National Sports

DETROIT — Matthew Stafford was forced to play defence after his first pass of the season, and failed to stop an opponent from returning his interception for a touchdown. Like the rest of the Detroit Lions, he knows how to bounce back.

REGINA — Edmonton's Val Sweeting defended her Grand Slam of Curling Tour Challenge title on Sunday with a 6-5 comeback win over Anna Hasselborg of Sweden. Sweeting trailed 5-2 after five ends, but scored three in the sixth to tie the match.

HOUSTON — Celebrations of the Jacksonville Jaguars' win over the Houston Texans were tempered by concerns for their state as Hurricane Irma made landfall on Sunday, with the mammoth storm threatening to affect all of Florida.

ATLANTA — The Miami Marlins' radio broadcast was off the air Sunday because of technical problems at its flagship station caused by Hurricane Irma.

MONTREAL — Diego Ulissi was mostly overlooked when he finished third last year, so the Italian made sure to be noticed this time by winning the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal on Sunday afternoon.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The new-look Buffalo Bills might be better than advertised under rookie head coach Sean McDermott. The Jets, however, opened the season playing well below even their meagre expectations.

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Aaron Sanchez will miss the rest of the regular season as he continues to rehabilitate his throwing hand.

CLEVELAND — For Pittsburgh's first road game, Antonio Brown wore a bow tie and purple and black suit embroidered with fire-breathing gold dragons. He completed his outlandish outfit with ruby red-sequined sneakers.

TORONTO — Left-fielder Teoscar Hernandez was so excited by the biggest game of his young career that he couldn't wait to see his family visiting him in Toronto.

Hall of Fame defenceman Pierre Pilote, a three-time Norris Trophy winner who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 1961, has died. He was 85. The Blackhawks said in a statement Sunday that Pilote had died Saturday night.