Allgemeines » linebacker in new coach Chuck

SAINT JOHN, N.B. - The Swiss were as surprised as anyone else by their gold-medal victory at the 2014 Ford Womens World Curling Championship. Binia Feltschers inexperienced Flims Curling Club foursome upset Canadas Rachel Homan 9-5 in Sundays final at Harbour Station. "Im speechless. Its like dream. Its awesome," Swiss third Irene Schori said. "We were very relaxed. We had nothing to lose and they were under pressure. "We are surprised. We did a great job the whole season, but we never thought we could win a medal at the world championship." Its Switzerlands second womens world title in three years after Mirjam Ott won it in Lethbridge, Alta., in 2012. Feltscher won an Olympic silver medal in 2006 playing third for Ott, but Schori, second Franziska Kaufmann and lead Christine Urech made their world championship debuts in Saint John. It was a deflating end for Canadas Homan, third Emma Miskew, second Alison Kreviazuk and lead Lisa Weagle out of the Ottawa Curling Club. The host country boasted an 11-1 tournament record going into Sundays final, but a devastating eighth end cost Canada. Leading 5-3 after seven, the Swiss scored three points on Canadian mistakes and Homan couldnt recover. More errors in the ninth forced Homan into a low percentage angle raise double takeout with her final throw. The Canadian skip missed and gave up a steal of three for the first time in the tournament. Down four points coming home, even a team as potent with the hammer as Homans had been couldnt generate four points. "Im disappointed we didnt finish off that last game," a stoic Homan said. "We had a really good week. "The whole game we just werent quite making the shots we needed to make." Homan went undefeated to win a second Canadian championship and earn a return trip to the world championship. The skip missed her last shot of the semifinal in Riga, Latvia, last year to give up the steal of a point and the win to eventual champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland. The Canadians settled for bronze in Riga and came to Saint John bent on moving two steps up the podium, not one. Muirhead opted to focus on the Winter Olympics in Sochi instead of participating in playdowns for this world championship. Canadas lone loss of the preliminary round was to Switzerland on Day 2. With runbacks and raises, Homan drained the Swiss of their offence in Fridays playoff game between the tournaments top two seeds. The Swiss felt no weight of expectations and Canada did. "A silver medal is still an improvement from the bronze last year," Kreviazuk said. "We worked so hard this year. It feels good to come out of this with at least a medal. "Tomorrow were going to look at the silver and be a lot happier. Right now, its a little tough to swallow. Im still proud and happy. I know I will be tomorrow." Winnipegs Jennifer Jones went undefeated in Sochi to claim Olympic womens curling gold last month, but Canada hasnt won a world womens title since Jones in 2008 in Vernon, B.C. Homan and Miskew led in shooting percentages at their position prior to the final, but shot 61 and 63 per cent, respectively Sunday. "They just made more mistakes than they usually make," Feltscher said through an interpreter. In the eighth end, Kreviazuk needed to put her draw on the top of the four-foot rings, but her stone stayed top 12. Miskews draw was heavy and Homan missed a freeze with her first shot of the end. She threw big weight to chip off one of her own stones to the button and missed, leaving Feltscher with a draw for three. "I thought I stuck it for shot and it just kept spinning," Homan said. The future of Homans team in Canadian curling remains bright if they continue on together as a team. Weagle, who turns 29 on Monday, is getting married in July. Her teammates are all 25 or under and in the early stages of their careers after earning their university degrees. The South Koreans, Chinese and Russians are full-time, paid athletes. The federations focus on a chosen few because those countries dont have Canadas depth. Canada determines its international representatives via the natural selection of regional, provincial and national playdowns. Qualifying for Canadas 2017 trials requires travelling to World Curling Tour events across Canada throughout the winter to earn ranking points. Thats a difficult commitment when juggling careers and families. "Its not a discussion weve had, but I cant see the girls backing down anytime soon," Kreviazuk said. "Youll probably see a lot of us." Kelly Scott, winner of the womens world title in 2007, recently announced her team is disbanding. "At this point, all the ladies are assessing where curling fits into their busy lives; complete with careers and young families," Scott said in a statement. Jones, 39, has a young daughter. It is unclear at this point if she wants to commit to another Olympic quadrennial. Earle Morris, who had a cult following at Harbour Station, has coached Homan for the better part of the last decade. He wasnt certain he would be coaching them next season because he too may take a break. "I think they will have a great future," Morris said. "The problem with curling and stereotypically with women is life gets in the way. We just have to hope thats not going to happen with this team. It would be hard to replace anybody on this team in their position. "Your motivation, suddenly its not the most important thing in the world when you have a little baby to worry about or a family to raise or work commitments. It is a challenge for women more so than men in that regard." Anna Sidorova claimed the first womens world curling championship medal for Russia by scoring two in the 10th and stealing one in an extra end in a 7-6 win over South Koreas Ji-sun Kim. "I just dont have enough words to describe my feelings," said Sidorova, who went 3-6 in Sochi. "Now Im pretty sure we are able to play at a really high level and were able to beat everybody. We just need to execute well and believe in ourselves sometimes." Albertas Kevin Koe won the Tim Hortons Brier and will represent Canada at the mens world championship Saturday to April 6 in Beijing. The 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be held in Moose Jaw, Sask., and Sapporo, Japan will be the host of next years womens world championship. Saint John drew approximately 44,000 people to Harbour Station for the nine-day event. The last world curling championship at Harbour Station in 1999 drew 96,000 when it combined both mens and womens events. Since they were split into two separate events in 2005, Grande Prairie, Alta., holds the attendance record for the womens event at 60,000 the following year. Fake China Shoes . Coach Jorge Sampaoli resisted naming any major surprises in the list published Tuesday at the site of Chiles football association. Chile is pinning its hopes on the recovery of Vidal. China Shoes To USA .com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103. https://www.chinashoes.us/. Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for his third Champions Tour title. He beat Jay Don Blake by two shots. China Shoes Store . - Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 5 and finished a home run short of a cycle, and Jordy Mercer drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Jordan From China . -- The Kelowna Rockets earned their 16th straight win with a 7-2 rout of the Portland Winterhawks in Western Hockey League action Thursday. INDIANAPOLIS -- NFL sacks champion Robert Mathis admits he made a mistake late last season. Now its going to cost him -- four games and four paychecks. The Colts career sacks leader was suspended Friday by the NFL after violating the leagues ban on performance-enhancing substances. What exactly Mathis tested positive for remains a mystery but the linebacker said in a statement he was seeking fertility assistance. He acknowledged that he and his wife are expecting a baby. "I am deeply saddened that this situation will prevent me from contributing to my team for four games, and I regret that I didnt cross check what my doctor told me before I took the medication, " Mathis said. "I hope that my fans will understand the unique circumstances involved here and continue to know that I am a man of integrity who would never intentionally circumvent the performance enhancing substance policy agreed to by the NFL and my union." Mathis said Commissioner Roger Goodell denied Mathis request to not issue a suspension based on the circumstances. The league issued a statement Friday night about the case: "As Mr. Mathiss agent acknowledged today, his client failed to follow the protocols in the policy that the NFL and NFLPA agreed upon to address precisely these kinds of claims," the NFL said. "That policy also prescribes the disciplinary consequences of a positive test. The policy does not provide - nor should it provide - for the commissioner to override the policys procedures and assess discipline on an after-the-fact, ad hoc basis. Here Mr. Mathis actually withdrew his appeal and accepted discipline at the unions suggestion. His hearing took place only after the Players Association requested that the appeal be reinstated. "The drug for which Mr. Mathis tested positive is not approved by the FDA for fertility in males and is a performance-enhancing drug that has been prohibited for years. Importantly, Mr. Mathis did not consult with the policys independent administrator, a physician jointly approved by the NFL and NFL Players Association. Nor did he consult with his team doctor, the teams training staff, the NFLPA, the league office or the hotline established under the policy to give confidential information to players. Each of these sources would have warned against using this substance. "A cornerstone of the program is that a player is responsible for what is in his body. Consistent application of the policys procedures is critical to the integrity of tthe program.dddddddddddd" If the NFLs decision stands, and they almost always do, Mathis would not be eligible to rejoin the Colts until Sept. 29. He is allowed to participate in the teams off-season workouts, training camp and preseason games. The Colts quickly issued a statement saying they would support Mathis, one of the teams elder statesmen and most respected leaders. Mathis set a single-season record with 19 1/2 sacks last season and also broke Dwight Freeneys franchise career record for sacks. In 11 NFL seasons, Mathis has 111 career sacks. "We nevertheless wish to assure Robert and our fans that he remains an honoured and cherished member of the Colts family and that we support him as he deals with this difficult challenge," Mathis said. Its another black eye for a franchise whose owner, Jim Irsay, was arrested near his suburban Indy home in March and preliminarily charged with four felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanour driving while intoxicated charge. Irsay sought medical help two days later and did not return to the team until last weekends draft. Irsay has not spoken publicly about what happened. Mathis was considered an undersized defensive end when the Colts took him in the fifth round of the 2003 draft. It didnt take long, though, for Mathis and Freeney to form one of the NFLs most feared pass-rushing combinations. With Mathis developing his own spin moves to match Freeney, and Freeney developing his own tomahawks chop, imitating Mathis, the two close friends not only put quarterbacks on the ground, they forced fumbles at the leagues highest rate, too. Both emerged as perennial Pro Bowlers, but when they were asked to move to linebacker in new coach Chuck Paganos 3-4 defence, Mathis thrived and Freeney struggled. When the Colts announced last year that they would not re-sign Freeney, many thought Mathis would struggle. Instead, he had the best season of his career and became the first winner of the Deacon Jones Award. Defending that title might be next to impossible in 2014 -- unless he wins an appeal. "We are thrilled that we will be welcoming a new (family) member in several months, but I apologize to my teammates, coaches and Colts fans that I will not be able to contribute to my team for the first four weeks of the 2014 season," Mathis said. "I will work extremely hard during that time to stay in top football shape and will be prepared to contribute immediately upon my return." ' ' '