Homan beats Jones in clash of women’s curling heavyweights
CALGARY — They may meet again in the Canadian women’s curling championship playoffs, but the intense onice battles between Rachel Homan and Jennifer Jones are coming to an end.
Homan beat Jones 7-5 at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts on Tuesday night in an entertaining tussle of tough, tight shots befitting a pair of skips with nine national titles between them.
It became a heavily marketed matchup when Curling Canada declared last spring that Homan and Jones had pre-qualified for this year’s Hearts based on their Canadian rankings.
Six-time champ Jones has said this season will be her last in team curling, although she’ll continue in mixed doubles with her husband Brent Laing.
Homan had to beat Jones in the 2013 final to win her first of her three Hearts crowns.
“You know that it’s going to be a good game and a battle right to the end, right down to the last inch there,” Homan said. “It’s going to be weird to not have her at the Scotties. She’s always such a fierce competitor. Kudos to her for an amazing career.”
Homan got better shot support Tuesday from her more experienced lineup of Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes.
Jones, 49, took over a team of curlers almost half her age two years ago and reached last year’s Hearts final with them.
The skip made sure Tuesday that Karlee Burgess, Emma Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine were all involved in discussions over difficult options.
“We’re one team and it’s ‘how big of a risk do we want to take and are we all on board?’ I always try to get everyone involved,” Jones said. “I’m going to really miss them.”
Homan’s tricky double takeout through guards in front of the rings with her final shot of the 10th secured the victory.
Her Ontario foursome was the unbeaten team in Pool B at 5-0 wins over Jones and Manitoba’s Cameron on Tuesday.
“Tired? No. Buzzing,” Homan said. “We’ve still got some improvements to make.”
Homan faces B.C.’s Clancy Grandy (5-1) and Jones (4-1) meets Cameron (3-2) on Wednesday afternoon in matchups with playoff implications.
The top three teams in each pool Thursday advance to Friday’s six-team playoff round, from which Saturday’s four Page playoff teams will be determined.
Tiebreaker games have been eliminated from the format. Head-to-head results followed by cumulative drawthe-button scores that precede each game solve ties.
The winner of Sunday’s final represents Canada in the world championship March 16-24 in Sydney, N.S., and earns a return trip to the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, only after Kate
Ont., as defending champion.
Alberta’s Selena Sturmay had the only other unbeaten team in the field at 5-0 atop Pool A, with defending champion Kerri Einarson chasing her at 5-1.
“The further we get into this event, definitely there’s more and more pressure, but at the end of the day, we’re just looking to improve with every game and that’s what I think we’ve done,” said Sturmay, who is skipping a team in the Hearts for the first time.
Einarson continued to curl without regular lead Briane Harris, who was declared ineligible to compete on opening day for reasons still unexplained by Curling Canada or the skip. Alternate Krysten Karwacki has played in Harris’s absence.
Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges and Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville (3-2), Saskatchewan’s Skylar Ackerman (3-3), Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes and B.C’s Corryn Brown (2-3), Newfoundland and Labrador’s Stacie Curtis (1-4) and Prince Edward Island’s Jane DiCarlo (0-6) rounded out Pool A.
Nova Scotia’s Heather Smith (2-3) ranked ahead of Pool B’s four-loss group of Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories, New Brunswick’s Melissa Adams and Ontario’s Danielle Inglis. Yukon’s Bayly Scoffin was 0-5.
Galusha posted the biggest comeback in tournament history Tuesday morning. Down 7-0 after three ends, Galusha scored three in the ninth end and stole one in the 10th en route to a 10-9 win over Inglis.
Curling Canada said it’s the largest comeback at a national championship since British Columbia overcame a 10-point deficit at the Canadian Ladies Curling Association Championship in Calgary’s old Stampede Corral on Feb. 26, 1970.
The championship’s been the Scotties Tournament of Hearts since 1982.
DEAR DR. ROACH: My 34-year-old disabled daughter has polyglandular autoimmune syndrome type 2, along with several other autoimmune diseases. Since her ovaries have never worked, she has been on hormone replacement therapy since she was 16 to protect her bones. She has had a menstrual period once every three months when the pills allow it.
Since she experiences painful menstruation, her gynecologist recently said that she doesn’t need to have a period and can skip the yellow pills.
However, her father, who has never experienced painful menstruation (nor has he ever taken her to a gynecologist and discussed the issue), thinks it may hurt her to not have periods. I trust the doctor, but I would like to know what you think.
– K.M. ANSWER: Polyglandular autoimmune syndrome type 2 is a condition, as its name suggests, that affects many endocrine organs. It particularly affects the adrenal gland, but also the thyroid, usually causing too little thyroid hormone. It also affects the pancreas, causing Type 1 diabetes, and the reproductive glands (particularly in women), causing ovarian failure.
All of these hormones may be replaced, and hormone replacement is critical to protect her bones and provide other benefits.
Of course, her gynecologist is correct; she does not need to take the placebo tablets of whatever color. We certainly used to think that women needed to have menstrual cycles for their health, but that is no longer the case. There are the same risks and same benefits to hormone replacement whether it is taken periodically or continuously.
Most women who realize that they don’t need to have their menses choose to have fewer (such as every three months) or no menstrual periods, and compliance with medication is higher when women take it continuously.
Given her painful menstruation, I agree with your daughter’s gynecologist that she can take the active medication every day.
However, I would warn you both that she may experience some bleeding at times. Ten per cent to 25% of women on combined hormone treatment will experience some bleeding, usually lighter than a period. This is particularly the case during the first six months.
I have occasionally been disheartened by the poor level of understanding that some men have about the female anatomy and physiology.
DEAR DR. ROACH: I am a 72-year-old man with an enlarged prostate. I am taking Flomax and finasteride. Will these shrink my prostate? Could my enlarged prostate affect my bladder function?
– J.S.
ANSWER: Men often get enlarged prostate glands in their 70s. Flomax works by relaxing the muscle in the prostate to allow for better flow, while finasteride blocks a hormone that causes the prostate to grow. Thus, the prostate shrinks over time, but it takes months or even years for the medicine to reach its full effectiveness.
In most men, this combination is effective, but when it isn’t, the urologist can look at other options such as surgical, laser, heat and cold treatments to improve their symptoms.
Without treatment, the prostate can block the flow of urine quite severely, but it’s the kidneys, not the bladder, that are at the most risk for damage. Treatment is sometimes urgently needed to relieve pressure and save the kidneys.
Readers may email questions to: toyourgoodhealth@med.cornell.edu
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The 3-0-5 took over the Daytona 5-0-0.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Pitbull and DJ Khaled represented South Florida at the Daytona 500, as the trio of Sunshine State celebrities brought a dose of star power to Sunday’s scheduled race day that was washed out by rain.
Johnson, the wrestler/actor, said he would stay for Monday’s rescheduled race and honor his role as Daytona 500 grand marshal and give the command for drivers to start their engines.
Pitbull was scheduled to perform the pre-race concert in the Daytona infield, but it was scrapped because of steady rain. He agreed to return in 2025 for the same event. Khaled said he was unable to stay Monday for his role as honourary starter.
The last time the Daytona 500 was postponed a full day was in 2012.
“Who would have ever thought,” Pitbull said, “The Rock, Khaled and Pit at the Daytona 500?”
Khaled moved to Miami – home of the 305 area code – in 1998 to kickstart a radio career that led to Grammy wins and a successful run as DJ, producer, and song writer. Known as “Mr. Worldwide,” Pitbull was born in Miami and named his debut album “M.I.A.M.I.” before he released massive hits such as “Timber” and “Fireball.”
“It’s incredible to see us all come together for the Daytona 500,” Khaled said. “But to represent Florida is beautiful.”
The 51-year-old Johnson is set to return to wrestling for WrestleMania in April in Philadelphia. The “Fast and the Furious” franchise star played football at Miami and was a reserve on the team’s 1991 national championship team.
“Best college in Florida,” Johnson said. The A-listers stuck around the track to promote their current projects.
Johnson posted an Instagram video of himself driving past Daytona International Speedway late Saturday night, joking he was “up to no good. Trouble. With a capital T.”
“I got a little cooky last night because I couldn’t sleep,” Johnson said Sunday. “I went to the gym at midnight. I drove by the Speedway, all the lights were on, just immediately felt the energy.”
FINALLY, THE ROCK HAS COME
BACK TO DAYTONA
The Rock offered some advice to NASCAR villain Denny Hamlin: roll with it.
Johnson, whose recent return to the WWE has come in a heel role, said Hamlin should embrace the boos and make them part of his racing persona.
Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, has suddenly become public enemy No. 1 in the Cup Series. He gets jeered more than Kyle Busch when he wins and has leaned into it a little by saying things like “I just beat your favourite driver.” The Rock would like to see more. “Being the villain is the greatest thing in the world,” The Rock said. “Everybody wants to be a good guy or good girl, everyone wants to be loved and cheered and considered the hero, which is great and it’s natural; it’s just human psychology and desire.
“But I have felt in my career and through my experience – that I’ve been very fortunate to have – is that the rare air is when you have the opportunity and you grab it by the throat and you don’t let it go and that’s the opportunity to be a great bad guy.”
Johnson has experienced both sides as an actor and as a professional wrestler.
“I always think that the best and greatest bad guys, bad girls and villains out there are coming from a place of truth. So one of the cool things that being a great bad guy and a great villain offers – and this is my advice to Denny – is not only do you embrace it, but also you get the opportunity to say and do a lot of things that people can’t.
“A lot of people wish they can, but they don’t. So you don’t have to. Let me and Denny do the talking and get the boos.”
MR. WORLDWIDE
Pitbull still considers himself a NASCAR underdog.
Despite six wins and 36 top-five finishes in three seasons as co-owner at Trackhouse Racing, the Grammy Award-winning singer says “this is just the beginning.”
“Underdogs, one thing we love is a challenge,” Pitbull said. “We love when people tell us no, don’t, won’t, never will happen, crazy, stupid, impossible. Those are words that fuel us.”
He then explained how easy it is to flip those from negative to positive: changing can’t to can, don’t to do and won’t to won.
“And if you really put it together, just put an apostrophe between I, M and Possible, it’s I’m possible,” he added.
“So when you bring that mentality to a whole sport who is hungry to feed the world and teach different communities, different cultures that, ‘Hey, there’s opportunities here,’ then you in the ultimate world of do good and be well.
“So for Trackhouse to be underdogs, that was a beautiful thing in the beginning, but we’ll forever be underdogs and that’s why we’ll fight the way that we fight and we’ll continue to build the way that we build and continue to inspire and motivate others out there.”
Pitbull, who co-owns the team with retired driver Justin Marks, now has two full-time cars driven by Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez. He also fields a third car at select races for road-racing specialist Shane van Gisbergen.
He recently released a new NASCAR-themed album featuring songs with Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton and Nile Rodgers. He also has a song dedicated to the late Jimmy Buffett.
WE TAKIN’ OVER
Could DJ Khaled add NASCAR team owner ready to win, win, win no matter what to his already loaded resume of hype man, producer, writer?
Khaled says he’s the one.
Khaled said he envisioned a time when he would return to the Daytona 500, not as part of race day entertainment, but as a celebrity owner much like Pitbull and 23XI Racing’s Michael Jordan.
“I would love to be a team owner,” Khaled said. “Look at Michael Jordan, the beautiful things he’s doing. All the other great team owners. One day, God willing, I’ll have a ‘We the Best’ car out there, bringing home a trophy.”
NASCAR is littered with celebrities who have moved through media centers making the same bold statements about team ownership without a deal ever panning out. Khaled said he’s been a race fan since childhood.
The DJ-producer, whose real name is Khaled Mohamed Khaled, said he attended a Daytona 500 or two as a kid because of his love of cars. Khaled brought his wife and two young sons with him to the track.
Khaled flexed when he said he put his hands in the air and practiced waving the green flag.
He also teased new music would drop soon.
“Everybody take it easy, the title is coming soon,” Khaled said to laughter standing over the Harley J. Earl Trophy. “It’s going to touch everybody worldwide.”
NEW YORK — A criminal case involving handwritten lyrics to the classic rock megahit “Hotel California” and other Eagles favourites went to trial Wednesday in New York, with three men accused of scheming to thwart band co-founder Don Henley’s efforts to reclaim the allegedly ill-gotten documents.
The trial concerns about 100 pages of drafts of the words to songs from the 1976 release “Hotel California,” which is the third-biggest selling album ever in the U.S.
Rare-books dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi, and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski face charges including conspiracy to possess stolen property.
“The defendants were not businessmen acting in good faith, but criminal actors,” Manhattan District Attorney Nicholas Penfold said in his opening. He said they “deceived and manipulated to try to frustrate” Henley’s efforts to recover manuscripts that were rightfully his.
The men, all well established in the collectibles world, have pleaded not guilty. Their lawyers have said the case “alleges criminality where none exists and unfairly tarnishes the reputations of well-respected professionals.”
The documents include lyrics-in-development for the songs “Life in the Fast Lane,” “New Kid in Town” and, of course, “Hotel California,” the more than six-minute-long, somewhat mysterious musical tale of the goings-on at an inviting, decadent but ultimately dark place where “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”
If scorned by some as an overexposed artifact of the ’70s, the Grammy-winning song is still a touchstone on classic rock radio and many personal playlists. The entertainment data company Luminate counted more than 220 million streams and 136,000 radio plays of “Hotel California” in the U.S. last year.
The case was brought in 2022, a decade after some of the pages began popping up for auction and Henley took notice – and took umbrage. He bought back a bit of the material for $8,500 but also reported the documents stolen, according to court filings.
At the time, the lyrics sheets were in the hands of Kosinski and Inciardi, who had bought them from Horowitz. He had purchased them in 2005 from Ed Sanders, a writer and 1960s counterculture figure who worked with the Eagles on a band biography that was shelved in the early ’80s.
Sanders, who also co-founded the avant-garde rock group the Fugs, isn’t charged in the case and hasn’t responded to a phone message seeking comment about the song.
Sanders told Horowitz in 2005 that Henley’s assistant had mailed along any documents he wanted for the biography, though the writer worried that Henley “might conceivably be upset” if they were sold, according to emails recounted in the indictment.
But Manhattan prosecutors say that once Henley’s lawyers began asking questions, Horowitz, Inciardi and Kosinski started maneuvering to gin up and disseminate a legally viable ownership history for the manuscripts.
According to the indictment, Inciardi and Horowitz floated evolving accounts of how Sanders obtained the documents. The explanations ranged over the next five years from Sanders finding them abandoned in a backstage dressing room to the writer getting them from Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey, who died in 2016.
Emails show some input and assent from Sanders, but he also apparently objected at least to the backstage-salvage story. In messages that didn’t include him, Horowitz wrote about getting Sanders’ “’explanation’ shaped into a communication” and giving him “gentle handling” and assurances “that he’s not going to the can,” the indictment says.
The indictment doesn’t show Kosinki participating in the back-and-forth with Sanders. But Kosinski forwarded one of the various explanations to Henley’s lawyer, then told an auction house that the rocker had “no claim” to the manuscripts, the indictment says. He also asked the auctioneers not to tell potential bidders about the ownership dispute.
The defendants’ lawyers have said that Sanders had legal possession of the documents, and so did the men who subsequently bought them.
“The evidence will show that no theft occurred,” Horowitz’ lawyer, Jonathan Bach, said in an opening statement. He argued that the emails about the documents’ source weren’t suspicious efforts to cover tracks, but rather an effort by Horowitz and Inciardi to get “a simple statement from Ed Sanders to rebut an allegation they know to be baseless.”
Defense lawyers have indicated that they plan to question how clearly Henley remembers his dealings with Sanders and the lyric sheets at a time when the rock star was living life in the fast lane himself.
“His attitudes today, as a mature, successful, older businessman, regarding materials he helped compose and create nearly 50 years ago are very different from the attitudes that he held in his youth -way back when he was far more carefree,” Bach said.
The defendants decided last week to forgo a jury, so Judge Curtis Farber will decide the verdict.