Sports

Kevin Koe moves into sole possession of first place at Brier – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

March 13, 2021

CALGARY — A set of freshly papered rocks worked out just fine for Wild Card Two’s Kevin Koe on Saturday afternoon.

He defeated Manitoba’s Jason Gunnlaugson 12-4 to secure at least a playoff tiebreaker at the Canadian men’s curling championship.

Koe had two early three-point ends in a game that was conceded after the minimum eight ends. He improved to 9-2 and moved into sole possession of first place in the championship pool standings.

“Every game is huge obviously,” said Koe third B.J. Neufeld. “We came into today knowing that if we win both our games, then we’re in the final. So that’s what we’re focused on. This is the first step of that.”

Wild Card Three’s Wayne Middaugh fell into a second-place tie after dropping a 6-3 decision to Canada’s Brad Gushue, creating a four-way logjam at 8-3 entering the evening draw.

They were joined by Saskatchewan’s Matt Dunstone and Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher. Dunstone edged Northern Ontario’s Brad Jacobs 5-4 and Bottcher downed Ontario’s John Epping 8-3.

The top three teams will advance to Sunday’s playoffs. The second- and third-place teams will meet in an afternoon semifinal with the winner to face the top seed in the evening final.

Middaugh, originally tabbed as an alternate, is throwing fourth stones for Glenn Howard’s Ontario-based team, which was caught off-guard by the sanding of rocks between draws.

A post on the Howard team’s official Twitter account said it was not advised beforehand. Sanded stones have a significant effect on a rock’s curling tendency and speed.

Curling Canada issued a statement on the rock issue late Saturday afternoon.

The federation said the stones were sanded late Friday night in response to player comments that there was less curl in the later ends. Curling Canada admitted there was a regrettable “communication breakdown” and that teams were not informed ahead of Saturday’s games.

Each team had its usual nine minutes of practice time beforehand to get used to the new rocks. Curling Canada said it will “review its procedures going forward” to address the communication issue.

Epping was alone in sixth place at 7-4 but still had a chance at the playoffs. Jacobs and Gunnlaugson will miss the cut at 6-5.

A variety of tiebreaker scenarios were in play entering the evening draw. Late night and early morning tiebreakers were a possibility along with a double semifinal if there’s a four-way tie for first place.

Gushue won the Tim Hortons Brier last year in Kingston, Ont. He has won the national title three times in the last four years.

The Brier winner will represent Canada at the world men’s curling championship next month in the same Canada Olympic Park venue.

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Edler to sign one-day contract to retire as a Vancouver Canuck

Published

5 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.

The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.

He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.

The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.

Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.

“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”

Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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Sixth-ranked Canadian women to face World Cup champion Spain in October friendly

Published

11 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.

Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.

In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.

Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.

Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.

The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.

Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.

It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.

Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.

FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.

And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.

“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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Maple Leafs announce Oreo as new helmet sponsor for upcoming NHL season

Published

15 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.

The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.

The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.

Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.

The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.

Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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