Vorschläge » getting a lot of reps during the bye week is something

SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- A pair of quick wins for Canadas Rachel Homan at the Ford World Womens Curling Championship on Monday allowed the host country to both regain their confidence and conserve energy for later in the tournament. Allison Pottinger of the United States shook hands after just six ends when Canada held a commanding 9-3 lead. Homan and her Ottawa Curling Club team downed Denmarks Madeleine Dupont 8-4 earlier in a game than went eight ends. "Its definitely nice to get some rest after playing some shorter games," Homan said. "Its nice to get some extra rest when you can." Canada was tied for second at 4-1 with Swedens Margaretha Sigfridsson behind unbeaten Binia Feltscher of Switzerland at 5-0. The logjam of countries at 3-2 included the U.S., Chinas Liu Sijia, Russias Anna Sidorova and South Koreas Ji-sun Kim. Scotlands Kerry Barr was 2-3 ahead of Denmark, Latvias Evita Regza and Germany Oona Lehmann at 1-4. The Czech Republics Anna Kubeskova was winless in five games. The top four teams at the conclusion of playoffs Thursday advance to the playoffs. Homan felt she had a read on the ice at Harbour Station by Monday night having played on all four sheets and in the morning, afternoon and evening draws. Another reason the abbreviated game against the U.S. on Monday evening was welcomed by Canada is because they are right back on the ice Tuesday morning against Latvia before facing Scotland in the evening. Homan, vice Emma Miskew, second Alison Kreviazuk and lead Lisa Weagle won the bronze medal at last years world curling championship in Riga, Latvia, after starting 2-3 there. Monday was a big bounce for the Canadians after demoralizing loss to the Swiss the previous day, when it was Canada giving up four points in steals and shaking hands after eight ends. Homan felt their communication was missing in that game. The skip misread the ice early against the Americans, but the Canadians were able to solve it via discussion. "Lisa was missing a couple early and she said is it me? I said no, its completely my ice. So she believed in how she was throwing," Homan explained. "If we didnt have that communication, she would have tried to change the way she was throwing and Id give her more ice and shed miss again. "We made sure when we were missing we knew why and were communicating that to each other." Pottinger was born in Brampton, Ont., and learned to curl in Otterburn Park, Que., but the 40-year-old is representing the U.S. for the 11th time at the womens world championship. She won a silver medal playing third for Patti Lank, another transplanted Canadian from Midale, Sask., when the world championship was last held in Saint John, N.B., in 1999. "Everyone is always so nice when were here. A woman today brought me ketchup chips and Smarties," Pottinger said of two items that are difficult to find in the U.S. "Its terrific. I had them between games." Pottinger made a clutch raise against four Canadian stones in the third end to score a point and trail 2-1, but the fourth end was disastrous for the Americans. With Canada laying two, Pottinger ticked on a guard to let Homan add another counter to the rings. The American skip attempted to draw through a port to get to the four-foot rings, but was well short of the house. Homan had half the house for a target and drew in for four points and a 6-1 lead in front of 1,914 at Harbour Station. "We threw it pretty hard, but just out there in the frost it didnt have a chance," Pottinger said. "It never got there." The Americans got two back in the fifth, but called it a day when Homan collected another three in the sixth. "To get the two back was kind of nice, but at that point every end is the 10th end," Pottinger said. "You dont want them to get away from you and its hard to play five 10th ends against that kind of team." "That was so not good that I think its an off game and you forget about it. Chuck it in the bag." Homan and her teammates are all under the age of 28. Like the Brad Jacobs team that won the mens Olympic gold last month, theyre considered the new generation of Canadian curling stars. A year after graduating from the junior ranks, Homans team made the playoffs in their first national womens championship in 2011. They won the Canadian title last year by beating Winnipegs Jennifer Jones, now the reigning Olympic womens gold medallist after her unbeaten run in Sochi. Homan and company were considered a team to beat at Decembers Olympic trials along with Jones. Homan and her teammates either quit their jobs, took a leave or scaled back work hours in the months leading into those trials to prepare. They rented a suite in Winnipeg away from the MTS Centre so they could cook and eat their own meals during the competition. But Homan lost the semifinal 10-4 to Sherry Middaugh. Homans coach Earle Morris now wonders in hindsight if they "over-prepared" for trials. "I think what we did was we probably practised a bit too much," he said. "A couple of the girls quit their jobs, one of the girls took a leave of absence. They really made it a focused priority and maybe we focused too much on the trials. "We really tried to leave no stone unturned. Because it was our first trials, we prepared as best we could based on what we thought would be difference-makers. If we had to do it again, wed probably do it a little differently. Take maybe a more relaxed approach and not emphasize it too much." The best medicine for their trials disappointment was to participate in the Continental Cup in Las Vegas in January. They played with Jones, Jacobs and other top North American teams in a Ryder-Cup style competition against European curling teams. "We all re-connected with the sport," Miskew said. "It was really tough after the trials to feel a love for curling. "We were able to go out and enjoy the sport again. Before that, it was practising without much of a purpose because it feels weird after you put so much time into something. It changed when we went there and it felt better." That experience set the table for the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Montreal, where Homan went 13-0 en route to a second straight Canadian title and a return trip to the world championship. "Continental Cup was perfect," Homan said. "We played mixed, mixed doubles and it was just a lot of fun." "We definitely needed it. We got to press the re-set button and focus again for the Scotties." Nike Air Max Plus Soldes . -- Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods, shot a 2-under 69 on Tuesday to finish first in stroke-play qualifying at the Womens U. Air Max 97 Pas Cher Chine . On July 27 cyclings best-known race will host "La Course by Le Tour de France" -- a one-day womens competition staged hours before Tour riders race on the same circuit to finish the three-week event on Paris Champs-Elysees. http://www.airmaxpaschersite.fr/basket-air-max-97-outlet.html . -- James Harden scored 31 points, including 25 in the second half, and the Houston Rockets dug out of a double-digit, first-half hole to beat the Orlando Magic 101-89 on Wednesday night. Air Max 200 France . The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. Air Max 97 Moins Cher . He was 40. Firefighters were called about 11 a.m. Friday because Brown was unresponsive at his home near the Inner Harbor, fire spokesman Battalion Chief Kevin Cartwright said. He said Brown was dead when firefighters arrived.BALTIMORE - There are few scenarios in which the Baltimore Ravens would be wary of facing a rookie quarterback starting for the first time on the road.This is one of them.Hes No. 7 and his last name ends in berger, so theres a similarity there with a guy we just played, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Tennessees Zach Mettenberger.Thankfully for Baltimore, Mettenberger is not yet in the same class as Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 340 yards and six touchdowns last Sunday night in Pittsburghs 43-23 rout.Still, given the way the Ravens (5-4) have defended against the pass recently, they have absolutely no reason to be overconfident about facing the Titans (2-6) and their young quarterback at home on Sunday.Baltimore has allowed 606 yards passing in its past two games, both defeats. The Ravens rank 24th in the NFL in pass defence, yielding an average of 263.2 yards per game.After the debacle against Pittsburgh, Baltimore cut two cornerbacks and brought in two more in an effort to shake things up.And now, the Ravens go up against a quarterback who has more in common with Roethlisberger than just name and number.Hes a big, strong-armed quarterback, Harbaugh said. I also happen to think thats how they see him, along those lines of a Roethlisberger, because hes the kind of a guy who can make every throw. He has a strong arm, he stands in the pocket, seems like he has good vision.Mettenberger and the Titans are coming off a bye. In his starting debut against Houston two weeks ago, the former LSU star went 27 for 41 for 299 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a 30-16 defeat.Some things to know about the Ravens-Titans matchup:OHER RETURNS: Its time for Titans right tackle Michael Oher to find out how it feels to be on the other sideline at noisy M&T Bank Stadium.Oher played five seasons with Baltimore before signing with Tennessee as a free agent this past off-season.Its going to be a fun experience — I think, Oher said. I played a lot of games there. Itll be fun to see what the crowd is like being a visitor.Oher has started every game this season.Michael has worked hard, coach Ken Whisenhunt said. He was aa guy that we were glad to get in here with our team.ddddddddddddBOUNCE-BACK MODE: The Ravens desperately need a win before their bye week.First, they have to put the Pittsburgh loss behind them.If youre looking toward the past, you cant really get better as a team, rookie linebacker C.J. Mosley said.Quarterback Joe Flacco said: You have to come in here and address what went wrong and move on. I wouldnt say its the easiest thing to do, but it is something that we have to do, and I think were pretty good at doing it.SACK HAPPY: The Titans got five sacks against Houston and have 23 this season, ranked eighth in the NFL.Defensive tackle Jurrell Casey leads the Titans with four sacks, one of 14 Tennessee players with at least one.Flacco was sacked four times by Pittsburgh and has been sacked 13 times in nine games.GOOD BYE: Tennessee lost six of seven before getting a well-timed breather last week that proved beneficial for Mettenberger.I think getting a lot of reps during the bye week is something that helps him not just prepare for a good defence that the Ravens have, but just learning the position, Whisenhunt said.The bye week really helps you get more on the same page then actually playing in a game, where you have to get in and out of the huddle and get to the line and make the calls.Tennessee is the first and last team the Ravens will face this season coming off a bye.Were going to have to make sure we overcome that, Harbaugh said. Theyll be attacking us with the ideas theyve come up with over the last two weeks.LAST BUT NOT LEAST: The Ravens are in last place in the AFC North despite owning a winning record. The Titans are second-to-last, just ahead of Jacksonville.Baltimore, however, still likes its chances of reaching the playoffs after missing out last year.I think were in a really good spot, Flacco said. Weve been playing, for the most part, really consistently all year. Weve had a few turnovers the last couple of games. If we eliminate those, I think our consistency is still there. Im excited about getting after it the next half.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '