under his guidance, the Impact won the Amway Canadian Championship last year and finished second this season after falling to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday.

Montreal had lots of hype surrounding the team after signing former Chelsea star Didier Drogba following a trade with the Chicago Fire in late July.

Drogba (toe) along with Ignacio Piatti (calf) missed the Impacts' game in Toronto on Saturday.

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{allcanada} Johnson scores three TD's, Redblacks keep Roughriders winless

 

OTTAWA - Jerimiah Johnson scored three rushing touchdowns as the Ottawa Redblacks downed the Saskatchewan Roughriders 35-13 on Sunday.

The Roughriders, who had their second lowest point total in a game this season, fell to 0-9. They scored just five points in a 35-5 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos on July 31.

After a tight first half that had the Redblacks (5-4) in front 14-10, the game took a huge turn in favour of the Redblacks over a span of three minutes and 44 seconds from the end of the third quarter and into the fourth.

The Redblacks scored 21 points over that time to take a 35-10 lead and control of the game.

It started with 3:09 to play in the third quarter when Johnson scored a one-yard touchdown run that once converted by Chris Milo, gave the Redblacks a 21-10 lead.

On the ensuing series, the Redblacks recovered a Saskatchewan fumble and Johnson scampered in from 36 yards out on the next play for another score and a 28-10 lead.

Another Riders' fumble late in the third quarter was converted into points on a one-yard run from Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris 35 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Milo then converted his fifth touchdown of the day and the Redblacks were cruising with a 35-10 lead.

Paul McCallum kicked a 28-yard field goal with less than seven minutes to play, cutting the Saskatchewan deficit to 35-13.

The Redblacks scored on their opening two drives to take a 14-0 lead while allowing the Riders to just five offensive plays over their first two series.

Ottawa covered 89 yards in five plays on the opening drive of the game that ended with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Burris to Maurice Price. The conversion by Milo gave the Redblacks a 7-0 lead.

After forcing the Roughriders into a two-and-out situation, the Redblacks moved the ball 78 yards in just under three minutes and took a 14-0 lead on a seven-yard touchdown run from Johnson.

The rest of the half featured only punts for the Redblacks as the Roughriders possessed the only offensive punch before the break.

They got punt singles of 48 and 70 yards from Ray Early and a nine-yard touchdown pass from Brett Smith to Naaman Roosevelt. Smith then carries the ball in himself on the two-point conversion to complete the eight-point scoring drive.

The Redblacks head into their second and final bye week of the season while the Roughriders host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Sept. 6.

OTTAWA - Jerimiah Johnson scored three rushing touchdowns as the Ottawa Redblacks downed the Saskatchewan Roughriders 35-13 on Sunday.

The Roughriders, who had their second lowest point total in a game this season, fell to 0-9. They scored just five points in a 35-5 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos on July 31.

After a tight first half that had the Redblacks (5-4) in front 14-10, the game took a huge turn in favour of the Redblacks over a span of three minutes and 44 seconds from the end of the third quarter and into the fourth.

The Redblacks scored 21 points over that time to take a 35-10 lead and control of the game.

It started with 3:09 to play in the third quarter when Johnson scored a one-yard touchdown run that once converted by Chris Milo, gave the Redblacks a 21-10 lead.

On the ensuing series, the Redblacks recovered a Saskatchewan fumble and Johnson scampered in from 36 yards out on the next play for another score and a 28-10 lead.

Another Riders' fumble late in the third quarter was converted into points on a one-yard run from Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris 35 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Milo then converted his fifth touchdown of the day and the Redblacks were cruising with a 35-10 lead.

Paul McCallum kicked a 28-yard field goal with less than seven minutes to play, cutting the Saskatchewan deficit to 35-13.

The Redblacks scored on their opening two drives to take a 14-0 lead while allowing the Riders to just five offensive plays over their first two series.

Ottawa covered 89 yards in five plays on the opening drive of the game that ended with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Burris to Maurice Price. The conversion by Milo gave the Redblacks a 7-0 lead.

After forcing the Roughriders into a two-and-out situation, the Redblacks moved the ball 78 yards in just under three minutes and took a 14-0 lead on a seven-yard touchdown run from Johnson.

The rest of the half featured only punts for the Redblacks as the Roughriders possessed the only offensive punch before the break.

They got punt singles of 48 and 70 yards from Ray Early and a nine-yard touchdown pass from Brett Smith to Naaman Roosevelt. Smith then carries the ball in himself on the two-point conversion to complete the eight-point scoring drive.

The Redblacks head into their second and final bye week of the season while the Roughriders host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Sept. 6.

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{allcanada} Canada’s Drouin wins world gold in high jump

 

BEIJING — In the days leading up to the world track and field championships, Derek Drouin played the words over and over in his head, like a song on repeat: You can win this.

And when the competition got tense Sunday night, and seemingly the entire Bird's Nest stadium was pulling for Chinese hero Zhang Guowei, Drouin said them again.

The 25-year-old from Corunna, Ont., was true to his word, winning gold in high jump at the world championships with a quiet confidence that ran through virtually every member of this young and talented Canadian team.

"I definitely was telling myself that if there was ever an opportunity this was it. I really felt like I was the one to beat, I felt like this was my championship to lose based on how people had been jumping coming in versus the last couple of meets that I had," Drouin said.

"And when it finally happened, it was just a relief."

The medal was No. 8 for the Canadian team to cap a thrilling best-ever showing.

"We came here to kick ass," said Athletics Canada head coach Peter Eriksson. "We kicked ass."

Canada's previous best performance was five medals two years ago in Moscow, Russia. The Canadians had never won two gold — Canada's other one this week came from pole vaulter Shawn Barber. And the last time Canada won more medals in either a world championships or Olympics was at the 1932 Games, where the Canadians captured nine.

Drouin arrived in Beijing with the fifth-best jump in the world this year, and on the heels of a victory at the Pan American Games.

The edge-of-your-seat event was decided in a rare jumpoff. Drouin, Ukraine's Bohdan Bondarenko and China's Zhang Guowei all jumped clean up to 2.36 metres, at which all three of them missed.

The bar was lowered back to 2.34. Drouin was the only one to clear it, guaranteeing gold. Bondarenko and Zhang shared silver; there was no bronze medal awarded.

"In the jump-off, it was a terrible situation to be in, terribly stressful," Drouin said. "And obviously no-one's going for you. I maybe would have started a clap if I thought that people were going to jump on board. It's the advantage of home soil.

"I've always felt that the mental game has always been a strong aspect for me, and luckily in a jump-off that's basically all it comes down to, and I was able to use that to my advantage tonight."

Drouin, the bronze medallist at both the 2012 London Olympics and 2013 world championships, is known for his calm demeanour. All around him Sunday night was mayhem and a bit of madness.

Zhang played up to the raucous crowd, posing like a crane in "Karate Kid" after every successful jump. Colourful Italian Gianmarco Tamberi competed with a half-shorn face — he had a moustache and beard on just one half of his face.

When the 4×400-metre relays started, the jumpers had to hastily take their jumps between the runners on track.

Through it all, Drouin remained his calm, stoic self.

"Tell you what, he was the best jumper out there tonight, no question about it, it would have been a travesty if he had lost," said his coach Jeff Huntoon.

The victory comes after a frustrating season for the Canadian, who jumped a national-record 2.40 metres in April 2014. It appeared the sky was the limit. But try as he might, Drouin couldn't match that lofty height, and couldn't figure out why.

"I'm not so sure he wasn't ready to jump that again, but it was just the emotion of it, and the continuous questions of it. And then you get in your own head a little bit.

"For him, it was (frustrating). And that's a shame, isn't it? The sixth best jump in the history of the world (2.40), and he got a little frustrated. And you could see the emotions as the season went on, yeah, it got a little tough."

So the plan going into this season was to avoid peaking too early. Having to wait and wonder though tested Drouin's patience.

"I went about a month and a half without even clearing 2.30… trying to peak at the end of the season, and I got to the point where I just wanted the season to be done and forget about world championships," Drouin said.

"But luckily I was patient and things finally worked out and things clicked and when they clicked they really clicked. I felt like I was in a good place the last month or so coming into here."

Canada now heads into the Olympic year with numerous medal threats. The team had three silvers here, from Damian Warner in the decathlon, Brianne Theisen-Eaton in the heptathlon, and Melissa Bishop in the 800 metres. Canada had three bronze from Andre De Grasse in the 100 metres, the men's 4×100 relay, and Ben Thorne in the men's 20-kilometre race walk.

Also, Eriksson said that normally about 31 per cent of the team advances out of the preliminary round. This week saw 61 per cent move on.

What was obvious throughout the meet was a sense of quiet confidence, from star sprinter De Grasse to Warner to Bishop, to Canada's race walk squad, that pervaded this team. Every medallist talked about a belief in: why not me?

And during the wait for Drouin in the media mixed zone Sunday night, there were hugs and handshakes and the cracking open of celebratory beers between Canada's staff.

"That was one of the messages in the team meeting: stop being nice polite Canadians, that we're here to kick some ass," Eriksson said. "And they really kicked ass, and I think everybody really got the message."

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{allcanada} Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift set for MTV VMAs

 

The M in MTV will stand for Miley on Sunday night.

Miley Cyrus is set to host the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards — two years after she stole the show with a risque, but memorable performance with Robin Thicke, and a year after winning the top prize for "Wrecking Ball."

The 22-year-old will be in good company: Justin Bieber will perform his new single, "What Do You Mean," and Taylor Swift, the leader with 10 nominations, will attend the show. Nicki Minaj will open the show at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles — just like she did last year.

Kanye West will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for his illustrious video career, and Pharrell, the Weeknd, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Demi Lovato will hit the stage during the two-hour show, which kicks off at 8 p.m. EST.

Presenters include Britney Spears, Rebel Wilson, Kylie Jenner, John Legend, Ice Cube and his son, O'Shea Jackson, Jr., one of the stars of "Straight Outta Compton." Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Nick Jonas and Fifth Harmony will attend the show.

Swift will debut her music video for her next single, "Wildest Dreams," during the VMA pre-show. Her hit songs "Bad Blood" and "Blank Space" earned her a whopping 10 nominations, including video of the year, best female video, pop video, song of summer and more.

"Bad Blood" will compete with Beyonce's "7/11," Kendrick Lamar's "Alright," Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" and Ronson's "Uptown Funk" for video of the year.

Minaj, who had one of the most viewed videos of the year with "Anaconda," is not up for the top prize, and she expressed her anger with the snub when the nominees were announced in July. She tweeted that slim women easily earn top nominations and later said black female entertainers don't get enough credit for their influence on pop culture. Swift thought the rapper was referring to her and they traded words online. Swift later apologized.

Minaj is nominated for three awards, including best female video and hip-hop video for "Anaconda." Beyonce, Sia and Ellie Goulding will battle Minaj and Swift for best female video.

Best male video nominees include the Weeknd, Lamar, Sheeran, Ronson and Jonas.

A$AP Rocky, Tori Kelly and Twenty One Pilots will also perform during the live show.

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Saturday, August 29, 2015

{allcanada} Truck Qualifying: Chevrolet Silverado 250

 
POS. Car # Driver Manufacturer Sponsor Best Speed Best Time Behind
1 29 Alex Tagliani Cooper Standard 110.539 80.084 Leader
2 4 Erik Jones Toyota 110.492 80.118 --0.034
3 88 Matt Crafton Ideal Door/Menards 110.113 80.394 --0.310
4 19 Tyler Reddick Broken Bow Music Group 110.002 80.475 --0.391
5 00 Cole Custer Haas Automation 109.777 80.640 --0.556
6 11 Ben Kennedy Local Motors 109.728 80.676 --0.592
7 13 Cameron Hayley Cabinets by Hayley/The Carolina Nut Co. 109.616 80.758 --0.674
8 54 Gray Gaulding Krispy Kreme 109.486 80.854 --0.770
9 98 Johnny Sauter Nextant/Curb Records 109.213 81.056 --0.972
10 17 Timothy Peters Red Horse Racing/Gaunt Collision Centres 109.099 81.141 --1.057
11 33 Brandon Jones Exide/EMCO Corporation 108.467 81.614 --1.530
12 8 John Hunter Nemechek TBD 108.463 81.617 --1.533
13 14 Daniel Hemric California Clean Power 108.844 81.331 --1.247
14 23 Spencer Gallagher Allegiant Travel 108.820 81.349 --1.265
15 51 Matt Tifft Rally for Kids With Cancer 108.428 81.643 --1.559
16 02 Tyler Young Randco Industries/Young's Building Systems 108.030 81.944 --1.860
17 15 Mason Mingus Call 811 Before You Dig 107.031 82.709 --2.625
18 94 T.J. Bell Testoril/ChampionMachinery.com 106.485 83.133 --3.049
19 25 Brian Wong Momofuku/GT Channel 106.455 83.156 --3.072
20 05 John Wes Townley Zaxby's 105.899 83.593 --3.509
21 63 Daniel Brown Brown & Geeson, Ltd./Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool 105.746 83.714 --3.630
22 53 Robert Mitten TBA 105.673 83.772 --3.688
23 07 Ray Black Jr ScubaLife.com 104.514 84.701 --4.617
24 74 Jordan Anderson Tri-Analytics/SRGFX.com 103.616 85.435 --5.351
25 08 Korbin Forrister Trump for President 101.711 87.035 --6.951
26 45 B J McLeod Tilted Kilt 101.431 87.275 --7.191
27 36 Justin Jennings Mittler Bros Machine & Tool / Ski Soda 100.621 87.978 --7.894
28 1 Travis Kvapil Burnie Grill 99.764 88.733 --8.649
29 6 Norm Benning Pottier Construction/Crossey Plumbing/Parkhill Excavating 96.980 91.281 --11.197
30 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Driven2Honor.org 90.405 97.919 --17.835
31 50 Ryan Ellis MAKE Motorsports 0.000 0.000 -80.084
32 44 Josh Reaume Obregon Construction LLC 0.000 0.000 -80.084

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{allcanada} Alex Tagliani wins pole at Canada

 
Wheeling the No. 29 BK Racing Ford at 110.539 mph in a second-lap attempt, road course veteran Alex Tagliani earned the Keystone Light Pole Award at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Saturday's two-round qualifying session. The Quebec native and road course veteran shattered the previous track record with a 80.084-second lap around the track.

This marks Tagliani's first
Camping World Truck Series start of 2015 and his second consecutive pole win in this event.

Tagliani's late run took the top spot away from
Erik Jones, who settled for second with a fastest lap of 110.492 mph in his No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

Reigning series champion
Matt Crafton (110.113 mph), BKR's Tyler Reddick (110.002 mph) and JR Motorsports' Cole Custer (109.777 mph) rounded out the top five.

Reddick led the first round, propelling his No. 19 Ford at 110.276 mph, while teammate Tagliani drafted with him.

Robert Mitten brought out the red flag in the first round of qualifying when he smacked the tire wall off Turn 8, leaving his No. 53 Dodge nearly vertical. Mitten climbed out unharmed and ultimately secured a 22nd-place starting position.

The NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series is back on track Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET for the Chevrolet Silverado 250 (FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM).

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{allcanada} Encarnacion hits three homers, Blue Jays rout Tigers

 

TORONTO - At first, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons thought "a couple idiots" were just throwing their hats onto the field, then he saw dozens more hit the turf. Teammates let Edwin Encarnacion know what was going on.

Hats rained down from all sections of Rogers Centre in the most Canadian way of celebrating Encarnacion's home run hat trick in the Blue Jays' 15-1 rout of the Detroit Tigers on Saturday afternoon. Encarnacion's not a big hockey fan, but he got an education in that sport's tradition after making history.

"(Catcher Dioner) Navarro told me after they throw all the hats to the field, he told me when they score three goals, I think, they do that," Encarnacion said. "It made me feel happy."

Starting pitcher Drew Hutchison said fans throwing their hats onto the field was one of the coolest things he has ever seen. Encarnacion posed with the bag of hats in the clubhouse afterward and said he might sign them and give them back to show his appreciation.

"I hadn't seen it before," Gibbons said. "Don't they normally throw octopuses or something?"

Encarnacion hit a three-run homer in the first inning, a two-run homer in the sixth and then a grand slam in the seventh, driving in a franchise-record-tying nine runs. The nine RBIs tied the record set by Roy Howell in 1977, the Blue Jays' first year of existence.

The righty slugger, who finished 3 for 5, was one base runner away from another at-bat and the opportunity to become the 17th player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game. Carlos Delgado did it here in 2003.

Encarnacion's 27th home run of the season extended his career-best hitting streak to 24 games and was more than enough offence by itself. Nos. 28 and 29 were gravy as the Blue Jays reached the 15-run plateau for the second time in eight days.

During the hitting streak, Encarnacion is batting .400 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs. It's the longest streak in the majors this season and four short of Shawn Green's franchise record of 28 set in 1999.

"He's some kind of locked in," Gibbons said. "When he gets it going, there's nobody better, nobody more dangerous. He's smoking right now."

When Encarnacion wasn't destroying Tigers (60-69) pitching, the rest of Toronto's lineup was. The Blue Jays' 18 hits were their second-most this season.

Toronto (73-56) improved its major-league-best run total to 709, 105 more than any other team. Saturday was the 21st time this season the Blue Jays scored more 10 or more runs in a game.

"To score as many runs as we've had and had the big, big innings like we've had at this level, it surprised the hell out of me, to be honest with you," Gibbons said. "It doesn't happen that often up here at this level, and we've done it so many times."

The victory put them 1 1/2 games up on the New York Yankees atop the American League East. The Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Saturday night.

Ben Revere had a team-high four hits and drove in a run, while American League MVP candidate Josh Donaldson drove in two as part of his three-hit day. Russell Martin hit a two-run home run, and Ryan Goins got in on the act with an RBI single.

On the mound, Hutchison (13-2) was masterful in his return to the starting rotation, allowing one run on six hits and striking out seven in seven innings.

The only run Hutchison gave up came after right-fielder Jose Bautista lost a fly ball in the sun. In his first major-league start since Aug. 16 and following a demotion to the minors, Hutchison tossed a gem to lower his earned-run average from 5.06 to 4.86.

"You can't go out there and try to make any game more important than another one," Hutchison said. "Obviously I wanted to make that start on the road. I wasn't given that opportunity. But I was given the ball today and I was able to show what I could do with it."

Notes — Goins stole his first career base in the fourth inning. The crowd of 46,444 was the Blue Jays' sixth straight sellout and 12th of the season. ... Tigers starter Buck Farmer (0-3) got the loss by allowing five earned runs in four innings.

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{allcanada} Toronto FC downs slumping Impact

 

TORONTO - The pressure continues to grow on Frank Klopas and the Montreal Impact. Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney, however, was able to breath a sign of relief Saturday.

Toronto defeated the slumping Impact 2-1 before a BMO Field sellout of 30,266 to bolster its playoff position in the crowded Eastern Conference.

Toronto (11-10-4) started the day in fourth, six points ahead of Montreal which was in the last playoff spot in sixth — with four teams breathing down its neck.

Toronto has outscored the opposition 7-1 in posting its first back-to-back victories since a three-game win streak ended June 20. That was a dozen games ago.

"A great three points," said Toronto captain Michael Bradley, who scored the opening goal in the 35th minute and was a driving force on the pitch. "In some ways I didn't think it was our best afternoon, just in terms of the sharpness and the performance, but you have to know how to win these kind of games."

Added Vanney: "In an important moment like this, where we needed the three points to separate ourselves from a group that is chasing us, they dug deep and they pulled out the three points in a critical moment. So I'm proud of them for that."

Jozy Altidore, with his third goal in two games off the bench, scored the winner in the 55th minute. Former Toronto striker Dominic Oduro, who could have had a hat trick on the day, collected a consolation goal for Montreal in the 74th minute.

The 11 wins tie a franchise record for Toronto, which went 11-15-8 last season. It has nine games left — including seven at home — in its bid for a first-ever playoff berth.

Toronto's 44 goals this season also ties a club record.

The statistics are all bad for the Impact. Winless in four league games, Montreal (8-11-5) has picked up just 11 points out of a possible 33 in its last 11 outings — a 3-6-2 stretch that started with a 3-1 loss in Toronto on June 24.

It was the third loss in a week for the travel-weary Impact, beaten midweek in Vancouver in the Amway Canadian Championship final.

"Every game becomes critical now," said Klopas.

Montreal, already without star striker Didier Drogba (toe) and playmaker Ignacio Piatti (calf), will have to play its next three games without Laurent Ciman.

The influential defender, who was one yellow card away from a suspension, was sent off in the 77th minute after receiving a second yellow. Combine that with his Belgium national team duty and he will miss the next three Impact games.

"Sorry for my match tonight. Not up to standard. I will work hard to get back to the top," Ciman tweeted in French.

Klopas tried to see positives.

"We went down a man and I still felt with 10 guys we were the better team," he said. "We pushed the game, we found a way to get one goal and we kept pushing. The team showed a lot of character. I was proud of the group."

Klopas was concerned coming into the game about where goals might come from. He was proved right when the Impact flubbed several early chances.

"Piatti's a guy definitely that we miss because he's another guy on the field who can score, but can also create. And he takes a lot of pressure off certain guys," he said. "And obviously when you have a guy like Didier, I mean he's a threat as long as he plays."

Toronto got the win despite having to take off midfielder Benoit Cheyrou (ankle) in the 33rd minute, fullback Daniel Lovitz (heel) at the half and Italian star Sebastian Giovinco (adductor) in the 51st minute.

None of the injuries was deemed serious with Vanney saying Giovinco still planned to join the Italian national team for a pair of Euro 2016 qualifying games. Giovinco had been feeling soreness earlier in the week.

Oduro almost dribbled into a prone Cheyrou when the Frenchman went down, prompting Toronto's Collen Warner to hack down the Impact forward to end the play. Warner was yellow-carded.

Saturday's game seemed to turn after Altidore came in for Cheyrou. Suddenly Montreal was being pulled in several directions and Toronto had more space to play with.

Toronto started in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Giovinco up top. The Italian star was well marshalled, with Montreal players bodying the five-foot-four 135-pounder whenever they could

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{allcanada} Canada wins 4×100 relay bronze after U.S. DQ’d

 

BEIJING — A record for Damian Warner. Redemption for Canada's men's 4×100-metre relay team. A breakout performance by Melissa Bishop.

Canada captured three more medals on a thrilling night at the world track and field championships Saturday, and now boasts an all-time best total of seven with one day still to go.

"It's a feeling of pride," Bishop said. "We have a really great group of athletes in Canada right now and we're working really hard to put ourselves on the map, and I'm really happy to be part of that medal count."

Canada's relay squad — Aaron Brown, Brendon Rodney, Andre De Grasse and Justyn Warner — was on the right side of a disqualification for once, earning bronze after the U.S. was disqualified.

The dramatic bronze brought the curtain down on a night that saw Damian Warner break his Canadian record in the decathlon en route to silver, and Bishop race to silver in the 800 in Canada's best-ever result in the event.

The relay result was redemption for the Canadians, who were denied a gold medal at last month's Pan Am Games for a disqualification. They were also DQ'ed at the IAAF World Relays, last summer's Commonwealth Games, and the 2012 London Olympics, costing the team a bronze medal.

The Canadians lingered on the track watching the scoreboard, knowing all too well how results can change.

"It was nice," Justyn Warner said. "Peter (Eriksson, Canada's head coach) told us to stay down on the track, there might have been a DQ. We're happy, we're blessed to come away with a bronze for our country, make our country proud."

The result gives De Grasse, a rising sprint superstar from Markham, Ont., two medals at his first world championships. The 20-year-old also took bronze in the men's 100 metres.

"I had an amazing season," said De Grasse, who ran the second leg. "I was talking to my teammate Akeem (Haynes), he said 'One more run, one more run, just give it all you've got.' To end it like that, my last run, I'm just happy we came out of here with a bronze."

Usain Bolt and the mighty Jamaicans thundered to gold in 37.36 seconds.

Moments earlier, Damian Warner, a 25-year-old from London, Ont., had scored 8,695 to break his own Canadian record of 8,659 he'd set just a month earlier in winning gold at the Pan American Games.

Heading into the 1,500, the decathlon's final event, Warner set a target of 8,700 points.

"I was a little baby, didn't run it as hard as I should have," he said afterward. "Now I'm seeing that I was five points off and it's hurting me a little bit.

"There was just something about it that my legs just didn't want to co-operate," he added. "But I broke the Canadian record once again and I can't really complain."

American Ashton Eaton -- husband of Canada's heptathlon silver medallist Brianne Theisen-Eaton -- won the gold in spectacular fashion, scoring 9,045 points to break his own world record.

Germany's Rico Freimuth took bronze with 8,561 points.

Warner's coach Gar Leyshon praised the Canadian's performance coming off the Pan Am Games, where he shattered Mike Smith's 19-year-old Canadian record. Decathlons are like marathons -- athletes only compete in one or two a year, and never close together.

"If you look at the other people, they did not compete five weeks ago at the Pan Ams, and the people who did looked like crap, none of them had the kind of performance he had," Leyshon said. "To PB under these circumstances I thought was incredible."

Warner, who was the world bronze medallist in 2013, said he'll soak up the experience of watching Eaton's world-record performance.

"I'm glad I was a part of it, I'm glad I got to see what it takes to break the world record because I believe I'm capable of doing that too," he said. "So as an athlete that motivates me."

Bishop won the 800 silver in one minute 58.12 seconds in a battle down the homestretch. The race capped a spectacular week for the 27-year-old from Eganville, Ont., and a remarkable turnaround after missing most of the winter with a series of setbacks.

"There was a lot of crying," Bishop said, of her rough early season. "I give credit to Dennis (Fairall, her coach) again, he's a very patient man and just such a wonderful coach.

"I'm going to get emotional now," she said, holding back tears. "It's just so special for the two of us because we came from a really low spot this January, and we worked really hard for this."

Bishop suffered a sports hernia in her pelvis during the winter that kept her out of training for several months. She then suffered a massive emotional setback when her cousin died in a car accident. She didn't open her season until the end of May.

Bishop peered at the scoreboard after the results were posted.

"I wanted to clarify with the board just to make sure that it was for real," she said. "I'm speechless. I'm just so happy."

She then ran to the front row of the stadium's stands, the Canadian flag flying behind her like a superhero's cape, to embrace her boyfriend.

In the semifinals two nights earlier, Bishop blazed to a time of 1:57.52, running a whopping two-second personal best, and breaking Diane Cummins' Canadian record that stood for 14 years.

Fairall came to the track Saturday night wearing the identical clothes he'd worn two nights earlier, a red Canada T-shirt and black shorts. He sat in the exact same spot.

"I'm kind of superstitious," the coach said.

Canada's previous best finish in the event at worlds was Cummins' fifth in 2001.

Marina Arzamasova of Belarus won the gold in 1:58.03, while Eunice Sum of Kenya took the bronze in 1:58.18.

Also Saturday, Canada's women's 4x100 relay team of Crystal Emmanuel of Pickering, Ont., Kim Hyacinthe of Terrebonne, Que., Isatu Fofanah of Edmonton and Khamica Bingham of Brampton, Ont., finished sixth in 43.05 seconds. They'd set a Canadian record of 42.60 in the heats earlier in the day.

Jamaica won gold, followed by the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.

Mohammed Ahmed of St. Catharines, Ont., placed 12th in the men's 5,000 metres marking Canada's best finish ever in the event at the worlds. The previous best was Carey Nelson's 15th-place finish in 1987.

Evan Dunfee of Richmond, B.C., was 12th in the men's 50-kilometre racewalk.

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{allcanada} Canada defeats Glasgow Warriors in warm-up game

 

HALIFAX — Canada won its final Rugby World Cup warm-up game on Canadian soil after beating the Glasgow Warriors 19-12 Saturday afternoon.

Jamie Cudmore, who captained the side, Matt Evans and former Warriors player DTH Van Der Merwe scored tries. Nathan Hirayama kicked two conversions.

Glenn Bryce and Junior Bulumakau had tries for Glasgow.

"I thought the boys played really well," Canada's head coach Kieran Crowley said. "Defensively they were outstanding. We got a couple of opportunities which we took, probably left a couple of scores out there too, but I'm very pleased.

"They certainly dug in and it was nice to get over the line for a change."

Bryce gave the Warriors an early lead as he crossed over in the corner just four minutes in. Canada responded as former Warriors centre Connor Braid blasted through the Glasgow line to get the Canadians on the front foot.

Canada got its reward in the 16th minute when Cudmore, who missed the entire Pacific Nations Cup due to injury, powered over from a few meters out with Hirayama kicking the conversion for a 7-5 lead.

Hirayama had a chance to increase the lead in the 23rd minute but his penalty just missed.

Five minutes later, Nanyak Dala broke through the Warriors defensive line before offloading to Phil Mack, who found a supporting Hearn with a pass. Hearn then found Evans, who powered over the line with two tacklers holding on. Hirayama added the extras for a 14-5 Canada lead.

Rory Clegg was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes in the 37th minute but Canada couldn't add to their lead despite the man advantage.

Bryce had an open lane to the corner in the 46th minute but Jeff Hassler made a cover tackle to push him out of bounds only a metre from the line.

The Warriors got their second try in the 71st minute. Scott Wight's conversion cut the Canadian lead to 14-12 with nine minutes to play.

Canada sealed its first win of the summer in the 77th minute when van der Merwe scored in the far corner.

"We've done a lot of hard work and we've been playing pretty well but we needed a win to get some momentum and some confidence for what we're trying to do," Crowley said.

Canada heads to the United Kingdom Sunday where they will play two more warm-up games against Georgia and Fiji.

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{allcanada} Canadian Fichman advances to ITF Winnipeg final

 

WINNIPEG — Canadian Sharon Fichman advanced to the final of the Winnipeg ITF pro circuit tournament with a three-set victory over the Netherlands' Michaella Krajicek on Saturday.

Fichman, from Toronto, will play Kristie Ahn of the United States in Sunday's final after the American beat Serbia's Jovana Jaksis in the other semi.

The 24-year-old Fichman beat Krajicek 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club.

Fichman is currently ranked 392nd in the world.

Kristie, the tournament's fifth seed, upset the top-seeded Jaksis 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the later semifinal.

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{allcanada} Mitchell strong as Stampeders rout Blue Bombers

 

WINNIPEG - Jamar Wall provided the spark the Calgary Stampeders were looking for in a 36-8 rout of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday.

Ahead 8-3 at halftime, Wall intercepted Blue Bombers quarterback Robert Marve and ran 29 yards for a touchdown at 1:10 of the third quarter.

"That was the play," said Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who was 19-of-26 for 314 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

"You come out in the second half, you're looking for good field position. The defence did a great job picking us up right there at the beginning of the second half with a pick six. It let us go out there and play freely."

Stampeders backup quarterback Bryant Moniz scored on a two-yard run four minutes later and a two-point convert stretched the lead to 23-3.

Calgary's fourth straight victory improved its record to 7-2, while the Bombers lost their third straight game and fell to 3-6.

"I had a key on the quarterback," said Wall. "I trusted it and took advantage of it. It was a game-changer right out of the half. A momentum-shifter.

"We just kept the foot on the pedal. We believe that we can cover anyone. We believe our D-line can beat anyone. With that confidence alone, and the things we run with (Rich Stubler's) defence, sky's the limit."

Marve completed 12-of-20 pass attempts for 94 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns in his second pro start. He was replaced by Brian Brohm with eight minutes left in the game.

"It was a frustrating day at work," said Marve, who was sacked five times.

He cited a lack of "explosion plays" and no rhythm as the reason for the offence's poor showing. Winnipeg's offence managed just 136 net yards.

Marve said he'd like to start against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Week 11 Labour Day game, but will accept what head coach Mike O'Shea decides.

"We'll have to see," said O'Shea, when asked if Marve will start Sept. 6.

An interception by Calgary's Keon Raymond led to a seven-yard TD run by Tory Harrison. It was the Stampeders' second touchdown off a Winnipeg turnover in front of an announced crowd of 27,148 at Investors Group Field.

Calgary receiver Jeff Fuller used one hand to pull in a 23-yard touchdown reception and grabbed a two-point convert pass. Teammate Eric Rogers also caught a two-point convert and finished with seven catches for 152 yards. His streak of a touchdown in consecutive games ended at six.

"As long as we win, as long as everybody's making plays, it doesn't matter about individual streaks," said Rogers. "I'll start a new one next week."

Stampeders kicker Rene Paredes made field goals from 11 and 27 yards and was good on two convert attempts.

Lirim Hajrullahu booted field goals from 32 and 36 yards for the Blue Bombers and Calgary conceded a safety for Winnipeg points.

Bombers linebacker Derek Jones blocked a Rob Maver punt and the ball was recovered by Bombers defensive back Lin-J Shell. The turnover led to Hajrullahu's 32-yarder as time expired in the first quarter.

Winnipeg was missing injured veteran centre Dominic Picard. He was replaced by Matthias Goossen.

Some Bomber fans had boos for their team and some started leaving the game early.

"That's painful," said O'Shea. "As a group, they understand how important these fans are to us…

"They keep coming out and it's tough to expect them to keep coming out when we put a second half together like that."

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