SAINT JOHN, N. [url=http://www.customcubsjersey.com/custom-david-bote-jersey-large-1740 n.html]David Bote Jersey[/url] .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday. The Cana

SAINT JOHN, N. David Bote Jersey .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday. The Canadians defeated Sweden 9-6 and China 6-4 to finish atop the preliminary-round standings at 10-1. Their execution Thursday was the sharpest of the tournament so far. The games were tight with Homan and her Ottawa Curling Club teammates scoring three in the eighth ends of both. "We were really pushed today," Homan said. "It was great we were able to control the game and stay confident with this team and really nail the lines and make the big shots when we needed them. "We had to fight for our points." Homan will face Switzerlands Binia Feltscher, whose record was 9-2, in Fridays playoff game between the top two seeds. The two countries meet in the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game between the top two seeds. (TSN, 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt) The winner books a ticket to Sundays gold-medal game. The loser drops to Saturdays semifinal. Canadas lone loss of the preliminary round was to the Swiss. It went so badly for the host country in ends five through eight that they shook hands early Sunday. "That was a little bit of a lopsided game," Homan acknowledged. "We had some misfortune, but I think were a little bit different now. Were going to know the rocks and its going to be on a different sheet and everything so I think it should be a great game." The top four teams advance to the Page playoff. Russias Anna Sidorova, Swedens Margaretha Sigfridsson and South Koreas Ji-sun Kim all finished tied at 8-3. Sidorova will play in Saturday mornings playoff between the third and fourth seeds with the winner advancing to the semifinal. Russias opponent will be the victor of Fridays tiebreaker between the Swedes and South Koreans. Sidorovas missed final shot of a game against the Czech Republic -- a draw -- prevented Russia from finishing 9-2 and playing Canada on Friday. China and Allison Pottinger of the U.S., were just outside playoff contention at 6-5 with Germanys Imogen Oona Lehmann and Anna Kubeskova of the Czech Republic ending their tournaments 3-8. Scotlands Kerry Barr and Denmarks Madeleine Dupont had 2-9 records ahead of Latvias Evita Regza at 1-10. Homan had to win a tiebreaker to get into the final four at last years world championship in Riga, Latvia. Canada won their subsequent playoff game before losing the semifinal and then winning the bronze medal. The beauty of finishing in the top two is the loser of Fridays game can still get to the championship game, albeit via a longer route. "We love the one-two game," Homan said. "Theres not much pressure. "Either way weve got a chance at the gold-medal game. Thats what were gunning for now." The Canadians struck a balance between patience and aggression to achieve their No. 1 ranking. The average age of Homan, third Emma Miskew, second Alison Kreviazuk and lead Lisa Weagle is just shy of 26, but theyre a Canadian womens curling team ahead of the curve when it comes to the big-game experience and the lessons learned in those games. Homan, Miskew and Kreviazuk have been teammates for over a decade. Since graduating from the junior ranks four years ago, they and Weagle have played in three national womens championships -- finishing fourth and winning twice -- two world championships and an Olympic trials. "This team may be young, but weve had so much experience," said Weagle, the oldest at 28. "We realize were a young team and have really ambitious goals. We really want to accomplish them, but at the same token, if you look at a lot of the great curlers in our sport, theyre in their 30s or even their 40s when theyre at the peak of their game." Weagles talent for clearing a road to the rings and Miskews ability to execute big-weight, multi-stone takeouts allows Canada to gamble and takes some pressure off Homan. Kreviazuk banged her broom after a few misses during the preliminary round, but the four curlers have an otherwise business-like demeanour on the ice. "Were patient and were learning all the time and were allowing ourselves to learn," Weagle said. "Were not expecting to be perfect every single shot, but when were not, we want to learn from it. "Often Ill go down and talk to Rachel about my shots and how Im throwing them, if she want me to make an adjustment or if shes going to make the adjustment with the broom. I think thats worked really well for us. We want to make the most shots possible and whatever way we need to do it, its good to take the emotion out and just treat it like business." Custom Cubs T-shirts . "Well over 50 (per cent)," coach Claude Noel said Tuesday after practice, where the Jets were looking at ways to cut down the scoring chances theyve been giving away. Moises Alou Jersey . Messier, who had been a special assistant to Rangers general manager Glen Sather, announced Thursday in a statement that he is resigning in order to "expand the game of hockey in the New York area by developing the Kingsbridge National Ice Center. http://www.customcubsjersey.com/custom-james-norwood-jersey-large-1560n.html . Tyrell appeared in seven games with the Lightning this year, he had no points in those appearances. The 24-year-old has seven goals and 17 assists in 132 career NHL games, all coming with the Lightning. He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2007 draft. MONACO -- Canadian Milos Raonic defeated Spains Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals at the Monte Carlo Masters. The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., will next take on Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, who advanced on a walkover when Spanish opponent Nicolas Almagro retired before their match with a foot injury. Wawrinka, the third seed, has beaten the eighth-seeded Raonic in both of their previous meetings. "Ive struggled in the past against Stan but it will be quite different this time around," said Raonic. "Im doing a lot of things well and Im looking forward to that challenge." Raonic had seven aces in his third-round match and broke Robredos serve once per set while never facing a challenge on his own serve. The Canadian also beat Robredo in their previous meeting last spring in Barcelona. His next match marks a breakthrough as it will be Raonics first quarter-final appearance at a clay-court 1000 Series event. "This is a first, thats for sure," he said. "Its a result of a lot of the good things Im doing. But I can do better and Im looking forward to bringing that out in myself. "This is the closest Ive gotten to a big clay opportunity, so its definitely a positive." In second-round mens doubles play, Torontos Daniel Nestor and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic defeated the Polish duo of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matowski 6-7(6), 7-6 (3), 10-7. Raonic claimed the opening set against Robredo with a break in the final game, smashing down an overhead winner on his second set-point opportunity. The Canadian jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set when a Robredo return wide down the line. Raonic then stayed the course to serve out the victory, finishing in just over an hour. "Im very pleased with myself, I showed a lot of discipline," Raonic said. "I struggled in the beginning but was able to figure it all out towards the end of the set. I gave myself a lot of opportunities afterwards." Raonic credited his world-class serve with keeping him out of trouble. "Serving well was a big thing today," he said. "I was also moving well and able to dictate with my forehand." The victory boosted Raonics record to 10-3 on the season and has given him a boost of confidence on the slower surface. "Ive played a lot of the Spanish guys in practice matches," said Raonic, the former pupil of Spaniard Galo Blanco. "I definitely have more of an understanding of what I need to do and what I can expect from them as well." Also Thursday, defending champion Novak Djokovic raced into the quarter-finals by dispatching Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-0, 6-1 in 47 minutes. Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal also had little trouble, beating Italian Andreas Sepppi 6-1, 6-3, while fourth-seeded Roger Federer shook off a slow start in a 6-4, 6-1 win against Czech player Lukas Rosol. Xavier Cedeno Jersey. The second-seeded Djokovic won his second-round opener in 45 minutes and has yet to be tested this week. He next faces Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The top-seeded Nadal has looked sloppy at times. "Lost only two games in the first two matches (here). Cant be better than this, for sure," Djokovic said. "I am confident on the court. Im coming off a great American hard-court season." Djokovic sealed the 22-minute first set with a crisp forehand. Carreno Busta received loud cheers, clenched his fists and grinned broadly when he won his only game for 3-1 in the second. Djokovic served out, tormenting him one last time with an exquisite drop shot. He is aiming for his fifth straight Masters win. He won at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne, dominating Nadal in the latter final to record his third straight win against him in straight sets. "Ive had more time comparing to last year to practice on the clay courts and to get my game to the level where I want it to be," Djokovic said. Nadal achieved his 300th win on clay in beating Seppi. He won this title for eight straight years until last year when he lost the final to Djokovic. "Today I played a little bit better than yesterday," Nadal said. "I was playing at a good level." He next faces sixth-seeded David Ferrer, who easily beat Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-2, while Federer will face ninth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Nadal has a 21-5 career record against countryman Ferrer, winning 10 of the past 11 meetings. "David is a tough, tough player on any surface," Nadal said. "But here on clay, always a big challenge." Rosol, meanwhile, broke Federer in the third game and held for 3-1. "It was a bit rocky in the beginning," Federer said. He broke back with a stinging cross-court forehand at Rosols feet, and then broke him to love. He clinched the set when Rosols forehand sailed long. Federer has a 10-4 record against Tsonga, who beat him in the French Open quarter-finals last year and in the Wimbledon quarters in 2011. "Ive seen Jo play different kind of quality matches lately, so not quite sure hes going to play, how aggressive, how passive," Federer said. Tsonga won 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 against Fabio Fognini of Italy, who did his best to spoil the Frenchmans 29th birthday with his wild antics, including smashing rackets and shouting loudly. In the days only upset, Garcia-Lopez beat fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. The only other time Garcia-Lopez reached a Masters last eight was in Shanghai four years ago, when he lost to Djokovic, who leads 5-0 in their head-to-heads. ' ' '