Kerri Einarson’s bid for a four-peat is alive and well, but Jennifer Jones is also a win away from rewriting the record books in Canadian women’s curling.
Six-time national champion Jones booked an express ticket to Sunday’s final of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts when her Manitoba team beat Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville 8-5 in a Saturday night playoff game in Kamloops, B.C.
Einarson, winner of three straight Hearts, avoided elimination with a 9-4 victory over Nova Scotia’s Christina Black in Saturday’s earlier playoff contest.
Einarson meets McCarville in Sunday afternoon’s semifinal with the winner moving onto face Jones for the title.
Jones will play in her 10th Hearts final. The 46-year-old can become the first woman to win seven Canadian women’s championships.
“It doesn’t feel different because of that. It just feel different because as you get closer to the end of our career, you never know when it could be the last,” Jones said.
Jones employed a five-player rotation with a new team this season. For her teammates under the age of 25, a victory Sunday would be their first Hearts crown.
Team Canada skip Kerri Einarson shouts directions to her teammates in the bronze medal game against Team Sweden at CN Centre during the Women’s World Curling in Prince George, B.C., on Sunday, March 27, 2022. Einarson broke open a close game with four points in the eighth end of a 9-3 victory over Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa at the Pan Continental Curling Championships. THE CANADIAN PRESS/James Doyle
“We’re excited to help her reach that record, but it’s also a big record for us too,” third Karlee Burgess said. “All four of us being so young, being able to win our first Scotties with the best in the world, with Jen, it would be an amazing story.”
Jones recovered from giving up a steal of one in each of the first three ends to McCarville by scoring two in the fourth and stealing one in the fifth and eighth ends.
Tied up coming home, Jones didn’t have to throw her final stone when McCarville was light on a draw.
“We struggled big time and we just kind of got lucky those first three ends,” McCarville said. “We weren’t throwing it very well. We knew we had to pick up and we still didn’t and things started going their way a little bit, but we just have to regroup for tomorrow.”
Jones’ young teammates staying patient when Manitoba trailed was a good dress rehearsal for Sunday, the skip said.
“I think it was massive,” Jones said “For us to kind of start the way we (did), get down a little bit early, and then found a way to hang in there and come back, it will show a lot of character for tomorrow.”
Jennifer Jones will play in her 10th Hearts final. The 46-year-old can become the first woman to win seven Canadian women’s championships Sunday night. (Photo: Twitter@TSNCurling)
EINARSON NEEDS 2 WINS
Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard and Briane Harris need two wins Sunday to be just the second team in history to win four straight. Colleen Jones’ team was the first from 2001 to 2004.
Their semifinal against McCarville is a rematch of last year’s championship game in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Einarson’s foursome recovered from dropping a playoff game to Jones the previous evening — Einarson’s first loss of the tournament — with a commanding performance Saturday.
Einarson also got more run support from her lineup than Black did. Her vice Sweeting and the front end of Birchard and Harris outcurled their Nova Scotia counterparts by several percentage points.
“My team played amazing,” Einarson said. “They definitely outplayed the other team and Christina had a couple of tough ones she had to make to just score, and she made them, but we felt really comfortable out there.”
Sweepers can make or break the outcome of a delivered stone, so Einarson was also the beneficiary of workhorse efforts by Sweeting, Birchard and Harris.
Harris is pregnant and due in June.
“She is a champ. Holy smokes,” Einarson said. “She’s got a little one in her and it’s motivating her to just push through. I don’t think I could do it.”
Einarson took the longer route to last year’s victory in Thunder Bay.
Her team won the sudden-death playoff game, the semifinal and then the final 9-6 over McCarville.
Team Canada at the Scotties, Feb. 25, 2023
“Our backs are against the wall and I know, with us, we never let up,” Einarson said.
“We’re just going to keep grinding it out and playing like we know we can. I feel like this is the best we’ve played yet.”
NOVA SCOTIA HITS THE WALL
Nova Scotia’s marathon, three-game day Friday caught up to them Saturday.
Black stole a point in an extra end in back-to-back playoff games, including a tiebreaker, to make the final four. Black eliminated three-time champ Rachel Homan of Ontario with the second win.
Nova Scotia then lost to McCarville to end up facing three-time champ Einarson on Saturday.
Black’s talent for difficult, pressure draws was on display again Saturday, but she made those shots to simply survive.
Nova Scotia didn’t generate a two-point end with last rock, while Einarson scored deuces with hammer in the third, fifth, seventh and ninth ends.
“I think our fatigue from the three games yesterday kind of set in today,” Black acknowledged. “Our throws were a little bit lighter than we were calling on a few shots.
“They’re an incredible team and they gave us a few chances and we didn’t capitalize. If they give you a little bit of a chance you better capitalize because they don’t give you very many chances.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2023.
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
