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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

{allcanada} QMJHL: Screaming Eagles down Wildcats

 

SYDNEY, N.S. - Loik Leveille scored twice in the second period as the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles flew past the Moncton Wildcats 7-3 on Wednesday night in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.

Phelix Martineau and Maxim Lazarev both had a goal and an assist for Cape Breton (4-2-1). Cole Reginato, Evgeny Svechnikov and Anthony Sorrentino also scored. Alexandre Belanger made 26 saves for the win.

Conor Garland had a goal and two assists for Moncton (5-2-0), while Zack MacEwen and Cameron Askew also scored. Zachary Fortin started in net for the Wildcats, stopping 16-of-21 shots in 32:40 of work. Sebastien Dupre turned aside 8-of-12 shots in relief.

It was an undisciplined game, with the Screaming Eagles racking up 52 penalty minutes. Moncton earned 48 penalty minutes.

Cape Breton went 2 for 7 on the power play, while the Wildcats were 1 for 8 with the man advantage.

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{allcanada} OHL: Attack score early to beat Firebirds

 

OWEN SOUND, Ont. - Justin Brack, Jonah Gadjovich and Ethan Szypula all scored in the first period as the Owen Sound Attack downed the Flint Firebirds 5-2 on Wednesday night in Ontario Hockey League action.

Nick Suzuki and Jarett Meyer also found the back of the net for Owen Sound (3-0-0), while Michael McNiven stopped 30 shots.

Zach Grzelewski had a pair of goals for Flint (2-1-0). Zack Bowman was pulled from the Firebirds' net after Szypula's eventual winner 13:52 into the game. He stopped 12-of-15 shots. Kyle Keyser turned aside 26-of-28 shots in relief.

The Attack went 2 for 4 on the power play, while Flint couldn't score on its four man advantages.

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{allcanada} COC president Aubut steps down amid investigation

 

TORONTO — Marcel Aubut stepped down as president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and chairman of the Canadian Olympic Foundation on Wednesday for the duration of a sexual harassment investigation.

The COC received a complaint last Friday about Aubut and has retained Francois Rolland, former Chief Justice of the Quebec Superior Court, to head up an independent investigation.

"Mr. Marcel Aubut has learned of allegations concerning remarks he allegedly made to a colleague," said Aubut in a statement. "He has offered his unconditional support to those responsible for investigating the remarks attributed to him and setting the record straight. This is a normal process that should be completed by mid-October."

Aubut and the COC issued separate statements about the allegations.

The 67-year-old from Saint-Hubert-de-Riviere-du-Loup, Que., asked to step away from his duties for the duration of the investigation.

Aubut is a lawyer who served as chief executive officer of the NHL's Quebec Noriques until the team was moved to Colorado in 1995. He helped hockey stars Anton, Marian and Peter Stastny defect from communist Czechoslovakia to Canada in 1980 to play for the Norqiues.

In 2000, he became a member of the COC and was elected to its Board of Directors and Executive Committee in 2005. Aubut was voted president-elect of the COC in March 2009, becoming president in April 2010.

He was inducted in to the Order of Canada as a member in 1986 and was promoted to officer in 1993. In 2006, he was made an officer of the National Order of Quebec.

Aubut was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

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{allcanada} ‘Powers’ Adds Enrico Colantoni; Andrea Bogart Joins ‘Snowfall’

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Enrico Colantoni (Person Of Interest) has landed a recurring role on the upcoming second season of Playstation Network's Powers. Inspired by the graphic novels of the same name, Powers follows the lives of two homicide detectives, Christian Walker (Sharlto Copley) and Deena Pilgrim (Susan Heyward), who are assigned to investigate cases involving people with extraordinary abilities, referred to as "Powers." Colantoni will play Senator Bailey Brown, a Senator from Montana and a leader in the Anti-Powers legislation. A former Power known as Cobalt Knight, he now abstains from using his abilities to serve his country from the halls of Congress. Colantoni is repped by Vanguard Management, Innovative Artists and The Characters.

Andrea Bogart (Ray Donovan) has joined the cast of FX drama pilot Snowfall. Co-created and co-written by the Boyz N The Hood director John Singleton and Eric Amadio and directed by Singleton, Snowfall is set against the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Bogart, repped by Sovereign Talent Group and Artists International Management, will play Mrs. Volpe.

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{allcanada} Kiefer Sutherland explains '24' departure

 

Actor Kiefer Sutherland quit hit show 24 because he wants to work on other TV projects.

The Lost Boys star has played the show's main character, agent Jack Bauer, for more than a decade, but producers recently confirmed 2014's mini-series 24: Live Another Day would be his last outing.

Kiefer has now declared he is glad to finally leave Bauer behind because he longs to tackle other TV roles.

"24 is definitely over now for me," he tells the BBC. "It's one of the greatest gifts I've ever been given as an actor, but it's moving on without me, I want to do other things... I want to do more television. My experience of 24 was unbelievable... I don't think there's a better medium than television out there at the moment. So I think I want to do more of it and look for projects where I can repeat my experience.

"You have to take your time though to find something like it - and that means you have to work less. So I'll be waiting for something that's worth it, with the potential for the kind of audience access that 24 had."

However, Kiefer admits he may still make a guest appearance in the revamped show, adding that he has not "ruled out a cameo".

24 premiered in 2001 and became a huge international success, winning 20 Emmy Awards over the years.

It racked up eight full seasons, as well as 2008 TV movie 24: Redemption and the shortened 24: Live Another Day series.

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{allcanada} Notes: Hinchcliffe gets special '500' memento

 
James Hinchcliffe Receives his Indianapolis 500 Starter Ring 

James Hinchcliffe might not remove this special ring from his finger for quite a while.

Herff Jones representative Ken Keltner, who was joined at the event at the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports facility Sept. 30 by Hulman Motorsports chief revenue officer Jay Frye, presented Hinchcliffe with the 34th starter's ring for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

James Hinchcliffe Receives his Indianapolis 500 Starter RingHinchcliffe qualified 24th in the No. 5 Arrow Lucas Oil Honda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, but sustained a serious thigh injury in a crash in practice May 18 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ryan Briscoe stepped in and drove to a 12th-place finish in the May 24 race, and he shared driving duties with Conor Daly the remainder of the season while Hinchcliffe recovered.

"I was looking at my shelf at home where I keep the other (four) rings and was thinking, 'Man, I'm missing one and it's always going to bug me,' '' Hinchcliffe said of the memento given to each of the 33 Indy 500 starters every year. "It's just so generous of Herff Jones to give me one and it makes me feel a little more connected to the race that I didn't get to do."

He was cleared to drive by INDYCAR medical officials and returned to the No. 5 car Sept. 28 for an offseason team test at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

"It's been the light at the end of the tunnel with some good days and bad days in between. Everything went perfect on that day," said Hinchcliffe, who will make his 75th Verizon IndyCar Series start in the second race of the 2016 season. "I could have gotten back in the car at Sebring, a track I've done 8,000 laps around, and it still would have been the best day ever. The fact that we got to do it at Road America, which is my favorite road course in the country, made it that much sweeter."

On-track testing continues for drivers

Hinchcliffe will get additional seat time Oct. 5 when he joins Andretti Autosport's Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a team test day. He also will join KVSH Racing's Sebastien Bourdais on Oct. 14 at Sebring International Raceway for a Firestone tire test. Both events are not open to the public.

"It's great to feel that we're back with the program. Now it's business as usual," Hinchcliffe said. "Now we're going testing, we're developing for Honda, we're developing for Firestone. For me, it's just so nice to be contributing again.

"I could only contribute only so much from the (timing) stand. Because we were going through a year when we were learning a new car, a new aero kit, I'm fortunate and grateful that I was able to be there for a lot of that and see the development.

"If I had been unplugged after the Indy GP and plugged back in at Road America, so many things happened and so much development happened that I would have been way behind the eight ball and trying to catch up.

"Hopefully, now I can add my feedback and push us to that next step."

Busy offseason for Bourdais continues this weekend

This weekend, Bourdais will rejoin Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship finale at Road Atlanta, and the following weekend he'll co-drive a Walkinshaw Racing entry in the second round of the V8 Supercars PIRTEK Enduro Cup at Bathurst, Australia.

"It's great, but also when I started to look at all the schedule and signed up for I was like, 'Wow, that's going to be a heck of an off-INDYCAR season.' But it's great. I always relish the challenges and getting to drive different cars."

The No. 5 Action Express entry, which earned the Prototype team title in 2014, is tied for second with the companion No. 31 car co-driven by Max Papis, Dane Cameron and Eric Curran in the standings.

"Pretty much, the No. 5 car needs to win the race to have a shot at winning the championship, so there are going to be some pretty high pressures for sure leading up to this," said Bourdais, who co-drove the No. 5 Prototype to victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in March and a second-place overall finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January.

"It's always good to drive with these guys at Action Express. It was good to discover a new team in Australia with Lee Holdsworth and we had a pretty decent weekend (at Sandown)."

Calgary coming along and other notes

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports co-owner Ric Peterson said plans are progressing for Calgary, Alberta, to host a Verizon IndyCar Series race targeted for September 2017. … Hinchcliffe has plans to travel in mid-October to Germany to watch the DTM season finale at Hockenheimring. … NBCSN's total day and primetime viewership for the third quarter of 2015 (June 29-September 27), which included the final five races of the Verizon IndyCar Series season, jumped 130 percent over the same period in 2014. It is the cable network's second most-watched quarter behind the first quarter of 2014, which featured live coverage of the Sochi Winter Olympics. … Danny Sullivan, the 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1988 Indy car champion, will join United Autosports drivers and co-owners Zak Brown and Richard Dean in co-driving in the Historic Sportscar Racing Classic 24 at Daytona on Nov. 12-15 at Daytona International Speedway.

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{allcanada} ‘Utility tool’ Frolik finding his fit with Flames

 
 

CALGARY — When Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving signed forward Michael Frolik, the GM described him as a "Swiss Army knife."

The multi-purpose right-winger has spent training camp adapting to his new team and finding out where head coach Bob Hartley believes he'll be the most useful.

Frolik has seen a lot of 19-year-old rookie sensation Sam Bennett on either his opposite wing or at centre on Calgary's second line during the pre-season.

"Most of the games I've played with Sammy," Frolik said Wednesday. "He's a young guy, but a really skilled and smart player. I like playing with skilled guys who can make plays and I think he's a guy who can do it.

"Every day I feel we build a little bit more chemistry and hopefully if we stay together, we keep building."

The Flames conclude the pre-season with games against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday and Saturday before opening the regular season Oct. 7 at home against Vancouver.

After a pair of 42-point seasons with the Jets, the 27-year-old Czech signed a five-year contract with the Flames in July worth US$4.3 million annually.

Frolik won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 as a defensive forward on their checking line, although he assisted on Dave Bolland's Cup-winning goal. Chicago subsequently dealt Frolik to Winnipeg in a salary dump.

Frolik ranked among the top three performers in fitness testing to open Calgary's main camp. He's been a standout in the pre-season with a team-leading four points (two goals, two assists) and a team-high 14 shots in three games.

The six-foot-one 200-pounder from Kladno scored a pretty goal with a soccer move — kicking the puck with his right skate to his forehand — in a 4-1 exhibition win over Vancouver last week.

"I think I've proved during my career I can be an offensive guy and a defensive guy too," Frolik said. "Obviously it's a little more fun where you can play more offence. It's kind of why I signed here because I could see the opportunity here that I can have here."

He says he's still getting the hang of Calgary's galloping, high-pressure attack.

"There is a lot of offence here and the system is a little bit different than what I was used to," Frolik acknowledged. "It's a little bit more stretching and going behind the defence. In Winnipeg we kind of were always under the puck."

If they continue as linemates, Hartley believes Frolik can be an on-ice mentor for Bennett. Frolik said he had a similar role in Winnipeg in Mark Scheifele's rookie season.

"Obviously the coach cannot help any player while the play is going on on the ice," Hartley explained. "A good veteran like Michael Frolik can, while the play is going on, talk to those young players, 'Go there, I've got him,' and come back to the bench and finish the explanations of what you want to get through to him."

"(Frolik) is a very smart player, understands the game well. I think he's going to become a big, big part of this team and at the same time a big helper for us."

After the Florida Panthers drafted him 10th overall in 2006, Frolik moved to Canada and spent two seasons with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Rimouski Oceanic.

He lived with an English family and thus could understand and speak the language his first season with the Panthers in 2008-'09. Hartley believes Frolik's decision to come to North America as a teenager gave him a headstart on an NHL career.

"If you come at 17, 18 years old, you have a chance to go to school and learn the language. I think you put a big barrier out of your way," Hartley said.

"I've coached Milan Hejduk in Colorado, I coached Josef Marha in Cornwall. The only way we could communicate for the first couple of weeks was with a piece of paper and a pencil."

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{allcanada} Nina Dobrev Joins ‘Arrivals’ Pic With Asa Butterfield & Maisie Williams

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Former The Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev is taking another trip to the big screen. Coming off the Toronto Film Festival and SpectreFest screenings of horror comedy The Final Girls, she is now headed for Arrivals, I've learned. The actress will join Ender's Game's Asa Butterfield and Game Of Thrones' Maisie Williams in the Peter Hutchings-directed coming-of-age indie.

Dobrev, who left the CW's Vampire Diaries earlier this year after six seasons, will play American flight attendant Izzy, who is the love interest of Butterfield's character. The screenplay by Fergal Rock was a 2013 Academy Nicholl semifinalist. The pic, produced by BCDF Pictures and Kalahari Films & Media, is set to start shooting in South Africa this winter.

Butterfield's Calvin is a hypochondriac college dropout who now works as a baggage handler at Cape Town airport. In a funk, he is pulled into the unconventional bucket list quest of Brit teen Skye, played by GoT's Williams, who also appears on Doctor Who this season. That team-up helps Calvin to face his deepest fears.

Now off the small screen from playing Elena Gilbert on TVD, Dobrev will be seen October 9 on the big screen in the limited release of The Final Girls. Having debuted at SXSW, the Todd Strauss-Schulson directed film also stars Malin Akerman and Silicon Valley's Thomas Middleditch. Degrassi: The Next Generation alum Dobrev previously appeared in last year's Let's Be Cops, 2012's The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, and 2009's Chloe.

Dobrev is repped by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Hansen Jacobson.

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{allcanada} Jays rout O’s to clinch AL East

 

BALTIMORE - It wasn't the storybook scene anyone would have dreamt up: a half-empty road stadium in the first half of a doubleheader on a Wednesday afternoon.

It was a moment 22 years in the making for the Toronto Blue Jays franchise and almost a year in the making for the 2015 team. In front of an intimate crowd at Camden Yards wearing more blue than orange, the Blue Jays routed the Baltimore Orioles 15-2 to clinch the American League East.

The pennant is Toronto's first since 1993, when it won its second of back-to-back World Series titles. It assures the Blue Jays a spot in the five-game AL Division Series rather than the uncertainty of a one-game wild-card playoff.

"Anything can happen in a one-game series," injured shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "You could have the best pitcher in the world starting for you and anything can really happen in those games."

That's not a problem anymore. In late July, any kind of post-season appearance would have been welcomed, before general manager Alex Anthopoulos went all-in, trading for Tulowitzki, ace David Price, outfielder Ben Revere and relievers LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Lowe at the deadline.

Those moves worked like a charm, taking a Blue Jays team that was 50-51 and eight games back of first place on the day Tulowitzki entered the lineup on a 42-14 run up the standings, past the New York Yankees and into October.

Winning the division seemed inevitable in recent days as the Yankees struggled and the Blue Jays kept rolling.

The final victory of that accomplishment came Wednesday with young stud Marcus Stroman on the mound in just his fourth start of the season following a torn ACL in spring training. Stroman (4-0) was masterful yet again, striking out eight and allowing just one run on five hits in eight innings.

In typical Blue Jays fashion, the most productive lineup in baseball led the way by tormenting opposing pitching. RBI hits by Russell Martin and Ryan Goins in the second inning and more trouble in the fourth forced Baltimore starter Miguel Gonzalez (9-12) out of the game.

With Anthopoulos watching in the first row above the visiting dugout, the Blue Jays poured it on, scoring four runs in the fifth, including three on an infield dribbler that allowed hitter Darwin Barney to come around to score.

Edwin Encarnacion hit his 37th home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the seventh to get to double digits, and Jose Bautista hit his 40th in the ninth. Justin Smoak added a two-run shot to put an exclamation point on the blowout.

It was the 41st time in 157 games Toronto scored eight or more runs. Bautista's blast also got the Blue Jays two hitters with 40-plus home runs (MVP front-runner Josh Donaldson has 41) for the third time in franchise history and first time since 2000.

Everyone in the lineup got at least one hit for a total of 18. Goins set a new career high with five.

This monstrous offensive outburst made the clinching game feel like a coronation, in front of Blue Jays fans who chanted "MVP" for Donaldson's at-bats and serenaded Anthopoulos with a chorus of "Thank you, Alex." After Hawkins got the final out, players celebrated on the same field on which they watched Baltimore clinch the AL East a year ago.

This division title also came with the guarantee of home-field advantage in the ALDS. The Blue Jays will either play host to the AL West champions — the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or Houston Astros — or the wild-card team at Rogers Centre for Game 1 on Oct. 8.

Home-field throughout the playoffs is within reach, too. The Blue Jays' magic number to earn the top seed in the AL is three — any combination of victories and Kansas City Royals losses.

With the second half of the doubleheader and one more game against the Orioles left, that could come as soon as Thursday afternoon, since the Blue Jays' game was moved up to 12:05 because of the threat of rain.

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{allcanada} McDavid drives Oilers’ ticket sales outside of Edmonton

 

TORONTO — Connor McDavid is already helping the Edmonton Oilers off the ice.

Even before the start of the NHL regular season, the addition of the top draft pick has seen Oilers' ticket sales climb 131 per cent compared to last year on the secondary market, according to StubHub.com.

McDavid's arrival has catapulted Edmonton from 16th to sixth-best selling team on the ticket resale website.

"It's not just Connor McDavid, it's the idea that he's the first since Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky to really bring a lot of buzz to the town," said Jeff Poirier, StubHub Canada country manager. "I think there's not just renewed hope around that, but there's also this sort of nostalgic thing going on around Rexall Place and the fact that that's going to be replaced by Rogers Place."

Poirier suggested that there could be extra demand for Oilers tickets at the end of the season with the expectation that there would be a special ceremony at Rexall Place, where the classic Edmonton teams of the 1980s and early 1990s won their five Stanley Cups.

McDavid's impact extends beyond northern Alberta, with the Oilers becoming the seventh-best selling road team in the NHL, joining the ranks of bigger market teams like the Original Six and Pittsburgh Penguins.

"Coming into the season people knew he was going to be there," said Poirier. "In terms of the NHL, I'm not sure that we've seen, at least in recent history, a jump like this due to one player."

To put McDavid's impact in context, LeBron James's return to Cleveland last season saw Cavaliers ticket sales rocket up more than 1,000 per cent. Tampa Bay Buccaneers sales rose 15 per cent after drafting quarterback Jameis Winston first overall heading into this NFL season.

The Toronto Blue Jays saw a 73-per-cent spike in secondary-market ticket sales after the acquisition of ace David Price and all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki at baseball's trade deadline.

An increased demand has driven up the cost of Oilers tickets slightly, with the average ticket price on the secondary market rising to US$156 from $152 a year ago, according to SeatGeek.com, a website that aggregates prices on ticket resales.

Calgary Flames tickets have also escalated with an average cost of $120 compared to $117 last season, as have Ottawa Senators seats which are now $92 versus $89.

The rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs have seen ticket prices drop nearly 20 per cent from $252 to $194. The Montreal Canadiens' average resale price is $161, down from $164 a year ago. Vancouver Canucks tickets are at $113, down slightly from $115 last season.

Due to stricter resale laws in Manitoba figures for the Winnipeg Jets are unavailable.

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{allcanada} Muamba agrees to deal with Alouettes

 

Linebacker Henoc Muamba agreed to terms with the Montreal Alouettes on Wednesday, according to TSN's Dave Naylor.

The deal is pending a medical evaluation, which Muamba is set to complete on Wednesday.

The Canadian free agent had been looking for a team since being cut by the Indianapolis Colts in August.

Muamba was selected by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with the first overall pick in the 2011 CFL Draft.

The bidding for the 26-year-old had been especially heated between CFL teams.  Despite being a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Muamba is considered a "non-import" as was raised in Missisaugua, Ontario and played his college football with St. Francis Xavier. He also played three seasons in Winnipeg from 2011-2013, recording 171 tackles, four sacks and one interception. Muamba was named a CFL East Division All-Star in 2013.  In addition, his brother Cauchy plays safety for the Edmonton Eskimos.

He played the 2014 season with the Indianapolis Colts, making six tackles over 13 games.

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{allcanada} Julianne Moore, Ellen Page feel the love for 'Freeheld'

 
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TORONTO — The mutual admiration society of Julianne Moore and Ellen Page has reconvened, on this day in regard to Coke vs. Pepsi.

"Pepsi's way better," Page says matter-of-factly, paying no attention to the reporter in the room.

"I prefer Pepsi," Moore replies, "but I don't like to say that in the States."

Page agrees. "No, people go, 'What?! Eww!' "

It's about this time when the stars of the gay-rights drama Freeheld (opens Friday in New York and Los Angeles, expands to additional cities Oct. 9 and 16) finally notice the guy with the digital recorder and notebook. "Hi!" Page exclaims to the third wheel. She's finally catching up with her pal, since "we only saw each other for a second this morning."

For a couple of actresses who had never even met before in the small business of big-time Hollywood, Moore and Page became fast friends, close confidants and onscreen lovers filming Freeheld, based on the story of a true-life lesbian couple.

Laurel Hester (played in the film by Moore) was a successful and ambitious New Jersey cop in the early 2000s who fell in love and legally entered a domestic partnership with Stacie Andree (Page), a shy and quiet woman 19 years her junior. When Hester was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2005 and wanted to leave her pension benefits to Andree, the county government freeholders turned them down, causing a battle that the women would fight as the disease spread through Hester's body.

Moore and Page bonded over the movie first — "It's a love story, so there's a lot to connect with," says Moore, 54  — but they also formed a partnership and ultimately became very vulnerable around one another.

"You were sweet about that because I was nervous around you. I feel like the moment we even started rehearsing, you were just really comfortable," says Page, 28,  as Moore holds her hand. "It was nice, because it made a lot of it go out the window for me."

There's a deep sense of privacy in any kind of a relationship, says Moore, and she found that with Page on and off screen.

"You form a bond with somebody and that's your bond" for the duration of the movie, Moore says. "One of the great things about coming to work every day was knowing that Ellen was going to be there."

Page adds that isn't always the case on set, though director Peter Sollett says he didn't worry whether the pair would have chemistry. "They're such skillful actresses. I never took it for granted that it would be instant or easy, but how do you not have faith in Ellen and Julianne?" he says.

Shooting scenes in which Laurel succumbs to her cancer made for emotionally difficult days on set, Page says. "There were people in tears because of their own personal experience," Moore adds. "People take that stuff very seriously. You're not cavalier about it."

One resource that was integral to their performances was Andree herself. Something she told Page "really shattered" her, though, the actress recalls. "She was like, 'It's really cool to meet you, it's cool to meet Julie, she's so sweet. I'm having a hard time when other people get excited about it, because the movie wouldn't exist if Laurel hadn't have died.'

"When you hear something like that, it's a gut punch. You're sitting with the person and they're sweet and funny and joyous and lovely, but you still see the pain and the emotion and the loss within them. Hopefully, that visceral interaction helps you bring that into telling the story."

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{allcanada} Canadiens preview: Montreal poised for another quality campaign

 

2014-15 results:

50-22-10, first in Atlantic

Story line: Price is right for another high-quality season in Montreal.

Arrivals: RW Alexander Semin (free agent), RW Zack Kassian (trade with Vancouver Canucks)

Departures: LW Brandon Prust (traded to Vancouver), D Sergei Gonchar (tryout with Pittsburgh Penguins), RW P.A. Parenteau (signed with Toronto Maple Leafs)

Goaltending: Hart Trophy winner Carey Price (44-16-6, 1.96, .933) is the difference between Montreal being a contender and having to claw its way into the playoffs. He was the most dominant performer in the game last season and should be dominant again this season.

Analysis: Winning through high-quality goaltending and defense is a proven strategy, but the Canadiens know they need to score more. They ranked 20th in goals last season, and every team below them missed the playoffs. The Semin signing, a $1 million investment, seems like a good roll of the dice. The Canadiens hope Kassian shows more of a scoring touch. The Canadiens are thankful that injured 37-goal scorer LW Max Pacioretty is ahead of schedule in his recovery from an injury and should be ready near the start of the season. The Canadiens also have dependable Tomas Plekanec (26 goals).

What advanced stats say: The Canadiens were in the bottom third of NHL teams in Corsi Rating, which measures puck possession. What saved them all season was Price's .948 save percentage in even-strength situations.

Breakthrough candidate: A 55- to 60-point season is not out of the question for W Alex Galchenyuk, 21. He posted 20 goals and 46 points last season.

Youngster to watch: Stay-at-home D Greg Pateryn, 25, is expected to stick with Montreal this season. He has played three seasons in the American Hockey League and 20 games in the NHL. The Canadiens used him in the playoffs.

What the team really needs: A big, scoring center, but those are impossible to find. The Canadiens would be content if they got better scoring by committee and an improved power play (23rd last season).

Key question: Can Semin help? He has talent, but his inconsistency has irritated coaches. The one-time 40-goal scorer had 19 points in 57 games. He's on a one-year contract, which should motivate him to have a strong season to earn a longer deal.
Forecast: The Habs have lost ground to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they should be solidly in the playoffs.

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{allcanada} Oilers' Eberle out 4-6 weeks with shoulder injury

 

EDMONTON -- Edmonton Oilers forward Jordan Eberle will be sidelined 4-6 weeks because of a shoulder injury sustained Tuesday in a preseason game against the Arizona Coyotes.

Eberle, 25, left the game in the first period after taking a hit from Coyotes center Kyle Chipchura against the wall behind the Coyotes' net. He did not return. Following the game Eberle left Rexall Place with his arm in a sling.

"I left the puck for him and he kind of popped it through the guy's skates," linemate Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said after the game. "Some guy squished him against the boards. I don't know exactly the extent or anything, but it's obviously a big loss for us. He's a big part of our team and now we just have to try and pick up the slack where it needs to be and we have to play for him."

Eberle led the Oilers in scoring last season with 24 goals and 63 points in 81 games. He had one goal and one assist in four preseason games.

Eberle's injury overshadowed the Oilers victory against the Coyotes, giving them a perfect 6-0-0 record in the preseason.

"As soon as you see something like that and the guy is in obvious pain and he comes to the bench, it's a terrible situation and you are just hoping the best for the guy," Nugent-Hopkins said. "You're hoping it's maybe a little stinger and it'll go away, but you don't know at the time. There's obviously the possibility that it might be more serious, but you hope that it's not. In this game, stuff like that does happen and you try to protect yourself as much as possible."

The Oilers have two preseason games remaining before opening the regular season at the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 8.

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{allcanada} Canadiens' Pacioretty to return to lineup Thursday

 

Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty will make his preseason debut Thursday against the Ottawa Senators at Bell Centre, coach Michel Therrien said after practice Wednesday.

Pacioretty began practicing with the Canadiens this week as he completed his recovery from fractures in the tibial plateau of his left knee, an injury sustained July 9 during offseason training in Florida.

The original prognosis for recovery from the injury was 12 weeks, and Thursday marks exactly 12 weeks since Pacioretty was injured.

However, Pacioretty had said prior to training camp that the 12-week prognosis was for recovery time, not when he would be ready to play in a game, so his playing Thursday could be considered an early return from injury.

Pacioretty was skating with center Tomas Plekanec and right wing Brendan Gallagher at practice Wednesday on what could be considered Montreal's top line, and Therrien said that line will play together against the Senators.

Pacioretty led the Canadiens with 37 goals and 67 points last season in 80 games.

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{allcanada} BMO Field to host 104th Grey Cup next season

 

The 104th Grey Cup is coming to Toronto.

The CFL is holding a news conference on Thursday (1pm et/10am pt on TSN3), where it will be announced that the newly-renovated home of the Argonauts at BMO Field will host the league's championship game on Nov. 27, 2016.

Toronto last hosted the Grey Cup in its centennial game in 2012.

The announcement comes four months after it was revealed that Bell and MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum are buying the team and taking over operations effective Jan. 1.

MLSE is already undergoing a major renovation at BMO Field, expanding the seating by 8,000 and adding roofing to three sides of the stadium. The Argonauts are expected to move there in time for the start of next season.

Toronto has hosted 16 Grey Cup games over the last 50 years - four at the SkyDome/Rogers Centre and 12 at Exhibition Stadium.

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{allcanada} FOX’s ‘Grease Live’ adds Carly Rae Jepsen, Kether Donohue

 

Grease Live adds Carly Rae Jepsen and Kether Donohue

FOX announced the final pieces of the "Grease Live" puzzle Wednesday (Sept. 30), which include pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen and "You're the Worst" star Kether Donohue.

The two lovely ladies round out the Pink Ladies, with Jepsen slated to play "Beauty School Dropout" Frenchy and Donohue ready for her Ipana close-up as Jan.

David Del Rio ("Spare Parts," "The Troop") has also been added to the cast as T-Bird Putzie.

The production stars Julianne Hough as Sandy, Aaron Tveit as Danny, Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo, Carlos PenaVega as Kenickie and Keke Palmer as Marty, plus Grammy-nominated singer Jessie J will open the live event with a performance of the iconic Frankie Valli song "Grease (Is the Word)."

"Grease Live" airs Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.

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{allcanada} Ticats' Collaros has ACL surgery pushed back

 

Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Zach Collaros has been forced to push back surgery on his torn right ACL due to knee swelling.

TSN's Matthew Scianitti reports the Tiger-Cats star had been sent to undergo surgery on October 1, but doctors have been forced to delay the date for a 'couple of weeks.'

Collaros currently has too much swelling and not enough range of movement in his to undergo the season-ending surgery.

The 27-year-old suffered the injury on September 18 against the Edmonton Eskimos in his team's 25-18 loss. Jeff Mathews has taken over at quarterback for the club.

With a seven-to-nine month recovery looming for Collaros, pushing back his surgery could put the start of his 2016 season in jeopardy.

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{allcanada} Hudler scores first two goals of pre-season as Flames shutout Avalanche

 

CALGARY - Calgary's Jiri Hudler looks ready for the regular season.

The Flames leading scorer a year ago scored his first two goals of the pre-season Tuesday night to lead the Calgary Flames to a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.

"It's good to have two goals before the season starts but it's still pre-season," said Hudler. "It's nice to get that touch and hopefully we're going to carry that into the regular season."

Hudler opened the game lined up beside familiar faces Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, his linemates from a year ago. It took them just 24 seconds to open the scoring with Hudler neatly finishing off a slick give-and-go with Gaudreau.

In the second, lined up on the wing with Sam Bennett and Michael Frolik, Hudler once again scored on his first shift.

"Jiri Hudler is a smart veteran. They know how to elevate their pace and at the same time get ready for the opening of the season," said Calgary coach Bob Hartley.

Hudler said his team can't wait to open the season against the Vancouver Canucks.

"The whole locker-room is excited about the (first) game on the 7th," said Hudler.

Calgary (4-2-0) has won four straight games. Colorado (1-2-1) next plays Thursday in Anaheim.

The Flames dressed the far more experienced line-up with their top five defencemen (excluding injured TJ Brodie) and projected top two lines all in uniform.

The long list of notable absentees for the Avalanche included forwards Matt Duchene, Jarome Iginla, Alex Tanguay, Gabriel Landeskog and defencemen Erik Johnson and Francois Beauchemin.

"Calgary had a great lineup. They played well, but I'm very happy with our team," said Colorado coach Patrick Roy. "I thought our guys played well, we just couldn't score goals tonight, but I like what I've seen."

The biggest decision for the Flames is the three-way battle going on for two goalie jobs. After rookie Joni Ortio chalked up a 35-save shutout in his last start, Jonas Hiller (15 saves) and Karri Ramo (14 saves) were both perfect on Tuesday.

Calvin Pickard made 30 saves in his first action of the pre-season.

Curtis Glencross, who just signed a professional try-out with Colorado after being released from his PTO with Toronto on the weekend, was in the Avs' lineup.

"It was fun, coming in, not practising with the team or anything, just jumping in there," said Glencross, who was traded by the Flames last March after seven seasons in Calgary. "Meeting the guys at 4:30 p.m. today was a little different. A little weird coming to the rink and coming in the back door over here."

Glencross had contract discussions with Colorado in the summer but they had other priorities to address first. He eventually chose a PTO with Toronto, although he said the same option was open with the Avs.

"I'm excited. The opportunity is there," Glencross said. "We obviously went the other route earlier. We figured the exposure out there in Toronto might be a good thing. But Colorado was the other team. I had a great talk with Patrick Roy this summer."

On a line with John Mitchell and Mikhail Grigorenko, Glencross was involved and was one of the Avs best players. Early in the game in driving to the net, he bowled over giant Flames defenceman Dougie Hamilton.

He says he'll be back in the line-up for Colorado's game Thursday in Anaheim.

Notes: Bennett started the game on left wing but returned to centre for the final 40 minutes, which is where he's spent most of training camp. Micheal Ferland played right wing with Gaudreau and Hudler for the final two periods... Ortio will start Thursday night's game in Winnipeg.

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{allcanada} Judge rules against hockey icon Guy Lafleur in civil suit targeting Crown, cops

 

MONTREAL - A Quebec Superior Court justice has ruled against former Montreal Canadiens great Guy Lafleur in his $2.16-million civil suit that targeted police and the Crown following a 2008 arrest.

Lafleur was seeking damages stemming from an arrest for giving contradictory testimony at his son's bail hearing.

He claimed the Crown and police were cavalier in issuing the arrest warrant and that his reputation was tarnished by the heavily reported event.

Lafleur alleged he consequently suffered financial losses and health problems.

Justice Andre Wery wrote that the theory of a conspiracy advanced by Lafleur's lawyers was not based on fact, but rather on speculation on the work of justice officials who were just doing their jobs.

The police and Crown maintained they were justified in proceeding with the warrant given the seriousness of the rare Criminal Code offence.

Lafleur was arrested in 2008 and found guilty in 2009, but the conviction was overturned on appeal in 2010.

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{allcanada} Burns, Wingels lead Sharks past Canucks

 

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Brent Burns' second-period goal held up as the winner as the San Jose Sharks edged the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 in pre-season action on Tuesday.

Tommy Wingles scored a first-period goal for the Sharks (2-1-1).

Jared McCann replied for the Canucks (2-2-1).

San Jose's Martin Jones made 30 saves in the victory. His Vancouver counterpart, Ryan Miller, stopped 20-of-22 shots.

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