wants to keep the season going and take a chance for the Olympic

Moissis Madu is making a timely return to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats offence.A hip pointer that also affected his back and spine forced Madu to miss last weekends 25-23 home win over Edmonton. But with incumbent C.J. Gable (shoulder) going on the six-game injured list this week, Madu gives the Ticats an experienced tailback for Saturdays game in Winnipeg.Man, I hate sitting out, I hate being injured, Madu said Thursday. Id never missed a game in my life before and to miss that one game it hurt me.I wanted to go out and help my teammates.The Ticats were in a real bind against Edmonton when Gable was hurt on their first play from scrimmage. With no other running back on the roster, sophomore fullback C.O. Prime, a converted linebacker, was pressed into action, forcing Madu, 26, a native of Bedford, Texas, to assume an impromptu role as running backs coach.He knows the offence because hes in meetings with us but I wanted to give him a little pep talk and provide some pointers, Madu said. I just told him to go out and relax and play the game.When it comes down to it, its just a childs game that we played as kids.The six-foot-one, 255-pound Prime had five carries for 17 yards, added a one-yard reception and provided solid pass protection. Not bad considering the 25-year-old Montreal native last carried the football eight years ago while in high school.He went and did his thing, Madu said. After the game I was so happy for him.He was all smiles. He got a few carries, he loved it.Now its Madu whos all smiles about being on the field as Hamilton (4-7) looks for its fourth win in five games. The Ticats enter weekend action tied atop the East Division with Toronto and Montreal (both 4-8).The six-foot, 197-pound Madu 187 yards rushing on 44 carries this season with 25 catches for 293 yards. The former Oklahoma Sooner signed as an undrafted free agent with the NFLs Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 11 and played nine games that season, registering 55 yards rushing on 15 carries and 10 receptions for 72 yards before being released in August 2012.He joined the New York Jets on Aug. 4, 2013 but was let go 27 days later. Madu signed as a free agent with Hamilton on Feb. 27.Saturdays game is also important to Winnipeg (6-6), which is coming off a bye week with ground to make up in the West Division. Calgary (10-2) leads the standings followed by Saskatchewan (9-3), Edmonton (8-4) and B.C. (7-5).Given the struggles of East Division teams, the crossover option looks very viable this year. If the fourth-place Western squad compiles a better record than the third-place Eastern club, it will become the Easts third playoff seed.Despite its record Hamilton controls its playoff destiny, especially with five of its seven remaining games being against East rivals. That includes two against both Toronto and Ottawa and a regular-season finale at home against Montreal.Weve talked about it . . . its our future, Madu said. We want to win the East Division and weve got to do it.Finishing first or second would secure Hamilton a playoff game at Tim Hortons Field, where the club is 3-0 since moving into the facility on the Labour Day weekend. The Ticats opened the season playing at Ron Joyce Stadium, compiling a 1-2 record there.Work continues at Tim Hortons Field but its seating capacity of 18,000 is nearly triple that of Ron Joyce Stadium. And Ticats fans have been much more vocal in their support of the home team at the new stadium.Its a great atmosphere to be in, Madu said. Every game has been packed compared to McMaster.It got so quiet (at Mac) that sometimes you could hear a pin drop. Thats the one thing about the atmosphere, its going to motivate you to play . . . you know its going to get loud out there.Unfortunately, Saturdays game is at Investors Group Field and Hamilton is a dismal 0-5 on the road. However, Winnipeg starter Drew Willy (shoulder) will be a game-time decision and the Bombers defence is allowing a CFL-high 128.2 yards rushing per game.We always want to get a good run game going because its going to open up things for the passing game and will help the quarterback out, Madu said. We have a good run gameplan this week so I hope we put it to work.There are no such questions regarding Hamiltons offensive leader. The Ticats are 3-1 since starter Zach Collaross return after missing five games with concussion-like symptoms.It means a lot, Madu said. I love Zach, hes a real cool guy, man.Hes a good leader, he takes charge of the huddle and hes a guy who plays with confidence. He goes out there and just slings the ball and throws his body around. You want to play for a guy like that. Mariners Jerseys 2020 . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted on Monday that Hemsky will be going to market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Seattle Mariners Pro Shop . -- Raiders wide receiver Jacoby Ford made it through a third straight practice without any setbacks and expects to play in Oaklands regular-season finale against San Diego. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . - Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis said Wednesday hes "nodded off" during meetings, but he said its something every player does. Seattle Mariners Shirts .Mila Kunis was a guest on Kimmel last night and revealed a surprising side of herself that comes out when she watches sports. It turns out screaming something vulgar at professional athletes is therapeutic for Kunis. Custom Seattle Mariners Jerseys . Here at TSN.ca we will take a look back at the season by bringing together a panel of experts to help pick the best 50 players of the season.LAKE LOUISE, Alta. -- Germanys Maria Hoefl-Riesch returned to the top of the podium at Lake Louise with a victory in a World Cup womens downhill Friday. Hoefl-Riesch won a pair of downhills at the Alberta resort in 2010 before Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. went on a run of seven straight wins on the mountain. But the American ski star was tentative. She finished well back in 40th in her first race since crashing and injuring her right knee at the world championship in February. Hoefl-Riesch was fastest in the final training run for Fridays downhill and carried her pace into the race. "Since the very first time when I came here at the age of 18 or 19, I was always skiing good here and also had some wins and some podiums," Hoefl-Riesch said. "The last two years were a little bit difficult because the year before I was winning two races and one second. Last year and the year before was not perfect, but now it seems its really good for me again. Its great that I had such a good run and finally went back to the podium here. Hoefl-Riesch posted a winning time of one minute 56.03 seconds on a clear, but bitterly cold day. Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden of Switzerland was .70 seconds back in second and Elena Fanchini of Italy was third in 1:57.23. A second downhill is scheduled for Saturday followed by a super-G on Sunday. Larisa Yurkiw of Owen Sound, Ont., was Canadas lone racer and she delivered a career-best seventh. Yurkiw was 51st in the start order and was initially tied for eighth with Stefanie Moser of Austria when the Canadian crossed the finish line. The disqualification of Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein in fifth bumped them up the rankings. The result was a triumph for Yurkiw, who was dropped from the Canadian ski team after last season. The 25-year-old raised about $150,000 on her own to fund her summer ski camps in Europe and pay for her own coaching and training expenses. Yurkiw embarked on the ambitious plan to find deep-pocketed sponsors because she wasnt ready to give up on her dream of competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics. She wasnt able to race in the 2010 Winter Games because of a catastrophic knee injury suffered just a few weeks before the opening ceremonies. Yurkiw needs one more top-12 result to meet Alpine Canadas criteria for nomination to the Olympic team. "Today feels like a dream," Yurkiw said. "I had this number seven in my head for some reason all day. When I came down in eighth I forgot about it and then someone mentioned I moved up one. "I was thinking riding up the chair that the pressure is so high, but finally I can say Im doing a good job of staying focused on the things that matter and the things that will make me fast. TThat part Im really proud of.dddddddddddd. "I always admired people who were able to perform under pressure and Im really happy I feel like I joined the club." Lake Louise is nicknamed "Lake Lindsey" because Vonns 14 victories here are more than any other skier at one venue. The reigning Olympic champion has charged through trials and tribulations to some of those victories, but she lacked her characteristic aggression Friday. "I was definitely very nervous having my first race in 10 months," Vonn said. "I was really optimistic that I could come down and first race right out of the blocks win. It was wishful thinking, but might as well shoot for the best. "I was just too nervous. I was really tight and I skied that way. I wasnt in a really deep tuck and pushing the line where I could have. I just kind of skied it. Thats not my style and not how I attack a race. "I think tomorrow is going to be a whole other story. Im going to be much more relaxed and hopefully more confident and able to ski more aggressively and more like myself." Vonn tore ligaments in knee and broke a bone in her lower leg when she crashed in the super-G at the world championships in Schladming, Austria. She partially tore a ligament in her surgically repaired knee while training in November, which kept her out of the first downhill race in Beaver Creek, Colo. Hoefl-Riesch and Vonn are friends as well as rivals. The German thought Vonn felt confident because Vonn had skipped the last training run. "Of course, its not an easy situation for her," Hoefl-Riesch said. "She wants to keep the season going and take a chance for the Olympics. Of course, she needs to do races. "I hope that she can get more confident for her knee. I spoke to her and she said her knee was kind of bothering her. Difficult situation for her definitely." But when Vonn was asked after the race how her knee felt, she replied "fine." The temperature was minus 25 for the race, but windchill pushed it to minus 31. The race was an hour late starting because of a pair of 30-minute delays. The first was to allow the temperature to rise a degree or two. The second was because the resorts snow guns created ice fog over the upper sections of the course. The racers had to wait for it to dissipate. Hoefl-Riesch had just got on the chairlift to the start hut when she heard of the delay. Rather than freeze at the top of the mountain, she stopped in at one of the lift houses to stay warm and passed the time chatting to a lift worker. "I was talking to the lift guy, who was from New Zealand," she said. "It was an interesting conversation." ' ' '