CFL’S Lemon calls it a career

Veteran defensive lineman Shawn Lemon, who won three Grey Cups with three different organizations, announced his CFL retirement Wednesday.

The 35-year-old Lemon had signed a one-year contract extension with the Montreal Alouettes in December.

Lemon joined the Alouettes last season after the B.C. Lions cut him in training camp to meet their Canadian ratio requirements.

After acquiring Lemon, Montreal went 12-4, including the post-season, en route to a Grey Cup championship. He had 26 defensive tackles, nine sacks, two interceptions and one forced fumble in 13 regular-season games.

Standout pass rusher Josh Allen and the Jacksonville Jaguars reached agreement Wednesday on a five-year, Us$150-million contract that includes $88 million guaranteed, a person familiar with the negotiations said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not officially been signed or announced.

The deal makes Allen the third-highest-paid defensive player in the league in average salary, behind San Francisco’s Nick Bosa and Kansas City’s Chris Jones.

For Tyson Fury, size will count for everything in his fight with Oleksandr Usyk to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000.

Usyk, a former cruiserweight, might be giving away around 50 pounds to Fury, who, at six foot nine, is six inches taller and has a longer reach by seven inches.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Fury complimented Usyk’s boxing skills, but said the size difference between the two unbeaten fighters would be too big for the Ukrainian to overcome in the May 18 bout in Saudi Arabia.

“We have weight divisions for a reason,” Fury said. “I’ve studied every cruiserweight there has ever lived and when the cruiserweights step up to fight the big boys, usually they are found wanting.”