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Here are our top stories:
OLYMPICS
Three Canadian team members in COVID-19 protocol
OLY-Canada-COVID
BEIJING -- Three members of the Canadian team in Beijing were in COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday, the Canadian Olympic Committee said. The 414-member Canadian delegation includes athletes, coaches and team staff. The trio of Canadians are impeded in "their ability to fulfil their role at Games," the COC said in a statement. 173 words. MOVED.
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Indigenous-led 2030 Olympic bid takes next step
OLY-Vancouver-2030
VANCOUVER -- An Indigenous-led partnership has taken the next step in exploring a potential bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The agreement announced Tuesday between four First Nations, the City of Vancouver, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, The Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee will include a feasibility assessment and initial concept development to bring the Games back to the Vancouver area. 265 words, PHOTO. MOVED.
SOCCER
Canada looks to keep winning in World Cup qualification
SOC-Canada-Men
UNDATED — Canada looks to extend its unbeaten run in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying when it visits El Salvador on Wednesday. A win combined with other results could see the Canadian men qualify for Qatar 2022. A more likely scenario Wednesday would see Canada assure itself of at least a fourth-place finish, which means a shot at Qatar via an intercontinental playoff at the very minimum. 700 words. By Neil Davidson. PHOTO. MOVED.
FOOTBALL
Canadian Rourke feels he's ready to be a CFL starter
FBO-CFL-Lions-Rourke
UNDATED -- He'll miss Michael Reilly's wit and football acumen but Nathan Rourke feels he's ready to be the B.C. Lions starting quarterback. The 23-year-old Victoria native became B.C.'s starter last week after Reilly retired following 11 CFL seasons. 800 words. By Dan Ralph. PHOTO. MOVED.
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Tom Brady has retired after 22 seasons, 7 Super Bowl titles
FBN-Brady-Retires
TAMPA, Fla. -- Tom Brady has retired after winning seven Super Bowls and setting numerous passing records in an unprecedented 22-year-career. He made the announcement in a long post on Instagram. Brady has long stated his desire to spend more time with his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, and three children despite still playing at the top of his game. The 44-year-old Brady goes out after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title last season and NFC South championship this season. 950 words. MOVED. Via AP.
CURLING
Carey, Miskew on playoff bubble at Scotties
CUR-Scotties
UNDATED -- The wild card teams skipped by Chelsea Carey and Emma Miskew were looking for wins Tuesday to stay in the hunt for a Pool B playoff spot at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The top three teams from each of the two pools advance to the playoffs. 800 Words. By Jim Morris. Moves after afternoon draw. Short item on morning draw moved.
COMING LATER
HOCKEY: Toronto at New Jersey, 7 p.m. (AP); Winnipeg at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. (AP); Ottawa at NY Islanders, 7:30 p.m. (AP); Vancouver at Nashville, 8 p.m. (AP)
BASKETBALL: Miami at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. (CP - Steven Loung)
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FOR OLYMPIC PREMIUM SUBSCRIBERS
Injury gives Brittany Phelan perspective
OLY-Skicross-Women
BEIJING - Canadian skicross racer Brittany Phelan has learned a lot about herself in the past four years. The product of Mt-Tremblant, Que., won silver at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and felt like she was primed for more heading into the Beijing Games. However, she suffered a devastating knee injury in February 2020 in Megève, France, when she overshot a jump and landed on one leg, blowing out her knee. 560 words. By John Chidley-Hill. PHOTO. MOVED
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The Canadian Press projects 26 medals, including eight gold for Canada in Beijing
OLY-Canada-Medal-Predictions
UNDATED – The Canadian Press predicts 26 medals for Canada's team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing with a breakdown of eight gold, eight silver and 10 bronze. CP forecasted 29 medals (9 gold, 10 silver, 10 bronze) for 2018. 630 words. By Donna Spencer. PHOTO. MOVED.
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Canada primed to perform in Beijing's locked-down Winter Games, say COC and OTP
OLY-MAIN-ADVANCE
Will Canada's caution around COVID-19 be a competitive advantage in Beijing? Safety first, sport second has been a mantra in Canada's high-performance community during the pandemic. Athletes wearing the Maple Leaf in the 2022 Winter Olympics have watched many of their international competitors train and compete with fewer restrictions on them. Canadian athletes entering the confines of Beijing's "closed loop" are thus more mentally and emotionally prepared for those limitations than their rivals, is the contention of the Canadian Olympic Committee and Own The Podium. "The team is used to being in lockdown, they're used to these measures of tight control, they're used to a closed-loop environment, it's like old hat for them," OTP head Anne Merklinger said. "They know they can be successful. They know they can do this." 1000 words. By Donna Spencer. PHOTO. MOVED.
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Hazmat Suits, Sleep Pods and Robot Bartenders: Beijing Olympic bubble life is unique
OLY-Beijing-Scene
BEIJING - It was clear upon arrival at Beijing Capital Airport that the 2022 Winter Olympics would be a Games unlike any other. Travel-weary scribes barely had their seatbelts off before workers in hazmat-style isolation suits started inspecting the exterior of the plane. Ultra-strict COVID-19 measures were in effect indoors as well in the "closed loop" that will keep Olympic-related personnel, media and athletes confined to a bubble for the Feb. 4-20 Games. 516 words. By Gregory Strong. PHOTO. MOVED.
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Snow struggles and temperature troubles: climate change could impact future Olympics
OLY-Climate-Change
An international research team led by Scott published findings of its study last month, suggesting that if global emissions of greenhouse gases are not dramatically reduced, only one of the 21 previous Winter Games sites — Sapporo, Japan — would be able to safely and viably host another Olympics by the end of this century. Among those that wouldn't make the cut: Vancouver, which is eyeing a potential 2030 bid, and Calgary, home of the 1988 Games. 860 words. By Melissa Couto Zuber. PHOTO. MOVED.
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Breakfast in mountain zone a sanitary experience
OLY-Buzz-Breakfast-Buffet
ZHANGJIAKOU - Breakfast buffets aren't what the average Canadian would expect in the mountain zone of the Beijing Olympics. Games officials, technical staff, and journalists all dine together within the secured closed loop designed to keep COVID-19 away from athletes. Diners are warmly greeted by volunteers when arriving at the buffet hall and asked to sanitize their hands with alcohol. They're then handed disposable plastic gloves to wear when walking in the common areas of the dining room and when dishing out their meals. 150 words. MOVED.
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Beijing Olympics offering a taste of the bizarre
OLY-Strange-Olympics
The opening ceremony may be days away, but it's already clear that covering the 2022 Beijing Olympics will be unlike anything even the most seasoned sports reporter has experienced. Robots mixing drinks and serving up wontons, cabins the size of large closets in the press centre offering hour-long power naps and airport staff in hazmat suits are some of the unique sights at the Beijing Games, which has athletes, staff and media separated from the public in a "closed loop" to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 282 words. MOVED. PHOTO.
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Five things to watch in Beijing on Thursday
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They may not officially begin until the day after, but the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will be well underway Thursday with six different events in action, including the kick-off to the Canadian women’s hockey team’s tournament. 470 words. MOVED. PHOTO.
FROM AP:
BBO--LOCKOUT
NEW YORK — Talks to end the Major League Baseball lockout resume after a one-week break as the scheduled start of spring training in mid-February nears, By Baseball Writer Ronald Blum UPCOMNG: 600 words, photos by 6 p.m.
COMMENTARY
FBN--JIM LITKE-BRADY RETIRES
The smart ones retire while people are still lining up to see them play. Tom Brady was even smarter than that. He was so good for so long that the toughest decision of his own career was easy for everybody else. By Sports Columnist Jim Litke. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 5 p.m.
GLF--ON THE FRINGE-SAUDI AND PEBBLE
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Assuming everyone plays by the rules, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am figures to be loaded with some of the biggest names in golf. Just not this year. By Golf Writer Doug Ferguson. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 2 p.m. With GLF--Golf Notes (Upcoming) and GLF--Golf Glance (Upcoming).
FBN--BEHIND THE CALL
The Kansas City Chiefs were so tantalizingly close to the end zone and a third consecutive trip to the Super Bowl that they clean forgot the lessons imparted just two months ago by their division rivals. By Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton. SENT, 1,000 words, photos.
NOTABLE
BKN--NETS-SUNS
PHOENIX — Chris Paul and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns try to win their 11th straight game against the Brooklyn Nets. By David Brandt. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos. Game starts 10 p.m.
BKN--76ERS-EMBIID'S RISE
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid is putting his stamp on the 76ers season and positioning himself as an NBA MVP candidate. Without Ben Simmons, Embiiid has been asked to carry the Sixers. How far can he take them alone? By Dan Gelston. SENT: 800 words, photos.
FBN--LA SUPER BOWLS--1973
It can be argued — and has been for decades — that a perfect record including winning a championship makes that team the best in its sport. Maybe. And maybe the 1972 Miami Dolphins wouldn't have matched up with, say, the great Steelers dynasty of the later 1970s. Or the dominant 49ers of the 1980s. Or the Cowboys Triplets of the 1990s. And, naturally, the 2007 Patriots who won all 16 regular-season games and two in the playoffs before falling to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. No matter: Miami owns the only unblemished record in the Super Bowl era. By Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 3 p.m.
FBN--SUPER BOWL-WHITWORTH
LOS ANGELES — Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth will appear in his second Super Bowl. But if he wants to win his first championship, he will have to do it against the Cincinnati Bengals, the team that drafted him and his home for 11 seasons. By Joe Reedy. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos by 4 p.m.
BKC--T25-ALABAMA-AUBURN
AUBURN, Ala. — No. 1 Auburn, winner of 17 straight games, hosts in-state rival Alabama, which is coming off a win over then-No. 4 Baylor. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Game starts 9 p.m.
FBC--SENIOR BOWL-HBCU PROSPECTS
Javon Frazier and other HBCU players have something to prove in 2022, and more opportunity to prove it. Nearly a year after none of their peers were selected in the NFL draft, Virginia State's Frazier and other products of historically black colleges and universities participated in the first HBCU combine ahead of the Senior Bowl over the weekend. By John Zenor. UPCOMING: 600 words by 6 p.m.
SOC--WCUP-US-SUBZERO SOCCER
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The temperature at kickoff in Minnesota when the U.S. men's national team takes on Honduras in a World Cup qualifier is forecast to be around zero degrees, putting the Americans' home-field advantage to a bitter cold test. By Dave Campbell. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos by 6 p.m.
OLY--VIRUS OUTBREAK-OLYMPICS
BEIJING — Athletes and team officials are testing positive for COVID-19 at much higher rates than other people arriving in China for the Beijing Olympics, organizers said. Figures released by local organizers showed 11 positive tests for COVID-19 among 379 athletes and officials arriving Monday. They have been taken into isolation hotels to limit the spread of the infection and could miss their events. By Graham Dunbar. SENT: 350 words, photos.
OLY--SKI-EXPECTATIONS FROM EVERYWHERE
Two-time Alpine skiing gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin has been thinking a lot about the stress and pressure that gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Caeleb Dressel discussed during last year's Tokyo Olympics. And Shiffrin knows that she will face similar burdens when her races at the Beijing Winter Games begin next week. By National Writer Howard Fendrich. SENT: 1,000 words, photos.
SOC--AFRICAN CUP-SOCCER UNDER SIEGE
BUEA, Cameroon — The African Cup of Nations in Cameroon sparks memories for Tiku Achale of what soccer used to be like in his hometown before the fighting and the killings. As Africa's biggest soccer tournament plays out in Cameroon, a years-long violent insurrection in western parts of the country has left the game, like everything else, under siege. By Isifu Wirfengla. SENT: 780 words, photos.
BBN--PIRATES-CALLAHAN
Caitlyn Callahan isn't interested in making history. She's doing it anyway. The 26-year-old is the first female coach in the 135-year history of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who hired her as a development coach earlier this month. By Will Graves. UPCOMING: 600 words by 6 p.m.
GLF--ASIAN TOUR-EXPANSION
Britain and the Middle East will stage Saudi-funded golf tournaments on the Asian Tour as part of a new 10-event series that marks the latest move in an increasingly bitter battle for power with the sport's two main tours. By Steve Douglas. SENT: 650 words
The Canadian Press
