Krista McCarville’s curling rink from Northern Ontario is off to the final of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. McCarville battled back from a four-point deficit to steal a point in the extra end and defeat New Brunswick 9-8. McCarville will play the winner of today’s semifinal between Andrea Crawford and Kerri Einarson.
Canadian R-J Barrett scored a career-high 36 points for the Knicks _ but it wasn’t enough to slow down LeBron James and the L-A Lakers. James returned from a five-game absence due to injury by scoring a triple-double, and the Lakers rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat New York 122-115 in overtime. James missed five games due to swelling in his left knee.
Bobby Portis Junior had a season-high 30 points, including six 3-pointers, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Trail Blazers 137-108 in the N-B-A. Portland has lost five games in a row. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points, with a season-high four 3-pointers, and nine rebounds.
The Kontinental Hockey League is calling off the rest of the regular season. The league cited coronavirus concerns surrounding players at the Olympics as the reason behind the decision. The move is contingent on approval from the board of directors and Russian Hockey Federation. The Russia-based league will go straight to playoffs after a weeklong break.
OLYMPICS NEWS
Beijing Olympic organizers say they’re addressing complaints about isolation conditions for athletes who test positive for COVID-19. They say they’re working to ensure they have clean rooms, better food and access to training equipment. The comments came after multiple complaints were made by teams and athletes about the isolation conditions.
Canada’s Laurie Blouin narrowly missed the podium in the women’s snowboard slopestyle event at the Beijing Olympics. Blouin finished fourth despite earning an impressive score of 81.41 points on her final run. The Quebec City native won silver in the event at the 2018 Olympics. New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnott finished first to win her country’s first ever Winter Olympic gold medal.
Canada’s figure skaters sit fourth in the team competition heading into tomorrow’s final events. The Canadians faced elimination earlier today as they entered the women’s short program in sixth place. But an impressive performance from 18-year-old Madeline Schizas in her Olympic debut ensured Canada was among the five teams that moved on to the long programs.
Canada stole two points in an extra end for a nail-biting 7-5 win over the Czech Republic in mixed doubles competition. Canada improved to 5-and-2 and will face Australia later today. The Australians planned to withdraw from the tournament after one of its team members tested positive for COVID-19. But public health authorities allowed the duo to continue competing.
The men’s downhill has been postponed a day due to strong winds that made it too dangerous to race. The start of the race was delayed three times before being called off as winds reached 65 kilometres per hour. The race will now be held tomorrow on the same day as the women’s giant slalom. Canada will be represented in the race by Toronto’s Jack Crawford and B-C skiers Broderick Thompson and Brodie Seger.
Saturday’s Scoreboard
NHL All-Star Game – Semifinals
Metropolitan 6 Pacific 4
Central 8 Atlantic 5
Final
Metropolitan 5 Central 3
NBA
Memphis 135 Orlando 115
Miami 104 Charlotte 86
Phoenix 95 Washington 80
L.A. Lakers 122 New York 115 (OT)
Sacramento 113 Oklahoma City 103
Milwaukee 137 Portland 108
Sunday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NBA
Brooklyn at Denver, 3:30 p.m.
Detroit at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Chicago, 3:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Dallas, 6 p.m.
Boston at Orlando, 6 p.m.
Indiana at Cleveland, 6 p.m.
New Orleans at Houston, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at L.A. Clippers, 9 p.m.
NFL Pro Bowl
AFC vs. NFC, 3 p.m.