Sonstige Informationen » Bilbaos second when he raced forward and pounced

MONTREAL - If the Montreal Alouettes really are better than their 8-10 regular season record, now is the time to show it. The team that finished third in the CFL East Division will get that chance Sunday when they face the second-place Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East semifinal in Guelph, Ont. "Youre only as good as your record shows, but in our locker-room, we feel we are better than our record," linebacker Chip Cox said Thursday. "We know we still have to get better at some things and that we have to work to win games. "Theyre not going to just happen for us. But we feel were just as good as anybody." Voters for the CFL awards seem to agree. They elected nine Alouettes, more than any team in the division, to the East all-star squad. Coach and general manager Jim Popp has said repeatedly his team had talent that could easily have finished 12-6 if not for some discipline problems early in the season and lots of turnovers and mistakes. There was also the carousel at quarterback after Anthony Calvillo was injured in August that saw Josh Neiswander, Tanner Marsh and, finally, Troy Smith take turns as the starting pivot. Between the four of them, they threw a league-high 28 interceptions. And there was the upheaval of starting the season with coach Dan Hawkins, only to see him fired after five games while Popp took over at the bench. The Alouettes hope the final third of the season, in which they went 4-2, gives them momentum going into the playoffs. Winning in the post-season would erase a load of bad memories from the regular season. "You go 3-0 in the playoffs and no one remembers how we started, right?" said Cox. "Thats the goal now. "We go 3-0 and everybody forgets about this, that and the other thing. Theyll say the Alouettes are the best team in the CFL. Again." It will be the third time in the last four games that Montreal and Hamilton have met. The Alouettes dominated 36-5 at home on Oct. 20 and were up 16-0 six days later in Guelph when turnovers and a spirited Hamilton comeback gave the Ticats a 27-24 win. Montreal ended the season with a 23-20 win in Toronto last Friday, but the Argonauts had benched many of their key players. The first-place Argos have a bye to the East final. Since winning consecutive Grey Cups in 2009 and 2010, Montreal has not won a playoff game. They lost an East semifinal to Hamilton at home in 2011 and lost the division final at home to Toronto last year. Their last East semifinal away from home was a 24-22 loss in Winnipeg in 2007 during Popps last stint as coach. "Nine all-stars is great but weve got to win," said defensive back Jerald Brown. "Were focused on winning. "The only way we can prove people right is by winning. No matter what people say, if were better than what our record is, then we should show that this week. Thats what will settle that score." Its not even a real home game for Hamilton, who are playing in Guelph this season while work is done on their home ground. "I dont care where we play," added Brown. "Were going to have to play in Saskatchewan (in the Grey Cup game) and thats going to be tough. "There are no excuses. We were at home the last two years and lost." The Alouettes defence led the CFL in several statistical categories, including fewest yards per game, fewest rushing yards and fewest first downs allowed. So its no surprise that six of their nine all-stars are on defence. They include Cox, Brown, defensive back Billy Parker, cornerback Geoff Tisdale, safety Mike Edem and defensive end John Bowman, to go with guard Josh Bourke, receiver S.J. Green and kicker Sean Whyte. Cox is also the East nominee for outstanding defensive player after setting a team record of 115 tackles and leading the squad in sacks with 12. "He deserves it and I hope he wins it," said Brown. "He was supposed to get it in 2010, but hes valuable for our defence. "If you look at his stats — tackles, interceptions, sacks — he makes a lot of plays." The defence could be missing a key linebacker as Kyries Hebert missed practice for a second day with a suspected knee injury. Popp is hoping he will be able to practise on Friday to see if he is fit to play. Hebert had 68 tackles and nine sacks. Cornerback Byron Parker is highly doubtful to play with a groin injury, while receiver Eric Deslauriers is out with a cracked rib. Danny Welbeck England Jersey . Jeter doubled high off the left-field wall and scored on Jacoby Ellsburys first hit in pinstripes in the fifth. Hiroki Kuroda (1-1) pitched 6 1-3 sharp innings in the Yankees 112th opener in New York. In what manager Joe Girardi said would be a season-long lovefest for Jeter, the shortstop was cheered every step of the way by an adoring crowd of 48, 142 -- even when his double-play grounder back to Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez (0-2) scored Solarte in the third inning for the first run. Nick Pope England Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto won at Denver and Utah, but lost in Portland and Sacramento. The Kings loss was the most recent game for the Raptors. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Marcus-Rashford-England-Jersey/ . Rico dove horizontally to meet Andoni Iraolas precise long cross from the right to score his second league goal of the season in the 33rd minute. Two minutes later, Aritz Aduriz netted Bilbaos second when he raced forward and pounced on a poor clearance by Villarreal defender Mateo Musacchio, sending a low shot rolling past goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo. Jack Butland Jersey . The Professional Referee Organization, which manages game officials for the U.S. Soccer Federation and MLS, notified the Professional Soccer Referee Association of the lockout and said replacement officials will be used. Harry Kane England Jersey .com) - Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers, as Memphis took control in the third quarter and fended off a Mavericks rally en route to a 114-105 win in a Southwest Division showdown.The St. Louis Blues return to top spot in the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and, last weeks No. 1, Anaheim Ducks. Part of the reason for the Blues consistently strong play this season has been the emergence of second-year offensive performers Vladimir Tarasenko, who has 17 points in the past 17 games, and Jaden Schwartz, who is fifth on the team with 37 points. The Montreal Canadiens are among the teams moving up through a crowded middle portion of the rankings, going 2-1-1 last week and moving from 17 to 13. One regulation loss in the past six games helps the Dallas Stars go from 19 to 15 and the Philadelphia Flyers are up from 24 to 20. A 9-1-1 record over the past 11 games has brought the Toronto Maple Leafs to their second-highest ranking since mid-November, going from 22 to 17. Getting goaltender Cam Warrd back from injury doesnt immediately help the Carolina Hurricanes, who drop from 11 to 16, and the slumping Vancouver Canucks slide from 14 to 19.dddddddddddd Injuries are keeping the Detroit Red Wings down. WIth one regulation win in the past 10, the Wings have sunk from 18 to 25. As I noted last week, there is a relatively tight squeeze in the 18-25 range. Among the rest of the Canadian clubs, the surging Winnipeg Jets are up from 15 to 12, despite losing Evander Kane to injury, while the Ottawa Senators are down two spots to 22. Winners of five straight, the Calgary Flames gained a couple of spot, to 27, overtaking the Edmonton Oilers, who had won three of four. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '