Inland Waterways » pressure on us, on my sho

LAS VEGAS -- A huge double takeout by Olympics-bound Brad Jacobs played a huge role in giving Team North America the lead at the Continental Cup on Thursday. Jacobs made a double takeout to blank the seventh end in his traditional team-play showdown against Team Worlds Niklas Edin. And in the eighth end, the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native made an open hit to score one for a 4-3 victory. Jacobs win was part of a clean sweep of the evening games, giving Team North America a 6-3 lead on Team World. The first team reaching 30.5 points by Sundays final day will win the title. "That feels great," said Jacobs, who will skip Canada at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. "That was my first game ever, all of our (his teammates) first games, at the Continental Cup and that was a blast." "That was a no-risk shot," said Jacobs of the blank attempt in the seventh end. "If we hit one of the back ones and give up a steal, its not the worst, coming up with hammer. It was a no-fear shot; I threw it real aggressive and it worked out perfect." In other action, Team North Americas Rachel Homan of Ottawa was a 6-4 winner over Team Worlds Margaretha Sigfridsson. Homans rink stole a deuce in the sixth end to turn the game around when Sigfridssons last-rock thrower, Maria Prytz, couldnt execute a hit-and-roll to score. "Just barely," said Homan about the victory. "But that was good. My whole team played well and so did Sigfridssons. Pretty excited about the three-team sweep tonight." In the other evening game, Team North Americas John Shuster hung on for a 5-3 win over Team Worlds David Murdoch. Shuster, who will skip the United States in Sochi, scored two in the fourth end and never looked back. Team World won two of three traditional team games in the morning draw of curlings version of the Ryder Cup, and Team North America won two of the three mixed doubles matches in the afternoon. Anthony Pittman Jersey . Neither made it that far in 2013. Not even close. Federer lost his second match at the All England Club. Nadal exited in the first round, a year after bowing out in the second. Quandre Diggs Jersey .The 24-year-old quarterback spent four seasons at Northern Illinois and in 2013 was a finalist for the Heisman, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in U. http://www.wholesalelionsjerseys.com/?tag=youth-marvin-jones-jr-jersey . - The Seattle Sounders busy off-season continues with the team acquiring defender Chad Marshall from the Columbus Crew in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick and allocation money. C.J. Anderson Jersey .S. - Nova Scotias Mary Fay guaranteed at least one more match and a shot at the Canadian junior curling championships final on home ice. Charles Washington Jersey . -- LeGarrette Blount made one last big splash into a soggy end zone. REIMS, France -- Vincenzo Nibali is growing comfortable in his yellow jersey. Hes not taking the Tour de France lead for granted, though. Despite the stunning departure of reigning champion Chris Froome in a crash the day before, the Italian says hes "afraid" of two-time champ Alberto Contador, and senses other contenders are looking for opportunities to strip him of cyclings most coveted jersey. Nibali took another, if small, step on Thursday toward the Tour crown by maintaining his lead as the pack arrived in Reims -- whose famed Cathedral hosted many French coronations -- in a drizzly and crash-marred sixth stage won by German sprint specialist Andre Greipel. Nibali, who has won cyclings two other Grand tours -- the Spanish Vuelta and Italian Giro -- made it five straight days in the yellow shirt that he hopes to take home when the race ends on the Champs-Elysees on July 27. Its still very early, though, and the race has only had one real climbing day so far: Far tougher up-and-down days are ahead this weekend in the Vosges mountains, in the Alps in week two, and the Pyrenees in week three. But Nibali says he is "calm" and feeling good physically, his Astana team is the best-performing squad so far, and several rival teams have been losing riders to crashes. "Im still afraid of Contador," said Nibali, adding that he expects the Spaniard and other yellow jersey aspirants to attack when the race enters the eastern Vosges range on Saturday -- culminating with a tough uphill finish in Mondays Stage 10. "Its true that you can lose a lot of energy defending the yellow jersey, but Ive been riding well," Nibali said through a translator. "Its a heavy task to wear it ... (but) to have the jersey could be a little advantage in the coming stages. Well take it day by day." Contador, a day after losing about 2 1/2 minutes to Nibali on a muddy ride over cobblestones, was dealt another setback on Thursday: His Saxo-Tinkoff teammate Jesus Hernandez, who was expected to help him up the climbs, dropped out after a crash that left him dazed on the roadside. Richie Porte, who inherited the leadership of Team Sky after Froome quit, also lost a teammate. Spanish veteran Xabier Zandio was taken to hospital with a suspected broken rib and severe back injury from a group spill with about 79 kilometres left. Thee race medical report listed a total of 14 riders with varying injuries from "two big crashes.dddddddddddd" "It was such a stressful day -- horrible actually," Porte said, crediting support from his team. "The guys were around me all day, and while we lost Xabi Zandio to the crash, the rest of us kept out of trouble and we live to fight another day." Greipel, the Germany champion, collected his sixth career Tour stage win ahead of Norways Alexander Kristoff in second and Frances Samuel Dumoulin in third over the 194-kilometre (120-mile) ride. Greipels job got easier after countryman Marcel Kittel, who has dominated the sprints this year, got a late flat. "I had really good punch today, I am really happy," said Greipel, a Lotto Belisol rider who turns 32 next Wednesday. "Of course Im not looking at Kittel. I dont need to hide. I am still one of the fastest in the bunch. "There was a lot of pressure on us, on my shoulders. Its a big relief for us." The top of the standings didnt change, as most of the contenders for victory in the three-week race trailed close behind the muscular Greipel. He was not a challenger for the overall title; like many sprinters, he does not fare well on the climbs that are crucial to winning in Paris. Hes 37 1/2 minutes behind Nibali. Overall, Nibali has a two-second lead over Danish teammate Jakob Fuglsang. Peter Sagan of Slovakia was third, 44 seconds back. Porte, an Australian, was another 70 seconds back in eighth place. American Andrew Talansky, who won the Criterium du Dauphine in June, was ninth, 2:05 behind Nibali. Spaniard Alejandro Valverde was 10th, 2:11 back, and Contador was in 18th, 2:37 behind. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was tied for 86th in the stage and 132nd overall, 33:35 off the lead. Christian Meier, also from Langley, was tied for 145th in the stage and was 154th overall, 38:45 back. With the Tour giving a nod to 100 years since the start of World War I, French President Francois Hollande honoured the fallen and took a ride with race director Christian Prudhomme on Thurs