MONTREAL -- Rachel Homan started defence of her Scotties Tournament of Hearts title in style.
Paul Hornung Jersey . Homan and her Team Canada (1-0) rink from Ottawa scored four in the eighth end for an 8-3 victory over Manitobas Chelsea Carey (0-1) on Saturday night at the Maurice Richard Arena. "The team played really well in front of me," said Homan, the winner last year in Kingston, Ont. "It was a tough battle. It was 4-3 and then one big end kind of ended it. My team just really had it today." It was a nervy but successful start for Val Sweetings Alberta rink. The Sweeting team (2-0) with lead Rachel Pidherny, second Dana Ferguson and third Joanne Courtney scored three points in the ninth end for a comeback 7-5 victory over 20-year-old newcomer Sarah Koltun (0-1) of the Yukon and Northwest Territories in the opening draw. In the evening, Sweeting took the early lead, wasted it, and then scored two in an extra end for an 8-6 win over 22-year-old Kesa van Osch of British Columbia (1-1). Heather Strong (2-0) of Newfoundland used the shot of the day to edge the home team, Quebecs Allison Ross (0-2), 5-4 with a raised angle takeout on the final shot. Stefanie Lawton (1-0) of Saskatchewan downed Allison Flaxeys Ontario rink (0-1) 8-6. Koltun looked ready for an upset when she stole a point for a 4-1 lead in the fifth end to throw a scare into 26-year-old Sweeting, a youngster herself in only her second Scotties. "They were outplaying us for sure," said Sweeting. "We set up some good ends and she made some good draws to save them, but we stayed patient and had an opportunity in the ninth and took advantage. "Im happy to get out of that one with a win, but we definitely have to sharpen up. We knew we couldnt take them lightly. Its their first time here and they have nothing to lose." A miss by Koltun with her first stone in the ninth set up the decisive steal by Alberta. Sweetings rink kept the house clear in the 10th and left no chance for the Whitehorse skip to force an extra end. Koltun is the youngest skip ever to play in the Scotties and is the first to skip at the Canadian junior and Scotties championships in the same year. She went 5-4 at the juniors two weeks ago in Liverpool, N.S. with two of her three teammates at the Scotties. She skipped a record seven times at national junior championships and is considered among the rising talents in the sport. But she may have let one get away in her debut. "We were in control at the beginning and it was just that one bad end, but its our first game at our first Scotties so well take what we can from it," said Koltun. "We are happy to be here, but we want to contend and be competitive and I think we showed that in this first game by putting up a really strong fight." Quebecs Allison Ross had a disappointing start as she failed to score until she picked up one point in the eighth end. After scoring, Ross conceded a 6-1 victory to New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford. The Quebec side from Montreal curled only 64 per cent as a group, lowest of the day. She found her draw weight in her evening match against Strong, which had the crowd of 1,825 roaring, but fell short when the Newfoundland skip pulled off her winning takeout. "I was reading the ice better," said Ross. "Its a disappointing loss, but Heather made an amazing shot. You want to leave the other team a hard shot, and she made it." Strong had won the Hot Shots competition -- a pre-tournament skills exhibition -- on Saturday morning and it may have helped her against Quebec. "A lot of the (Hot Shots) are indicative of what you face in game, so I referred back to that a lot," she said. "I felt good when I threw it, but I was coming off missing the one right before it, so I was a little torn. "We were exhausted. It was late back home. There were the opening ceremonies, we were in the Hot Shots right through. It was a long day, so to pull off that second win was awesome." Strong had won her first match as she took a 6-2 lead after six ends, then had to hold off a charge from Nova Scotias Heather Smith (0-1) for an 8-5 victory. Van Osch needed an extra end to defeat Kim Dolans Prince Edward Island rink 7-4. The 22-year-old from Victoria admitted to feeling nervous in her debut match, but settled down as it went on against the veteran Dolan, who is in her 10th Scotties. Van Osch said she hasnt set any goals for the tournament. "Were a first-year team," she said. "It was a bonus just to make it to the Scotties this year. Were taking things as they come, game by game." There are three draws scheduled for Sunday, including Team Canada against both Ontario and Quebec. 23:04ET 01-02-14
Bart Starr Packers Jersey . The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted at Melbourne Park just before 2 p.m. Thursday, suspending all matches on outer courts until the early evening and requiring the closure of the retractable roofs at Rod Laver and Hisense arenas before play could continue on the show courts.
Sam Barrington Packers Jersey .Y. - Geno Smith still thinks of himself as the New York Jets starting quarterback. PITTSBURGH -- For the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Pirates made the most of one productive inning. Neil Walker hit a three-run homer in the first and Pittsburgh made it hold up behind starter Vance Worley, beating the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 on Saturday for its fourth straight victory. Walkers 18th home run put the Pirates ahead 3-0 against Alfredo Simon four batters into the game. Pittsburghs winning streak matches its longest of the season. In the thick of the NL playoff race, the Pirates have won the first two games of the three-game series despite scoring in only two innings. They had a two-run rally in the eighth Friday for a 2-1 victory. "Its a testament to our pitching," Walker said. "We only scored three runs today and Vance and the bullpen made it stand up. Thats what won it for us." Worley (6-4) allowed two runs -- one earned -- and three hits in 6 1-3 innings to snap a career-worst, three-start skid. Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth for his 26th save after Justin Wilson and Tony Watson combined for 1 2-3 scoreless innings. "Its just a lot of fun to be pitching in this situation," Worley said. "Every game is important. You have to be excited about that." Despite retiring 12 batters in a row between the third and sixth, Simon (13-9) fell to 1-6 since pitching in his first All-Star game last month. Todd Frazier homered for the Reds, who lost their seventh road game in a row. Simon allowed four hits and three walks in seven innings while striking out seven. "This was pretty much the story of his second half," Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. "He has some trouble getting out of the gate and then hes fine. The bottom line, though, is we have to score more than two runs. Its tough to win when you dont score runs consistently, and its been a problem all season." The game featured only seven hits, four by Pittsburgh. The Pirates are a major league-best 24-9 att home since June 19.
Jordy Nelson Packers Jersey. Cincinnati cut it to 3-2 in the seventh, scoring a run when first baseman Ike Davis dropped Zack Cozarts two-out popup for an error. TRAINERS ROOM Reds: No injury updates. Pirates: 3B Pedro Alvarez (sprained left foot) missed his third straight game, and RF Travis Snider (strained right hamstring) sat out for the second day in a row. ... RHP Charlie Morton (right hip inflammation/sports hernia) wont be able to get stretched out enough to rejoin the starting rotation by the time he is eligible to be activated from the disabled next Friday, but said he would be willing to pitch in relief. UP NEXT Reds: RHP Johnny Cueto (15-8, 2.26 ERA) will look to snap his two-start losing streak in which he has allowed six runs over 11 1-3 innings for a 4.76 ERA. He faces LHP Francisco Liriano in a rematch of last years NL wild-card game. Cueto is 16-4 with a 2.26 ERA in 25 career starts against Pittsburgh. Pirates: Liriano (3-10, 3.98) is 0-3 with a 4.03 ERA in his last five starts, but he pitched six scoreless innings Monday against St. Louis. Though he won the wild-card game last season, Liriano is 0-5 with a 4.25 ERA against the Reds in seven regular-season starts. MORE BENCH HELP The Pirates recalled a player from Triple-A Indianapolis for the second straight day, bringing up INF Brent Morel to help off the bench with Alvarez and Snider unavailable. 1B-OF John Lambo was recalled on Friday night. LHP Jeff Locke was optioned to Indianapolis in a procedural move. He will remain with the Pirates and be recalled Monday when major league rosters expand. Locke is scheduled to start Tuesday night at St. Louis. BAD YEAR FOR BRUCE Reds RF Jay Bruce called this season "the most embarrassing year of my life." He went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, dropping his batting average to .217. Bruce is 4 for 32 with 15 strikeouts in his last nine games. He is 2 for 12 in his career against Worley.
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