Milos Raonic wins Thailand Open

Canadian Milos Raonic upset top-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 6-3 to claim his fifth title at the Thailand Open on Sunday.

The No. 11-ranked Raonic put up 18 aces to beat his No. 6-ranked opponent in the final at the Impact Arena in one hour, 17 minutes.

It was Raonic's fifth tour victory, adding to the three in San Jose from 2011-13 and Chennai in 2012.

He also improved his unbeaten record over Berdych to 2-0 after also beating the Czech player in the Cincinnati Masters last year.

Berdych had his chances in the match with a set point at 6-5 in the first but Raonic used his big serve to force a weak return before sending a forehand winner to escape.

The Canadian then relied on powerful serves to force the tie-break, which he sealed with another booming serve.

Raonic managed an early break in the second game to take a 2-0 lead in the second after Berdych netted two successive shots.

'I'm serving well and doing a lot of good things, I want to keep that up and put myself in a position to win more.'- Canadian tennis player Milos Raonic

At 5-3, Raonic produced another ace to set up a championship point before blasting a forehand winner to take the match.

"It feels great to win the title," said the 22-year-old from Thornhill., Ont., now 37-17 this season.

"The first set was about finding rhythm. Once I did I was solid after that," he said.

"I knew I had to play slightly more aggressive, not just put the ball in play. I did that and was able to take control, I got some insight into what I needed to do to beat him."

Raonic's next challenge will be in Tokyo, where he lost the 2012 final to Japan's Kei Nishikori.

"I'll have to carry this momentum onto Tokyo," he said before flying overnight to the Japanese capital for a Monday arrival.

"The only thing I'm worrying about is what I need to do in the first match (against Japan's Go Soeda).

"I'm serving well and doing a lot of good things, I want to keep that up and put myself in a position to win more."

Raonic said he's been working hard on his game since losing to Rafael Nadal in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal in August.

"I maybe wasn't playing my best tennis there but I've been improving a little at a time," he said.

And the payoff for the work came in Bangkok.

"I'm happy with how I dealt with this whole week, I fought my way through and put the pieces together to win," he said.

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Alouettes snap skid, hand Roughriders another loss

The losing skid is over and the Montreal Alouettes have their defence to thank.

Led by CFL tackles leader Chip Cox, the Alouettes held the slumping Saskatchewan Roughriders to 15 yards on the ground, picked off three Darian Durant passes, sacked him four times and stuffed a third-and-one attempt on the goal line in their 17-12 victory on Sunday.

"We win and lose as a team," said Cox, who picked off Durant in the end zone to stop Saskatchewan's final drive and secure the win. "The team needed that from us today and that's what we did.

"The team's been needing that from us for the last few weeks and we haven't been able to pull it through for them. Today, we did and we got the W."

Duron Carter scored the only touchdown for Montreal (5-8), which ended a three game losing run. The slotback was named the star of the game as he caught six passes for 152 yards, including a 45-yard effort to set up one of three Sean Whyte field goals.

Weston Dressler had the lone TD for the Roughriders (8-5), who lost a fourth game in a row.

Simon makes history

The highlight for the visitors came about 10 minutes into the opening quarter, when slotback Geroy Simon made history by hauling in his 1,018th career reception, breaking the record of former Alouette Ben Cahoon. He ended the game with 1,020.

A message of congratulations from Cahoon was shown on the scoreboard, but the Riders will wait until they are at home Oct. 12 against Edmonton to celebrate his feat.

Simon was in no mood for that after the game.

"We're just not executing now," the 15-year veteran said. "The defence is holding up their part of the bargain by holding them to minimal points, but I can only speak for the offence.

"We're just not making plays we need to make. The leaders have to lead. We just have to figure it out. We have to take a long look in the mirror and ask if we're doing everything we need to win."

Despite near-perfect sunny weather and the largest crowd of the year at Percival Molson Stadium of 24,105, neither team used the conditions to move the ball consistently.

Durant throws 3 picks

Durant completed 24 of 46 passes for 339 yards, but he missed open receivers repeatedly and threw the three picks.

Chris Garrett, filling in for injured running back Kory Sheets, gained nine yards on five carries. The Riders have not won in three games since Sheets sprained his right knee against Toronto.

Alouettes' quarterback Josh Neiswander was good on 21 of 36 passes for 264 yards. He was not intercepted and was never sacked.

Montreal's woes came from dropped passes and some bumbling moments on special teams. But the defence erased any errors.

After Whyte tied the game at 1-1 late in the first quarter, Durant hit Chris Getzlaf with a 70-yard pass that gave the Roughriders first down inside the five. The Alouettes defence stopped all three attempts and took over the ball at the one.

Montreal conceded a safety, and Saskatchewan threatened again when it got the ball back, only to see Geoff Tisdale pick off a pass in the end zone.

Another Roughriders drive at the end of the third quarter was stopped by a leaping, one-handed interception by Jerald Brown.

Troy Smith, now the backup with both Anthony Calvillo and Tanner Marsh injured, got in for two plays in the third and nearly produced a score, but Jerome Messam was stripped of the ball near the goal by Terrell Maze after a long run off a screen pass.

The win took some pressure off the Alouettes, who went into the weekend in danger of being caught by the Eskimos for a crossover playoff position, with a showdown coming on Saturday in Edmonton. The Eskimos' loss to the Argonauts on Saturday, coupled with the Alouettes win gives Montreal a four-point cushion, each with five games left to play.

"The pressure's still on us," said Cox. "We need to win more games.

"We're not in the playoffs, so we can't just go home and relax. We have to play even better next week (Saturday in Edmonton) to get another W."

The Alouettes led 4-3 at the intermission, but Ricky Schmitt tied the game with one of his three punt singles on the opening drive of the second half.

Neiswander hit Carter with a short pass and saw the slotback zig-zag his way for a 45-yard touchdown at 13:12 of the third quarter.

Durant struck back to open the fourth, as he hit Taj Smith, Simon, and Dressler with passes before finding Dressler uncovered at the Montreal goal-line to tie the game at 3:05.

Montreal went ahead on Whyte's 40-yard boot at 6:18. After another Rider single, Whyte hit from 19 yards with 1:32 left to play.

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Blue Jays close disappointing season with loss to Rays

In a year full of disappointment, the Toronto Blue Jays were left to focus on small victories as they closed out a regular season with games that became rather meaningless several weeks ago.

They were resigned to the role of spoiler and nearly put a significant dent in Tampa Bay's post-season hopes on Sunday, with a furious comeback attempt coming just short as the Rays held on for a 7-6 victory.

Tampa Bay locked up a tiebreaker game appearance with the win. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, were packing their lockers after a last-place finish in the American League East.

The Rays jumped out to an early six-run lead but the Blue Jays would not give in. Toronto manager John Gibbons was impressed that his team refused to quit.

"The guys hung in there and we made a run late, they had a shot," he said. "So I'm pretty proud of them for that."

At the start of the day, Tampa Bay (91-71) and the Texas Rangers were one game behind the Cleveland Indians in the race for the two wild-card spots. Cleveland defeated the Minnesota Twins 5-1 to win the first wild card and Texas beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2.

Decisive game

The Rays will play the Rangers in a tiebreaker game Monday afternoon.

Toronto (74-88) finished last in the A.L. East division and fell to 40-41 on the year at Rogers Centre. It was the first season since 2004 that Toronto had a sub-.500 record at home.

Expectations were high for the Blue Jays in 2013 after an off-season makeover. Injuries and underperformance prevented them from making strides and they barely improved on last season's 73-89 record.

"It was difficult, the last two years actually," said Toronto reliever Darren Oliver, who plans to retire. "But that's why you play this game on the field, not on paper. Hopefully these guys can get it right one of these days because I think the fans are really hungry for a winning team. I mean I know if I was a fan, I would be."

The Blue Jays have not been to the playoffs since winning the World Series in 1993.

"I always look at it any time you're packing your stuff up and not playing in a post-season, it's a wasted year. For me personally, obviously not for the organization," said designated hitter Mark DeRosa. "A lot of good things happened for some young guys.

"But overall the ultimate goal was to win the A.L. East and find a way into the playoffs and we didn't accomplish it so I would say it's a disappointment."

Blue Jays starter Todd Redmond (4-3) struck out David DeJesus to open the game before running into trouble. The Rays put six runs on the board in the inning.

Redmond recorded just two outs in the shortest start of his career.

Tampa Bay starter Matt Moore (17-4) struggled with his command in the first inning. He walked three batters but escaped unscathed by striking out DeRosa with two runners on base.

The Blue Jays chipped away at the lead in the sixth inning. DeRosa energized the crowd of 44,551 with a two-run double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by J.P. Arencibia.

Moore was pulled with one out in the frame. He allowed three earned runs, six hits, three walks and had four strikeouts.

Oliver gets ovation

Oliver received a standing ovation when he came out in the seventh inning. The 42-year-old left-hander retired the Rays in order.

In the bottom half of the frame, Jose Reyes scored on a one-out double by Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. Gose was held at third base and Joel Peralta relieved Jake McGee.

Peralta walked Moises Sierra to load the bases, drawing a visit by Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon. Home-plate umpire Paul Schrieber came to the mound and Maddon started to argue with him and was ejected.

Pinch-hitter Adam Lind then grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Maddon wouldn't reveal whether he was upset about ball and strike calls, only saying "I had enough." He did say he gave a message to his infielders.

"I said, 'Listen. That's it. I'm out of this game, I know you guys are going to be fine. I'm going to catch the rest of this game with a glass of wine in my hand and we're going to win it."'

Tampa Bay very nearly lost it.

The Blue Jays made it a one-run game in the eighth inning. Reyes drove in Ryan Langerhans with a single off Fernando Rodney and Gose followed with an RBI single of his own that scored Kevin Pillar.

Lawrie drew a two-out walk to load the bases but Moises Sierra followed with a strikeout.

The Blue Jays put a runner on in the ninth but Rodney got Ryan Goins on a lineout to end the game. It was Rodney's 37th save of the year.

Gibbons gave several relievers some work on the final game of the season. Oliver, Wagner, Luis Perez, Chad Jenkins, Jeremy Jeffress, Steve Delabar and Sergio Santos all made appearances.

Now the focus will shift to general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who will likely have another busy off-season ahead. The players remained optimistic that they can bounce back in 2014.

"We had a lot of people that thought we were going to win the World Series," Lawrie said. "But it takes a little bit of time to build chemistry. We had a little bit of trouble keeping some guys healthy, myself included. Reyes went down, the pitching staff went down a little bit. So you know, you've got to have your guys to make that push."

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Seahawks beat Texans in OT to remain unbeaten: NFL

HOUSTON — Steven Hauschka kicked a 45-yard field goal in overtime to give the Seattle Seahawks a 23-20 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday and the first 4-0 start in franchise history.

Houston (2-2) failed to score on two possessions in overtime. The Seahawks got the win on their second drive in overtime after rallying from a 20-3 deficit.

A key play on the winning drive came when Doug Baldwin caught a 7-yard pass and Kareem Jackson was penalized for unnecessary roughness for dumping him into the ground. That got Seattle in field goal range and Hauschka's kick came four plays later.

The Seahawks rallied to tie it at 20-20 on an interception return for a touchdown by Richard Sherman in the fourth quarter.

The NFL's best defence held Houston scoreless after halftime.

ATLANTA — Tom Brady threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns as the New England Patriots held off a furious Atlanta comeback Sunday night, beating the Falcons 30-23 to improve to 4-0 for the first time since their near-perfect season in 2007.

New England built a 30-13 lead before the Falcons rallied.

They had a chance to tie it up in the final minute, but Matt Ryan's fourth-down pass went off the hands of Roddy White in the end zone with 36 seconds remaining.

The Patriots seemed in control when LeGarrette Blount scored on a 47-yard run, and Brady threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to rookie Kenbrell Thompkins.

Thompkins finished with six catches for 127 yards — nearly as much as the first three games of his career. Julian Edelman chipped in with 118 yards on seven receptions.

Atlanta (1-3) is two games below .500 for the first time since 2007.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker Kiko Alonso's second interception of the game with 57 seconds remaining sealed a 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

Converted safety Aaron Williams also intercepted Joe Flacco twice, while Fred Jackson had 87 yards rushing and a touchdown for Buffalo (2-2).

Robert Woods scored on a 42-yard touchdown reception. Buffalo totalled 213 yards rushing against a stout Ravens defence that had allowed just 224 in its first three games.

Joe Flacco threw a career-worst five interceptions, and finished 25 of 50 for 347 yards passing, and two touchdowns.

Torrey Smith had five catches for 155 yards and a 26-yard touchdown for the Ravens (2-2).

The Ravens' last chance to tie the game ended when Flacco forced a pass over the middle intended for Dallas Clark. Safety Da'Norris Searcy got a piece of the ball, which bounced into the air and was intercepted by Alonso.

DENVER — The Denver Broncos scored more points than they ever had in their 54-year history Sunday, blowing out the Philadelphia Eagles 52-20 behind Peyton Manning's four touchdown throws.

With two TD passes each to Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker, Manning completed all but a half-dozen of his 34 throws for 327 yards. He didn't even step on the field in the fourth quarter.

Manning's 16 TD passes are the most in the first month of a season, besting the previous mark of 14 set by Don Meredith in 1966 and tied by Kurt Warner in 1999. Manning also joined Milt Plum in 1960 as the only quarterbacks to throw that many touchdown passes without an interception.

Manning got off to a rather slow start but drove the Broncos (4-0) on a trio of long touchdown drives in the third quarter to make this one another laugher against the Eagles (1-3).

LONDON — Greg Jennings made two touchdown catches, Adrian Peterson ran for two scores and the Vikings' defence made a big stop with time running out to preserve a 34-27 win over the Steelers on Sunday for their first win of the season.

Playing at Wembley Stadium, Everson Griffen stripped Ben Roethlisberger on the 6-yard line with 19 seconds left. Kevin Williams recovered to seal the victory.

Jennings made a 70-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown and Peterson had a 60-yard score to help offset two scores by Pittsburgh rookie running back Le'Veon Bell and give Minnesota (1-3) some hope of turning its season around.

The Steelers fell to 0-4 for the first time since 1968.

Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel, starting in place of injured Christian Ponder, finished 16 of 25 for 248 yards and two touchdowns.

Roethlisberger was 36 for 51 for 383 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

DETROIT — Reggie Bush's 37-yard touchdown run helped Detroit score 27 points in the second quarter and he accounted for 173 yards of offence to help the Lions beat the Chicago Bears 40-32 on Sunday.

Detroit (3-1) moved into a first-place tie with Chicago (3-1) in the NFC North. The Lions scored 24 straight points, including three TDs in a span of 3 minutes, 26 second, after Matt Forte's 53-yard TD run gave the Bears 10-6 lead early in the second quarter.

Jay Cutler, who had four turnovers, threw a pair of touchdown passes and 2-point conversions in the final 4 minutes to pull Chicago within eight points to make the score look respectable.

Lions receiver Kris Durham recovered the onside kick to seal the win.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alex Smith threw three touchdown passes, Dexter McCluster returned a punt 89 yards for another score and the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs plunged the New York Giants to 0-4 with a 24-7 victory on Sunday.

Smith hit touchdown passes of 4, 2 and 35 yards for the Chiefs (4-0), who under Andy Reid have already doubled their victory total of 2012. They are the second team to go from a two-win season to 4-0 the next year.

The Giants, who trailed only 17-7 after three quarters, are 0-4 for the first time since 1987.

Eli Manning connected with Victor Cruz on a 69-yard scoring play for New York's only score. The Kansas City defence sacked Manning three times. Smith was intercepted twice, the first giveaways by the Chiefs, who also lost a fumble.

SAN DIEGO — Philip Rivers threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns, including a 56-yarder to Antonio Gates, and the San Diego Chargers rallied to beat the Dallas Cowboys 30-21 Sunday.

The Chargers (2-2) had blown late leads in their two losses this season. On Sunday, they scored the final 20 points to beat Dallas (2-2).

Rivers short-armed a pass over the middle to Gates, who slid behind linebacker Sean Lee to haul it in and score with 6:54 to go.

Lee had intercepted Rivers on a deflected pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown and a 21-10 lead late in the second quarter. Dallas didn't score again.

Tony Romo moved the Cowboys to the San Diego 7 and hit Terrance Williams, who fumbled at the 1. San Diego's Richard Marshall recovered in the end zone with 2:42 left.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Robert Griffin III threw a go-ahead touchdown pass late in the third quarter to help the Washington Redskins overcome an early 14-point deficit to beat the Oakland Raiders 24-14 Sunday for their first win of the season.

David Amerson returned an interception for another score for the Redskins (1-3).

Washington looked ready to extend the worst start for the franchise since 2001 when they fell behind 14-0 after the first quarter thanks to a blocked punt touchdown and a scoring pass from Matt Flynn.

But the much-maligned Washington defence allowed the Raiders (1-3) no more points, taking advantage of an offence that was without starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor the entire game and starting running backs Darren McFadden and Marcel Reece for most of it.

TAMPA, Fla. — Carson Palmer threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald, then Jay Feely kicked a 27-yard field goal with 1:29 remaining as the Arizona Cardinals rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-10 on Sunday.

Patrick Peterson had two interceptions, one setting up Arizona's first TD in six quarters, the other to ruin any chance of rookie Mike Glennon pulling off a comeback in his first NFL start for the winless Bucs (0-4).

Feely also kicked a 42-yard field goal for the Cardinals (2-2), who trailed 10-0 at halftime.

Starting in place of the benched Josh Freeman, Glennon was steady — if not spectacular — for most of the game. But it all unraveled after Peterson stepped in front of a pass for Vincent Jackson.

Fitzgerald beat cornerback Darrelle Revis on the next play for his 80th career TD reception.

NASHVILLE — Jake Locker threw a career-high three touchdowns before being taken to the hospital with an injured right hip, and the Tennessee Titans beat the New York Jets 38-13 for their second straight victory.

Locker was hurt early in the third quarter when hit first by Muhammad Wilkerson after throwing an incomplete pass, then popped by Quinton Coples. He grabbed at his hip as he went to the ground and was carted off the field before being loaded into an ambulance. The Titans had no immediate word on the severity of his injury.

Alterraun Verner intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble, Karl Klug sacked Geno Smith and stripped him of the ball for a TD as the Titans turned Smith's four turnovers into 28 points. Ropati Pitoitua had two of Tennessee's five sacks as the Titans (3-1) continued their surprising start.

The Jets (2-2) couldn't overcome Smith's rookie mistakes.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Andrew Luck threw two touchdown passes, Trent Richardson ran for a score and the Indianapolis Colts became the latest to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars by double digits with a 37-3 win Sunday.

The Colts (3-1) weren't all that good, especially early in the first half, but they were plenty good against one of the worst teams in the league.

Indianapolis led 20-3 at halftime — Jacksonville (0-4) has been outscored 75-8 in the first half this season — and made it a laugher with consecutive touchdown drives in the third quarter.

Luck found Coby Fleener for a 31-yard score, a play in which even Fleener was surprised that he was so wide open, and then connected with Reggie Wayne in the back of the end zone from 5 yards.

That made it 34-3 and sent many of the Jaguars faithful heading to the exits.

The Colts had outgained the Jaguars 363-70 at that point.

CLEVELAND — Brian Hoyer, the local kid who always dreamed of being Cleveland's quarterback, threw two touchdown passes in his first start at home to lead the Browns to a 17-6 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Hoyer's 1-yard TD pass to Chris Ogbonnaya with 4:54 left gave the Browns (2-2) an 11-point lead and Cleveland turned it over to its vastly improved defence.

In his second start in place of injured Brandon Weeden, Hoyer finished 25 of 38 for 269 yards. He threw a 2-yard TD pass in the first half to Jordan Cameron, who had 10 catches for 91 yards.

The Bengals (2-2) couldn't get anything going on offence and Andy Dalton was intercepted by Buster Skrine with 3:43 left, ending any chance of a comeback.

Cleveland limited the Bengals to 63 rushing yards and cornerback Joe Haden contained wide receiver A.J. Green.

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Raptors to host NBA All-Star Game in 2016: report

Toronto appears set to host the 2016 NBA all-star game.

The Raptors will make the announcement Monday at the Air Canada Centre, according to multiple media reports.

It will be the first time the Raptors have hosted the event, which will mark the franchise's 21st season.

Among the people attending the announcement are Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri, NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver, Mayor Rob Ford and Toronto rapper Drake.

The 2014 all-star game will take place in New Orleans, while New York will host the 2015 installment.

The last time Toronto hosted an all-star game was for the National Lacrosse League in 2006. The NHL all stars came to Toronto in 2000, and the Blue Jays hosted baseball's event in 1991.

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Maple Leafs upend Red Wings in pre-season finale

When the Toronto Marlies and Grand Rapids Griffins open the AHL season next week, the rosters should look similar to the ones the Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings put on the ice Saturday night at Air Canada Centre.

This was an NHL pre-season game, the finale for both teams, but it wasn't much of a dress rehearsal for the regular season. Two dozen players expected to start in the minor leagues helped decide the Leafs' 3-1 win.

One of those players was Toronto defenceman John-Michael Liles, who scored on the power play in the second period and picked up a primary assist in the third. Waivers could await the 32-year-old, who's likely on the outside of the Leafs' picture on the blue line.

'I slid under the radar my whole life, so I think today was a pretty big game for me, and hopefully I can keep it going.'- Maple Leafs forward Josh Leivo

"We've got a lot of depth on the blue line, a lot of really good players — good, young players, as well," Liles said. "It's never easy. There hasn't been a camp in my NHL career where it's your position set in stone. It just makes it even tougher when you've got kids pushing you. You've got some great, young blue-liners in this organization, and they should be proud of the camp they had."

Liles has a $3.875-million salary-cap hit, and his contract has two years left on it after this one. The Leafs have Dion Phaneuf, Carl Gunnarsson, Jake Gardiner, Mark Fraser, Paul Ranger and the recently signed Cody Franson ahead of him, and that's not even counting prospect Morgan Rielly.

Rielly's status remains in question, and the Leafs must decide whether to keep the 19-year-old around for at least a nine-game cameo or send him back to Moose Jaw of the WHL. He was satisfied at how he acquitted himself during the pre-season, but coach Randy Carlyle wasn't revealing much when asked about Rielly's chances of playing in the NHL right now.

"I think Morgan Rielly's very close," Carlyle said. "To say that, unequivocally, he's ready to play in the NHL is a tough question to ask and a tougher question to answer at this point. We know he's played very well for our hockey club, he's a talented young man and he's only going to get better. Those are the tough decisions that you're faced with."

Carlyle also mentioned the idea of tough decisions when asked Saturday to review Liles' play in his previous two pre-season games. Liles was largely a nonfactor with a plus-2 rating in those games.

Toronto is over the cap ceiling and the roster the team submits Monday at 5 p.m. is expected to have fewer than 23 players. Right-winger David Clarkson's 10-game suspension complicates the situation in general, but it's likely not something that factors in with Liles.

Instead, he very well could be on the bad end of a numbers game. If nothing else, Liles may have used an afterthought of a pre-season game to show another team why he deserves a chance to stick around in the NHL.

"I think every time you step on the ice you're trying to build toward something," Liles said. "For me, this is my third pre-season game, you're trying to build toward the regular season. I don't necessarily think it was a conscious thing to say, 'I need to go out there and assert myself.' I think you're trying to build and prepare for the regular season, and that's all you can do as a player. I'm no different than any other guy."

Liles' performance probably won't make enough of a difference within the Leafs' organization, but in the long term forward Josh Leivo made a nice impression. The 2011 third-round pick who is about to embark on his first professional season scored twice Saturday and was the first star of the game on national television.

"I slid under the radar my whole life, so I think today was a pretty big game for me, and hopefully I can keep it going," Leivo said.

Leivo's first goal, a deflection that was "a little bit of luck and a little bit of skill," was made possible by Franson's shot from the point. Unlike Liles, Franson knows he will be around Tuesday when the season opens at Montreal. But that was a late-camp development after the 26-year-old signed a one-year, $2-million deal Thursday.

Goaltender James Reimer's spot in the opening-night lineup isn't so secure even after a strong pre-season that wrapped up with 24 saves on 25 shots against a Red Wings team that dressed one over the minimum amount of veterans required for pre-season games. Competing with Jonathan Bernier for playing time, Reimer finished the exhibition season with a .923 save percentage.

"I tried to prove myself every day in practice and preparing myself and taking care of myself off the ice," Reimer said. "I feel like I've done the best that I can, and now it's up to Randy."

Carlyle already said Reimer and Bernier would split the regular season's first two games. Who starts the season opener "probably's going to be the toughest decision," the Leafs' coach said.

"Those are good decisions," he said. "It's tough on coaches and tough on management to pick one guy when both have played well. But the underlying fact is it's a great decision because we have 1A and 1B quality goaltenders. Both guys can start."

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Argos rally from 21-point deficit to stun Eskimos

The Toronto Argonauts may be taking their role as comeback kids a little too seriously.

Chad Kackert scored a pair of touchdowns as the Toronto Argonauts won their fourth in a row on the road with a wild 34-22 come-from-behind victory over the Edmonton Eskimos on Saturday.

The Argos scored 33 unanswered points in the second half, the fourth consecutive game they have come back to win when trailing at the mid-mark.

Edmonton, which had led 22-1 early in the third, allowed the Argos to get back into the game, seeing their lead erode to 22-20. 

'It just goes to show the kind of character we have on this team," he said. "Nobody here believes a game is over until there are zeros on the clock.'- Argos DB Pat Watkins

Toronto then surged ahead with three minutes remaining in the fourth after Pat Watkins absolutely crushed Eskimos backup quarterback Kerry Joseph for a sack, causing him to cough up the ball and the Argos recovered on the Edmonton five. That led to an unusual touchdown as Argos quarterback Zach Collaros fumbled the ball into the end zone where Kackert was able to jump on it to put Toronto up 27-22.

The Eskimos had one more shot but Joseph threw it right into the hands of Marcus Ball, who ran it 57 yards for the touchdown with 40 seconds left to put the game away.

"It just shows that our guys will never quit," said Argos coach Scott Milanovich. "They have a lot of belief in each other. I'm a bit disappointed in myself that I wasn't able to get our offence going in the first half, but our defence really played an outstanding game. It was a total team effort.

"Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for them, once the momentum starts swinging one way it is difficult to get it to stop and I felt that's what happened tonight."

Watkins, who had a monster night on defence with a huge sack and fumble recovery and two interceptions, said his team has shown some real resilience of late.

"It just goes to show the kind of character we have on this team," he said. "Nobody here believes a game is over until there are zeros on the clock. That's the way our coach has been teaching us, to keep playing no matter what. This shows our ability to react when we are down and that we can keep composed and keep playing."

The Argos (9-4) solidified their hold on first place in the East Division while also becoming the first team in CFL history to win all four games of a four-game road trip. Only three other teams (Calgary in 1967, B.C. in 2001 and Winnipeg in 2012) have ever had a four-game stint away from their home field, and none was able to sweep on the trip.

The Eskimos (3-10) saw a two-game winning streak come to an end, jeopardizing their hopes of earning a cross-over playoff spot.

"It was our execution, but Toronto did a good job of taking advantage of our mistakes," said Eskimos coach Kavis Reed. "That's an exceptional team and we're not at the point where we can make the mistakes that we made. And they were good enough to capitalize on them."

The bad news was compounded as quarterback Mike Reilly left the game with a suspected concussion at the end of the first quarter and did not return.

Edmonton gained a punt single from its first possession after a drive-killing dropped pass by running back John White when he was in the clear.

The Eskimos got the ball back, but Reilly was promptly picked off by Watkins at the Edmonton 52. The shift in field position would only gain the Argos a single on a missed 43-yard Swayze Waters field goal attempt two series later, however.

Edmonton continued to catch breaks leading up to a touchdown with 18 seconds left in the first quarter. A face-mask penalty negated an interception by Jermaine Gabriel and then two more penalties put Edmonton in the red zone where Reilly was able to find Shawawd Chambers for a 17-yard TD pass and an 8-1 lead after the opening quarter.

Toronto returner Trent Guy took the ensuing kick 65 yards to the Edmonton 27, however Waters missed another field goal attempt from 28 yards, hitting the ribbon at the top of the uprights and failing to get a point from it.

Reilly left the game with a head injury, but Joseph looked competent in his place, leading the team on a long drive that culminated in a six-yard pass into the end zone to Fred Stamps and a 15-1 Edmonton lead midway through the second.

Edmonton kicker Hugh O'Neill missed a late field goal attempt of his own from 45 yards, keeping the Eskimos 14-point lead intact at the half.

The Eskimos built on their lead six minutes into the third frame as a 35-yard pass to Stamps set up a three-yard keeper by Joseph to make it 22-1.

After his two earlier misses, Waters finally hit a three-pointer from 50 yards out for a 22-4 score with five minutes left in the third.

The Argos got themselves back in the game in a hurry late in the third quarter as Watkins had his fourth interception in the last two games and a long return, setting up a 48-yard touchdown run by Kackert to make it 22-11 heading into the fourth.

"He changed the game with that big run after the turnover," Reed said. "His big run gave them momentum back and we weren't able to grab it back."

Toronto cut Edmonton's lead to just three points four minutes into the fourth quarter as Collaros hit Dontrelle Inman for an 11-yard TD and then found John Chiles open in the end zone for a two-point convert to narrow the gap to 22-19.

The Argos had a chance to tie the game on a field goal attempt from 25 yards out with four minutes remaining, but Swayze's kick went wide to the left for a single.

The Argonauts return home for the first time in five games next Friday as they face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Eskimos remain home to play Montreal on Saturday.

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Maple Leafs send Joe Colborne to Flames for 4th-round pick

It didn't take long for Brian Burke to reach into his Toronto Maple Leafs past in his new job with the Calgary Flames.

Late Saturday night, Burke's Flames acquired centre Joe Colborne for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft.

Colborne was among the players fighting for one of the final spots on the Leafs roster but did not stand out in the pre-season. The 23-year-old joins a host of other young players who are expected to be given big minutes by the rebuilding Flames.

"With the opportunity to speak with Brian Burke and learn about Joe's hockey sense and character from someone who had him as a player and knows him so well, it became clear to us that this is the type of young, big centre we need," Flames general manager Jay Feaster said in a statement.

"He fits in very well with our rebuild and provides size up the middle which we believe is critical going forward. The fact that he is from Calgary is an added bonus. We look forward to welcoming him to the Flames family."

It's the second time Burke has traded for Colborne. When he was the Leafs' GM, Burke got Colborne from the Bruins as part of a deal that sent defenceman Tomas Kaberle to Boston.

Now the Flames' president of hockey operations, Burke has some salary-cap space to play with. Beyond Colborne, who's on a one-year, one-way deal that pays him US$600,000, that could mean getting involved in waivers in the coming days.

"I would predict that Sunday will be a big day on the waiver wire, and possibly Monday, because the league starts on Tuesday," Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said.

Colborne, a 2008 first-round pick of the Bruins, has one goal and five assists in 16 career NHL games for the Leafs. He had three assists in six pre-season games.

Toronto said the fourth-round pick it got for Colborne is Calgary's and that it could be upgraded to a third rounder "if certain conditions are met in the upcoming season." Those conditions were not disclosed.

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Milos Raonic wins Thailand Open

Canadian Milos Raonic upset top-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6 (4), 6-3 to claim his fifth title at the Thailand Open on Sunday.

The No. 11-ranked Raonic put up 18 aces to beat his No. 6-ranked opponent in the final at the Impact Arena in one hour, 17 minutes.

It was Raonic's fifth tour victory, adding to the three in San Jose from 2011-13 and Chennai in 2012.

He also improved his unbeaten record over Berdych to 2-0 after also beating the Czech player in the Cincinnati Masters last year.

Berdych had his chances in the match with a set point at 6-5 in the first but Raonic used his big serve to force a weak return before sending a forehand winner to escape.

The Canadian then relied on powerful serves to force the tie-break, which he sealed with another booming serve.

Raonic managed an early break in the second game to take a 2-0 lead in the second after Berdych netted two successive shots.

'I'm serving well and doing a lot of good things, I want to keep that up and put myself in a position to win more.'- Canadian tennis player Milos Raonic

At 5-3, Raonic produced another ace to set up a championship point before blasting a forehand winner to take the match.

"It feels great to win the title," said the 22-year-old from Thornhill., Ont., now 37-17 this season.

"The first set was about finding rhythm. Once I did I was solid after that," he said.

"I knew I had to play slightly more aggressive, not just put the ball in play. I did that and was able to take control, I got some insight into what I needed to do to beat him."

Raonic's next challenge will be in Tokyo, where he lost the 2012 final to Japan's Kei Nishikori.

"I'll have to carry this momentum onto Tokyo," he said before flying overnight to the Japanese capital for a Monday arrival.

"The only thing I'm worrying about is what I need to do in the first match (against Japan's Go Soeda).

"I'm serving well and doing a lot of good things, I want to keep that up and put myself in a position to win more."

Raonic said he's been working hard on his game since losing to Rafael Nadal in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal in August.

"I maybe wasn't playing my best tennis there but I've been improving a little at a time," he said.

And the payoff for the work came in Bangkok.

"I'm happy with how I dealt with this whole week, I fought my way through and put the pieces together to win," he said.

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Sochi Olympic torch lit in Greece

Greek actress Ino Menegaki lights a torch from the sun's rays reflected in a parabolic mirror during the torch lighting ceremony. (Yorgos Karahalis/Reuters)

Using the sun's rays, the Olympic flame lighting for the Winter Games in Sochi went off without a hitch in southern Greece Sunday, ahead of its journey across Russia's nine time zones and even a trip to space before the Feb. 7-23 Games.

The ceremony was held with actresses dressed as ancient priestesses at the birthplace of the Greek games held in antiquity, with the flame lighting using a parabolic mirror.

Actress Ino Menegaki, in the role of high priestess, called out to the ancient god of the sun, Apollo, before the flame was lit and passed to 18-year-old Greek alpine skier Ioannis Antoniou. NHL star Alex Ovechkin will be the first Russian involved in the torch relay.

Newly elected International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was present at the ceremony.

"The Olympic Games ... should inspire the people of the world and especially the political authorities by showing them that quarrels and conflicts can be addressed with peaceful means," Bach said just before the start of the 20-minute ancient re-enactment involving 21 priestesses dressed in cream-coloured pleated dresses.

The Russian leg of the torch relay is set to cover more than 65,000 kilometres before the Winter Games, carrying the torch by hot-air balloon, dog sled and a nuclear-powered ice breaker before its scheduled trip to space on Nov. 7.

"There is no greater privilege than to stand here in the spiritual home of the Olympic Movement," said Dmitry Chernyshenko, chief organizer of Sochi 2014. "This is the beginning of an epic journey for the Olympic Torch, a journey that will change Russia forever."

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Inside the Saddledome after Alberta floods

Just three months ago, Alberta floodwaters submerged the Calgary Flames dressing room and encroached into the lower-bowl seats of the Scotiabank Saddledome. 

Never-before broadcast footage on CBC News Friday shows hockey gear and expensive video equipment covered in mud and debris immediately following the flood that devastated parts of Southern Alberta in June.

Now the Flames' home rink is on its way to being back in business. Saddledome chief operating officer John Bean told CBC News that management hired 300 workers to rebuild severely damaged areas of the building.

The Flames are set to host the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 6 in their first home game of the 2013-14 NHL regular season. But back-to-back shows by American band Eagles will serve as test events for the Saddledome on Sept. 11 and 12.

Watch the video above for a look back at the damage to the Saddledome caused by the floods and what the arena looks like now after the repairs.

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Canada beats Puerto Rico, qualifies for FIBA women's worlds

Canada's women's basketball team defeated Puerto Rico 73-48, and will play Cuba for the gold medal at the FIBA Americas championship.

With the win, Canada also earns a spot at the 2014 world championship in Turkey.

Kim Gaucher led Canada to its third straight trip to the world championship with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.

Though she's pleased with the result, the veteran of Canada's women's program knows the win is just a step toward the team's ultimate goal.

"It feels great, but it feels like we're not done yet," said Gaucher. "We came here to get the gold, not just to qualify so it feels like we still have a job to do right now.

"We truly feel like we're a team on the rise and we're a force to be reckoned with in women's basketball. To continue what we've been doing in the last few years, we knew we couldn't just come here and not play our best and not qualify ... We feel like we're good enough to be in the finals and that's what we came here to do."

Natalie Achonwa added 11 points for Canada, who will play for gold on Saturday.

"Us winning this game is almost a relief — so much excitement — but also a relief that we did qualify," Achonwa said. "To be able to get rid of the jitters of qualifying and now to play for the gold, it will be a great experience."

Carla Cortijo was the top scorer for Puerto Rico with 22 points.

Cuba, meanwhile, advanced to the final by upsetting Brazil 72-68 on Friday.

Clenia Noblet scored 18 points for the Cuban squad while Leidys Oquendo added another 17. With 15 points, Adriana Pinto was Brazil's top scorer.

The top three teams from the tournament advance to the 2014 championship. Puerto Rico will face Brazil on Saturday for the bronze medal, and the final spot in Istanbul.

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Canada's Milos Raonic reaches Thailand Open final

Canada's Milos Raonic came from a set down to oust defending champion Richard Gasquet 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 Saturday and reach the final of the Thailand Open.

The hard-serving Raonic hit 23 aces and broke Gasquet once in each of the second and third sets.

He will play top-seeded Tomas Berdych, who needed nearly three hours to outlast Gilles Simon of France 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-5.

Simon saved four set points in the 10th game of the first set and was down 5-3 in the tiebreaker before winning the next four points, clinching it when Berdych sent a forehand into the net.

But Berdych took a 3-0 in the second and broke his opponent in the 11th game of the decider to reach his third final of the year.

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Petra Kvitova rallies to reach Pan Pacific Open final

Petra Kvitova rallied to defeat Venus Williams 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) on Friday and advance to the Pan Pacific Open final. 

The seventh-seeded Kvitova dominated the tiebreak, jumping out to a 6-0 lead.

Williams won the next two points before the Czech player capitalized on her third match point. 

Williams had been bidding for her first title since winning in Luxembourg last October. 

"I was probably a little tired," said Williams, who endured a three-hour, three-setter on Thursday.

"But I don't think it affected the match. She played two matches yesterday so no doubt was a little tired as well." 

Kvitova, who held off 11 break points, will face either fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki or No. 5 Angelique Kerber. 

"I am really happy with how I played today," Kvitova said. "It was a very close match and every game was up and down."

The WTA has announced that Serena Williams is guaranteed to finish the year as the world No. 1 player for the third time.

This season, she has lost only four singles so far.

Williams, who also finished the year on top in 2002 and 2009, has won nine WTA titles this season including the French Open and U.S. Open.

The 32-year-old Williams returned to the No. 1 spot in February, when she became the oldest player to top the rankings.

She is the seventh player to finish at least three seasons at No. 1, alongside Steffi Graf (eight times), Martina Navratilova (seven times), Chris Evert (five times), Lindsay Davenport (four times), Justine Henin (three times) and Martina Hingis (three times). 

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Tim Thomas signs 1-year deal with Panthers

Tim Thomas is officially back in the NHL.

The Stanley Cup-winning goalie signed a one-year contract Thursday with the Florida Panthers, a move that was expected for several days. Financial terms were not released.

The 39-year-old Thomas took last season off, then decided he was ready to return to hockey.

His signing is part of a busy week for the Panthers. The team will introduce Vincent Viola as its new owner on Friday, a person familiar withi the situation told The Associated Press.

Thomas has played in 378 NHL games, all with Boston. He's stopped 92 percent of the shots he has faced, with a 2.48 goals-against average. He led the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup.

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Tomas Plekanec, Habs defeat Senators in Montreal

Brian Gionta's back, and he feels like he didn't miss a beat.

The Canadiens' captain, in his first game since leaving last year's playoffs with a biceps injury, ended the night with an assist and three shots on net in Montreal's 3-1 pre-season win over Ottawa.

"I felt great," said Gionta. "Everything was good. I felt like my timing was pretty good. I'm happy."

Gionta assisted on Tomas Plekanec's game-winning-goal in the second period. He said his injury didn't bother him at all.

"Overall I thought in the second period we started to assert ourselves a little better and play our game.

"It's your last game, you want to feel good about yourself going into the first game of the season. We accomplished that with a pretty great effort all the way through."

Gionta and the Canadiens were helped by a solid performance by Carey Price — his best of the pre-season — who stopped 29 of 30 shots. 

'Overall I thought in the second period we started to assert ourselves a little better and play our game. It's your last game, you want to feel good about yourself going into the first game of the season. We accomplished that with a pretty great effort all the way through'- Canadiens forward Brian Gionta

"As a team it's nice to get together as an almost complete unit," said Price.

"It's always good to get into the regular season with the win. We'd like to get better. There are a few areas of our game that we'd like to improve on. We'd like to smooth some of the things out."

Price only allowed one goal, to the Senators' Cory Conacher, who's had the Canadiens' number since last year's playoffs when he scored three times in the series against the Habs.

This was Montreal's second game in two nights against the Senators. Ottawa beat Montreal 5-2 on Wednesday.

The Senators, who have played three games in as many nights, fielded a much younger and less-experienced team on Thursday. Veterans Jason Spezza, Chris Neil, and Erik Karlsson were healthy scratches.

Ottawa coach Paul MacLean thinks the result — achieved with a young team — is indicative of the Senators depth.

"It's a great credit to our team that we're able to come in here with the team we had and play the way we did," said MacLean.

"I thought a lot of players gave a very good account of themselves. The growth that we get from the loss is really going to help a lot of our players down the road."

After Conacher opened the scoring for Ottawa at 5:09 of the first, Alex Galchenyuk tied the score late in the period, completing a nice tic-tac-toe play between him, Lars Eller, and Daniel Briere.

Plekanec put the Canadiens in front at 18:06 of the second period, firing a shot in the roof of the net from the face-off circle to goaltender Craig Anderson's right.

Max Pacioretty doubled the Canadiens' lead mid-way through the final period.

The Senators outshot Montreal 30-25.

Earlier in the day, the Canadiens assigned forward Christian Thomas and defenceman Greg Pateryn to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL.

After the game, the Habs cut Nathan Beaulieu and Gabriel Dumont from the roster.

Montreal opens the regular season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

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Canucks blank Rangers in Alain Vigneault's return

Hunter Shinkaruk earned a chance to stay in the NHL for at least a little while longer Thursday night.

The 18-year-old rookie scored a goal, his second of the pre-season, as the Vancouver Canucks blanked the New York Rangers 5-0 at Rogers Arena. He stayed with the Canucks after coach John Tortorella sent three other players packing to the minors and back to junior after the game.

"With that shot, it just kind of found the net," he said. "I was really fortunate."

Shinkaruk, a Calgary native who was one of Vancouver's two first-round draft choices (24th overall) this year, put in a shot off Rangers defenceman Dan Girardi in with 44 seconds left in the second period to close out the scoring.

"I'm just kind of excited every day I wake up," said Shinkaruk. "I'm just trying to do my best when I come to the rink -- and hope my name is hanging still in my stall. So far, it's been good, but I can't take anything for granted."

Shinkaruk finished the pre-season with three points after also earning an assist in another game. Although he has been used as a bottom-six forward, he hopes the pre-season production will bolster his chance to stay in the NHL permanently.

"I'm definitely a guy who's been relied upon to shoot a lot and score goals in junior," said Shinkaruk. "Obviously, it's a bit different coming in here with the high-end guys that (are) on this team. My role has changed a little bit, but that's still my role -- to try to create a little bit of offence as much as I can."

Due to his age, he must go back to his Medicine Hat Tigers junior squad in the WHL if he does not last more than nine regular-season games with the Canucks. If he plays a 10th game, his entry-level NHL contract will kick in.

But with winger Zack Kassian suspended for the first five games of the regular season and Jordan Schroeder nursing a fractured foot that is expected to keep him out three weeks, new coach John Tortorella has elected to keep Shinkaruk around -- for now -- as the regular season approaches.

"He's played well, scored another goal," said Tortorella. "He scores two goals that are kind of funky goals, but they're goals. He's had a good camp. The suspension with Kass opens up another spot there. I'm not sure what the lineup's going to be. But he's certainly made a case as he played."

'Has to go play' 

Henrik Sedin scored two goals as the Vancouver Canucks finished the pre-season 2-4-0. The goals, his first of the pre-season, came as he and twin brother Daniel celebrated their 33rd birthday.

The Rangers saw their pre-season record fall to 1-4-0 with one game still to play Friday in Las Vegas against the Los Angeles Kings.

Frank Corrado and Ryan Kesler also scored for the Canucks. Alex Edler supplied three assists. But Corrado's offence didn't help him because the 20-year-old defenceman from Toronto was sent down to Utica of the AHL after the game.

"Frankie had a goal and assist, and we just sent him to Utica," said Tortorella. "I thought he started off [training camp] really well and, the middle part, it looked like he just lost a little bit of the confidence. But he has to go play. We're not going to keep a young guy here to be a sixth guy or a seventh guy who's playing eight or nine minutes. He can go down there and play 25, 30 and, hopefully, maybe revisit where he's at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and see where we go."

Zach Hamill, a 25-year-old journeyman from Vancouver, was returned to Utica after being recalled briefly in wake of suspensions and injuries. Brendan Gaunce, 19, Vancouver's top 2012 draft pick, was returned to the Belleville Bulls of the OHL. Tortorella said he wants Gaunce, who scored two goals in five pre-season games but did not play Thursday, to pick up his pace of play.

New York's Alain Vigneault and Vancouver's Tortorella coached against their former teams for the first time. They were replaced with each other after being fired following last spring's playoffs.

'Step in the right direction'

Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo picked up his second win of the pre-season. He recorded 41 saves for his first shutout as the Rangers outshot the Canucks 41-20.

Luongo was glad to be tested early and hopes the effort will help him get off to a good start in the regular season.

"It's definitely a step in the right direction," said Luongo. "We want to keep building on that.

"That being said, it doesn't really translate automatically to a good start. I've had some good pre-seasons before, and sometimes it didn't translate."

Rangers starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist took the loss as he stopped 12-of-17 shots in two periods of work. Vigneault decided to pull Lundqvist early due to poor play and the possibility he might go with him Friday in against the Kings.

Backup Martin Biron stopped just three shots in a scoreless third period.

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Mariano Rivera bids farewell to Yankee Stadium

He may live on in the dreams of many but The Sandman's famed career at Yankee Stadium can finally be put to bed. 

On Thursday night, Mariano Rivera — the iconic veteran New York Yankees closer — made his final appearance in pin stripes at his home ballpark, and received an ovation fit for a legend. 

The 13-time MLB All-Star's emotions got the best of him as the thunderous applause from the crowd echoed between the bleachers — a small token of appreciation for a storied career.

The 43-year-old began sobbing as teammates Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte, who is also retiring after the season, came out to remove him from the game with two outs in the ninth inning. 

Click the above video to see how it all happened.

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Eugenie Bouchard exits Pan Pacific Open in quarter-finals

Montreal's Eugenie Bouchard was unable to continue her string of big wins at the Pan Pacific Open Thursday when she faced American star Venus Williams in the quarter-finals.

The 19-year-old Montrealer lost 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 to Williams in a three-hour match.

Williams, playing in the Tokyo tournament for the first time since 2009, broke Bouchard with a forehand down the line to go up 5-2 in the third set and held on to win the match at Ariake Colosseum.

"She played so well," Williams said. "She's going to be a great player -- she's already a great player -- and it was just a fight to the end." 

Bouchard put Williams on notice when she built a 3-1 lead in the quarter-final, but Williams fought back to break her three times in their first meeting. 

In the second set, Bouchard capitalized on her second set point, winning the tiebreak 7-4. 

"I was just fighting until the end," Williams said. "It was disappointing to lose the second set, but to win the third set is the goal, so I'm happy." 

Each player served a pair of aces and Willams recorded 35 unforced errors to 34 for Bouchard.

Bouchard had upset sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-2 on Wednesday, a day after ousting No. 8 Sloane Stephens of the U.S.

Bouchard, making her debut in the Tokyo tournament, is 46th in the world rankings.

She earlier said winning last year's junior Wimbledon title has given her confidence to compete at a higher level.

Williams will face Petra Kvitova in the semifinals. The seventh-seeded Czech beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-1.

The American had ousted top-seeded Victoria Azarenka on Tuesday.

Kvitova of the Czech Republic defeated Madison Keys of the United States, 6-2, 6-2 while Kuznetsova of Russia beat Sorana Cirstea Romania, 7-6 (3), 6-1.

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Leafs ink Cody Franson to 1-year deal: report

The Toronto Maple Leafs reportedly have ended their contract dispute with Cody Franson.

A source said the defenceman agreed to terms on a one-year deal, with reports pegging it at $2 million US.

Franson, who made $1.2 million last season, had four goals and 25 assists during a career year in 2012-13.

He's expected to play top-four minutes this season.

"Franny's back!" Leafs centre Nazem Kadri wrote on his Twitter account.

His signing does put the Leafs in a crunch against the NHL salary cap, especially considering right-winger David Clarkson is suspended for the first 10 games of the regular season.

More to come

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Blues win Stanley Cup in NHL 14 video simulation

It could be a season to remember for the St. Louis Blues, according to a video game simulation of the 2013-14 NHL campaign.

The EA Sports NHL 14 simulation had the Blues winning their first ever Stanley Cup by dispatching the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two in the final.

Defenceman Alex Pietrangelo won the Conn Smythe Trophy.

The defending champion Chicago Blackhawks won the Presidents' Trophy with 108 points, only to fall to the Blues in the Western Conference final.

Vancouver (fourth in the West), Edmonton (eighth in the West), Montreal (sixth in the East) and Toronto (seventh in the East) all made the playoffs.

Winnipeg was 12th and Calgary 14th in the West while Ottawa, missing out on the playoffs by three points, was ninth in the East.

Only Montreal advanced out of the first round of the playoffs among Canadian teams. The Habs beat Detroit in six games before losing to Pittsburgh in five.

The Bruins ruined Toronto's season again, dispatching the Leafs in five games. The Penguins finally stopped the Boston charge in the Eastern final, winning four games to three.

In the West, Vancouver lost to San Jose in seven games, while Chicago swept Edmonton in four.

St. Louis advanced to the Cup final by beating Minnesota in five games, Los Angeles in six and Chicago in six. Pittsburgh made it by defeating the Islanders in seven games, Montreal and Boston.

According to the simulation:

• Sidney Crosby won the Hart Memorial Trophy after leading the league with 109 points (41 goals and 68 assists).
• Steven Stamkos picked up the Rocket Richard Trophy as top goal-scorer with 64.
• Jonathan Drouin claimed the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie.
• Tuukka Rask won the Vezina as top goalie.

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All 3 Team Canada Olympic jerseys leaked?

And then there were three.

A photograph of what is alleged to be all three Team Canada hockey sweaters for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games has gone viral. 

The photo making the rounds on social media websites like Reddit and Twitter shows three Canadian jerseys — red, white and black — that bear a close resemblance to the one seen in a previous leaked photo.   

On Sept. 6, a photo of Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews wearing what was presumably Canada's home red sweater caused a stir among hockey fans.

Toews, who helped Canada win gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games and is a virtual lock for the 2014 Olympic squad, was seen posing in the jersey and holding a hockey stick during an apparent photo shoot.

A photo of Jonathan Toews in a Canada hockey sweater was removed from the Getty Images website on Sept. 6. (Melinda Pilon/Getty Images)

The cutline credited that photo to Melinda Pilon of Getty Images, which promptly pulled it from the agency website.

Keen-eyed observers claim the initial photo was legit because certain details — the placement of the Nike logo and customized collar trim made to look like laces — were identical to those used by the sports apparel giant in designing the Olympic jerseys of the Russian and U.S. teams.

All three jerseys in the latest leaked photo appear to have the same distinct features. 

Hockey Canada plans to officially unveil the team's uniform on Oct. 8.

Which hockey sweater do you like most?

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Eugenie Bouchard bounces Jankovic at Pan Pacific Open

Montreal's Eugenie Bouchard upset sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, 7-5, 6-2 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Pan Pacific Open on Wednesday.

Bouchard, making her debut in the Tokyo tournament, broke Jankovic to go up 5-2 in the second set and then held serve to win the match in 1 hour 10 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.

Jankovic had a 5-4 lead in the first set, but Bouchard won the last three games after a talk with her coach.

"I felt like I wasn't playing my best in the first set," Bouchard said. "But I stayed with her and started to get a lot more aggressive near the end of the first set and that was the turning point."

Bouchard, who is 46th in the WTA rankings, said winning last year's junior Wimbledon title has given her confidence to compete at a higher level.

"That gave me a lot of confidence to play in the pros," Bouchard said. "Playing week in, week out against the top players has made me a better player."

The 19-year-old Bouchard will next face either Venus Williams or Simona Halep of Romania, who play later Wednesday.

In another third-round match, fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, 6-1, 6-1.

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Argos QB Zach Collaros offensive player of the week

Toronto Argonauts quarterback Zach Collaros was named CFL offensive player of the week Tuesday while teammate Andre Durie picked up the honour for top Canadian.

Collaros completed 25 of 36 passes for 330 yards and had a career-high four touchdown passes as Toronto defeated the Calgary Stampeders 33-27.

Durie scored a touchdown and had a game-high nine receptions for 64 yards. The Mississauga, Ont., native also ran the ball twice for 17 yards.

Montreal Alouettes linebacker Chip Cox was named defensive player of the week. He had a game-high eight tackles, two sacks and an interception in a loss to Hamilton.

Tiger-Cats kicker Brett Lauther picked up the special-teams player of the week award after converting all four of his field-goal attempts in his CFL debut in Moncton.

He added a pair of converts in the 28-26 victory.

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Impact eliminated from CONCACAF Champions League

The Montreal Impact were in no mood to celebrate despite winning for the first time in their last four games.

Montreal was eliminated from CONCACAF Champions League competition despite a 2-0 win over CD Heredia on Tuesday night.

The Impact, who won the Amway Canadian Championship, needed to score early and often to keep their slim hopes of advancing past the group stage alive.

Montreal, which had lost its last two Major League Soccer games at home, managed the first part when Daniele Paponi scored just four minutes in to the delight of the enthusiastic Saputo Stadium crowd of 13,703.

Andrew Wenger made it 2-0 in the 54th minute but the Impact needed to win by at least six goals to avoid being knocked out of their second Champions League competition, and their first since 2008.  

'It is bittersweet. After the game you can't really celebrate it. You're happy you won and psychologically it's good to break a three-game losing streak over the two competitions, but at the same time we knew what we had to do and the goal was 6-0, not 2-0.'- Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush

"It is bittersweet," said Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush, who played every minute of the Impact's games in ACC and CONCACAF Champions League competition. "After the game you can't really celebrate it. You're happy you won and psychologically it's good to break a three-game losing streak over the two competitions, but at the same time we knew what we had to do and the goal was 6-0, not 2-0."

CD Heredia would have clinched the three-team Group 5 with a draw or a win after 1-0 victories in both of their home games against Montreal and the San Jose Earthquakes.

"The Impact are a very fast team so we had to adjust our strategy," CD Heredia coach Juan Carlos Elias said in Spanish through an interpreter. "Our tactics weren't as good as theirs were. They were just faster on the ball. They were just faster in every situation than we were."

The Guatemalan side can still move through to the championship round with a point in the final group stage game next month in San Jose.

An Earthquakes win on Oct. 23 would bring about a three-way tie and San Jose, which beat Montreal 3-0 last Tuesday, would advance by virtue of the best goal-differential.

The Impact are third in the MLS Eastern Conference with 45 points in 28 games. They play in Chicago on Saturday and are on the road for four of their six remaining regular season games.

"It was very important to finish like this for the morale," Montreal coach Marco Schallibaum said. "I think the team was very well prepared and they had a good mentality tonight. Of course they could have scored more goals, it was only 2-0, but I think the way they played tonight, I think that's the way we want to go with together because the guys gave everything for the club and the result. We won the game, but that was not enough, but I think the base was very solid."

Defender Hassoun Camara and midfielder Felipe were the only two regulars in Montreal's starting 11, which included three Quebecers on the back line — defenders Karl Ouimette, Maxim Tissot and Wandrille Lefevre.

"It's incredible the experience you get by just being on the field and playing at this level," Ouimette said.

Marco Di Vaio entered in the 57th minute and quickly made his presence felt. The 37-year-old Italian striker dove to head Wenger's centring pass, forcing goalkeeper Jose Calderon to dive to his right to deny Di Vaio's sparkling attempt.

Impact forward Justin Mapp replaced Andrea Pisanu 66 minutes in.

Both Di Vaio and Mapp put drives off the post as the Impact pressed for more offence without success.

"We came out there and right from the get-go we attacked," Wenger said. "It was a very open game and we showed some quality, unfortunately we weren't as decisive in five more moments and that would have — obviously we'd be celebrating, everything would be perfect now, but we put in a good showing."

Paponi was shown a yellow card 78 minutes in by Jamaican referee Courtney Campbell, who judged that the Montreal forward dove when he was met with a challenge from behind as he approached the 18-yard box.

"I was sure it was a foul and when the referee came to me I thought it was a joke," Paponi said in Italian through an interpreter. "When I got the card I was in disbelief. The referee didn't say anything but even the defender on the other team admitted to me that it was a foul."

The crowd's enthusiasm had long soured by that point after starting off the game with a bang.

A small fireworks rocket came shooting out of the Ultras section behind CD Heredia's goal and exploded over the field less than two minutes in.

Smoke from the stands was swirling around the goalmouth when Paponi scored four minutes in, putting away a rebound of Felipe's shot.

CD Heredia came close to evening the score in the 26th minute but Charles Cordoba's shot while prone in a goalmouth scramble went off Impact defender Karl Ouimette's face and stayed out.

Paponi had an opportunity in stoppage time at the end of the first half but Calderon came out to challenge and clear the ball from harm.

Wenger added Montreal's second goal when he was sent in alone on a through ball from Tissot.

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Floods, mudslides prompt state of emergency in Sochi

Floods and mudslides caused by heavy rain have prompted Russian authorities to introduce a state of emergency in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. 

The Emergency Situations Ministry said Wednesday that about 1,800 of its personnel were involved in cleaning up the streets and pumping out water after the torrential rain caused local rivers to overfill and flood some sections of highways and a few residential areas in the Black Sea resort. 

The ministry said the water level in the city's rivers was receding.

Traffic in the city has returned to normal.

The city's airport and its railway station were functioning normally. 

In the village of Mirny, where 10 houses were affected by flooding, emergency teams were deployed to pump out water. 

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Ben Johnson: A hero disgraced

On Sept. 24, 1988, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the men's 100-metres at the Seoul Olympics in a blistering 9.79 seconds, smashing the world record and humbling the likes of American arch-rival Carl Lewis and famed British contender Linford Christie.

But in a shocking twist, the newly crowned Olympic and world champion tested positive for stanozolol, a banned steroid, and three days later was stripped of the gold medal and world record.

A bewildered and disgraced Johnson denied willingly using steroids, claiming that his customary pre-race herbal concoction had been spiked prior to the Olympic final. 

He was subseqently banned from competition, never to regain the form that made him the world's fastest man, and summoned to testify in an unprecedented government inquiry into drug use in Canadian sport. 

The race, the revelation and its sobering aftermath triggered a chain of events that ultimately ushered in an era of sweeping change in athletics. 

So listen in as CBC Rewind recounts a defining moment in Canadian sport: the Ben Johnson steroid scandal, 25 years after the fact. 

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Canucks' Kassian suspended 5 regular-season games

Vancouver Canucks forward Zack Kassian likely wishes he had kept his stick on the ice on Saturday night. 

Kassian was suspended Monday for the rest of the pre-season and the first five games of the regular season for a high-sticking incident against Edmonton that left Oilers centre Sam Gagner with a broken jaw.

The NHL's department of players safety announced the move in a press release.

The infraction occurred at 18:33 of the second period of the Oilers' 5-2 win on Saturday night. Gagner is expected to be out indefinitely, according to the team. Kassian, 22, received a double-minor on the play, which knocked several of Gagner's teeth out when the pair collided. 

What did you think of Kassian's suspension?

"As he nears the boards Kassian comes to a spinning stop, recklessly swinging his stick and striking Gagner in the face and breaking his jaw," NHL director of player safety Brendan Shanahan said in a video explanation. "While we accept Kassian's assertion that he did not intend to strike Gagner in the face, he is however responsible for the consequences of swinging his stick in this instance. In summary, this was high sticking."

Under the terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the six-foot-three, 214-pound native of Windsor, Ont., will forfeit $22,500 US in salary, all of which will go to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Also suspended was Canucks forward Dale Weise, who was banned for the rest of the pre-season for a hit to the head of Edmonton's Taylor Hall at 6:52 of the first period of the same game. Weise received a minor penalty on the play. 

"As Hall comes out of the corner with the puck Weise comes down and delivers a shoulder check directly to the head of Hall," said Shanahan. "Weise does not hit Hall squarely through the body and the head is the main point of contact."

Hall remained in the game and showed no apparent injury.

Vancouver has three pre-season tilts left and begins its 2013-14 campaign on Oct. 3 against the San Jose Sharks. Kassian will be eligible to return Oct. 12 against the Montreal Canadiens on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 10 p.m. ET). 

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Leafs' David Clarkson gets automatic 10-game ban

Toronto Maple Leafs forward David Clarkson has been suspended 10 regular-season games without pay for leaving the bench to take part in a fight.

Clarkson's move to join the fight Sunday during Toronto's 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres will delay his Leafs debut until Oct. 25 at Columbus.

The six-foot-one, 200-pound right-winger was coming to the defence of Phil Kessel after Sabres enforcer John Scott tried to instigate a fight with the Leafs star in the third period.

What did you think of Clarkson's suspension?

Clarkson was assessed a game misconduct penalty before being handed the automatic suspension Monday.

Clarkson, who signed a $36.75-million US, seven-year contract with Toronto in the off-season, will forfeit $269,230.80 of his salary.

The Leafs are still waiting to see if Kessel, who was issued a match penalty during the game, will receive further discipline.

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Leafs' Kessel faces disciplinary hearing Tuesday

The repercussions of the melee between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night at Air Canada Centre are still being felt.

Hours after Leafs forward David Clarkson was suspended 10 games Monday, the NHL's department of player safety announced it would have a telephone hearing with Phil Kessel Tuesday to assess a slashing incident he was involved in during the third-period brawl in Toronto's 5-2 win. 

Sabres winger John Scott went after Kessel, who turned and swung his stick on his opponent. At 10:01 of the third period, the Leafs sniper was given a match penalty.

For his actions, Scott was handed a fighting major, an instigating minor, to go along with a 10-minute and game misconduct. 

The Leafs came out on top on the scoreboard with a 5-3 win.

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Sorting through the aftermath of Leafs-Sabres brawl

The NHL pre-season game between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs featured plenty of left and right hooks, but the two clubs were nowhere near a boxing ring. 

During the third period of Toronto's 5-2 win Sunday night, Sabres tough guy John Scott went after Leafs sniper Phil Kessel — who swung his stick at the enforcer — in the middle of an on-ice brawl in an incident that ruffled a few feathers. 

Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said his club wasn't proud of its actions on Monday, and David Clarkson wound up with a 10-game suspension for leaving the bench to join the melee.

The National's Peter Armstrong sorts out the chaos and explains what will be the aftermath in the video above.

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Leafs' win over Sabres highlighted by intense brawl

Buffalo Sabres tough guy John Scott was looking for a fight. The Toronto Maple Leafs weren't happy when he picked Phil Kessel as his opponent.

Kessel, who had already scored twice in the Leafs' 5-3 pre-season win on Sunday, stands at six feet tall compared to Scott, who's eight inches taller.

The two aren't even close to being in the same weight class and Kessel wasn't in any mood to get involved. Kessel backtracked and swung his stick a few times at Scott as several teammates rushed in. 

'What are you going to do? He's a big boy so if he's coming after me, what are you going to do?.'- Leafs' Phil Kessel on his fight with Sabres' John Scott

"It was pretty stupid, right? He said he was going to jump me," Kessel said.

"What are you going to do? He's a big boy so if he's coming after me, what are you going to do?"

The incident came with 10 minutes left in the game and set off a line brawl and a goalie fight between Leafs' goalie Jonathan Bernier and Ryan Miller of the Sabres.

It came right after a fight between Jamie Devane of the Leafs and Corey Tropp of the Sabres.

"That guy's a big guy, six foot five," said Sabres head coach Ron Rolston. "And (Tropp's) a smaller guy but certainly a battler. So guys weren't happy about it."

Tropp was left bloodied on the ice after the fight and had to leave the game.

"(Tropp) was the guy who instigated the fight," said Leafs coach Randy Carlyle when asked about the incident that allegedly left the Sabres upset and sparked Scott to go after Kessel.

"Obviously maybe they felt that was the problem was that there was a bigger man fighting a smaller guy."

Kessel was issued a match penalty for swinging his stick, which means an automatic suspension pending a ruling from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Any discipline the Leafs sniper faces will likely pale in comparison to what teammate David Clarkson may be expecting as he jumped off the bench to join the fracas.

Clarkson could get 10 games for coming off the bench.

"We're not proud or happy that went on, that's for sure," said Carlyle, who also said that he sent out Kessel's line in the hopes of defusing the situation after the fight between Devane and Tropp.

"I think Dave Clarkson made a mistake and now we'll pay for it."

Clarkson was unavailable to the media after the game.

"I think Clarkson will get 10 games for that," said Miller. "Are we going to see Clarkson our first game against these guys? I don't have my schedule. So probably not the brightest move by him. But I guess they figured they needed two guys to take down John (Scott)."

As the altercation reached a fever pitch, Bernier skated out of his crease and challenged Miller. The two went at it near the Sabres' blue-line.

They grappled for a few minutes as the officials were otherwise preoccupied with the rest of the violence.

"I just asked him if I wanted to go and obviously I don't think he seemed that he actually wanted to go but that's the way it goes," said Bernier. "It's a hockey game but you get hyper in energy and I wanted to defend my teammates."

Bernier was replaced by Drew MacIntyre and Miller by Matt Hackett.

Apart from Kessel's two goals, the Leafs also had goals from Trevor Smith, Josh Leivo and Jake Gardiner while Nikita Zadorov, Jamie McBain and Tropp scored for Buffalo.

By the end of the game, the benches on both sides were looking bare after numerous fighting majors and 10-minute misconducts were handed out.

A night after the same two teams needed a 15-round shootout to settle a 3-2 win for the Leafs, Kessel opened the scoring at 1:35 of the first.

Kessel was camped in front of the Sabres goal and was in the right place when Tyler Bozak's centring pass was deflected into his path and he knocked in the loose puck.

Smith's first of the pre-season came just past the halfway mark when he was the beneficiary of another Buffalo deflection. Gardiner led a three-on-one rush into the Buffalo zone and fed a pass from the left side that took a deflection off a Buffalo skate and, with Miller taken out of position, Smith had a relatively easy tap-in.

After Zadorov got the Sabres on the board in the dying seconds of the first, Kessel restored the lead at 15:49 of the second period when he cut toward the middle of the ice from the left side and snapped a quick shot past Miller.

Leivo's goal proved to be the winner at 16:52 of the third when he banged in a cross-ice pass from James van Riemsdyk.

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Oilers lose Sam Gagner to broken jaw

The Edmonton Oilers will start their 2013-14 NHL campaign with a huge void to fill up front. 

On Sunday, the team announced it will be without centre Sam Gagner indefinitely after he suffered a broken jaw Saturday night on a high stick from Vancouver Canucks forward Zack Kassian. The incident occurred at 18:33 of the second period of the Oilers' 5-2 win.

Gagner, 24, scored 14 goals and 24 assists in the lockout-shortened 48-game regular-season last year. The London, Ont., native has 91 goals and 167 assists in 414 career contests, all with Edmonton. He was originally drafted sixth overall by the Oilers in the first round in 2007.

The loss is a significant blow to a club hoping to make strides in the upcoming season with a new coach (Dallas Eakins), and a young core locked up for the long term. The team finished 12th in the West last season and missed out on the playoffs — they haven't qualified for the post-season since 2006. 

Edmonton is already without the likes of centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who is expected to be out a month while he rehabs his shoulder after having off-season surgery.

The Oilers open up their season by hosting the Winnipeg Jets Oct. 1 on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

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McCallum's last-second field goal lifts Lions over Riders

Thomas DeMarco's encore performance Sunday went considerably better than his first.

Making his first CFL start, the B.C. Lions quarterback threw two second-half touchdowns and helped set up Paul McCallum's game-winning field goal with no time on the clock as the Lions took over second place in the West Division with a 24-22 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

DeMarco was pulled from the game midway through the second quarter in favour of Buck Pierce but returned to start the second half.

The win was the second straight for B.C. (8-4) while Saskatchewan (8-4) lost its third in a row. 

'He gets in, he looks like he's bored out there, he turns his chinstrap, kicks the ball through, doesn't even celebrate with me and I'm jumping on his head.'- Lions QB Thomas DeMarco on teammate Paul McCallum

"I have a lot of great people on the sidelines right now," said DeMarco, who started in place of the injured Travis Lulay. "Travis was very calm. Buck was very calm. Joey (Elliott) helped me out as well.

"The biggest thing is just to keep you calm and help you with seeing the field. They really helped me out today and allowed me to talk through things and we got the victory at the end."

Pierce replaced DeMarco briefly after DeMarco's first 13 pass attempts yielded just 52 yards and five straight two-and-outs.

DeMarco had started the game with five straight completions.

But he made up for a shaky first half with the Lions trailing 12-6 early in the third quarter when he hit Nick Moore with a 43-yard touchdown strike.

The Lions got the ball right back when Saskatchewan quarterback Darian Durant fumbled for a second time.

Great combination

DeMarco threw a 20-yard TD to Shawn Gore to make it 20-12 and McCallum then kicked an 84-yard kickoff single to extend the lead to nine.

"He's just a very well-composed individual," McCallum said. "Playing his first start, going in there, getting pulled, going back in and making things happen, that shows a lot about his character."

Durant threw an eight-yard touchdown to Weston Dressler with 38 seconds left to make it 22-21 as the Roughriders appeared poised to overcome two costly fumbles and snap their losing streak.

But Marco Iannuzzi returned the kickoff 28 yards and DeMarco passed for a pair of key first downs to set up McCallum's winning kick from 42 yards out.

"Paul's amazing," said DeMarco. "You don't even have to say anything to him. He gets in, he looks like he's bored out there, he turns his chinstrap, kicks the ball through, doesn't even celebrate with me and I'm jumping on his head.

"He's done this for a long time and there's no doubt in our mind he is our guy."

DeMarco finished 18-of-33 passes for 208 yards while Pierce went 2 for 3 for 16 yards.

Durant replied with 35-for-52 passing for 326 yards.

Turnovers sink Riders

The Roughriders appeared to have the game won after Dressler's touchdown but, for the third straight game, ultimately paid the price for their turnovers and undisciplined ways.

Durant — who battled a bruised finger on his throwing hand — also fumbled on the game's second play from scrimmage, giving B.C. the ball at the Riders' 46-yard line.

That set up a 12-yard field goal from McCallum.

In the second quarter, with DeMarco on the sidelines, the oft-injured Pierce drew a roughing-the-passer penalty on his first series to move B.C. into scoring position and McCallum hit his second field goal of the game, from 32 yards, to make it 6-2.

A second roughing-the-passer penalty against Saskatchewan followed Durant's second fumble and put the Lions in scoring position for Gore's touchdown.

Saskatchewan had its own issues on offence in the first half as well, scoring only two punt singles despite starting six of its first eight possessions from its own 43 or better.

"Those guys are good, especially that secondary," said Riders slotback Geroy Simon, who played his former team for the first time after 12 seasons in B.C. and tied Ben Cahoon's all-time receptions mark in the fourth quarter.

"They're a veteran group, they really know how to make plays and they know how to hold in tough situations."

The Riders took their first lead of the game when Durant hit Chris Garrett — who started in place of injured running back Kory Sheets — with a 37-yard pass to the front corner of the end zone with two seconds to play in the half.

Chris Milo extended the lead to 12-6 when he hit a 15-yard field goal on Saskatchewan's first drive of the third quarter.

After the Riders fell behind again, Milo made 21-15 by hitting a 47-yarder after previously missing two in the game by hitting them off the right goal post.

"We've got to get back to playing good football," said Saskatchewan head coach Corey Chamblin. "Regardless of all the freakish things that may have happened we still have to be able to play football."

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Bears remain unbeaten after win over Steelers: NFL

PITTSBURGH — Chicago's defence forced five turnovers and scored twice, and the Bears beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 40-23 on Sunday night to remain unbeaten.

Major Wright returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, and Julius Peppers picked up Ben Roethlisberger's fumble and raced 42 yards for a score in the fourth quarter as the Bears (3-0) held off a late rally.

Roethlisberger completed 26 of 41 passes for 406 yards, and threw two touchdowns to Antonio Brown, but the Steelers fell to 0-3 for the first time since 1986 thanks to an avalanche of mistakes.

Jay Cutler passed for 159 yards and threw a 17-yard touchdown strike to Earl Bennett with just under 6 minutes remaining to give the Bears breathing room after the Steelers trimmed a 21-point deficit to four.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Terence Newman returned a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown with 3:47 left, rallying the Cincinnati Bengals to a 34-30 victory over the Green Bay Packers in a game that came down to who made the final flub.

Each team had four turnovers, leading to wild momentum swings. The last one came on a goofy play.

The Packers (1-2) went on fourth-and-1 from the Cincinnati 30. Rookie Johnathan Franklin fumbled at the line and safety Reggie Nelson picked it up and started running.

Aaron Rodgers stripped the ball from Nelson, but Newman scooped it up and went the final 58 yards.

Cincinnati (2-1) clinched it by batting down Rodgers' fourth-down pass at its 20-yard line with 1:21 left.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, and Carolina's defence sacked Eli Manning seven times as the Panthers handed Tom Coughlin his worst defeat as coach of the New York Giants, 38-0 Sunday.

It was the largest margin of victory in Panthers history, and might help save coach Ron Rivera's job following a 0-2 start.

The Panthers allowed Newton to run out of the read option, which helped open up an offence that had been mostly stagnant in losses to Seattle and Buffalo.

Newton had 223 yards passing and threw two touchdowns passes to Brandon LaFell and one to Ted Ginn Jr. He ran for 45 yards and his first TD of the season.

The Giants are in trouble: Of the 161 teams that have started the season 0-3 since 1978, only five made the NFL playoffs.

SAN FRANCISCO — Andrew Luck threw for 164 yards and ran for a 6-yard touchdown while facing college coach Jim Harbaugh for the first time, and the Indianapolis Colts defeated the San Francisco 49ers 27-7 win Sunday.

Trent Richardson scored a 1-yard touchdown on his first carry in his Colts debut after being acquired on Wednesday from the Browns. He was drafted two spots behind top pick Luck at No. 3 last year.

Ahmad Bradshaw added a 1-yard TD run in the final minutes, and Adam Vinatieri kicked a pair of field goals before missing a 51-yarder early in the fourth.

It was Colin Kaepernick's first home loss at Candlestick Park as a starter.

There were few bright spots for Kaepernick as San Francisco struggled to establish a passing game with tight end Vernon Davis sidelined by a hamstring injury.

SEATTLE — Russell Wilson matched his career high with four touchdown passes — two each to Sidney Rice and Zach Miller — and the Seattle Seahawks dominated as expected in a 45-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Seattle improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2006, beginning a stretch of four straight games against the AFC South. And none will likely be easier than overwhelming the Jaguars.

Wilson connected with Miller twice in the first 16 minutes on TDs of 1 and 4 yards. He hit Rice for an 11-yard TD late in the first half and found him again on a 23-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.

Wilson checked out with 3:54 left in the third quarter and finished 14 of 21 for 202 yards. The four TD passes matched his performance last December against San Francisco.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Geno Smith threw two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 69-yarder to Santonio Holmes in the fourth quarter, and the New York Jets overcame a team-record 20 penalties to hang on and beat the Buffalo Bills 27-20 in an ugly game Sunday.

Smith slightly outplayed EJ Manuel in a matchup of the first two quarterbacks selected in the NFL draft in April. But this one was tough to watch at times with the barrage of penalties. The Jets (2-1) rolled up 168 yards in penalty yardage, and nearly gave it away against the Bills (1-2).

Capping a drive kept alive by four straight penalties on the Jets, Manuel connected with Scott Chandler for a 33-yard touchdown, then hit Stevie Johnson for a 2-point conversion to tie it at 20 with 10:39 left in the game.

Bilal Powell ran for a career-high 149 yards for the Jets.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Ryan Tannehill lobbed a 1-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Dion Sims with 38 seconds left Sunday, and the unbeaten Miami Dolphins rallied past the Atlanta Falcons 27-23.

The score capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive after Atlanta's Matt Bryant missed a 35-yard field goal attempt with 4:46 left. Jimmy Wilson intercepted Matt Ryan to seal the victory.

Miami quickly fell behind 10-0 and trailed much of the game, but improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2002. The Falcons fell to 1-2.

Tannehill led the comeback and finished 24 for 35 for 236 yards and two scores. He overcame five sacks and two turnovers.

ARLINGTON, Texas — DeMarco Murray rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown, Tony Romo threw for three scores and the Dallas Cowboys beat the St. Louis Rams 31-7 Sunday.

Murray's first 100-yard game in more than a year came against the team he torched for a franchise-record 253 yards as a rookie two years ago. He went 14 yards on Dallas' first offensive play, then 36 more to start the second drive as the Cowboys went ahead 10-0 in the first quarter.

Ram quarterback Sam Bradford, Murray's old teammate at Oklahoma, didn't have nearly as much room to operate. He was sacked six times to end a four-game streak without one dating to last season.

DeMarcus Ware had two sacks and broke Harvey Martin's 30-year-old franchise record of 114.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to Kenbrell Thompkins, finally getting in sync with his rookie receivers and leading the New England Patriots to a 23-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Thompkins, an undrafted free agent, scored on plays of 16 and 5 yards, while Aaron Dobson, a second-round draft pick, finished with seven catches for 52 yards for the Patriots (3-0).

The Patriots led 17-3 at halftime as the Buccaneers (0-3) wasted several opportunities.

They turned the ball over twice on downs, Rian Lindell missed a 38-yard field goal attempt before making a 30-yarder and Josh Freeman threw an interception to former Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib with 11 seconds left in the first half.

Three plays later, Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 53-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

BALTIMORE — Daryl Smith scored on a 37-yard interception return, Tandon Doss took a punt 82 yards for a touchdown and the Baltimore Ravens smothered the Houston Texans' offence in a 30-9 victory Sunday.

The Ravens (2-1) won despite playing without running back Ray Rice for the first time since 2008. On the inactive list with a strained left hip flexor, Rice was replaced by Bernard Pierce, who ran for 65 yards and a touchdown.

Houston (2-1) led 6-3 before Smith picked off Matt Schaub's pass and took it into the end zone with 2:39 left in the first half. Less than two minutes later, Doss eluded several tacklers during his first career punt return for a touchdown.

The Baltimore defence did the rest. The Ravens have not allowed a touchdown in eight quarters since their season-opening 49-27 defeat in Denver.

Schaub went 25 for 35 for 194 yards and an interception.

LANDOVER, Md. — The Detroit Lions took advantage of a pair of fourth-quarter bobbles, including one by Robert Griffin III, in a 27-20 win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Matthew Stafford threw for 385 yards, and Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson both had 100 yards receiving for the Lions, who are 2-1.

Detroit beat the Redskins on the road for the first time since 1939, a 21-game streak that comes to a halt as the second longest in NFL history.

The score was tied at 17 when Griffin fumbled at the end of a scramble. The Lions recovered and kicked the go-ahead field goal on their next drive.

The Redskins (0-3) then had a touchdown pass overturned when video replay showed that Aldrick Robinson lost control of the ball.

NASHVILLE — Jake Locker threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to rookie Justin Hunter with 15 seconds left and the Titans rallied to beat San Diego 20-17 Sunday.

It was their first win over the Chargers for the franchise since 1992 when the team was in Houston.

The Titans (2-1) had lost nine straight to San Diego in a skid that spanned two states and two decades.

Locker ended the slide by completing seven passes to six different receivers for 94 yards on the game-winning drive.

He finished with 299 yards passing and also ran for 68 yards.

The Chargers' final play featured a handful of laterals and even a kick of the ball trying to keep it alive before the game ended.

San Diego (1-2) led most of the game despite having four starters out because of injuries and lost a fifth to an injured foot in the first half.

MINNEAPOLIS — Jordan Cameron caught three touchdown passes, including the go-ahead grab in the back of the end zone with 51 seconds left, and the Cleveland Browns kept the Minnesota Vikings winless with a 31-27 victory Sunday.

Third-stringer Brian Hoyer threw for three scores for the Browns (1-2), the latest team to torch Minnesota's depleted secondary. He overcame three interceptions to pass for 321 yards, going 30 for 54. Josh Gordon had 10 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown in his season debut, and Cameron had six receptions for 66 yards.

Christian Ponder ran for two touchdowns for the Vikings (0-3), but he threw an interception, lost a fumble and took his sixth sack on the final play of the game.

NEW ORLEANS — With Drew Brees finding his usual rhythm, and the Saints defence showing vast improvement under new co-ordinator Rob Ryan, it appears that coach Sean Payton is putting together another contender.

Brees passed for three scores and scrambled for New Orleans' first touchdown rushing of the season, leading the Saints to a 31-7 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

The Saints quarterback was 29 of 46 for 342 yards, with two TD strikes to tight end Jimmy Graham and the other to Robert Meachem.

Brees was intercepted once by New Orleans native and former LSU star Tyrann Mathieu. That play ended a scoring threat, but only delayed the inevitable on a day when Arizona's short-handed defence was little match for the prolific passing attack of the Saints (3-0).

Arizona (1-2), whose defence was missing four starters by early in the second half, had no answer for the 6-foot-7 Graham, who caught nine passes for 134 yards, one week after catching 10 passes for 179 yards in Tampa Bay.

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