WINNIPEG -- Brad Jacobs was the first to admit how poorly his team played. Nike Air Force 1 07 Lv8 . Hes also one win away from a trip to the Winter Games. The reigning Canadian champion remained undefeated at 6-0 with a 5-4 victory Thursday night over veteran Kevin Martin, clinching a spot in Sundays final of the Canadian Olympic curling trials. "Even though we were, in all honesty, pretty bad that game, we were able to pull it out and I think thats huge," Jacobs said. "And I think even though we were sloppy, we were still confident. But it was really nice to be in a game like that where we had to grind and score two to win." Martin came out of the battle of the best with a 5-1 record that earned the veteran from Edmonton a berth into Saturday afternoons semifinal. The other semifinalist wont be determined until the men finish their seven-game Roar of the Rings round robin with a morning draw Friday at the MTS Centre. With Martin leading 4-3, Jacobs blanked the eighth and ninth ends to keep the hammer in the 10th. Both rinks had a pair of rocks inside the four-foot, with a Jacobs stone almost dead centre in the button. Martin then put up a guard, forcing the 28-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., to do a run-back takeout and score two points. Martin, who won gold at the 2010 Olympics and silver in 2002, is looking for a fourth trip to the Games. The 47-year-old was leading Jacobs 3-1 after four ends, but Jacobs scored two in the sixth to tie it up. Martin looked like he was going to taken advantage of Jacobs misses in the seventh end and score two, but after he took out a Jacobs stone his own rock was just barely swept out of the rings for the 4-3 lead. Martin agreed it was a sloppy game by both sides. "But Brad made a good one in his last one," he said. A duel between the Winnipeg rinks skipped by Jeff Stoughton and Mike McEwen ended with McEwen defeating the veteran 9-6. Stoughton, who dropped to 2-4, was given a standing ovation. McEwen sits at 3-3. Before competing in his fifth trials, Stoughton said itll be his last attempt to go to the Olympics. McEwen jumped to a 5-1 lead after the third end when he scored four against the two-time world champion, but Stoughton stole two in the fifth to close the gap 5-4. McEwen stretched the lead to 9-5 after a draw for three in the eighth end. "Its whoever played their best this week," Stoughton said. "We didnt play our best and we got what we got, which is not enough wins to get in the playoffs." Winless Kevin Koe of Calgary drew to the button to claim his first victory of the competition with a 7-6 decision over veteran Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont. (2-4). John Morris, who curls out of Kelowna, B.C., improved to 4-2 with a 7-6 win over John Epping of Toronto (1-5). "Not the textbook when youre up 5-2 that youd want to play it, but thats how we roll," Morris said. "Sometimes its not pretty, but we get the job done and were excited to live on till tomorrow." Morris plays Martin on Friday, with the other matchups between Stoughton and Howard, McEwen and Koe and Epping against Jacobs. On the womens side, Rachel Homan avoided playing a tiebreaker and grabbed a spot in the semifinals. The reigning Canadian champion defeated Stefanie Lawton of Saskatoon 6-5 in the final game of their seven-game round robin to finish 4-3, but Winnipegs Chelsea Carey and Ontarios Sherry Middaugh also sported the same mark. Homan got bumped to the semi, though, because her Ottawa rink fared better than Carey and Middaughs teams on rankings based on draws to the button before games throughout the week. "It wasnt important," Homan said of avoiding a tiebreaker. "Its nice to be able to get second place and go into the semi. Either way we had a chance and thats all we needed." Carey and Middaugh will play their tiebreaker Friday afternoon, with the winner taking on Homan later that night. Homan, 24, had no preference on which team theyd prefer taking on. "Weve played them both a million times and its going to be a good game either way and hopefully we can win it in 10 (ends)," Homan said. Winnipeg veteran skip Jennifer Jones already earned a bye into Saturday nights final and will watch her competitors battle it out. Jones, 39, defeated Edmontons Heather Nedohin 6-5 to finish her round robin at 6-1, while Nedohin ended with a 3-4 mark. Homan almost had to play in a tiebreaker, but Edmontons Val Sweeting lost 9-8 in an extra end to Renee Sonnenberg of Grande Prairie, Alta., and fell to 3-4. Sonnenberg finished 1-6. Carey had a chance to grab second place outright, but she lost 7-6 to Middaugh. "If theyd told us at the start of the week wed have a tiebreaker, wed take it," Carey, 29, said. Middaugh, 47, whos competing in her fourth trials, was leading 5-3 after six ends and stole another point in the seventh. She also saw room for improvement after the win. "The first seven ends were fun and then I turned off my brain in my last shot in eight and then the collar got a little tight after that so I cant lie," Middaugh said. Nike Juvenate Trainers . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with safety Brock Vereen and QB David Fales on four-year contracts. Asics Gel Lyte III Tilbud . As the season progresses, the gaps are narrowing and the fields are closing in on the leaders. A week ago, there wasnt an obvious challenger in the mens or pairs event.ARLINGTON, Texas - Tony Romo passed the first test with his surgically repaired back, and Baltimores defence and special teams made three more scoring drives from Joe Flacco an afterthought. Deonte Thompson returned a kickoff 108 yards for a score after Romo threw a touchdown pass in his preseason debut for Dallas, Flacco had a scoring toss and the Ravens beat the Cowboys 37-30 on Saturday night. The Ravens (2-0) also got a 26-yard fumble return for a touchdown when Courtney Upshaw picked up a botched handoff from Romo and stayed on his feet while Romo tried to drag him down by his jersey. Romos final play was a 31-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant midway through the first quarter. "He looked good," Bryant said. "He wanted to show the world he is 9 and hes a baller." Dallas is 0-2 in the preseason. Baltimore led 14-7 before Flacco took the field for the first time late in the first quarter. He threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Torrey Smith for a 24-10 lead late in the first half. Romo was expected to take about a dozen snaps in first game since surgery for a herniated disk that kept him out of a loss to Philadelphia in playoffs-or-bust finale last December. That ended up being two possessions after a botched exchange with running back DeMarco Murray led to Upshaws score. "My mindset was to pick it up quickly," Upshaw said. "Romo was kind of trying to get out of the way, so I just took advantage and broke through his tackle to score a touchdown." Murray had 25 of his 34 yards rushing and a 21-yard catch on the next drive, which ended with Bryant leaping over Ravens cornerback Dominique Franks at the goal line and falling into the end zone. "I thought I got some good carries, got some good work out there today," Murray said. "Always wish for more, but thought it was a good first game." Romo was 4 of 5 for 80 yards, and Bryant had three catches for 59 yards after both skipped the preseason-opening loss at San Diego, along with several other offensive and defensive starters. "Some things came up that were a little different we hadnt seen," Romo said. "We were able to communicate and be on the same page and the receivers, me, the linemen. It just shows we are doing some going things and are ffurther along than you might usually be this early. Asics Gel Lyte III Dame. " Thompson answered Romos touchdown by getting to the left sideline untouched and having only kicker Dan Bailey to beat, which he did easily around midfield to put the Ravens ahead for good. Thompson also had a 50-yard kickoff return. Flacco had a rougher start than in Baltimores win over San Francisco in the exhibition opener, when he led an 80-yard scoring drive on his only possession. But he finished 9 of 14 for 133 yards in what turned into another solid showing with first-year offensive co-ordinator Gary Kubiaks version of the West Coast offence. After punts on either side of a drive to the first of three field goals from Justin Tucker, Flaccos only touchdown drive was kept alive by a roughing-the-passer penalty against George Selvie on a third-down incompletion. The Ravens scored two plays later after Flaccos longest pass of the night — a 38-yard to Jacoby Jones — and Smiths over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone despite tight coverage from rookie cornerback Terrance Mitchell. "We came out slow, werent really firing on all cylinders, and didnt keep ourselves on the field," Flacco said. "But I thought we did a good job of fighting through it." Like Flacco, Romo backup Brandon Weeden wasnt as smooth in his second preseason game. He underthrew Terrance Williams just enough to give Baltimores Chykie Brown a chance to break up what otherwise would have been a scoring pass and finished 10 of 19 for 129 yards with a sack and an interception. The Ravens gave up 184 yards and 11 first downs with their first team on the field in the first quarter, including Romos 83-yard scoring drive. But the backups were solid for a team looking for depth on a unit struggling with injuries. NOTES: Ravens RB Ray Rice played only the second series and had two carries for 21 yards, including an 18-yarder. He has a shoulder bruise that isnt considered serious. ... Baltimore CB Jimmy Smith left the game early with a chest contusion that is considered mild. ... Cowboys LB DeVonte Holloman was sidelined by a neck injury. ... Cowboys S Ahmad Dixon was benched because he was late to a walkthrough practice. He was the defensive standout for Dallas against San Diego. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap soccer jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseyscheap nfl jerseys china ' ' '
