Last Week around the Leagues

by Fran Stuchbury
December 3, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)

The BC Lions have struck a trade with the Calgary Stampeders for quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. The Lions acquire Calgary’s 2025 round two selection (9th overall), 2025 round four selection (29th overall) and their round two selection in the 2026 CFL Draft. As part of the deal, Calgary also receives a 2025 fourth selection (32nd overall) and round three selection in 2026. “On behalf of the entire organization, I thank Vernon for his outstanding work and professionalism on and off the field these past three years,” said Rigmaiden.

Calgary Stampeders QB Vernon Adams Jr. joined the guys and reacted to yesterday’s trade and looked back on his time in Vancouver.

The good news keeps coming for the Green and Gold, as Mark Kilam has selected Edmonton as the next stop on his coaching journey. Kilam is the new Head Coach of the Edmonton Elks, the Club announced Monday morning. He will be unveiled later today at Commonwealth Stadium, taking over as the 25th head coach in franchise history. The University of Alberta graduate returns to Edmonton after spending two decades in Calgary with the Stampeders, where he cemented himself as one of the most highly respected coaches in the Canadian Football League. “Mark has been preparing for the opportunity to be a CFL head coach for years and brings not only a wealth of experience, but tremendous enthusiasm to everything he does,” said Elks Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Ed Hervey. “Players want to play for Mark, and coaches across the league respect his abilities and approach. We’re all excited to benefit from Mark’s energy and the collective strength of the coaching staff we’re working to assemble. I know he’s the right person for this job and this moment, as we build a championship organization.”

The Montreal Alouettes announced that the team has reached an agreement with quarterback Davis Alexander for the next three seasons. Alexander will be under contract through the end of the 2027 season. Alexander (6’0″,195 lbs.) came off the bench to lead the Alouettes to victory in a game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders last July. He won four straight games between July and August to help the Alouettes secure the East Division title. In 2024, he completed 105 of his 151 passes for 1,347 yards and six touchdowns. The 26-year-old also rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns. “At just 26 years old, Davis is the future of this franchise,”said Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia. “This season, he was called upon to play in crucial games with us, and he responded very well under pressure. He has learned from Cody Fajardo for two years and is ready to take the next step. We’re now entrusting him with the leadership of the team, and we have full confidence in him.”

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former player and general manager, Joe Zuger. He was 84. “Joe was a hero to so many of us growing up in Hamilton. He was one of the most celebrated players in franchise history and an integral part of four Grey Cup championships,” said Caretaker Bob Young. “Ralph Sazio, Joe’s coach, once told me that Joe’s artistic and creative approach was the source of his remarkable success. I, the Tiger-Cats organization and Ticats fans everywhere mourn Joe’s passing and we offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends for their loss.” Zuger played 10 seasons (1962-71) in Hamilton as a quarterback, defensive back and punter. The Homestead, Pennsylvania native helped the Ticats capture three Grey Cup championships (1963, 1964 and 1967) while earning Grey Cup Most Valuable Player honours in 1967.

United Football League

5 Reasons Why the UFL Should Add LOUISVILLE to the League

Indoor Football League

The Massachusetts Pirates have named Ameer Ismail Head Coach for the 2025 season. It marks the second time in franchise history that Ismail will guide the Pirates as he was the first Head Coach of Massachusetts in 2018. That season Ismail led the expansion franchise to the best record in the National Arena League with an 11-5 mark. He also served as Defensive Coordinator and saw his team hold opponents to 42.9 points per game and 211.7 yards of total offense per contest. His aggressive defense caused 42 turnovers with 28 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries for an average of 2.6 turnovers per game. At the end of the season he was named the National Arena League Coach of the Year. Pirates Founder, Co-owner and General Manager Jawad Yatim is looking forward to Ismail’s return. “Ameer is familiar with the organization and the flow of our operation, he’s had a lot of success as a player and coach in this league previously. He’s detail oriented which extends beyond just his schemes, he brings energy to the position and we’re glad to have him,” Yatim said.

SOCCER

Major League Soccer

Inter Miami CF announced that it has named Argentina and FC Barcelona legend Javier Mascherano as its head coach, signing him to a contract through the 2027 Major League Soccer (MLS) season. The Argentine joins following a period as the head coach of the Argentina U-20 and Olympic national teams, and will assume coaching responsibilities at Inter Miami upon the receipt of his work documentation. “This job requires somebody with the experience to be able to maximize our unique collection of talent – from our global superstars, to our burgeoning Homegrown players, to our young international prospects, and everything in between. Javier has amassed unmatched experience in his career, from playing on the world’s biggest stages, to coaching at the youth international level; he has the blend of skills and experience we were looking for, and even has had direct coaching experience with Tomás Avilés, Facundo Farías, Federico Redondo, and Benjamin Cremaschi. We believe Javier is an important addition to our Club as we continue on our quest to be among the world’s elite, setting a new standard for fútbol in North America,” said Managing Owner Jorge Mas.

The Futbol Americas crew discuss Javier Mascherano’s appointment as Inter Miami coach, and wonder if he got the job because of his managerial CV or because Lionel Messi wanted him to have it.

National Women’s Soccer League

The 2024 NWSL Championship, presented by Google Pixel, averaged 967,900 viewers in primetime on the CBS Television Network last Saturday, marking the league’s most-viewed match in history. The 2024 figure marks an 18% percent increase from the 2023 title match (816,800) and a six percent jump from the 2022 contest which held the NWSL’s previous viewership record of 915,000. Viewership for the Championship match, which saw the top-ranked Orlando Pride defeat the No. 2 Washington Spirit, 1-0, to earn their first-ever championship title, peaked at 1.1 million viewers.

In addition to a record-breaking audience for the league’s marquee match, CBS’ coverage of the 2024 NWSL Skills Challenge, presented by CarMax, which aired Sunday afternoon, marked the most-viewed NWSL event in history with an average of 1,537,720 million viewers. The Skills Challenge was the most-viewed non-NFL sports event of the day.

Racing Louisville FC and general manager Ryan Dell have mutually parted ways following the 2024 season as Dell pursues another opportunity in the soccer industry. Dell served two years as Racing Louisville’s first general manager, hiring Bev Yanez as head coach and helping Lynn Family Stadium secure a U.S. Women’s National Team game, the first visit from the national team in 20 years. “We appreciate Ryan’s effort and contributions over the past two seasons,” said John Neace, the chairman of Soccer Holdings, the parent company of Racing Louisville. “While we fell just short of our goal of making the NWSL playoffs this year, Ryan departs having helped us establish a core group of players who will be competitive in 2025 and beyond. Along with the coaching staff, they promise to make next season an exciting one for us. We wish Ryan the very best in his next career move. He has a bright future.”

Championship parade for Orlando Pride bringing home NWSL trophy

United Soccer League Championship

A familiar face is making a return to The Magic City as Birmingham Legion FC announced today that it has reached an agreement with Real Monarchs SLC (Real Salt Lake’s MLS Next Pro club) to acquire goalkeeper Fernando Delgado on a transfer, pending league and federation approval. Notably, the move marks a second stint with The Three Sparks for the 18-year-old goalkeeper, having recently spent a portion of the 2024 season with the club. “We are excited to complete the transfer for Fernando and appreciate working with Real Salt Lake to get this finalized,” said Legion FC President and General Manager Jay Heaps. “He is a very good, young keeper with amazing upside and a player we were able to get to know while he was here on loan.”

Major Arena Soccer League

The Major Arena Soccer League is returning to CBS Sports Golazo Network for select games throughout the 2024-25 season. CBS Sports Golazo Network, the 24-hour soccer streaming network, is scheduled to exclusively carry 40 games. “We are very excited that CBS Sports Golazo Network will be the exclusive home to live 40 matches this season,” said JP Dellacamera, president of media and communications. “We look forward to continuing to bring viewers the exciting, fast-paced sport of indoor soccer as we continue to grow the game and MASL brand.” CBS Sports Golazo Network is available free on connected TVs, mobile devices and desktop, including through the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, on CBSSports.com, as well as on Paramount+. The Network brings fans action from across the world, including UEFA club competitions and top leagues in Europe, South America and Asia.

Alex Bastyovanszky is back to bring you the biggest news, highlights, and moments you might have missed each week in the MASL in just five minutes!

HOCKEY

ECHL

Florida Everblades head coach Brad Ralph joined exclusive company this weekend when he earned his 500th career regular-season win behind an ECHL bench. Ralph became just the fourth coach in ECHL history to hit the 500 mark in his career. It happened when they defeated the Fort Wayne Comets on the road 3-1/

American Hockey League

Red Wings prospect Nate Danielson connects with Austin Watson to set off the Grand Rapids Griffins’ teddy bear toss!

SPHL

Havoc holds legendary Teddy Bear Toss. Fans were excited to donate stuffed animals by throwing them onto the rink.

Professional Women’s Hockey League

Fans buzzing over what Montreal Victoire will bring to PWHL’s 2nd season. CBC’s Kwabena Oduro spoke to Montrealers who are eager to see what the Victoire have in store for the second season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

Western Hockey League

Kelowna Rockets alumnus Shea Weber discusses Kelowna being awarded the 2026 Memorial Cup

WHL Top 10 Plays of the Week

Ontario Hockey League

Connor Clattenburg ignited the Dort Financial Center with a quick deflection off the draw, giving the Flint Firebirds a 1-0 lead and kicking off their Teddy Bear Toss! Fans showered the ice with stuffed animals, all destined to bring joy to local charities this holiday season.

North American Hockey League

The top plays in the NAHL from November 18-24, 2024

United States Hockey League

Omaha’s Lancers Kam Hendrickson makes back-to-back sprawling saves

BASKETBALL

NBA G League

G League’s Top 10 Plays of the Week

Top Blocks Of The Month – November 2024

Women’s National Basketball Association

Minnesota Lynx Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve today announced the hiring of Eric Thibault as Associate Head Coach and former Lynx great Lindsay Whalen as an Assistant Coach. “I am excited to add both Eric and Lindsay to our coaching staff,” Reeve said. “Eric has vast experience coaching in the WNBA as both a head and an assistant coach and is a WNBA Champion. Lindsay adds a unique perspective as a Lynx legend and Naismith Hall of Famer. I look forward to working with both in our quest for another WNBA Championship.” “I’m thrilled to be joining Cheryl’s staff and to be part of the Minnesota Lynx organization,” said Thibault. “The players and staff have built an incredible winning culture, and I’m excited to do my part as we pursue a WNBA Championship.”

BIG3

The BIG3 announced that the league will return to CBS for the sixth consecutive year of fast-paced and competitive 3-on-3 basketball with an expanded 11-week season. BIG3 action begins on Saturday, June 14, 2025, live on CBS and Paramount+ and will have 26 total hours of live games throughout the summer. “This is the first piece of the puzzle in putting together an extraordinary eighth season,” said BIG3 Co-CEO Ice Cube. “CBS has been an outstanding partner for us these past five years and we can’t wait to bring our fans an additional week of BIG3 basketball on the network they know and love. Beyond the impressive number of consecutive years we’ve worked together, the re-signing of this deal cements the BIG3 on CBS’s summer programming line-up and sets the stage to finally embrace our dedicated fans in each of our new home markets “” Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Detroit. We are incredibly proud of our longstanding shared commitment to promote and grow the game of 3-on-3 basketball and know that there is so much more to come this summer.” “BIG3 is an exciting brand of basketball that is growing in popularity every year,” said Dan Weinberg, Executive Vice President, Programming, CBS Sports. “We are looking forward to them returning to our summer sports line up as we continue to showcase the best in 3-on-3 hoops and crown the next BIG3 champion on CBS.”

LACROSSE

National Lacrosse League

NLL Top Plays: Week 1

BASEBALL

Pacific Coast League

The Salt Lake Bees unveiled all new logos and jerseys as the team prepares to move to a new ballpark in Daybreak. In addition to new logos and wordmarks, the Bees showed off their new jersey rotation with four different colors.

OTHER SPORTS

Pro Volleyball Federation

Atlanta Vibe setter Whitney Bower, 23, joined “CBS Mornings Plus” to discuss the upcoming second season of the Pro Volleyball Federation and the draft of collegiate players held earlier this week.

Major League Rugby

Relive the best moments of Anthem Rugby Carolina’s inaugural season. Anthem RC’s first season results from a groundbreaking partnership between Major League Rugby, World Rugby, and USA Rugby, representing a significant investment in the growth and development of the game in the U.S.

Ultimate Frisbee Association

2024 season highlights from Brett Hulsmeyer. Brett Hulsmeyer earned 1st Team All-UFA honors for the second straight season after another incredible year with the Atlanta Hustle in 2024.

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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.