Headlines to begin your September

-Canadian Interuniversity Sport football season kicked off last night, and we begin with an upset. Number 10 McMaster beat defending Vanier Cup champ Queen's 23-18 in what was, by all accounts, a thrilling game that featured one of the craziest plays we'll see all year, a 101-yard kick return by McMaster's Michael DiCore. Meanwhile, in a less publicized game, the GeeGees beat Windsor 23-14.

-The Canadian Journalism Project, jsource, drops a mention on the Toronto Sun/Pension Plan Puppets issue, which has miraculously made it two weeks without anybody ever having given it the suffix 'gate'. They linked back to a story where they criticized the Toronto Star for avoiding accreditation as well.

-Jose Bautista closes in on George Bell's 47 with his 43rd home run as the Blue Jays crushed the Devil Rays 13-5. The Jays put up a 10-spot in the sixth, but you probably didn't see that, because you probably didn't have Sportsnet One. You probably won't watch the Blue Jays today either, because you probably don't have Sportsnet One.

-In Cincinnati Red-land, Cuban Aroldis Chapman hit 103 mph on the radar gun in his Major League Debut. This somehow affects Toronto native, Joey Votto, who still leads the Major Leagues in OPS. The Reds are seven games up on the Cardinals and look to be a shoo-in for the playoffs.

-BC Lions defensive back and all-around CFL good guy Davis Sanchez will donate his game cheque from this week to the Tony Proudfoot foundation for ALS reserach. For a primer on the former Alouette diagnosed with ALS, here's a Bruce Arthur column from two weeks ago on the subject.

-Finally, the Canadian basketball team dropped their fourth straight at the FIBA World Championship with a 71-61 loss to New Zealand. You may have missed my ivory tower hemming and hawing from last night, which chronicled Canada's struggles in the fourth quarter. At least in this morning's game, they looked

Critical praise: Jose Bautista's go-ahead shot in the eigth

Toronto's 3-2 win over the New York Yankees Monday night wasn't a playoff game, but it could have been. Jose Bautista had one of those nights again, with two home runs, knocking in all three.

But his go-ahead home run in the eighth inning was a thing of beauty, and will go down as one of those "all-time" Blue Jays highlights for four reasons:

1 - It was against the Yankees, which meant that the Rogers Centre had a terrific turnout. 29,198 people came out to the ballpark--9,000 over average. Of course, that accounts for a number of Yankee fans who made the trip North for the series, but the crowd was decidedly pro-Blue Jays, and closer Kevin Gregg's performance in the closing moments seemed like it blew the retractable roof off the place, or it seemed that way on TV.

2 - During Bautista's last at-bat before the home run, the benches cleared after a pitch got away from Yankee starter Ivan Nova and nearly clocked Bautista in the head. After Cito Gaston and Yunel Escobar were tossed earlier in the game for arguing balls and strikes. The game became far more important as it wore on.

3 - It was his 40th home run. No Blue Jay has hit 40 home runs since Carlos Delgado in 2003, and particularly awesome because of the bat flip that came at the end.

4 - Damien Cox.

Video via MLB.com

But don't take my word for it. What do the real critics have to say?

When Jose Bautista launched his game-winning home run to left field in the eighth inning that provided the Toronto Blue Jays (65-59) with a scrappy 3-2 victory over the Yankees (77-48) Monday night at Rogers Centre, his deliberate journey around the bases had added meaning.

-Robert MacLeod, The Globe and Mail

all of the hesitancy and maintained composure that Jays fans had exhibited over the past season fell by the wayside yesterday evening. Like most heroes, all it took was the sight of Bautista overcoming adversity to accomplish what he set out to do. And to the gratefulness of all Jays fans, he set out to win the game with a single swing of the bat.

-Zoolander34, Drunk Jays Fans

This is a big moment for Bautista. Jays fans haven't been sure how to react to his success. But what happened Monday night — defying the Yankees, and a PED insinuation — will endear him to Toronto.

-David Brown, Big League Stew

Bautista's jog around the bases lasted 28 seconds and he soaked up every step as the Yankees watched. After finally planting his foot on home plate, he pumped his fist repeatedly as the crowd inside Rogers Centre roared with approval.

-Jordan Bastian, MLB.com

[Above image courtesy of Zoolander34]