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The first major event of the Canadian Curling Associations Season of Champions comes from Camrose, Alberta with the Canada Cup of Curling. The top seven mens and womens rinks from across Canada will battle each other from December 3-7 with $140, 000 in prize money on the line. Along with the cash, winners will be granted spots in the 2017 Olympic Pre-Trials Road to the Roar, the 2015 Continental Cup and next years Canada Cup. The tournament is making its return to the curling circuit after taking a year off last season due to the Sochi Olympics. In 2012, Stefanie Lawton won in her home province of Saskatchewan while Manitobas Jeff Stoughton took the mens crown. Stoughton will not be back this time around. The Canada Cup has a round robin format with a semi-final and final round in the playoffs. All the action can be seen on TSN throughout the week. Both the mens and womens side are stacked with notable names that have had success in the past. Lets take a look at which rinks you should keep an eye on. Mens Preview Team Jacobs (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) Lead: Ryan Harnden Second: E.J. Harnden Third: Ryan Fry Skip: Brad Jacobs Brad Jacobs - 1x Olympic, 1x Brier Champ Olympic champion Brad Jacobs and his talented rink won the country over last February in Sochi with their hard effort and infectious team personality. The 29-year-old Jacobs has won one tournament so far this year on the World Curling Tour - the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in September - and sits second on the Money List. Last week, the Jacobs rink lost to Mike McEwens Manitoba foursome in the final of The National in their hometown. The Canada Cup will be a key tournament for Jacobs squad as they begin the defence of their Olympic title. Team Morris (Calgary, AB.) Lead: Nolan Thiessen Second: Carter Rycroft Third: Pat Simmons Skip: John Morris John Morris - 1x Olympic, 1x World, 2x Brier Champ John Morris has played a very limited schedule with his new rink this season, only appearing in the two Grand Slam events. The former Olympic gold medal-winning vice will skip Team Canada at the Brier this year after Kevin Koe left to join a new team. This is the second year in a row that the 35-year-old is in charge of an entirely new rink and has proven he can create chemistry fairly quickly. Morris was able to lead Jim Cotters rink to the Brier final as well as the Canadian Curling Trials final in 2013-14. The Canada Cup could be this teams coming out party. Team Koe (Calgary, AB.) Lead: Ben Hebert Second: Brent Laing Third: Marc Kennedy Skip: Kevin Koe Kevin Koe - 1x World, 2x Brier Champ Kevin Koe left his Brier-winning rink in the off-season and assembled an entirely new one with the hopes it would give him the best chance at Olympic glory in 2018. The foursome has already won a tournament together, taking the Direct Horizontal Drilling Fall Classic in October and are seventh on the WCT Money List. Like any sport, it takes time for a new group of players to become comfortable together, but with the experience of these rock throwers, they might be able to figure things out quicker than most. Team McEwen (Winnipeg, MB.) Lead: Denni Neufeld Second: Matt Wozniak Third: B.J. Neufeld Skip: Mike McEwen Mike McEwen - Five WCT victories this season Mike McEwen has been on fire this season. The 34-year has already won five tournaments, including The National, and is number one by a large margin on the Money List. Coming off a solid 2013-14 campaign, many thought McEwen could break out this season and so far hes lived up to that expectation and then some. His Winnipeg rink has been together since 2007 and they could be ready to join the elite echelon of curlers on the circuit. Winning the Canada Cup would most definitely put them there if they arent there already. Team Gushue (St. Johns N.L.) Lead: Geoff Walker Second: Brett Gallant Third: Mark Nichols Skip: Brad Gushue Brad Gushue - 1x Olympic champ, Brier runner-up Brad Gushues reunion with his former Olympic-winning vice has already paid dividends in 2014-15. Gushue and Mark Nichols, who won Olympic gold back in 2006 in Turin, joined forces once again this season after Nichols left Jeff Stoughtons team in the summer. Alongside a young, powerful sweeping tandem of Geoff Walker and Brett Gallant, the pair won the first Grand Slam of the season, The Masters in Abbotsford, BC and sit in third place on the Money List. The 34-year-old Gushue and his East-coast rink could once again be considered one of the best in the game with the return of his old buddy. Team Howard (Penetanguishene, Ont.) Lead: Craig Savill Second: Jon Mead Third: Richard Hart Skip: Glenn Howard Glenn Howard - 4x Brier, 4x World, 1x Canada Cup champ Fifty-two-year-old Glenn Howard has had a so-so season to this point. The Beer Store manager brought back Richard Hart out of retirement hoping it could rekindle past success. So far he has yet to make it past a semi-final and sits in 11th place on the Money List this season. Despite being one of the oldest skips in curling, it appears Howard may attempt another run at an Olympic Games and winning the Canada Cup would get the ball rolling in that direction. Team Cotter (Vernon, B.C.) Lead: Rick Sawatsky Second: Tyrel Griffith Third: Ryan Kuhn Skip: Jim Cotter Jim Cotter - Brier runner-up Jim Cotter had a solid year in 2013-14 thanks in large part to John Morris joining the squad as a skip. Morris has now moved on and Cotter is back to throwing fourth stones. The West-coast rink has struggled so far this season, sitting 76th on the Money List. They also went winless at The Masters. Womens Preview Team Jones (Winnipeg, MB.) Lead: Dawn McEwen Second: Jill Officer Third: Kaitlyn Lawes Skip: Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones - 1x Olympic, 1x World, 4x Scotties, 2x Canada Cup Champ There has been no Olympic hangover for Jennifer Jones and her Manitoba rink. The Jones foursome struck gold in Sochi last winter and they havent missed a beat this season as they lead the WCT Money List with three victories already under their belt. The group has said they will commit four years for a shot at a second appearance at the Games and are plenty good enough to make it happen. Jones should be the favourite at the Canada Cup on the womens side. Team Homan (Ottawa, Ont.) Lead: Lisa Weagle Second: Joanne Courtney Third: Emma Miskew Skip: Rachel Homan Rachel Homan - 2x Scotties champ, World runner-up Twenty-five-year-old Rachel Homan is already a household name in the curling world and should continue to be one for years to come. Homan has won back-to-back Canadian championships and will look to continue her ascent up the ladder at the Canada Cup. The Ottawa rink could be even better this year with their new second, Joanne Courtney, who is one of the better sweepers in the game. They have yet to win a tournament this year, but sit fourth on the Money List. Team Sweeting (Edmonton, AB) Lead: Rachelle Brown Second: Dana Ferguson Third: Lori Olson-Johns Skip: Val Sweeting Val Sweeting - 1x Grand Slam champ, Scotties runner-up Last season, Val Sweeting surprised many people with her success. This season, it might be expected. Despite losing Joanne Courtney in the offseason to Team Homan, Sweeting hasnt missed a step, already winning The Masters and earning enough cash to rank second on the Money List. The 27-year-old almost won the Scotties last season and should continue to be a thorn in the sides of Homan and Jones at the Canada Cup. Team Nedohin (Sherwood Park, AB.) Lead: Laine Peters Second: Jocelyn Peterman Third: Amy Nixon Skip: Heather Nedohin Heather Nedohin - 2x Scotties Champ Heather Nedohin has struggled a little this year, as shes reached only one final on the World Curling Tour, but will still be in the mix at the Canada Cup. The 39-year-old has a new third this season as Amy Nixon has replaced longtime vice Beth Iskiw. Nedohin sits 19th on the Money List. Team Middaugh (Coldwater, Ont.) Lead: Leigh Armstrong Second: Lee Merklinger Third: Jo-Ann Rizzo Skip: Sherry Middaugh Sherry Middaugh - 1x Canada Cup champ, 4x Scotties bronze medalist Sherry Middaugh has won one event on Tour this season, the AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic in September, and sits a very respectable sixth on the Money List. The 48-year-old won the Canada Cup back in 2003 and almost represented Canada at the Olympic Games in 2014, but lost to Jones in the finals of the Canadian Curling Trials. Team Anderson (Saskatoon, SK.) Lead: Stephanie Schmidt Second: Marliese Kasner Third: Sherri Singler Skip: Sherry Anderson Sherry Anderson - 1x Scotties runner-up Sherry Anderson, who usually plays third, will be calling the shots for this Saskatoon rink at this event. Stefanie Lawton, the teams regular skip, had a baby boy in October and wont rejoin the team until the New Year. The 50-year-old will need a lot to go right in order to win the Canada Cup, but her years of experience should keep them competitive throughout the week. The rink sits 71st on the Money List. Team Flaxey (Listowel, Ont.) Lead: Morgan Court Second: Kristen Foster Third: Katie Cottrill Skip: Alli Flaxey Alli Flaxey Alli Flaxey, from the small town of Listowel, Ont., will replace Renee Sonnenberg after the Alberta skip declined the invitation to the tournament. The 29-year-old has played in five events this season, but has yet to advance to a playoff round. Flaxey sits 60th on the Money List. . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. . 22 because of a bruised foot and have added forward Sean Collins to the roster on emergency recall from Springfield of the AHL. . If one fighter gases, he usually gets beat up pretty bad from that point on. .Hoffenheim forward Anthony Modeste opened the scoring on a counterattack in the 15th minute, shooting though Jaroslav Drobnys legs after Lewis Holtby lost the ball in midfield. . Alen, 28, hit .315 with five home runs, 59 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases for the Goldeyes last season. He is the longest serving catcher in Goldeyes history, having already spent five seasons with the organization.NEW YORK -- Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd is talking to the Milwaukee Bucks about a position after losing his bid for front-office power with the Nets, a person with knowledge of the details said Saturday. The Nets denied Kidds request and then told him he was free to talk to other teams about jobs, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no official comments were made about the situation. The Bucks then sought and were granted permission to interview Kidd. The news was first reported by the New York Post. Kidd just finished his first season as coach, leading the Nets to a 44-38 record and a second-round playoff loss to the Miami Heat. Its unclear what role the Bucks would be interested in him for, since they have both coach Larry Drew and general manager John Hammond under contract. Kidd is close with new Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, who along with Wes Edens recently bought thhe team for $550 million.dddddddddddd The Nets hired Kidd in June 2013 about a month after he had ended a 19-year playing career. He led the Nets to their greatest NBA success as a player, a pair of NBA Finals appearances, and they retired his number before a preseason game. He also owns a small share of the team and was instrumental in helping convince Kevin Garnett to waive his no-trade clause and accept a trade to Brooklyn along with Paul Pierce last June. But the Nets werent interested in having him atop the basketball operations department that general manager Billy King has led since 2010. Kidd had a rocky beginning to his coaching tenure, getting fined $50,000 for intentionally spilling a drink on the court to delay a game during the Nets 10-21 start. But he won a pair of Eastern Conference coach of the month honours later in the season as Brooklyn surged to a playoff spot. ' ' '
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