The first step on the road to Olympic qualification starts Thursday for the Canadian womens rugby sevens side.
[b]White Sox Frank Thomas Jersey[/b] .And with the 2016 Games beckoning, Canadian coach John Tait is expecting everyone on the Womens Seven Series circuit to raise their game this season.I think the games are just going to get tighter and tighter, he said. Thats why Dubai is really important for us this year, to get off to a really good start because I think the pressure is going to build with each Series event as the desperation for points climbs.The heat will be on as Canada plays Brazil, Fiji and England in Pool C play on the opening day of competition of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, the first of six tournaments. The forecast calls for temperatures around 30 degrees.Canadas men team starts play Friday in Dubai, which is the second stop on the HSBC Sevens World Series.The top four mens and womens squads at the end of the sevens season qualify automatically for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The Canadian women finished third on the circuit last season, behind runner-up Australia and champion New Zealand.The Canadians were the only team to make a final (in Atlanta) other than New Zealand and Australia.Tait believes Australia, Canada, New Zealand and England can win each time out, with teams like Russia and Fiji capable of upsets.Every years got tighter and I think this year is going to be the most competitive for sure, by far, said Tait, who had to deal with injuries in his squad last season.Jen Kish, who missed the 2013 Dubai event with a hamstring injury, will lead a veteran Canadian squad that includes Ghislaine Landry, Mandy Marchak, Kelly Russell and Ashley Steacy. World Cup star Magali Harvey, the IRB Womens Player of the Year, is also on the roster. Tait believes two-thirds of his squad is settled, with others still looking to make their case for the remaining berths on the Olympic team.The Canadian women geared up for Dubai with a three-week tour Down Under in October that saw Canada defeat Australia 17-12 before losing 17-12 and 17-15 in games that went down to the last play.They were excellent games, said Tait, a former Canadian international forward of some note himself. I was really pleased how we played.The Canadians also held a joint camp with the Australians, with former Canadian mens seven coach Geraint John — now head of Australias sevens program — refereeing one scrimmage.It was great for us because I think the girls now really know and believe in what we have to do to beat a team like Australia, Tait said of the trip. And that was one of the purposes in going there as well.The Canadians went on to win the Central Coast Sevens, going 6-0 while outscoring club opponents 221-21.Should Canada not finish in the top four in the series, it can still earn Olympic qualification by winning the North American and Caribbean regional (NACRA) championship. There are similar regional championships in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and South America.The regional events will take place between June 1 and Dec. 15, 2015.A final 16-team qualification tournament will send one other team to Rio, with host Brazil rounding out the 12-team Olympic field.The 204-15 womens season features 11 core teams, the top seven from the 2013-14 series (New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Russia, England, Spain and U.S.) and four teams from the first series qualifier in Hong Kong in September 2014 (Fiji, France, South Africa and China). An invited team, mostly Brazil, will make up the roster of each event.Tait is obviously hoping for automatic qualification. The alternative is a possible showdown with the U.S., led by former Canadian womens coach Ric Suggitt, in the NACRA regional championship.The Canadians, who have 21 centralized players in Victoria, have not lost to the Americans recently but Tait knows Suggitt will have the Womens Eagles ready.Theyve got some dangerous players and big home-run hitters, he said. Theyre going to be a dangerous side.----Canada RosterElissa Alarie, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Club, Trois-Rivieres, Que.; Arielle Dubissette-Borrice, Toronto Scottish, Toronto; Bianca Farella, Town of Mount Royal RFC, Montreal; Julia Greenshields, Sarnia Saints, Sarnia, Ont.; Magali Harvey, Club de Rugby Quebec, Quebec City; Jennifer Kish, Edmonton Rockers, Edmonton; Ghislaine Landry, Toronto Scottish, Toronto; Mandy Marchak, Capilano RFC; Winnipeg; Kayla Moleschi, Williams Lake Rustlers,Williams Lake, B.C.; Karen Paquin, Club de Rugby Quebec, Quebec City; Kelly Russell, Toronto Nomads, Bolton, Ont., Ashley Steacy, Lethbridge Rugby Club, Lethbridge, Alta.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter
[b]White Sox Michael Jordan Jersey[/b] . -- Jonas Hiller is cautiously confident he has kicked his vertigo.
[b]White Sox Reynaldo Lopez Jersey[/b] . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who has a little African in him.CLEVELAND - The Oakland Athletics showed off their offensive prowess all weekend at Progressive Field. Sundays 13-3 win gave Oakland a three-game sweep over slumping Cleveland, a series in which the Athletics outscored the Indians 30-6. Yoenis Cespedes drove in a career-high five runs and Brandon Moss had three RBIs to pace Oaklands offence that began with an eight-run second inning Friday night and never let up. "I would just use the word confident," Moss said of his teams offence. "Everybodys going up there and taking good swings. We have guys who put together some good at-bats who have some pop. That usually leads to runs." The Athletics, who have won nine of 10, saved their best for the final game, pounding out 12 hits, including seven doubles, and drawing nine walks. Cespedes two-run double was the key hit in Oaklands four-run fifth. He also drove in two runs with another double in the eighth. Moss was 3 for 3 with two walks and scored four runs. He had an RBI double in the fifth, a two-run double in the sixth and a triple in the second. John Jasos RBI double in the fourth put Oakland ahead for good while Josh Donaldson, who drove in seven runs in the series, had an RBI single in the fifth and scored four runs. "All the guys we rely on to knock in runs are doing exactly what theyre supposed to do," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "Thats when were at our best." Jesse Chavez (4-1) gave up solo homers to Michael Bourn in the first and Michael Brantley in the fifth, accounting for both runs the right-hander allowed in five innings. Cleveland has dropped four straight and six of eight. The Indians scored first in all three games, but were no match for Oakland, which leads the AL West with a 28-16 record. Indians manager Terry Francona is impressed with the Athletics. "They got it working right now," he said. "They have good starting pitching, theyve got a very good bullpen and they are swinging it from one through nine." Justin Masterson (2-3) allowed seven runs, seven hits and five walks in 4 1-3 innings. Francona moved Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana, who hhave battled season-long slumps, down in the batting order, but the changes didnt help the struggling offence, which has scored three runs or fewer 24 times in 44 games.
[b]White Sox Jeff Keppinger Jersey[/b]. Santana, moved from cleanup to seventh, was hitless in four at-bats while Swisher, switched from second to sixth, was 0 for 5 and committed an error in the seventh. Swisher fielded a routine grounder to end the inning and was given a sarcastic cheer by the small crowd of 14,872. Third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall also had an error, giving the Indians a major-league high 45. Bourn led off the game with a home run to centre that landed in Clevelands bullpen, but the lead didnt last long. Moss started the second with a triple. Chisenhall fielded Cespedes ground ball and his throw landed in the camera bay behind first base. Cespedes was given an RBI. Masterson walked Donaldson and Moss to start the fourth. Jasos one-out double put Oakland ahead and Josh Reddick followed with a single for a 3-1 lead. Oakland put the game away in the fifth, stringing together four hits and a walk off Masterson. Following Donaldsons RBI single, Moss drove in a run with a double and Cespedes double scored two more. Jaso and Reddick also drove in two runs apiece. "Obviously, we got a lot of guys on base this series," Donaldson said. "From top to bottom, we had guys having really good at-bats." Oakland shortstop Jed Lowrie left the game in the second inning because of a strained neck and was replaced by Nick Punto. NOTES: The Athletics announced following the game they claimed LHP Jeff Francis off waivers from Cincinnati and he will join the team for its series at the Rays that begins Tuesday. ... LHP Joe Savery, who was expected to go on the paternity list, was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento instead. He pitched two scoreless innings Sunday. SS Jake Elmore (strained left quad) has been moved to the 60-day disabled list. ... 2B Eric Sogard was removed in the eighth inning after fouling a ball off his knee. ... Melvin said LHP Scott Kazmir, ejected in the second inning Saturday, will likely stay on his regular turn and start Friday in Toronto.
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