– Carberry product Braden Calvert and his Deer Lodge team are 4-and-0 after the first two days of the Canadian Junior Men’s Curling Championship. Calvert beat Saskatchewan 6-2 and Northern Ontario 10-4 Sunday and is tied with Ontario for first-place in Pool A. Meanwhile, Manitoba’s Meaghan Brezden is 2-and-2 in Pool B for the Junior Women’s Championship. She beat Newfoundland and Labrador 10-8 and lost 8-5 to New Brunswick in her two games Sunday.
– Tiffany McLean captured the title at the Brandon Ladies’ Bonspiel over the weekend. McLean scored four in the fifth end to snap a 4-4 tie and then had to hold on for an 8-7 win over Lois Fowler in the Westoba Credit Union A Event Final.
– Team North American captured the Continental Cup for the second straight year, defeating Team World 35-25 in curling’s version of the Ryder Cup. Olympic reps Jennifer Jones and Brad Jacobs were both key members of the victorious squad in what was the final event for both teams before the Sochi Games. It’s the first time a team has repeated as champion. The winners had alternated in the nine previous editions of the Continental Cup.
– Adam Iwan stopped 43 shots to lead the Virden Oil Capitals to a 2-1 win over the Neepawa Natives in Manitoba Junior Hockey League action Sunday night. Artsiom Kalashnikov and Jake Dudar scored the goals for the Oil Caps as they closed to within two points of first-place Dauphin in the Sherwood Division. Colton Magwood had the lone goal for Neepawa. The Natives have lost eight in a row. Dauphin’s home game against OCN and the Swan Valley at Waywayseecappo games scheduled for Sunday were postponed.
– Duncan Campbell potted a handful of goals to pace the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 10-3 win over the Pembina Valley Hawks in Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League action Sunday. Campbell’s five goal, one assist effort gives him a league-leading 72 points this season. The win coupled with the Winnipeg Wild’s 5-4 loss to the Interlake Lightning Sunday gives Brandon a three point lead over the second-place Wild in the standings. Meanwhile, Brett Howden had two goals and five assists to lead Eastman past Yellowhead 7-5 Sunday. Tanner Koroscil and Josh Martin had two goals and an assist each for the Chiefs. Yellowhead is one point behind Interlake for eighth-place and the final playoff spot.
– The Brandon Wheat Kings are, once again, in a tie for first-place in the Western Hockey League’s East Division. Coda Gordon had two goals and two assists to pace Swift Current to a 7-0 win over Prince Albert Sunday, moving the Broncos into a tie with Brandon. The Wheat Kings do have two games in hand and will visit Swift Current on Wednesday.
– Kyle Fraser of the Russell Rams had three goals and an assist to give the All-Stars a 10-9 win over the defending champion Miniota-Elkhorn C-Hawks at the North Central Hockey League’s All-Star game Sunday. Wes Lewis of the Minnedosa Bombers added a pair of goals for the All-Stars while Kyle McLeod had three goals and an assist for the C-Hawks.
– Brandon’s Crocus Plainsmen finished as runners-up at the Three Rivers Cup Tournament in Pittsburgh. Crocus fell 2-1 to the Northeast Storm from Columbus in their Division Final on Sunday, with Bryce Webber scoring the lone goal for the Plainsmen. Crocus finished the tournament with a 2-1-1 record.
– Canucks head coach John Tortorella is expected to have a disciplinary hearing with the National Hockey League Monday after his actions in Vancouver’s fight-filled game against Calgary on Saturday. Tortorella was shown on camera in an altercation outside the Flames dressing room during the first intermission. The game began with a line brawl as soon as the puck dropped.
– A new study says player injuries cost the National Hockey League more than 200-million-dollars a year. And researchers at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital suggest the cost of those injuries — and the impact on team balance sheets — could be reflected in higher prices for game tickets. Neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Cusimano is repeating his call for more severe punishment for on-ice violence. He also says NHL owners need to do a better job protecting their athletes, if not for their players, then for their own pocketbooks.
– Sidney Crosby will lead the Canadian men’s hockey team into the Sochi Olympics as team captain. Crosby was an easy choice for Canada after being an alternate in Vancouver, where he scored the gold-medal winning goal as a 22-year-old. Caroline Ouellette was named captain for the women’s team while Greg Westlake leads the sledge squad.
– Brandon’s Kurtis Cullen finished tenth at the Racquetball Canada National team selection event in Brossard, Quebec over the weekend. Cullen lost to Tanner Mattson (15-7, 8-15, 11-9) in the men’s singles open consolation final, a match that decided ninth-place in the 23-player event. Cullen is ranked 11th in Canada in men’s singles.
– Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Chamblin has been selected as one of three finalists for the 2013 CFL Coach of the Year award. Kent Austin of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Calgary’s John Hufnagel have also been nominated for the Annis Stukus award. The top head coach of the 2013 season will be honoured during the 53rd CFL Coach of the Year Luncheon on February 5th.
– It will be the Seattle Seahawks taking on the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 48 at the Meadowlands. The Broncos are AFC champions for the first time since 1998 after downing New England 26-16 in Denver. Peyton Manning passed for 400 yards and two touchdowns. In the later game, the Seahawks were crowned NFC champions for just the second time in team history following a 23-17 comeback win over San Francisco. The Seahawks didn’t take their first lead of the game until Russell Wilson threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse with 13:44 remaining.
– Maria Sharapova followed Serena Williams out of the Australian Open in the fourth round, losing 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to Dominika Cibulkova in the second major upset in 24 hours. Montreal’s Eugenie Bouchard will take on former World Number 1 Ana Ivanovic in quarter-final action at the Australian Open today while Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray moved into the men’s quarter-finals with victories.
