HONG KONG -- John Moonlight scored a pair of tries as Canada defeated Portugal 35-7 Friday in its opening match at the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament. The Canadian men improved their career record against Portugal to 15-9-0. Canada, which is currently ninth in the series standings, is coming off three impressive performances in the U.S., New Zealand and Japan, where it qualified for the quarter-finals of the elite Cup competition each time. Nanyak Dala, Conor Trainor and Sean White also scored tries Friday for Canada, which will face No. 8 Argentina and No. 4 England on Saturday. Captain Nathan Hirayama, who missed the final day of action in Tokyo last time out due to injury, converted all five Canadian tries. Pedro Bettencourt had the lone try for No. 14 Portugal. Moonlight opened the scoring with a try just 39 seconds into the match. Hirayama then converted tries from Dala and Trainor to put Canada up 21-0 by the 7:20 mark of the first half. Bettencourt got Portugal on the board late, cutting Canadas lead to 21-7 at the break. Moonlight struck quickly to open the second half with a try 50 seconds in. That was all the scoring until Whites try in extra time. In other games, Fiji opened its title defence by blowing away Wales 42-7. In a pool matchup of last years finalists, Fiji ran in six tries to one to put a smile on the face of coach Ben Ryan. "Lets not get carried away. We havent qualified for anything as yet," Ryan said. "We have a far way to go before we can think of defending our title." Fiji, the most successful side at the mecca of sevens rugby, is bidding for a third successive title to go along with hat tricks in 1990-92 and 1997-99. England was the last team to win three in a row, 10 years ago. The Pacific Islanders, coming off victory in Tokyo last weekend, led the charge of all the big guns on the opening night. World series leader South Africa defeated France 31-7, and New Zealand brushed aside Scotland 33-0. Of the top four seeds, England had the hardest time having to ward off a feisty challenge from Argentina, 19-12. In qualifying for core team status in next seasons series, Japan was the most impressive in romps over Uruguay and Trinidad and Tobago, thanks to wingers Yoshikazu Fujita and Kenki Fukuoka, who were released by 15s coach Eddie Jones. Host Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Italy and Russia also emerged unbeaten in the 12-team second-tier competition. The winner of that tournament will join the core teams in the first-tier series next year. Also Friday, the Canadian women defeated France 24-0 to win their second consecutive Hong Kong Invitational Sevens title. The event was a tuneup for the Womens Sevens World Series tournament next week in Guangzhou, China. Canada is currently third in the womens series with 48 points. Australia and New Zealand each have 56. With files from The Associated Press . Although head coach Randy Carlyle jokingly wondered how much actual training Bolland got done while in London. "I dont know how much training goes on when you go back to the junior team that you played for so I wouldnt read too much into that," laughed Carlyle after the Maple Leafs were put through an up-tempo practice that concluded with a 10-minute bag skate on Thursday. . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit.
http://www.lightningauthority.com/authe ... ng-jersey/. Kerber will next play Estonias Kaia Kanepi, who beat American qualifier Victoria Duval 6-1, 6-3. In other first-round matches, Lucie Safarova beat 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4 and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands had a 6-4, 6-3 win over Canadas Eugenie Bouchard. . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont.NEWARK, N.J. -- The new owners of the New Jersey Devils are keeping long-time executive Lou Lamoriello in charge of hockey operations, bringing in a new business team and committing to make the three-time Stanley Cup champions an organization looked toward as a model of excellence. Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris and business partner David Blitzer on Thursday bought the Devils and the lease to the Prudential Center from Jeff Vanderbeek for $320 million. The deal was delayed roughly 15 minutes on Thursday morning because lawyers needed more time to sign off on the transfer of the financially strapped NHL team, which the leagues board of governors approved on Wednesday. "What I am interested in is absolute success on and off the ice, and having the highest quality people and bringing the fans a great experience and winning," said Harris, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management. Harris dispelled rumours that he might consider moving the 76ers to Newark. He has a lease at the Wells Fargo Center with Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the NHLs Flyers. "The Sixers are staying in Philly," Harris said. He added that he and Blitzer viewed the purchase of the Devils, who lost roughly $25 million in the past year, and the lease as a chance to turn around a struggling franchise. "Weve had a lot of success at identifying literally the best, highest-quality management teams and then bringing them into situations and letting them do their thing and holding them accountable," Harris said. "Other people may like to meddle in it. What we like to do in essence is agree what the vision is, what the business plan is and then resource it and allow people to do their jobs." Lamoriello has been the architect of the Devils fortunes since 1987 and thats not going to change. "I hope he stays here another 26 years," Blitzer said of the 70-year-old president and general manager. Lamoriello refused to say whether the new owners have given him a blank cheque, but added "they are committed to winning." Harris and Blitzer selected Scott ONeil as the Devils chief executive officer, a job he also has with the 76ers. The former Madison Square Garden Sports chief executive will work with both teams and Hugh Weber, the former New Orleans Hornets president, will be the everyday business leader in Newark. Harris and Blitzer, who is the senior managing director of the Blackstone Group, needed about a weeek to close the deal after talks with Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Barroway fell through.ddddddddddddHarris said he had made inquiries about buying the team months ago but they were delayed because Vanderbeek has involved in talks with another suitor. Vanderbeek, who has been the majority owner of the Devils since 2004, will remain with the team as a senior adviser. He had mixed emotions after a 10-year run in which he led the effort to build "The Rock" but couldnt raise enough money to keep the team. "It certainly is bittersweet," said Vanderbeek, who refused to say whether he retained a minority share in the team. "There were other opportunities along the way to perhaps do things differently. But you know what? At some point you have to think about the future, the larger whole, and this was the right thing when it came to that." Harris said getting the lease to the Prudential Center was an essential part of the deal because concerts at what has been an under-used facility this past year will general money. The Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003, and won additional Eastern Conference championships in 2001 and 2012. They missed the playoffs in the recent lockout-shortened season and were stunned when 30-year-old superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk decided to play in his native Russia. The Devils moved to New Jersey in 1982, playing at the Meadowlands after relocating from Colorado. "This is positive for this franchise, for this building and Newark," Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "There is terrific ownership with resources and talent with can take the team and the building to the next level." Harris and Blitzer continue a trend of rich financiers buying sports teams. Some may want a play thing or bragging rights. Others see their teams as legitimate investments, a way to diversify away from just stocks and bonds. While possession of a sports team isnt necessarily a great way to bring in consistent cash profits, owners can make money if they turn a team around and sell it at a profit years down the road -- exactly what private equity firms do with struggling companies. Some financiers are hands-on owners, such as Stuart Sternberg of the Tampa Bay Rays or John Henry of the Red Sox. David Tepper owns a stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Mark Attansio is principal owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. Hedge fund operator Steve Cohen owns a piece of the Mets. ' ' '
