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MONTREAL -- The Montreal Alouettes quarterback carousel has taken a promising turn with 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith. The former Ohio State star who only joined the Alouettes in August threw three touchdown passes in his first CFL start as Montreal downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 36-5 to tighten the race for playoff positions on Sunday afternoon. "Its been cool," Smith said of his quick adaptation to 12-man football. "My teammates have helped me out tremendously. "The adaptation is definitely still going on. Im trying day in and day out to get things down pat. Its been fun." The team announced this week that CFL all-time passing leader Anthony Calvillo, who has been out since August with a concussion, will not return this season. That made finding a starter to finish out the campaign and take Montreal into the playoffs has been a priority. Tanner Marsh had a good stretch but then faltered, as did Josh Neiswander. Now it is Smiths turn, and he passed the first test by completing 17 of 35 passes for 247 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. "He did a great job," said coach Jim Popp. "I dont know if he was nervous. "We didnt run everything right. Its great to be able to take what we did today and improve on it. We know theres a lot of upside to what were doing. We were moving the ball and scoring and we got over that 30-point mark like we said we needed to do." S.J. Green, with two, and Arland Bruce were on the receiving end of TD throws, while Tyrell Sutton ran one in. Sean Whyte had two field goals as Montreal won for the third time in four games. The third-place Alouettes (7-9) are hoping to overtake Hamilton (8-8) for second place in the East Division and the right to play host to a playoff game. The teams meet again on Saturday in Guelph, Ont., with the winner taking the season series between the two clubs. The Montreal defence held CFL offensive player of the week C.J. Gable to no yards on three carries and only 39 yards on six catches. It also limited Henry Burris to 106 passing yards before he was replaced by Dan LeFevour late in the third quarter. Coach Kent Austin didnt know what to make of a team that was coming off winning its season series with first-place Toronto, who they can still catch for first place. They were anaemic on attack, and ruined a handful of positive plays with penalties. "Just generally speaking, for whatever reason, we werent ready to play and they were," said Austin. "They brought the game to us. "They were more physical than us. They just whipped us in all three areas of the game. We werent disciplined. We had too many penalties. Ive got to figure out why we werent ready to play like we have been the last couple of weeks. Ive got to get to the bottom of it. Ive got to get my team better prepared." The Ticats only scoring came from a Luca Congi field goal and a safety. "We executed our defence," said Montreal linebacker Shea Emry. "Weve had lots of games where we put that many points up and we let teams slip back in. "There were times we almost did that, but then we didnt let them capitalize on those penalties or plays." Smith has seen mostly spot duty since he signed, but after Neiswander struggled in a loss to Winnipeg last week, Popp decided to give the former Baltimore Raven and San Francisco 49er a start. Smith, the fourth Alouette quarterback to start a game this season, didnt disappoint as he threw for 207 yards and three TDs in the first half as Montreal opened a 31-3 lead. In the opening quarter, he hit Green for TDs of 64 and two yards. With his 11th and 12th of the season, Green reached a career high in TD catches in a season and passed the 1,000-yard mark for a third straight year. After Congis 26-yard field goal to open the second quarter, Sutton scored on a 19-yard run off tackle at 5:46. Whyte added a 32-yard boot after a 40-yard punt return by Bo Bowling at 12:21 and Smith hit Bruce with a sideline pass for a 26-yard score just ahead of halftime. Montreal slowed play down after the intermission, adding a field goal, while each team conceded a safety. Smith admitted he was a nervous at the start. His first two possessions were two-and-outs. But then he hit Bowling with a 12-yard pass and on the next play found Green wide open for a TD. He also showed he could use his feet, both to buy time for a pass while scrambling or to gain 16 yards on three rushes. "To start off, I was anxious," he said. "Some of my throws were not normal throws. The first completion to Bo Bowling was huge. Sometimes you just need something like that to get you going." Notes: Bowling returned after missing the opening 15 games with an ankle injury. . . The result tied the season series between the teams at one win each, as the Ticats beat Montreal 28-26 in Moncton, N.B. on Sept. 21. . . The Ticats wasted a chance to clinch a home playoff date. . . Burris rushed for one yard, leaving him five short of 5,000 for his career. Tres Barrera Jersey . You can, too, Clay Buchholz, if we ignore the sixth inning of Game 2. Doug Fister and Jake Peavy, youre up next in Game 4 and theres a lot to live up to. Washington Nationals Gear .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. https://www.cheapnationals.com/1717r-ant...-nationals.html. The win gives Canada its fifth title at the World Sledge Hockey Challenge. "Weve got to keep pushing," said Westlake, who led Canada with five goals in the tournament. "The second you let off the pedal, everyone catches up. Jonny Venters Jersey . Scheffler told The Associated Press on Wednesday he made the choice because he had three concussions over the past four years. Daniel Hudson Nationals Jersey .J. -- Travis Zajac of the New Jersey Devils took a lot of grief considering his scored the first of his career-best three goals just 12 seconds into a crucial game against the Florida Panthers.Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Clint Dempsey made a triumphant return to Seattle on Sunday as he scored in the 71st minute to help the Sounders to a 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers at CenturyLink Field. Dempsey spent the past month in Brazil with the United States national team at the World Cup, but in his first game back, it was his second-half goal that separated the Cascadia Cup rivals before Marco Pappa added an insurance tally four minutes from time for the hosts. Seattle has now won four of its last five games to move 10 points clear at the top of the Western Conference. The match was an extremely cautious affair in the opening 45 minutes as the two sides combined to put just one shot on target. But things came to life after the break as Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts needed to be alert to keep out a chance from Gonzalo Pineda in the opeening minute of the half.dddddddddddd Dempsey nearly turned home a header from Zach Scott at close range in the 59th, but he made no mistake with his next chance. Ricketts produced a fine double save to first deny Dempsey and then Obafemi Martins in front of goal. However, Portland was unable to clear the ball and Pineda drove a shot toward the net that Dempsey was able to redirect home. Lamar Neagle nearly added another goal for the Sounders when he struck the post in the 82nd minute, while the Timbers came within inches of an equalizer in the 85th as Gaston Fernandez unleashed a long-range shot that clipped the outside of the upright with Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei easily beaten. One minute later, Seattle put the game away as Neagle led a counter-attack that saw him square the ball to Pappa inside the area for a left-footed finish. 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