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Canada's Einarson downs Fleury, advances to Scotties semifinals – TSN

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Andrea Crawford thought she had the win until Krista McCarville snatched it away.

McCarville’s rink from Northern Ontario battled back from a four-point deficit to steal a point in the extra end to defeat Crawford’s New Brunswick team 9-8 Saturday night and earn a trip to the final of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

McCarville made two brilliant shots in the eighth end to climb back into the Page playoff 1 versus 2 game at the Canadian women’s curling championship in Thunder Bay, Ont. Crawford had a chance to win on her last rock but she hit and rolled out, giving McCarville the victory.

“We always say we’re never going to give up,” said McCarville. “If we can take them to the 10th end we’ve done our job even if we lose.

“We’re good at battling and that’s what we did. We knew we could work our magic. That three in the eighth really gave us that jump we needed.”

The Northern Ontario team of third Kendra Lilly, second Ashley Sippala and lead Sarah Potts will play the winner of Sunday’s semifinal between Crawford and Kerri Einarson’s Team Canada.

Crawford opened the scoring drawing with two in the first end. McCarville used her last rock in the second end to remove two New Brunswick stones to count three.

Crawford regained the lead with another draw for two in the third. In the fourth, she heaved a sigh of relief after navigating a narrow port to remove a Northern Ontario stone. McCarville missed the following takeout, giving New Brunswick a steal of one and a 5-3 lead.

Crawford stole another point in the fifth when McCarville’s last-rock draw was light and kissed a guard coming into the house. Northern Ontario gave up another point in the seventh after missing on a long raise.

Northern Ontario rallied in the eighth end. McCarville removed two New Brunswick stones with a raise on her first shot, then took out another on her final to score three points and slash the lead to 7-6.

Crawford had a chance for two in the ninth but had to settle for a single when she came up short on a draw. That made the score 8-6 but gave McCarville the hammer in the 10th end.

McCarville scored two in the 10th to force the extra end.

A disappointed Crawford said her rink has to prepare for Sunday’s semifinal.

“My team played really well,” she said. “I just missed a few key shots.

“We’ve had other tough games, you need to be able to park those. I’m confident we’ll be able to do that.”

McCarville, the hometown favourite who plays out of the Fort Williams Curling Club, drew cheers all night from the crowd of around 275 allowed into the building under COVID-19 protocols.

“It would mean the world to win it here,” said McCarville. “It would be the most amazing dream in the world.”

Crawford, appearing in her first playoffs in her 10th trip to the Scotties, finished the round-robin portion of the tournament second in Pool A with a 6-3 record.

The last rink from New Brunswick to reach the Scotties playoffs was Heidi Hanlon, who lost the 1991 final to B.C.’s Julie Sutton. The only New Brunswick rink to win a Canadian women’s curling championship was skipped by Mabel DeWare in 1963.

McCarville, making her ninth Scotties appearance, was third in Pool A at 5-3. She lost in the 2016 final to Chelsea Carey’s Alberta rink and finished third in 2010.

Einarson, the two-time defending champion, kept her dream of a three-peat alive with a 11-6 win over Tracy Fleury’s Wild Card 1 rink in the Page 3 versus 4 game Saturday afternoon.

That match turned in the sixth end when Fleury missed on a chip shot. With her last stone, Einarson calmly took out Fleury’s rock to score four points and take an 8-5 lead. It was the 14th time during the tournament Team Canada scored three or more points in an end.

Einarson sealed the win by stealing two in the next end.

“We made all our shots,” said Einarson. “We got a couple of misses out of them.

“We’ve been playing really all week putting lots of pressure on the opponent.”

Mistakes cost Fleury.

“I just had a couple of misses at the wrong time and Team Canada capitalized and they made a lot of shots,” she said.

Einarson’s rink of third Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard and lead Briane Meilleur from Gimli, Man., were a perfect 8-0 during the round robin before losing 8-6 to Crawford in a playoff game Friday night. They are looking to join an elite group of rinks to win three consecutive titles.

Saskatchewan’s Vera Pezer won three titles between 1971 and 1973 while Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones won championships between 2008 and 2010. Colleen Jones of Nova Scotia won four consecutive titles beginning in 2001.

Fleury’s team of third Selena Njegovan, second Liz Fyfe and lead Kristin MacCuish from the East St. Paul Curling Club in Manitoba finished first in Pool A during the round robin with a 7-1 record. They lost 8-3 to Northern Ontario Friday night.

Fleury didn’t play her first game of the championship until Thursday after being forced to isolate following a positive COVID-19 test before the tournament. Njegovan took over the skipping duties for the team that leads both the Canadian and world rankings.

Due to COVID-19 concerns the round-robin portion of the tournament was held in an empty Fort Williams Gardens without fans or media in the building. A limited number of volunteers registered for the competition and junior curlers from the area were allowed to attend the playoffs.

The Scotties champion will represent Canada at the 2022 Women’s Curling Championship in Prince George, B.C., from March 19-27.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2022.

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Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

___

AP cricket:

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Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

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Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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