Vathje slides to silver in skeleton opener
Canada’s Elisabeth Vathje won a silver medal at the first World Cup women’s skeleton race of the Olympic season Thursday in Lake Placid, N.Y. She finished second behind Austria’s Janine Flock with a two-run time of one minute 50.39 seconds. Flock (1:50.13), who broke her own Mount Van Hoevenberg track record, won gold for the second straight season in Lake Placid, while reigning Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold of Britain was third in 1:50.46.
Celebration of life for Halladay set next week
A celebration of life for former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay will be held next week in Florida at the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Halladay was killed Tuesday when the tiny sport plane he was flying crashed in the Gulf of Mexico. The service, which will be open to the public, will be held Tuesday afternoon at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, the Halladay family said in a statement released by the Blue Jays and Major League Baseball. Halladay, 40, is survived by his wife Brandy and sons Ryan and Braden.
Steals tip scales in Tippin’s favour
Julie Tippin recorded steals in three consecutive ends of a 5-4 extra-end win over Kelsey Rocque in Thursday’s early draw at the Road to the Roar Olympic curling pre-trials in Summerside, P.E.I. Tippin, from Woodstock, Ont., improved to 3-1, while Rocque fell to 2-2. Elsewhere, former Olympian Shannon Kleibrink of Okotoks, Alta., evened her record at 2-2 with a 7-5 win over Tracy Fleury of Sudbury, Ont. Fleury fell to 1-3. In early men’s action, Greg Balsdon downed Dayna Deruelle 10-7 and William Lyburn edged Pat Simmons 8-7. Balsdon, from Kingston, Ont., improved to 2-1 and Winnipeg’s Lyburn evened his record at 2-2. Deruelle, from Brampton, Ont., fell to 1-3, while Simmons, a former Brier champion curling out of Winnipeg, fell to 1-2. The event is the final qualifier for teams to reach the Roar of the Rings Dec. 2-10 in Ottawa, where Canada’s curling teams for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, will be decided.
Acadia wins football crown by default
Atlantic University Sport cancelled the Loney Bowl Thursday due to a player eligibility issue and awarded the football conference championship to the Acadia Axemen. Acadia was scheduled to host the Saint Mary’s Huskies Saturday at Raymond Field in Wolfville, N.S. However, the AUS — the governing body for university athletics in Atlantic Canada — said the eligibility issue “has resulted in ongoing controversy and discord in reference to which team has earned its rightful place as a participant in the AUS football championship final game.”
Kizzire’s hot PGA start leads pack in Mexico
Patton Kizzire carried some momentum from last week in Las Vegas by running off six straight birdies in the middle of his round Thursday for a career-low 9-under 62 and a two-shot lead in the OHL Classic in Mexico. Rickie Fowler, playing for the first time since the Presidents Cup, showed little rust in opening with a 65.
Buhai leads Blue Bay LPGA by one stroke
Ashleigh Buhai shot a 4-under 68 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Blue Bay LPGA tournament in China. The South African birdied four of the last seven holes, including a difficult chipin on the par-four 12th, to finish at 9-under 135 overall, one shot ahead of Shanshan Feng (67). Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., was at 1 under after a 74.