uebec rink gets to play at home in the Sc

MONTREAL -- It isnt often a Quebec rink gets to play at home in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts but thats what skip Allison Ross of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., will experience this week. A year in which the Canadian curling championship has been pushed forward a week to accommodate the Winter Olympics was deemed the perfect chance to stage the event in Montreal for the first time since 1979. The opening ceremonies and the first two draws are set for Saturday at the 4,000-seat Maurice Richard Arena, normally the training base for Canadas short-track speedskating team. "For us its going to be really fun," Ross said Friday. "Were really a team that likes to have the crowd support. "We respond well to that. Its a bit more pressure, for sure, a bit more media attention, but we are a team that likes it. We are enjoying every minute of it." Interest is likely to be lower than usual with the tournament schedule overlapping the Feb. 8 start of the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. But holding it in a city not known as a curling hotbed and far from the sports heartland in western Canada, is seen as a chance to grow the game. Kruger, which produces Scotties paper products, has its head office in Montreal, also worked in its favour as well. "This will be a wonderful platform to get (curling message) out here," said tournament director Francine Poisson, who played in three Canadian championships in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "Weve had a lot of French media this week, so its breaking the (notion) of curling being an English sport. "Its very exiting. The visibility of curling has never been as great as it is now. People are watching. Now its time to translate eyeballs into people playing in curling clubs." Next years tournament will return to curling country in Moose Jaw, Sask. Facing the likes of defending champion Rachel Homan of Ottawa, the Ross rink wont be among the favourites after going 3-8 at last years Scotties in Moncton, N.B. "We are hoping for a better result than last year," said Ross. "Last year we had three games that came down to last rock. "We could have had six wins instead of three. We take a lot of what we learned last year and come back a lot stronger this year." It isnt home for Homan, but Ottawa is just a two-hour drive or train ride away and shes also expecting some extra support as she defends her title. "Its nice for us," said Homan. "We drove here and a lot of friends and family will be coming up to support us and share the experience with us. "Obviously, there wont be as many fans here as there would be out west, but its good for our friends and family." Its an unusual Scotties in many ways, so perhaps there will be surprises on the ice. For one, Jennifer Jones rink from Winnipeg wont be around because shell be in Sochi. Instead, Chelsea Carey will make her Scotties debut for Manitoba. In 1979 in Montreal, British Columbia won the tournament led by Lindsay Sparkes. This time, B.C. will be led this time by 22-year-old skip Kesa Van Osch of Victoria. She wont be the youngest skip on the ice. That honour goes to 20-year-old Sarah Koltun of Whitehorse. The Yukon/Territories skip is the youngest ever to compete at the Scotties and the first player to skip at both the Scotties and Canadian junior championship in the same year. The favourites include Val Sweeting of Alberta, who is in her second Scotties, and Stefanie Lawton of Saskatchewan, who is at her third. The veterans are skip Heather Strong of Newfoundland, who is in her 11th Scotties, and Kim Dolan of P.E.I., who is in her 10th. "The transition is certainly happening," said Dolan. "There a lot of young teams and new faces, which is great to see. "Womens curling is in a great place, so these new young ladies are keen. That only entices other people to play and go after their dreams." The Ontario team is skipped by Allison Flaxey while Nova Scotia has Heather Smith at the helm and Andrea Crawford will carry New Brunswicks colours. Scarpe Yeezy Scontate .The Hamilton Tiger-Cat defensive back always has the required receipt. But he also walks around with a tangle of metal screws, rods and plates after breaking his neck in 2006 playing high school football in Louisiana. Scarpe Yeezy Originali . You can watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9pm et/6pm pt. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden are expected to make their debuts for Team Canada. http://www.adidasyeezyscontate.it/.J. -- Pete Carroll said it was the suspension of linebacker Bruce Irvin last spring that finally got the attention of the rest of the Seattle Seahawks that they needed to be taking their commitment to the team more seriously. Adidas Yeezy Scontate . Mladenovics quick hands at the net made the difference while Bencics inexperience in doubles showed. "We took a lot of pleasure," Mladenovic told Sport Plus television. "Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality. Adidas Yeezy Vendita Italia . Terrance Broadway threw for 227 yards and Hunter Stover kicked three field goals as the Ragin Cajuns won an unprecedented fourth straight New Orleans Bowl with a 16-3 triumph over Nevada. TORONTO -- It was a game Dwane Casey figures the Toronto Raptors lose two months ago. Reeling from an 18-3 run by the Brooklyn Nets to start the second half, Toronto was down 10 points against a team looking to win its season-high sixth straight game. But rather than rollover, the Raptors fought back, showed what their head coach called newfound "mental toughness" and coasted to a comfortable 96-80 victory before a sellout crowd of 19,800 at Air Canada Centre. "I think our guys showed mental toughness and won a slug out game which I dont know if we could have won a few months ago, no less last year," Casey said of the Raptors second straight win, which gave them a four-game lead over the Nets atop the NBAs Atlantic Division. "Its a testament to our guys mental growth and mental toughness to win a game like that." After Brooklyn built its biggest lead of the night at 10 points at the midway mark of the third quarter, the Raptors went on a 28-5 run over the next 10:33 to secure their seventh win in their last nine games. After 35 games, the Raptors are 18-17. At this point last season, Toronto was 13-22. "Guys are growing up," Casey said when asked to explain the difference in the Raptors this season from last. "Theyre getting tired of me preaching physicality, dont get knocked down in a street fight." Leading the way for the Raptors was DeMar DeRozan, who poured in a game-high 26 points. Terrence Ross added 14 points for the Raptors while Patrick Patterson had 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Raptors took a 47-42 lead into the halftime break on the strength of 11 first-half points from Ross, who hit half of Torontos six three-pointers in the opening 24 minutes. Torontoo, which shot an anaemic 38.dddddddddddd6 per cent from the field in the first half, led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter but the Nets continued to fight back. But then the visitors took over the game -- and silenced the boisterous crowd celebrating Drake Night in honour of the hometown rapper and Raptors global ambassador -- before Toronto regained control. After Brooklyns Shaun Livingston hit a six-foot jump shot to restore the Nets 10-point lead with 4:54 to go in the quarter, the Raptors scored 16 of the final 18 points to close it out. DeRozan scored the final seven points of the third quarter, capping it with a 25-foot three-pointer. The Raptors then went on a 10-1 run to open the fourth quarter and put the game away. "We stayed patient. We knew they were going to make a run, especially in the second half," DeRozan said. "We stayed disciplined, understood we had to get stops, rebound the ball and push it. "If Ive got to step up to win, Im going to do as much as I can." In addition to praising the "big time" performance by DeRozan, Casey also lauded the contributions of Patterson and John Salmons -- who came over as part of the trade for Rudy Gay -- to the teams toughness. The Raptors win ended a five-game win streak for Brooklyn (15-22). "Well, it was an important game," said Toronto guard Kyle Lowry, who had 12 points. "Every game we play is important. We cant take any game for granted. "It was really important with them being a divisional team and them playing really well now. We needed to get this win for our confidence." 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