Gäste » demonstrate the benefit and effectiveness of testing p

SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- The skips voice rasped and there was fatigue in her face. Rachel Homan and her Ottawa Curling Club team were ready to put their feet up for an evening and a morning at the Ford World Womens Curling Championship after three straight wins, one of them a white-knuckler. "Oh my god, so ready. I cant wait to not curl for 24 hours," Homan said Wednesday. "I feel like its midnight, so it will be nice to get a break." The Canadians arrived at a break in the schedule tied atop the standings with Switzerlands Binia Feltscher at 8-1. The Canadians reverted to their custom of both taking the lead and finishing a game early in a 10-3 win over South Koreas Ji-sun Kim, who shook hands after eight ends. But Canada went the distance in the morning draw. They stole three points over the final two ends to rescue a 7-5 win over Germanys Imogen Oona Lehmann. That was the first time Homan threw her final stone at the world championship and just the second time Canada played a 10th end in Saint John. Theyd beaten Scotland the previous evening and were back on the Harbour Station ice in the morning. "It was a long haul, three games in a row on not much sleep and a big grind this morning against Germany," Homan said. Homan, third Emma Miskew, second Alison Kreviazuk and lead Lisa Weagle headed to dinner with family members feeling confident about their position. Canada concludes the round robin Thursday against China and Sweden. "Two great teams," Miskew said. Swedens Margaretha Sigfridsson and Russias Anna Sidorova were both 7-2 followed by Chinas Liu Sijia and South Korea tied at 6-3 and Allison Pottinger of the U.S. at 5-4. Scotlands Kerry Barr and Anna Kubeskova of the Czech Republic were 2-7 with Germany, Latvias Evita Regza and Denmarks Madeleine Dupont at 1-8. The top four teams in the preliminary round advance to the Page playoff. Ties for fourth will be solved by tie-breaker games. The countries with the two best records meet in one playoff game Friday with the winner advancing directly to Sundays gold-medal game. The loser drops to Saturday afternoons semifinal to meet the winner of a morning playoff between the third and fourth seeds. "We have our fate in our own hands," Homan said. "Weve got to win out and see what happens with everybody else." The Canadians, all 28 years old or younger, couldnt hide their pleasure at the prospect of sleeping in Thursday morning. They intended to stop in at the tournament party room before bed Wednesday "because theres a band there Signal Hill that we like," Miskew said. "Theyve come to Ottawa and we usually go and watch them in Ottawa." Canada scored three points in the fourth and stole three in the eighth versus South Korea. Pyeongchang, South Korea, is the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Kim is among the countrys female curlers getting fast-tracked to compete. The 26-year-old skipped South Korea to fourth at the 2012 world championship in Lethbridge, Alta. She beat Canadas Heather Nedohin in a playoff game, but lost the semifinal and lost the bronze-medal rematch to Nedohin. Kim threw third stones against Homan with Un-chi Gim, her lead in Lethbridge, throwing fourth stones. With the score tied 2-2, the South Koreans played conservatively in the fourth end by putting up guards early on a counter on the button. But Miskews well-executed draw around a guard forced them to chase. South Koreas poorly-placed draws opened the door for Canada to plant more counters around the button. Homan had an easy tap for three points and a 5-2 lead in front of 1,726 at Harbour Station. "Not good," Kim said. "We were a little nervous." Canada recovered from errors against Germany to grind out a win. The Germans led 5-4 heading into the ninth, when Homan and Lehmann shifted momentum back and forth with misses. Lehmann overthrew an attempted double takeout with hammer to leave Canada shot rock for a steal of one. Miskew put guards in front of a Kreviazuk draw to the button in 10th and German third Corinna Scholz missed an attempted hit and roll behind cover. Homan struggled with draws in the earlier ends, but she had it solved by the 10th as she drew in to stack two Canadian counters on the button. Lehmann cleared just one and Homan buried a draw behind a guard to lie two again. The German skips attempt to follow her didnt curl enough. "Youve got to be confident and believe you can steal because theres no other way, theres no other option," Homan said. "It was just tough out there. We werent quite reading things right. There were a lot of uncharacteristic misses. We just tried to figure out our rocks and our lines. We just had to keep playing a little bit better each end and hope for a few lucky breaks and we made it out in the end." Nike Air Max Günstig Kaufen . And former Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson certainly knows his pain. "Its pretty hard to coach there without allowing some of these things to kind of affect you," Wilson told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in his ESPN. Nike Air Max Outlet Schweiz . Cox started the season with San Francisco, but was released by the team on Nov. 12 before being signed by Seattle, where he appeared in two games and tallied three tackles before being released on Dec. http://www.airmaxschweiz.ch/ . -- Damian Lillard couldnt believe when he got a clear look at the rim. Großhandel Nike Air Max . -- Hee Young Park topped the leaderboard at 8 under Friday in the suspended second round of the Kingsmill Championship. Nike Air Max Günstig . Both the top-seeded Djokovic and sixth-seeded Fish took relatively easy paths, with the Serb winning when opponent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired in the second set with a sore arm and Fish dominating Janko Tipsarevic in two quick sets.Concordia defensive lineman Quinn Smith, a top prospect for next weeks CFL draft, admitted Thursday he tested positive for a banned substance. Smith, who raised eyebrows at the CFL combine in March with his ability on both sides of the ball, confirmed in a statement he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Stanozolol prior to auditioning for league officials. Its the same substance Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for at the 88 Seoul Summer Games, which resulted in him being stripped of the 100-metre gold medal and suspended. "I accept full responsibility for the result of Stanozolol metabolite in my test," Smith said in the release. "I can assure you it was not my intention to use a banned substance or to try to beat the system. "I did not properly research the contents of supplements I obtained online and I will accept the consequences of my actions." Smith added he has asked that his B sample be tested and is awaiting those results. Prior to releasing his statement, Smith sent emails to all nine CFL teams informing them of the positive test and formally apologizing. "I have the deepest respect for the CFL, the CIS and Concordia University and am thankful for the opportunities they offer young people like myself," Smith said. "I have brought undue negative attention to these organizations and for this I am truly sorry. "I will have no further comments to offer publicly." The six-foot-two, 305-pound Smith, a Toronto native, was ranked fourth among the CFL scouting bureaus final top-15 prospects for Tuesday nights draft, heady stuff considering Smith wasnt rated on either the fall or winter lists. A big reason for Smiths meteoric rise was his performance at the combine, where he impressed as both an offensive and defensive lineman. That versatility had Smith being mentioned as a bona fide first-round prospect -- and possibly going first overall to the expansion Ottawa Redblacks -- in the 14 draft. On the first day of testing, Smith benched 225 pounds 28 times, had a 27.5-inch vertical jump and eight feet three inches in the broad jump. The next day, prior to the one-on-one drills, Smith posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.808 seconds, 7.56 seconds in the three-cone drill and 4.62 seconds in the shutttle.dddddddddddd If Smiths B sample also tests positive, his college football career would be over. Smith still has two years of CIS eligibility remaining but as a first-time drug offender hed receive a two-year ban. But the positive test wont hamper his ability to play in the CFL as a rookie. Under the leagues drug policy, Smith will be deemed a first-time offender. He will automatically be subjected to mandatory testing and an assessment, followed by counselling. A second offence will trigger a three-game suspension. The agreement also calls for a one-year ban for a third offence and a lifetime suspension for a fourth positive test. "Its very disappointing that this player tested positive for a banned substance," Michael Copeland, the CFLs president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. "If he is drafted and signed by one of our teams, and the positive test is confirmed, he will immediately be subject to mandatory testing as governed by our drug policy. "While we never want to see a player test positive for a banned substance, it does demonstrate the benefit and effectiveness of testing prospects as they prepare for the CFL combine and draft." The CFLs drug policy is part of the leagues collective bargaining agreement with the CFL Players Association. The two sides are currently negotiating a new deal with the current one scheduled to expire May 31. The question remains, however, what impact the positive test will have on Smiths draft stock Tuesday night. Toronto Argonauts GM Jim Barker said for some teams, the news will impact their overall assessment of the former Concordia star. But Barker wouldnt say whether his opinions of Smith have changed as a result of his miscue. "It really depends on the team," said Barker, who has the sixth overall selection Tuesday. "The kid had no idea what he was taking contained a banned substance, all he thought he was doing was taking a supplement to try and make himself better. "Teams will take things different ways. To say whether its going to hurt his draft stock is speculation. It goes into the pool of knowledge that we have on every player. Its going to be viewed both ways by people. It adds intrigue to the draft, good, bad or indifferent." ' ' '