seasons -- ending both on injured reserve. "Im disappoin

MONTREAL -- All things considered, Chelsea Carey would rather be in Sochi, Russia. But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. And Carey is making the most of it, taking her record to 7-1 after an 8-4 victory over New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (5-4) on Wednesday night. Earlier, the Carey rink trounced Quebecs Allison Ross (1-8) by 15-3. The 15 points tied the Scotties record set in 1989, when Alberta beat Newfoundland 15-6. Carey reached the Manitoba finals twice, losing in 2011 to Cathy Overton-Clapham and in 2012 to Jennifer Jones, the four-time Scotties champion who will represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Games. "We wanted to be here badly and lost a couple of heartbreakers and thats no fun, but it wasnt the only thing for us," said Carey. "The (Olympic) trials was our first goal and this was our second goal." Her only loss so far was an 8-3 setback this week to defending champion Rachel Homans seemingly unstoppable Canada team. Homans Ottawa foursome extended its unbeaten string to eight games with a 9-4 victory over Prince Edward Islands Kim Dolan. They have outscored their opponents 62-26 and have yet to play a full 10 ends. Saskatchewans Stefanie Lawton (7-1) posted an 8-6 win over Nova Scotia (3-6) and Ontarios Allison Flaxey (3-5) completed a sweep of her sides two games on Wednesday with a 12-2 victory over the Yukons Sarah Koltun (1-8). Flaxey had the upset of the day in the afternoon draw with a 6-5 win over Albertas Val Sweeting (6-3). Carey put together her team with lead Lindsay Titheridge, second Kristen Foster and third Kristy McDonald specifically to take a shot at the Olympics. The rink has been among Canadas best for a few years, winning often in national and regional events, and did well enough to earn an invitation to the Canadian Olympic trials in Winnipeg. When that dream died with a fourth-place finish, Carey admits it was tough to find the energy to go to last months provincial championship, let alone win it. "I took a week off and didnt throw," she said. "I forced myself to go back, but I wanted no part of it. "I was just going through the motions. It took a long time to get our heads back there, but wed played in a lot of provincials before and we knew going into the trials that it was something wed have to transition to. It wasnt easy, but we did a good enough job to pull off the win there." Once she got her Manitoba team jacket and got to Montreal, she was thrilled to finally have a chance to represent her province at the Scotties. On the team website, Carey describes herself as "Unemployed, AKA Starving Curler." She worked as a sales representative for a mattress company for six years, but was finally told to choose between curling and her job. "It was the year of the trials and Im not going to pick that job over curling," she said. "My initial thought was to get a new job, but with trials in December its hard to start a new job and say I need six weeks of holidays. "Ive been unemployed since then. It will have to change after this because I cant pay my bills." Manitobas win over Quebec had some wondering if curling needs a mercy rule. It was Quebecs worst beating since a 13-1 setback to Alberta in 1991. A rule obliges teams to play at least eight ends no matter how badly theyre trailing. "Im not so sure I believe in the eight-end rule," said Manitobas McDonald. "If things arent going well, the other team should be able to get out when they feel its time. "Theyre a good team. Theyre much better than that. But theyre just having a tough go. When things go sour, they go sour." Ross had plenty of support among the 1,790 spectators at the Maurice Richard Arena, but her squad has been off the target consistently all week. She was also missing second Brittany ORourke to the flu bug that has sidelined several players and officials during the week. "Todays game was tough for sure," said Ross, whose team also lost 6-5 to B.C. in the morning draw. "We didnt play well at all." Flaxey turned around what had been a dismal week with her win over Alberta. Ontario held off a charge that saw Alberta score two in the ninth end. She took out Sweetings stone on the button in the 10th to prevent a steal and secure the victory. "We havent been playing as well as we could have all week," said Flaxey, the 2001 Manitoba junior champion now based out of Listowel, Ont. "To show that we are a good, solid team and that we belong with the favourites and can play with the favourites, it shows people why were here." Ontario is all but eliminated from playoff contention, but can still play the role of spoiler with three round-robin games remaining, including a match Thursday afternoon with Manitoba. "Its all we have left so youve got to love doing it," said Flaxey. "Weve got a couple of tough ones left and hopefully we can at least shake things up." The afternoon draw saw Homan put up a 7-3 victory over British Columbia (5-4). Homan has a shot at being the first skip to go undefeated in the tournament since B.C.s Linda Moore in 1985. Jennifer Jones went undefeated in the round robin last year but lost to Homan in the final. "Im confident we can win the rest of our games," said Homan. "You have to be confident in your abilities. "You put in the practice and the hours and the work. I believe 100 per cent in our team. Were in a good spot now and we have to keep playing the way were playing." Lawton downed Newfoundlands Heather Strong (4-4) by 7-3. Other early matches saw Alberta top Newfoundland 9-5, New Brunswick beat P.E.I. 9-6 and Nova Scotia down Yukon 7-3. Discount Shoes Online . Adam LaRoche will take that. "I like our position in the standings and I like how our team is playing," LaRoche said after Washington swept a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs on Saturday. Cheap Shoes Websites .C. -- Marcus Paige and his North Carolina teammates have endured so many wild swings -- big wins, surprising losses, NCAA drama -- that no one can blame their Hall of Fame coach for wondering whats next. http://www.discountshoescheap.com/ . Virtanen opened the scoring at 6:45 of the first period, then gave Canada a two-goal lead with a power-play goal 1:03 into the second. Sweden cut the lead in half when Daniel Muzito Bagenda scored a power-play goal at 10:57 of the second. Cheap Shoes USA . Seriously. Seven years of losing has brought many different faces, players and management, to the annual pre-season get-to-know-the-team round up. Cheap Shoes Free Shipping . The light-heavyweight champion and number one ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world is on an 11-fight UFC winning streak, the longest in the history of the weight class. NEW YORK -- Dimitri Patterson went from likely starting cornerback for the New York Jets to being out of a job -- all in the span of one bizarre week. The Jets released Patterson on Saturday, capping a strange stretch that included an unexcused absence, accusations from both the cornerback and the team, and a suspension. The move came as the Jets got down to the mandatory 53-player roster limit. Also among the teams 21 cuts were wide receiver Stephen Hill, running backs Daryl Richardson and Alex Green, and quarterbacks Matt Simms and Tajh Boyd. The Jets also placed linebacker Antwan Barnes on the reserve-physically unable to perform list as he continues to recover from a knee injury suffered last season. Barnes could begin practicing Oct. 14, with the possibility of being activated within the following three weeks. Patterson was suspended Tuesday for the rest of the preseason after he left the team, according to the Jets, and went missing before the preseason game against the Giants on Aug. 22 without speaking to anyone in the organization. The team said Patterson was at meetings, a walkthrough and the pregame meal, but didnt show for the game at MetLife Stadium. General manager John Idzik said Patterson gave the Jets no warning he would leave the team, and didnt speak to anyone directly until he met with Idzik and coach Rex Ryan two days later at the training facility. Idzik also said he learned Patterson was OK only last Saturday through agent Drew Rosenhaus. But in a statement to ESPN on Thursday, Patterson said the Jets claims that he went missing for 48 hours without notifying the team were "completely false." Patterson said Rosenhaus contacted the Jets "multiple times several hours prior to Friday nights game." The 31-year-old Patterson was expected to start opposite Dee Milliner, who is recovering from a high ankle sprain, after signing with the Jets in April. He dealt with a few leg ailments throughout training camp, and played only in the preseason opener. Patterson was eligible to rejoin the team on Monday, but the Jets decided to cut ties.dddddddddddd There was some speculation that Patterson was disappointed with his standing on the Jets depth chart, but he denied that in his statement, saying it was "totally and completely false." But neither Patterson nor the Jets have revealed the reasons for his absence. The move to part ways with Hill wasnt a major surprise after the 2012 second-round draft pick had two seasons marked by injuries and inconsistent play. Hill was a raw receiver when he came out of Georgia Tech, which ran a heavy run-first offence, but the Jets were high on his speed and athleticism. They traded up in the second round to draft Hill, but he finished with 45 catches for 594 yards and four touchdowns in two seasons -- ending both on injured reserve. "Im disappointed in Idzik and Rex with the way the whole thing went down there," agent Alan Herman told USA Today. "Two years in that kind of situation is disheartening. He didnt have a chance that first year with that whole Tim Tebow-Mark Sanchez fiasco. His second year, Geno Smith was learning how to play quarterback. So they never threw the ball deep because they wanted to simplify things for Geno." The cuts of both Richardson and Green came after Ryan acknowledged the Jets could go with four running backs. It appears the Jets will go into the season with the trio of Chris Johnson, Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell in the backfield. With Simms and Boyd both let go, New York will have just two quarterbacks on the roster: Smith and Michael Vick. Also released were: wide receiver Clyde Gates, linebackers Garrett McIntyre, Troy Davis and A.J. Edds, tight end Chris Pantale, defensive linemen Tevita Finau, Kerry Hyder and Zach Thompson, guards Will Campbell and Caleb Schlauderaff, offensive tackle Brent Qvale, cornerbacks Brandon Dixon, Johnny Patrick and Jeremy Reeves, and safety Rontez Miles. ' ' '