SIDELINES
Jeff Stoughton won the National Grand Slam of Curling final Sunday with a 8-2 victory in six ends over fellow Winnipeg skip Mike McEwen at Port Hawkesbury, N. S.
Stoughton broke a 2-2 deadlock with four points in the fifth end to pull ahead for good. He completed the rout in the sixth when he stole two after McEwen missed on a clear-out shot. Stoughton’s first National title completed a career Grand Slam. He won the Players’ Championship in 2003, the Masters in 2004 and the Canadian Open in 2006.
Gregg Williams may be a step closer to returning to the NFL after being suspended indefinitely for his role in the Saints’ bounty program.
Titans coach Mike Munchak has talked with Williams and is interested in adding him to his Tennessee staff, said a person familiar with the situation. Before the Titans could hire Williams, he must be reinstated by the league. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him indefinitely for his role in the New Orleans Saints bounty program, and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday the league has not yet addressed Williams’ potential reinstatement. Williams is the only coach or player who has yet to return to the NFL in the wake of the bounty scandal.
Pitcher Carlos Villanueva and the Chicago Cubs have completed a two-year, $10-million contract.
The sides had agreed to the contract in midDecember, pending a successful physical. The 29-year-old righthander spent the past two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and went 7-7 with a 4.16 ERA last year in 16 starts and 22 relief appearances. He slid to 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in five September starts. Villanueva spent the previous five seasons with Milwaukee. He has a 33-35 career record with six saves and a 4.26 ERA.
Teenage striker Andreas Cornelius scored three goals as Denmark took advantage of sloppy defending to easily defeat a young, outmatched Canadian side 4-0 in a soccer friendly
Saturday in Tucson, Ariz. The game was the first for the Canadian men since they crashed out of World Cup qualifying via a humiliating 8-1 loss last October in Honduras. Kasper Lorentzen also scored for Danes, who were missing many of their top players and yet still enjoyed a stroll in the park. For Colin Miller, it was his fourth straight loss as interim Canada coach — all against quality sides.
Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty underwent an emergency appendicectomy
Saturday. The 24-year-old will miss three-to-four weeks, according to a brief Canadiens statement. Pacioretty has four assists and a team-high 10 shots on goal in three games this season. The 6-foot-2, 196 pound American was drafted 22nd overall by Montreal in 2007.
The agent for suspended New York Islanders defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky says he will report to the team by Feb. 11.
Neil Sheehy posted on his Twitter account Saturday night that Visnovsky would be back “no later than Feb 11th, possibly sooner.” Sheehy says Visnovsky was away because of “personal medical reasons within his immediate family.” The Islanders suspended Visnovsky, acquired in a June trade, for failing to report to the team for the start of the NHL season. Visnovsky had been playing in Russia’s KHL during the lockout.
Scott Pruett tied Hurley Haywood’s record of five Rolex 24 at Daytona victories Sunday, helping Chip Ganassi Racing return to Victory Lane in the prestigious sports car race in Florida.
A slight lineup change and a dominating performance in the twice-around-the-clock race earned the No. 01 team another celebratory Rolex watch. Pruett closed the win for Ganassi by wresting the lead from defending race winner AJ Allmendinger in the final hour.