Allgemein » to pick up trade discussions once the selection process

WINNIPEG -- And then there was one. Val Sweeting, the 26-year-old skip from Vegreville, Alta., knocked off four-time Scotties Winner Jennifer Jones Monday night to claim sole possession of first place at the Canadian Olympic curling trials. But she says her young squad isnt going to drop that underdog moniker just yet. "We still like to think we are," said Sweeting, who curls out of Edmonton with third Joanne Courtney, 24, second Dana Ferguson, 26, and lead Rachelle Pidherny, 27. "Yeah were 3-0 but theres lots of week left and we dont have a playoff spot or anything like that yet." Sweeting was down three early but evened things up in six and stole seven points en route to a convincing 9-6 win over Jones. Jones, who entered the game in a tie for first with Sweeting, now sits in second at 2-1 along with fellow Winnipeg skip Chelsea Carey, who knocked off Ottawas Rachel Homan 9-8. "We just missed a couple of bad shots and lost control of the game," said Jones, who is trying to claim the one prize that has eluded her team, the right to represent Canada at the Olympics. "We battled back and won one today, this morning and kind of let one slip away tonight but well come beck sharper tomorrow." In the morning, Jones needed an extra end to finish off Middaugh. Homan and the rest of the womens field sit at 1-2. Saskatoons Stefanie Lawton picked up her first win 8-6 over Renee Sonnenberg of Grande Prairie, Alta., and Edmontons Heather Nedohin also picked up her first win 6-3 over Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont. Jones took an early 3-0 lead against Sweeting but got in trouble in the fourth end and then was heavy on a draw letting Sweeting to steal a crushing four in the seventh end. On the mens side, Jeff Stoughton made a great shot to tie their game but it wasnt enough as Kevin Martin extended his winning streak to two games. That puts Stoughton in a must-win situation for the rest of the tournament. "Wasnt that something... youre just never safe," Martin said of Stoughtons shot, minutes after the Edmonton skips single in the 10th made it 6-5. "We had to make it a tough double and of course he made an incredible double and made it a close game." Brad Jacobs and John Morris also stayed undefeated. Morris, Martins former third, is curling with B.C.s Jim Cotter and he beat Calgarys Kevin Koe 6-4 and Jacobs, out of Sault Ste Marie, Ont., downed Winnipegs Mike McEwan 7-5. Glenn Howard, out of Coldwater, also beat fellow Ontario skip John Epping of Toronto 9-5, which left both at 1-1. The almost 6,000 at the MTS Centre had lots to cheer about as Stoughton made a difficult double off one of Martins stones to score three in the ninth. He missed another, perhaps even more difficult, multiple takeout in the sixth that could have given him four but he had to settle for one. Stoughton knows he has no more room left to lose another game, with all agreeing a record of 5-2 is probably a must to make the playoffs. "I would think so. Its not where we wanted to be after two games," he said. "Weve played worse and won." He has already said this will be the last time he tries to win a spot on the Olympic team. "Theres five games left . . Were not out of this by any means." Martin agreed that losing more than two looks like elimination. "Five and two is safe, four and three I dont think ever has been." Jacobs was enjoying the moment as well. "Its a seven-game round robin so every win is huge. You feel great to be at 2-0. You wouldnt want to be 0-2," he said. The Manitoba Curling Association and the province also announced Monday that curling is joining the CFLs Winnipeg Blue Bombers and NHLs Jets with a specialty license plate of its own, and part of the proceeds will go to the associations Curling for Life Endowment Fund. Aaron Ramsey Jersey . Acclaimed by world football leaders but held in contempt by many football fans. Blatter should arrive at the Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo to watch host Brazil play Croatia confident that this tournament -- his fifth as president -- wont be his last leading the worlds favourite sport. Gareth Bale Jersey . Olsen, who is 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, can play either centre or guard. The 25-year-old Olsen played 16 games and made four starts in 2012 with the New Orleans Saints. http://www.soccerwalesstore.com/ashley-williams-wales-UEFA-EURO-jersey/ . Englands only win in the four most recent trips north had been tight, and Scotland was expected after losing 28-6 to Ireland six days ago to show some venom against its archrival. Joe Allen Wales Jersey . The Braves optioned outfielder Jose Constanza to Triple-A Gwinnett. As expected, the Braves also called up right-hander Julio Teheran from Gwinnett to start Sundays game and optioned backup catcher J. Joe Ledley Jersey . The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries.TORONTO -- Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said Thursday that hes confident hell have financial flexibility should he need it later in the season. Anthopoulos, who held a media availability before his team opened a four-game series against Kansas City, was asked about an online report by columnist Peter Gammons that quoted him saying the team is "pretty much maxed out" in terms of payroll. "Were at our number to start the year," Anthopoulos explained to reporters. "Thats fair so I dont think it varies from anything else weve ever said." The Blue Jays, who have a payroll of about US$135 million, dont have a locked-in salary ceiling. If a situation presented itself, it appears there would be room to heighten it if needed. Toronto has been one of the surprises of the American League this season, rising to the top of the East division and taking a nine-game winning streak into Thursdays game. Talk of potential upgrades and loading up for a post-season run is already underway in the playoff-starved city even though the season is barely one-third old. Anthopoulos said while its still quite early, he does not expect to be hamstrung when it comes to finances. "I have every confidence that if we have a need come the trade deadline, which is obviously late July, I have every confidence that well have the resources to do that," Anthopoulos said. "I dont have any doubts about that at all." The teams purse strings were in the news last April when reports surfaced that some Toronto players discussed deferring portions of their salary to help land Ervin Santana. The free agent pitcher ended up signing with Atlanta for the same one-year US$14-million deal offered by the Jays. But Anthopoulos stressed that if something came up in the next month or two, he feels the team could take on salary if required. "We may need to be creative, we may needd to do some things," he said.dddddddddddd. "But weve been able to add payroll when needed." One potential upgrade area is the starting rotation, which has improved significantly this season despite Brandon Morrow going on the 60-day disabled list and a variety of pitchers handling the No. 5 spot. Anthopoulos gave credit to his starters and said their performance will be key going forward. "I know the offence has been great, were hitting home runs and all that, its fun to watch," he said. "But we will go as far as the rotation will bring us, there is no doubt about that." The Blue Jays could get an in-house upgrade if Morrow is able to return to form. "Well have more of a report by the end of June," Anthopoulos said. "Hes going to be back around the all-star break and by late June, he should be going out on a rehab assignment. So I think it could actually time well." For now, Anthopoulos is focusing on preparations for next weeks draft. He expects GMs to pick up trade discussions once the selection process is complete. "Were not having any active talks at all," Anthopoulos said. "Were really immersed in the draft right now. But I do expect once that draft is over and we get to the Monday after the draft, I think thats when everyone is going to start making the calls again." The teams play over the next month will determine the GMs next move. But again, Anthopoulos doesnt believe money will be an issue. "I think if were in a good position at the beginning of July, well know the landscape a little bit more with what our needs are," he said. "I have every confidence in the world that I can have that conversation with (president) Paul (Beeston), and Paul has that conversation with ownership. "But one, we need to be playing well at that time and were still very far away from that (date)." ' ' '