The Globe and Mail - 19.10.2019

SATURDAY,OCTOBER19,2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAILO S3

W

ith Patrick Mahomes side-
lined, fans across the NFL may
be longing for the days when
the backup quarterback’s job
was to carry a clipboard and not the hopes
and dreams of an entire franchise.
Mahomes escaped significant ligament
damage when he dislocated his right
kneecap Thursday night in Kansas City’s
30-6 pummelling of the Denver Broncos
and there is optimism the reigning NFL
MVP could be back on the field in about a
month.
Mahomes had an MRI exam Friday that
showed the ligaments were intact, a per-
son familiar with the situation told The
Associated Press. The person spoke on
condition of anonymity because the team
was still sorting through the results and
putting together a timetable for his re-
turn.
“He’s a huge part of this team, huge
part of the league. You just hate to see
that,” said journeyman Matt Moore, the
latest No. 2 thrust into a leading role in
this “Year of the Backup Quarterback.”
Starting with Andrew Luck, who retired
at age 29 after dealing with a series of in-
juries, the league’s celebration of its 100th
season has been marred by the loss of
some of its biggest stars.
The club of QBs sidelined so far in-
cludes Drew Brees (thumb), Ben Roethlis-
berger (elbow), Cam Newton (foot), Nick
Foles (collarbone), Josh Allen (concus-
sion), Mitchell Trubisky (shoulder) and
Sam Darnold (mononucleosis), whose
backup, Trevor Siemian was lost for the
season with a gruesome ankle injury.
Now, the league’s brightest young star
is hurt, too.
Shortly after becoming the fastest play-
er in NFL history to throw for 7,500 yards,
in just his 25th game, Mahomes got hurt
not on one of his improvisational master-
pieces but on the most basic play, a quar-
terback sneak.
The stadium grew silent as one by one
players peeled off the pile and Mahomes
stayed down, his right leg stuck at an awk-
ward angle before he rolled onto his back,
ripped off his helmet and covered his face.
“I don’t even want to think about that,”
receiver Tyreek Hill said. “We are just try-
ing to move on from it, and I will continue
to pray for my dog.”
“It was out of whack,” tight end Travis
Kelce said. “I couldn’t even describe it.
You looked at it and were like, ‘Oh no,
there is something wrong with him.’”
Denver defensive end Shelby Harris’s
heart sank.
“I’ve never seen anything like that on
the field before,” Harris said. “His knee
was literally all the way to the side, his
kneecap was. I wish him the best. We defi-
nitely need him in the league, he’s defi-
nitely a big attraction in the league.”
Mahomes refused to leave the field on a
cart, so trainers helped him off the field
once his kneecap was popped back into

place. Then, he walked gingerly to the

locker room.

“Obviously we need him to get wins,”

Hill said. “But now we just have to move

on.”

The Chiefs’ hopes of reaching their first

Super Bowl since 1970 – the year Maho-

mes’s father, former big leaguer Pat Ma-

homes, was born – will rest at least for a

while not on their magnificent maestro

but on Moore, a 35-year-old career backup

who wasn’t even in the

league last year as he sought

to transition into either

coaching or scouting.

Moore attended Kyler

Murray’s pro day at Oklaho-

ma this spring alongside

Adam Engroff, the Miami

Dolphins’ director of college

scouting. But Moore found

himself in demand again

when Chad Henne broke an

ankle in the preseason and

he signed Sept. 1 to back up Mahomes.

It was Kansas City’s dominant defence

that really stepped up when Mahomes

went out Thursday night, but Moore did

throw a 57-yard TD pass to Hill with Chris

Harris Jr. in coverage. Over all, he was 10 of

19 for 117 yards.

“It is crazy. I am pretty sure about three

or four of the guys out there on the field

had never caught a ball from Matt even in

practice,” Kelce said. “I know I hadn’t.”

While backups Teddy Bridgewater in

New Orleans and Kyle Allen in Carolina

have each gone 4-0, most fill-ins aren’t so

fortunate.

Mason Rudolph was knocked uncon-

scious after replacing Roethlisberger, ele-

vating undrafted Devlin (Duck) Hodges,

who’d been cut at the end of training

camp, to the starring role in Pittsburgh’s

last game. Siemian’s season-ending injury

opened the door for Luke Falk before Dar-

nold returned last week.

Only four starting QBs who own Super

Bowl rings are still standing: the ageless

Tom Brady, the rejuvenated

Aaron Rodgers, the depend-

able Russell Wilson and the

floundering Joe Flacco, who

somehow escaped injury

Thursday night despite be-

ing sacked a career-high

eight times and knocked

down on most of his other

drop-backs.

Hill insists it’s business as

usual with Moore under

centre instead of Mahomes.

“I don’t see anything changing,” Hill

said.

Except, well, everything.

Earlier this week, Broncos coach Vic

Fangio said facing Mahomes is the tough-

est task in the football because “you have

to defend two plays: the one they’ve

called and then the one he might create.”

Now, those skills are shelved, like those

of so many others who have mastered the

league’s paramount and most precarious

position.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mahomes,theNFL’sbiggestyoungstar,

joinsgrowinglistofsidelinedpivots

ARNIESTAPLETONDEN9ER

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quarteragainsttheBroncosinDenveronThursday.DUSTINBRADFORD/GETTYIMAGES

He’sahugepartof

thisteam,hugepart

oftheleague.You

justhatetoseethat.

MATTMOORE

CHIEFSBACKUPQB,

ONPATRICKMAHOMES

SPORTS |

I

t has been nearly six months
and yet the disappointment of
playoff elimination haunts
this city.
Toronto cashed out of the
postseason early for a third year
in a row, and for the second suc-
cessive time it was Boston, those
darn Bruins, that delivered the
blow.
It is a long time between now
and April when Stanley Cup pro-
ceedings commence, but the ri-
valry between these opponents
seemingly drawn to one another
renews on Saturday night at Sco-
tiabank Arena.
The outcome of a game itself
in mid-October is relatively insig-
nificant – but will bring relief,
and a little measure of pleasure,
to the Maple Leafs if they win:
“See, they aren’t so tough! This is
a whole new year.”
Nobody will say it, of course,
because that would be interest-
ing. No use in giving Boston in-
centive. As though any is needed.
The Bruins are gifted when it
comes to making Torontonians
miserable. Think not about those
Game 7 losses in the first round
in each of the past two years. For
true torment, go back to the Ma-
ple Leafs’ epic collapse in Game 7
on May 13, 2013. That night the
Bruins scored twice in the final
82 seconds to force a tie, and
then won in extra time.
It was the first time an NHL
team had won a seventh game
after trailing by three goals in the

third period.

Had the Maple Leafs won

then, or in either of the past two

series between them, it would

have been their first victory over

the Bruins in the playoffs since

1959. That was so long ago that
      not even Zdeno Chara was play-
      ing. A trend, perhaps.
      A victory is important for To-
      ronto, but not just to end its own
      little curse. The Maple Leafs en-
      ter the game 4-3-1 following a
      loss to the Capitals in Washing-
      ton on Wednesday. They have yet

to beat a good team. Laying one

on the Bruins would go a long

way toward boosting the confi-

dence in the home team’s dress-

ing room.

Saying, “We believe in this

group and know we can beat

anyone” rings hollow until it is

done. It has been repeated a few

times already this year, and we

aren’t 10 games in yet.

At 5-1-1, Boston is off to a

strong start. The Bruins play with

grit and get great goaltending

from their tandem keeper. They

have the game’s foremost irritant

in Brad Marchand – he is prob-

ably practising his slashes right

now – and an extraordinary cen-

tre in Patrice Bergeron.

They pretty much have it all,

which is why they bumped off

Toronto en route to reaching the

Stanley Cup final last year, and

rank among this season’s favou-

rites.

The Maple Leafs see them-

selves as a contender and time

will tell. They are exciting and

score a lot of goals – but give up

toomanyaswell.

Their task just got more diffi-

cult because of a broken finger

on John Tavares’s left hand. He

was struck late in Wednesday’s

game by a teammate’s shot, and

will out for at least two weeks.

“As soon as I got hit by the

puck, my finger went numb,” Ta-

vares said after sitting out prac-

tice on Friday. “I went back to the

bench and it didn’t feel very

good.”

Tavares said he did not believe

the injury was serious when he

woke up on Thursday morning.

He was surprised by the progno-

sis and a possible lengthy recov-

ery.

“I am frustrated,” Tavares said.

“I did not want to miss any time.

I was really hopeful it was some-

thing I could play with. It is very,

very stiff.”

The injury prompted Babcock

to insert Alexander Kerfoot into

Tavares’s spot on the second line

with Mitch Marner and Ilya Mik-

heyev. On Friday, he also promot-

ed Jason Spezza to third-line cen-

tre playing between Kasperi Ka-

panen and Trevor Moore. The

top line remains Auston Mat-

thews, William Nylander and An-

dreas Johnsson.

Babcock sees Saturday night’s

game as a huge opportunity for

his team.

“A lot of guys probably wanted

more ice time and now they are

going to get it,” he said. “ As a

team we have to get better. I

think we are better than we have

played.”

Not only do the Leafs play

Boston at home on Saturday, but

again at TD Garden on Tuesday.

That gives them two chances to

serve notice that this year could

be different.

“This will be fun,” Babcock

said. “Obviously, we have a histo-

ry with them.”

It is not a very good one,

though.

LeafsbeginlifewithoutTavaresagainstBruins

It’salongtimetillApril,

butavictoryagainst

Bostonwouldbe

importantforToronto

forreasonsbeyond

thestoriedcurse

MARTYKLINKENBERGTORONTO

AlexanderKerfootoftheMapleLeafs,tryingtoevadetheMinnesotaWild’sMikkoKoivuinTorontoon

Tuesday,issettojointhesecondlineagainsttheBruinsonSaturdayasJohnTavaressitsoutwithathumb

injury. CLAUSANDERSEN/GETTYIMAGES

NEWYORKCC Sabathia’s major-

league career is over.

The 39-year-old left-hander

was dropped from the Yankees’

AL Championship Series roster

on Friday, a day after he dis-

located a joint in his pitching

shoulder during the eighth

inning of New York’s Game 4 loss

to Houston.

Sabathia was replaced by

right-hander Ben Heller. New

York trailed 3-1 in the best-of-

seven series, and even if the

Yankees and advanced, Sabathia

would not be eligible to return to

the active roster.

A six-time all-star and the

2007 AL Cy Young Award winner

with Cleveland, Sabathia fin-

ished with a 251-161 regular-

season record with 3,093 strike-

outs. He announced before the

season that this was going to be

his last year and he made four

trips to the injured list caused by

his balky right knee.

His body gave out on his 20th

pitch to the Astros. He walked off

the mound toward second, spoke

with head athletic trainer Steve

Donahue and tried a warmup

toss, hoping somehow to push

through, but he had to leave.

THEASSOCIATEDPRESS

YANKEESDROPSABATHIA

AFTERSHOULDERINJURY

STOCKHOLMDenis Shapovalov

is heading to the semi-finals at

the Stockholm Open.

The fourth-seeded Shapova-

lov crushed German qualifier

Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-0, 6-3 in

quarter-final action at the ATP

Tour 250 event on Friday.

The 20-year-old from Rich-

mond Hill, Ont., finished off

Stebe in just less than 49 min-

utes.

The Canadian won 21 of 22

points when he got his first

serve in, good for a 95-per-cent

clip. Stebe, ranked 213th in the

world, was only at 57 per cent

(13-of-23) in the same stat.

Shapovalov, ranked 34th in

the world, never faced a break

point. He has won 12 of his

past 17 matches, and could

move up to as high as 26th in

the world if he captures his

first career ATP Tour title this

week.

Shapovalov will face the

winner of a match between

Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic and

Japan’s Yuichi Sugita in the

semis.

The other semi pits No. 5

seed Pablo Carreno Busta of

Spain against Serbia’s Filip

Krajinovic.THE CANADIAN PRESS

SHAPOVALOVINTOSEMIS

ATSTOCKHOLMOPEN