Bilderthread » er. Indiana managed to trim Washingtons led

MONTREAL -- All things considered, Chelsea Carey would rather be in Sochi, Russia. But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. And Carey is making the most of it, taking her record to 7-1 after an 8-4 victory over New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (5-4) on Wednesday night. Earlier, the Carey rink trounced Quebecs Allison Ross (1-8) by 15-3. The 15 points tied the Scotties record set in 1989, when Alberta beat Newfoundland 15-6. Carey reached the Manitoba finals twice, losing in 2011 to Cathy Overton-Clapham and in 2012 to Jennifer Jones, the four-time Scotties champion who will represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Games. "We wanted to be here badly and lost a couple of heartbreakers and thats no fun, but it wasnt the only thing for us," said Carey. "The (Olympic) trials was our first goal and this was our second goal." Her only loss so far was an 8-3 setback this week to defending champion Rachel Homans seemingly unstoppable Canada team. Homans Ottawa foursome extended its unbeaten string to eight games with a 9-4 victory over Prince Edward Islands Kim Dolan. They have outscored their opponents 62-26 and have yet to play a full 10 ends. Saskatchewans Stefanie Lawton (7-1) posted an 8-6 win over Nova Scotia (3-6) and Ontarios Allison Flaxey (3-5) completed a sweep of her sides two games on Wednesday with a 12-2 victory over the Yukons Sarah Koltun (1-8). Flaxey had the upset of the day in the afternoon draw with a 6-5 win over Albertas Val Sweeting (6-3). Carey put together her team with lead Lindsay Titheridge, second Kristen Foster and third Kristy McDonald specifically to take a shot at the Olympics. The rink has been among Canadas best for a few years, winning often in national and regional events, and did well enough to earn an invitation to the Canadian Olympic trials in Winnipeg. When that dream died with a fourth-place finish, Carey admits it was tough to find the energy to go to last months provincial championship, let alone win it. "I took a week off and didnt throw," she said. "I forced myself to go back, but I wanted no part of it. "I was just going through the motions. It took a long time to get our heads back there, but wed played in a lot of provincials before and we knew going into the trials that it was something wed have to transition to. It wasnt easy, but we did a good enough job to pull off the win there." Once she got her Manitoba team jacket and got to Montreal, she was thrilled to finally have a chance to represent her province at the Scotties. On the team website, Carey describes herself as "Unemployed, AKA Starving Curler." She worked as a sales representative for a mattress company for six years, but was finally told to choose between curling and her job. "It was the year of the trials and Im not going to pick that job over curling," she said. "My initial thought was to get a new job, but with trials in December its hard to start a new job and say I need six weeks of holidays. "Ive been unemployed since then. It will have to change after this because I cant pay my bills." Manitobas win over Quebec had some wondering if curling needs a mercy rule. It was Quebecs worst beating since a 13-1 setback to Alberta in 1991. A rule obliges teams to play at least eight ends no matter how badly theyre trailing. "Im not so sure I believe in the eight-end rule," said Manitobas McDonald. "If things arent going well, the other team should be able to get out when they feel its time. "Theyre a good team. Theyre much better than that. But theyre just having a tough go. When things go sour, they go sour." Ross had plenty of support among the 1,790 spectators at the Maurice Richard Arena, but her squad has been off the target consistently all week. She was also missing second Brittany ORourke to the flu bug that has sidelined several players and officials during the week. "Todays game was tough for sure," said Ross, whose team also lost 6-5 to B.C. in the morning draw. "We didnt play well at all." Flaxey turned around what had been a dismal week with her win over Alberta. Ontario held off a charge that saw Alberta score two in the ninth end. She took out Sweetings stone on the button in the 10th to prevent a steal and secure the victory. "We havent been playing as well as we could have all week," said Flaxey, the 2001 Manitoba junior champion now based out of Listowel, Ont. "To show that we are a good, solid team and that we belong with the favourites and can play with the favourites, it shows people why were here." Ontario is all but eliminated from playoff contention, but can still play the role of spoiler with three round-robin games remaining, including a match Thursday afternoon with Manitoba. "Its all we have left so youve got to love doing it," said Flaxey. "Weve got a couple of tough ones left and hopefully we can at least shake things up." The afternoon draw saw Homan put up a 7-3 victory over British Columbia (5-4). Homan has a shot at being the first skip to go undefeated in the tournament since B.C.s Linda Moore in 1985. Jennifer Jones went undefeated in the round robin last year but lost to Homan in the final. "Im confident we can win the rest of our games," said Homan. "You have to be confident in your abilities. "You put in the practice and the hours and the work. I believe 100 per cent in our team. Were in a good spot now and we have to keep playing the way were playing." Lawton downed Newfoundlands Heather Strong (4-4) by 7-3. Other early matches saw Alberta top Newfoundland 9-5, New Brunswick beat P.E.I. 9-6 and Nova Scotia down Yukon 7-3. Cheap Wholesale Jordans . Though the 26-year-old said he was able to participate, coach Dwane Casey kept Johnson out as a precaution. Wholesale Jordans Cheap .2 million deal for the upcoming season with right-hander Garrett Richards.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday because the announcement hadnt been made. http://www.cheapwholesalejordans.com/. Bryant underwent an operation in December to correct an irregular heartbeat. His season ended with four games left because of a rapid heartbeat, a condition he has known about for several years and had been treated for in the past. Cheap Wholesale Jordans Free Shipping . Cox started the season with San Francisco, but was released by the team on Nov. 12 before being signed by Seattle, where he appeared in two games and tallied three tackles before being released on Dec. Wholesale Cheap Jordans For Sale . 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.INDIANAPOLIS - John Wall scored 18 points and Nene scored 17 to lead the Wizards over the Pacers 97-90 on Saturday night.Washington held a 54-35 lead at halftime, but had to hold off a late charge by the Pacers. Indiana outscored Washington 30-19 in the third quarter to get close, but couldnt take the lead.Marcin Gortat got into early foul trouble and had limited playing time. Paul Pierce scored 12 points and Kevin Serephin came off the bench to score 13.Indiana centre Roy Hibbert left the game with a bruised left knee with less than a minute to play in the first quarter and did not return. It was unclear how the injury occurred.Solomon Hill led Indiana with a career-high 28 points, including 20 in the second half. Chris Copeland added 14.Washington surged out to an early lead, going up 32-14 in the first quarter. Indiana managed to trim Washingtons led to three, 81-78, with 8:17 to go. The Pacers went cold overr the next 5 minutes shooting just 2 of 10.ddddddddddddThe Pacers (1-6) match their worst start since they opened the 1993-94 season at 1-6. The worst start in team history came when Indiana opened the 1988-89 season 1-11.With the win Washington earned its first regular season victory at Indiana since 2007, snapping an 11-game streak.TIP-INSWizards: Washington won the turnover battle, 18-14, including forcing 10 in the first quarter and committing none. They scored 22 points off the turnovers. . Washington outscored the Pacers 48-34 in the paint.Pacers: Indiana received a hardship exemption to allowing it to sign A.J. Price on Thursday. The hardship permits the roster to grow to 16, but only 10 dressed against the Wizards. .The Pacers held the Wizards starters to just two second quarter points.UP NEXTWizards: Host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.Pacers: Host the Utah Jazz on Monday night. ' ' '