Sports Express | November 8, 2026: Elks beat Lions 28-16 to reach first Grey Cup since 2015

1. Elks rout Lions 28-16 to reach first Grey Cup since 2015

Source: CBC

The Edmonton Elks beat the B.C. Lions 28-16 in the CFL West final on Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium, advancing to the Grey Cup for the first time since 2015. They will face the Montreal Alouettes next Sunday in Calgary, in front of a crowd of 40,182 that head coach Mark Kilam saluted before taking any questions.

B.C. led 9-6 at halftime, but Edmonton outscored the Lions 22-7 after the break. Cody Fajardo completed 25 of 30 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown, and ran 10 times for a game-high 84 yards and another score. The quarterback, chasing a third Grey Cup, faces the team that released him a year after he led it to the 2023 title. The Elks had missed the playoffs six straight seasons and once lost 22 consecutive home games before the franchise was sold and its front office and coaching staff were rebuilt.

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2. Fowler channels Price's poise as Canadiens hold off Maple Leafs

Source: Sportsnet

Jacob Fowler made 26 saves as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. The 21-year-old improved to 8-1-1 with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage in his 27th NHL game and his first in Toronto.

Montreal led 3-0 before conceding twice in less than a minute. Alex Newhook scored the first two goals and said Fowler came to the bench to settle the group. Zach Bolduc restored the two-goal lead on the power play with 5:45 remaining. On Hall of Fame induction weekend, with newly enshrined Canadiens legend Carey Price watching, Fowler called sharing a sentence with Price "surreal" and said the win was for him.

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3. 'Big blow': Leafs lose Rielly, fall further behind in Atlantic

Source: TSN

Morgan Rielly left Saturday's 4-2 loss to Montreal in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. The defenceman appeared hurt while defending a two-on-one rush. "No update," coach Jim Hiller said. "Obviously didn't finish, never a good sign."

Rielly had eight points and a plus-six rating over his previous seven games and leads Toronto's defence with 12 points, all assists, 11 of them at even strength. "It's a big blow," Hiller said. The Leafs have lost four of five and sit seventh in the Atlantic Division at 0-3-1 in divisional games, all at home. John Tavares returned after a nine-game absence, while 18-year-old Gavin McKenna was benched after four giveaways but scored in the third.

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4. Notre Dame hands No. 1 Miami first loss, 31-24

Source: Fox News

No. 11 Notre Dame beat top-ranked Miami 31-24 in South Bend on Saturday, handing the Hurricanes their first loss of the season after five days at No. 1. Darian Mensah's final pass into the end zone to Elija Lofton was swatted away to seal it.

Notre Dame led 24-10 before Miami scored its first touchdown with nine minutes left in the third quarter. A Mensah touchdown pass cut the gap to 24-17, but a Nolan James Jr. touchdown run restored a two-score lead, and CJ Carr closed it out with two first downs. "I'm happy for this university, I'm happy for our players," Marcus Freeman said. "When it mattered the most, they executed."

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5. Alabama hammers LSU 31-13 as Kiffin's hype meets reality

Source: CBS Sports

No. 5 Alabama beat No. 14 LSU 31-13 on Saturday. LSU led 13-10 in the third quarter before conceding 21 unanswered points, dropping Lane Kiffin to his sixth straight loss against the Crimson Tide. The Tigers are 6-3 and 0-3 against teams in the CFP rankings.

Kiffin arrived in Baton Rouge with enormous hype: a seven-year, $91 million contract tied with Kirby Smart for the second-highest in college football, and a roster 247Sports values at close to $50 million, the most expensive in the country. Shaquille O'Neal, Angel Reese and Kevin Costner flanked him at the Tiger Walk.

The numbers were ugly: LSU gained 457 yards but finished in the 19th percentile in yards per play and the 1st percentile in explosive play rate. CBS noted LSU settled for a field goal after first-and-goal, turned the ball over on downs three times and lost two turnovers. Games against Texas and Tennessee remain.

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6. UFC Vegas 124: Walker stops Cortes-Acosta in the third

Source: Yahoo Sports

Johnny Walker knocked out Waldo Cortes-Acosta with a hard right hand at 2:27 of the third round in Saturday's UFC Vegas 124 main event, his second straight win since moving up to heavyweight.

The bout was booked on short notice after Sean Brady withdrew from a scheduled main event against Gabriel Bonfim with an injury, leaving both men needing a win. Cortes-Acosta led on two of three scorecards entering the third round, but Walker's distance management and leg kicks paid off with one punch. Tatiana Suarez beat Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in the co-main event.

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7. Canucks compete, then crumble in the third as Oilers win 4-2

Source: Sportsnet

The Edmonton Oilers beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Saturday night. Jason Dickinson scored on his second rebound chance 49 seconds into the third period to break a 1-1 tie, and Connor McDavid set up Leon Draisaitl for a power-play goal 3:11 later.

Brock Boeser deflected Filip Hronek's shot with the Canucks attacking six-on-five and 2:35 remaining, before Draisaitl's empty-netter sealed it and dropped Vancouver to 3-15-1. Max Sasson had tied the game with eight seconds left in the first period. "A lot of really positives coming out of it, especially the first two periods," coach Manny Malhotra said, pointing to momentary lapses in detail. Vancouver hosts Philadelphia on Monday.

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8. Cousins scores late winner as Senators beat Mammoth 4-2

Source: Sportsnet

Nick Cousins redirected Thomas Chabot's shot with 2:18 remaining to give the Ottawa Senators a 4-2 win over the Utah Mammoth on Saturday night, snapping a 2-2 tie. Shane Pinto added an empty-net goal with 16 seconds left.

Fabian Zetterlund and Michael Amadio also scored, and Samuel Ersson made 30 saves for his third win. Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton scored for Utah, with Karel Vejmelka stopping 17 shots. It was Ottawa's first home game after a five-game road trip and the end of Utah's own 2-2-1 trip. Pinto played his 300th NHL game. Ottawa hosts Washington on Tuesday.

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9. World No. 1 Rybakina withdraws from WTA Finals with viral illness

Source: WTA Tennis

World No. 1 Elena Rybakina withdrew from the 2026 WTA Finals at Indian Wells on Saturday because of a viral illness. "I've had an incredible season but my body is just not physically ready to compete," she said in a statement, adding that she will rest at home and prepare for 2027.

Rybakina was the defending champion, having gone unbeaten in Riyadh in 2025 as the last qualifier. This season she won the US Open for her third Grand Slam title and reached No. 1, finishing 2026 at 54-14 with four titles and the year-end top ranking. Marta Kostyuk takes her place in Group 1, opening against Linda Noskova on Sunday before facing Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.

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10. Curry's 41 points carry Warriors to seventh straight win

Source: NBC Sports Bay Area

The Golden State Warriors beat the Orlando Magic 126-119 in overtime at Chase Center on Saturday for their seventh straight win, improving to 7-3. It is their first seven-game streak without Jimmy Butler since January-February of the 2022 championship season.

Stephen Curry, 38, scored a game-high 41 points on 13-of-19 shooting, 5 of 10 from three and 10 of 10 at the line. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg added 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting with eight rebounds in just his 10th career game. The two combined for 23 fourth-quarter points on 8-of-9 shooting. The Warriors gave the ball away 19 times for 26 points and were beaten 24-3 on the offensive glass, conceding 33 second-chance points, but their bench outscored Orlando's 42-31.

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