Christina Black’s opportunistic Nova Scotia curling team stole its way into the final four at the Canadian women’s curling championship Friday.
Black won back-to-back playoff games by stealing a point in an extra end.
Her Dartmouth Curling Club foursome eliminated three-time champion Rachel Homan of Ontario with a 7-6 victory.
Nova Scotia joined defending champion Kerri Einarson, Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones and Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville among teams still in contention at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops, B.C.
Black stole a point in the 11th end to beat Kaitlyn Lawes’ wild-card team 7-6 in the morning tiebreaker.
Black’s larceny also got her to that tiebreaker as Nova Scotia stole one in the 10th end the previous evening to get by Quebec 7-6.
“That’s our third straight steal to win a game in must-win games,” Black said. “We’re a team that never gives up. We know we’ve won lots of different ways. Just have to stay in it until the end, give ourselves a chance and make her throw her last rock.
“I feel there’s a little bit of curling gods on our side helping us out.”
The skip’s drawing ability has forced her opposing counterparts into low percentage shots on their final throws.
Black’s freeze to an Ontario stone just below the pin with another Nova Scotia counter higher in the rings had Homan throwing a double takeout for the win.
Homan’s attempt jammed and left Nova Scotia as shot stone.
“We had a double and missed it,” the Ontario skip said. “We didn’t think it would fall that much there.”
Six-time Canadian champion Jones ousted the host province with an 8-3 win over B.C.’s Clancy Grandy, who shook hands after nine ends.
“It’s a pretty crazy format, so I’m pretty happy to be in the final four,” Jones said.
Curling Canada has tinkered with the national championship format in recent years.
Jones didn’t compete in last year’s Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont., because she represented Canada in Beijing’s Olympic Games.
While Black brings new blood to the upper level of Canadian women’s curling, so has Jones with her four new teammates this season all under the age of 25 reaching the final four for the first time.
Jones employed a five-player rotation this season to play more games than any other women’s foursome at 88.
“We’ve worked hard,” the 46-year-old skip said. “It’s really nice to have the opportunity to play on the weekend. That’s what you come here for. When you win that game … it really is the craziest game I think I’ve ever played in.”
Black and Jones ensured they will play in Saturday’s Page playoff with their victories.
Jones was to face Einarson and Black was to continue her day’s curling marathon against McCarville on Friday evening to determine Page seedings.
“Before that game, I said ‘maybe we’ll get to play 33 ends today’ and we’re on track,” Black said.
In the Page playoff, the top two seeds meet Saturday evening with the victor earning an express ticket to Sunday’s final.
The loser drops to Sunday’s semifinal to face the winner of the three-four game Saturday afternoon.
Black went 5-3 and lost out in the round-of-six playoffs to McCarville in her debut skipping Nova Scotia in Thunder Bay.
She’d apprenticed under Marianne Arsenault, who was a five-time champion front-end player with Colleen Jones, and reached the Hearts semifinal playing third for Arsenault in 2018.
“I had three Scotties appearances with Marianne,” Black said. “If you’re going to learn the game from someone, like a five-time champion, she’s amazing.
“I always imagined myself skipping in the Scotties. Once she left (Nova Scotia), it was time for me to step up and skip.”
The expressive Black doesn’t hide her emotions on the ice.
“Yeah, I don’t have a good poker face,” the 35-year-old said.
Grandy defeated Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges 8-3 in Friday’s tiebreaker before falling to Jones.
“Definitely some disappointment because we know we were capable of a bit more during that game,” Grandy said. “This is our first year together as a team and our first Scotties.
“Getting the chance to be the home team here and have that extra little bit of pressure I think was a really good thing for our team moving forward.”
The Hearts winner represents Canada at the world championship March 18-26 in Sandviken, Sweden, and returns to the 2024 national championship in Calgary as the defending champion.
The victor also earns $108,000 from a total prize purse of $300,000 and is eligible for Sport Canada “carding”‘ money as part of Curling Canada’s national-team program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2023.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
