Sports

Saskatchewan's Jenkins remembered at Scotties – TSN

Published

5 years ago

February 16, 2020

MOOSE JAW, Sask.— The curling community came together Sunday afternoon at Mosaic Place to pay tribute to the life of Saskatchewan curler Aly Jenkins.

Jenkins tragically passed away at the age of 30 last October due to complications while giving birth to her daughter Sydney, leaving behind husband Scott Jenkins and their three young children: four-year-old Brady, one-year-old Avery and now four-month-old Sydney.

An emotional ceremony involving Jenkins family and her former teammates took place ahead of Draw 4 at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in front of a near capacity crowd.

Sherry Anderson, Jenkins’ former skip, fought through tears while speaking to the media following the ceremony, but says it was marvelous to see the community come together to support the family.

“People get behind people, especially in Saskatchewan. Especially because of the very tragic way it happened. I don’t imagine it would make a difference if we were curlers or hockey players or volleyball players, it would have been the same. It was a very, very tragic thing that happened,” said Anderson.

Nancy Martin, another former teammate, was also in attendance Sunday and said it was really nice for everyone to stop for a moment and remember Aly.

“We’re all teammates at the end of the day. We switch teams around a lot. Over 30 some years you switch teams, so we all end up being teammates and I think that’s what connects us. There’s a lot of moms out there, a lot of moms-to-be,” said Martin.

Martin hopes Sunday can bring some sense of closure to Aly’s husband, Scott.

“It’s been a lot leading up to this moment. He’s done a lot of work in many different aspects and you can see a little bit of closure for him. I think this might allow him to move forward with everything he has to move forward with,” she said.

The ceremony took place on the same day as the Sandra Schmirler telethon which strives to raise money and help save the lives of babies born too young or small. Schmirler was an Olympic, world and Scotties curling champion from Saskatchewan, who also passed away tragically at the age of 36 after a battle with cancer. And like Schmirler with her two daughters, Anderson hopes curling can play a part in helping to keep Jenkins’ memory alive for her three young children.

“There will be times people will be able to say, ‘your Mom did this or that.’ Right now they’re pretty young so unfortunately probably the two youngest ones in a few years won’t remember their Mom,” said Anderson. “So that’s unfortunate, but certainly there will be reminders in the curling community about Aly for sure.”

The October tragedy especially hit home for members of Team Ontario. Skip Rachel Homan and second Joanne Courtney both gave birth to their first children this off-season and were heartbroken to hear the news of Jenkins’ passing.

“It is unbelievably hard and I can’t even imagine what it felt like for their family. It obviously hit home with us as well,” said Homan. “I can’t imagine trying to get through something like that so reaching out and trying to do everything we can to support their families is important as curlers. Everyone across Canada has given their family so much support.”

Team Homan has been keeping in touch with the family ever since and are paying tribute to Jenkins this week in Moose Jaw with decals on their brooms.

“I think it’s great that curling community has rallied around the family. I don’t think it will ever replace, but I think it’s absolutely touching to see her memory live on,” said Courtney. “I know that anybody who has experienced loss in the first immediate after-effects there’s lots around you, but then it all goes away and you’re still going to miss her every single day. To see that we’re doing something here that means a lot.”

If you wish to donate to the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, you can call 1-866-210-6011

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Sports

Sports betting roundup: NFL and college football were all about the favourites

Published

15 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.

The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.

Trends of the Week

The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.

In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.

When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.

Upsets of the Week

The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.

Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.

Coming up

Right after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series, odds for the 2025 World Series were released.

The Dodgers have the best odds at +400, while the Atlanta Braves and Yankees are next at +800.

The Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies round out the top five, both at +1100.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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Longtime rivals Ovechkin, Crosby join Necas as NHL’s three stars of the week

Published

15 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.

Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.

The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.

Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.

Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.

Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.

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Oliveira, Mitchell named as finalists for CFL outstanding player award

Published

5 days ago

October 31, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.

Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).

Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.

Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.

Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.

The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).

The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.

The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.

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