TUESDAY SPORTSBREAK

Kerri Einarson’s Team Canada crew from Gimli, Manitoba, continues to roll at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Kamloops, B-C. In Monday’s late draw, Einarson improved to 5-and-0 atop Pool A with a 9-4 victory over Christina Black of Nova Scotia, who slipped to 3-and-2. Einarson is looking to win her fourth straight Canadian women’s curling championship. In another key game last night, Krista McCarville of Northern Ontario improved to 4-and-1 atop Pool B with an 8-5 win over wild card Meghan Walter of Winnipeg, who slips to 1-and-3.

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Circle Wednesday on the calendar if you enjoy do-or-die showdowns between bitter rivals. After dropping the first three games of the seven-game national women’s Rivalry Series to the United States, Canada has bounced back with three consecutive wins, including Monday night’s 5-1 victory in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The seventh and deciding game will be played Wednesday at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec. Sarah Nurse, Laura Stacey, Claire Thompson, Brianne Jenner and Marie-Philip Poulin scored for Canada.

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The visiting New York Islanders scored three unanswered goals in the third period Monday night to knock off the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Brock Nelson scored twice for the Islanders, while Bo Horvat and Anders Lee added singles. Jake Guentzel and Jason Zucker scored for the Penguins, who have lost three straight.

Elsewhere Philadelphia upset Calgary 4-3, Florida downed Anaheim 4-3 (OT), Boston got past Ottawa 3-1, San Jose blanked Seattle 4-0 and Winnipeg bested the NY Rangers 4-1.

The governments of 35 nations, including Canada and the U-S, signed a statement calling on the I-O-C to clarify the definition of “neutrality” as it seeks a way to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes back into international sports and next year’s Paris Olympics. The statement said the countries do not agree Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed back into competition as long as the lack of clarity and concrete details on a workable neutrality model aren’t addressed. The letter was the product of a February 10th summit in London.

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Meyers Leonard is getting another chance at the N-B-A, nearly two years after he used an anti-Semitic slur while playing a video game that was being livestreamed. A person with knowledge of the negotiations said Leonard and the Milwaukee Bucks have agreed on a 10-day contract, opening the door for the 7-foot centre to play in an N-B-A game for the first time since January 2021. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

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Steve Asmussen is the first trainer with 10-thousand victories in North America. He saddled Bet He’s Ready to victory in the fifth race at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas on Monday. Asmussen is already the all-time winningest trainer in the United States and Canada. He set that mark of 9,446 on August 7, 2021, at Saratoga. He surpassed Dale Baird at the time. Asmussen has trained such champions as Curlin, filly Rachel Alexandra and Gun Runner.

(Canadian Press)