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Regina, SK (SportsNetwork.com) - The hottest team in the CFL coming out of the gate in 2013 finds itself competing in the West Division Semifinals on Sunday afternoon, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders entertain the British Columbia Lions at Mosaic Stadium. Catch the game on TSN starting at 4pm et/1pm pt. Saskatchewan kicked off the campaign with five straight victories and wins in eight of its first nine games, but then the Riders hit more than a few stumbling blocks which included a four-game slide and back-to-back defeats to close out the regular season, which is why they are playing this weekend and not enjoying added time to prepare for the division final. The Lions, who were immediately in chase mode as they tried to catch up to Saskatchewan, managed to produce a couple of three-game win streaks this year and also posted consecutive triumphs in the final weeks in order to match the Riders record overall. The Lions will be without MLB Solomon Elimimian, who did not make the trip with a leg injury. Last season, BC was the clear-cut, regular-season leader with a 13-5 record, winning the West Division by a game over Calgary, while the Roughriders finished two games below .500, but because the bottom teams in the East Division were worse than the rest of the teams in the league, Saskatchewan was given entrance into the postseason where it bowed to the Stampeders in the semifinals by a score of 36-30. With Calgary advancing to the division finals in 2012, the Lions ended up having their hands full and eventually suffered a 34-29 loss at home. With regard to success in the playoffs over the years, more specifically each teams response to playing in the Grey Cup, the Roughriders have had the worst luck of any active club in that title tilt over the years. Saskatchewan has appeared in a total of 18 Grey Cups, but taken home the prestigious trophy a mere three times. The last of those championships came in 2007 when the team topped Winnipeg at Rogers Centre, 23-19. Saskatchewan has appeared in the championship game two times since winning it all, but in 2009 the Riders suffered a narrow 28-27 setback to Montreal and then a year later it was the same story versus the Alouettes, this time being a 21-18 final. British Columbia has appeared in the fewest Grey Cup Championships of any of the current eight league members, only 10, but still the Lions have twice as many trophies as the Roughriders. It was just two years ago that the Lions posted a 34-23 win over Winnipeg in their home stadium, BC Place. This year the challenge might be a bit bigger for the Lions, seeing as how they fielded their third different starting quarterback of the season in their final outing, a 26-7 victory over visiting Calgary on Nov. 1. In that contest, Buck Pierce took the field for the Lions, although so did Thomas DeMarco and Travis Lulay, even though there really was nothing left to play for with the playoff picture already set. Lulay will get the start against the Roughriders. While there was some uncertainty at quarterback for the Lions this season, it shouldnt come as much of a surprise to find that the squad ranked next-to- last in the league with just 4,408 passing yards and produced an efficiency rating of 88.4. Over on the other side, Darian Durant was one of the most reliable passers as far as durability was concerned, starting all but two games, one of which was the season finale. Durant may have had some trouble with overall accuracy at times, but in the final tally he still led the league with 31 passing TDs, against just 12 INTs. In addition to having a solid passer orchestrating the offense for the Riders, the defense was also something to behold as it led the league in points allowed at 22.1 ppg. In terms of their matchups during the 2013 regular season, these teams played a total of three times, all within a span of just five weeks between Sept. 22 and Oct. 19, with the Roughriders posting back-to-back victories after dropping the first encounter by a mere two points, 24-22. The latest triumph was a lopsided 35-14 final at home for a Saskatchewan team that scored 21 points in the second quarter and 31 in the first half in order to pull away for the comfortable victory. The team that survives this battle will be back in action next week against Calgary in the West Division Finals, for the right to take part in the 101st Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium later this month. James Wilson Jersey . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Mens Zlatan Ibrahimovic Manchester United Jersey . 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VAL DISERE, France -- Lindsey Vonn felt her injured right knee give way, and for a moment it looked like her chances for another Olympic gold might be in jeopardy again. Vonn had another scary moment at Saturdays World Cup downhill in Val dIsere, ending up clutching her knee in pain after losing her balance and missing a gate. But she gave a reassuring answer shortly afterward, saying no new damage had been done to the surgically repaired knee, and that her plans for the Sochi Olympics were still intact. "I didnt hurt myself more than Im already hurt," said Vonn, the reigning Olympic downhill champion. "It was a small compression, and it was fully loaded on the right ski and my knee just completely gave out. I tried to pressure the ski again and it gave out again. I had no chance of making that gate, unfortunately." With boyfriend Tiger Woods watching from the bottom of the slope, Vonn skied out after her left ski came up in the air, putting all her weight on the troublesome right leg. The American was clearly distressed after pulling up and looked close to tears as she clutched her knee. Vonn needed surgery in February to reconstruct two knee ligaments after a crash at the world championships, and then partially re-tore one of them in November. She said she will now give herself plenty of rest and expects to race again "probably sometime in January" as she follows a light program before the Olympics. "As much as time as I can give myself to really get as strong as I can, like I said, one maybe two races before the Olympics. Thats it," Vonn said. "Im going to play it safe and race minimal races, so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again. Im really going to be safe and smart as I can." Woods accompanied Vonn to a World Cup race for the first time, wearing light blue jeans, a ski coat, grey ski hat and dark glasses as he stood in the finish area and watched one racer after another go down. "Hes very supportive and its very fun to have him. This is his first World Cup and I think he enjoyed it," Vonn said. "I think he was a little bit more nervous because of my knee. Hes worried about me but hes happy to be here and Im happy to have him." Schedule permitting, shed like for Woods to come watch her in Sochi as well. "Yeah. I love having him around and the more races he can come to the better," Vonn said. "But Im not racing that much this year, unfortunately, so you probably wont see both of us around very much.&quoot; With his hands stuffed in his pockets, golfs 14-time major champion waited patiently for Vonn, who was the 19th starter.dddddddddddd Shortly after Vonn went out, Woods walked away from the finish area as camera crews scrambled to keep up with him. "Just having someone supporting you, always makes me feel better," Vonn said. "I didnt feel any pressure, I had two really good training runs and I felt really confident today and Im just disappointed that my knee didnt hold up like I thought it would." Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden of Switzerland won the race for her first career victory, and was also delighted to see Woods there. "Its good for our sport," she said. "Its perfect when we have a lot of prominent people in the finish area." Defending overall champion Tina Maze, who finished second, was surprised when Woods showed up at Fridays pre-race draw. "I noticed that everyone was taking pictures. Then I realized that Tiger was here," she said. "It didnt bring Lindsey much luck today. I feel sorry for her that she didnt finish but I hope she will be back soon. I managed to speak to her, a few words in the finish area. I think in the sport people really respect each other and I have respect for both of them." Vonn has five World Cup wins in Val dIsere and also won two golds at the 2009 world championships -- but those victories all came on two good knees. Earlier this month, the 29-year-old American raced for the first time in 10 months. Still, she was buoyant after finishing only 0.04 seconds behind Dominique Gisin of Switzerland in Thursdays second training run. "The thing is I have no ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). So unless I get surgery theres nothing really magical that I can do thats going to make it better," she said. "I just can get my leg stronger, my muscle stronger and try and support it a little more. But that has a small impact. My knee is loose and its not stable and thats the way its going to be from here on out. I just have to get used to it." She did not regret her decision to race at Val dIsere, one of the most technically demanding slopes on the circuit. "I think Val dIsere was a good place for me to come back to. Im skiing well, so going forward I definitely have a lot more confidence," she said. "My goal is the Olympics, so Im not winning any World Cups this year, any titles. As long as Im skiing well and have confidence, thats all I really need." Having Woods around might help, too. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China ' ' '
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