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CANADA’S IVAN BABIKOV IS KING OF THE MOUNTAIN AFTER WINNING GOLD IN PURSUIT RACE AT TOUR DE SKI

VAL DI FIEMME, Ita.—Canada’s Ivan Babikov saved his best for last, winning the gold medal at the seventh and final stage of the nine-day Tour de Ski – an 11-kilometre pursuit race in Val di Fiemme, Italy on Sunday.

In one of the most difficult races on a cross-country skiers schedule that ends with a 425-metre climb to the finish line at the top of Alpe Cermis, Babikov fought off the world’s best skiers and sickness that has disrupted the momentum of the Canadian team to win his first ever World Cup race. Babikov clocked a winning time of 33 minutes 51.2 seconds.

(Read the full post about ‘CANADA’S IVAN BABIKOV IS KING OF THE MOUNTAIN AFTER WINNING GOLD IN PURSUIT RACE AT TOUR DE SKI’…)

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SARA RENNER LEADS CANADIAN CHARGE WITH TWELFTH-PLACE FINISH AT TOUR DE SKI

VAL DI FIEMME, Ita.—With the finish line of the ultimate endurance test in sight, Sara Renner continues to hold a firm grip on 12th spot overall at the Tour de Ski after finishing in the same position in a women’s 10-kilometre classic race in Val di Fiemme, Italy on Saturday.

The 32-year-old Renner, who has been one of Canada’s most consistent athletes in the seven-race journey held over nine days in three countries, clocked a 12th-place time of 30 minutes 58.9 seconds in the sixth stage.

“Getting into the top-10 here was my goal and I am just so close to that so I am very happy,” said Renner earlier in the week.

(Read the full post about ‘SARA RENNER LEADS CANADIAN CHARGE WITH TWELFTH-PLACE FINISH AT TOUR DE SKI’…)

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DAVE NIGHBOR AND MADELEINE WILLIAMS HEAT UP CANMORE NORDIC CENTRE WITH GOLDEN PERFORMANCES AT HAYWOOD NORAM RACES

CANMORE, Alta.—Dave Nighbor and Madeleine Williams turned up the heat on a chilly afternoon at the Canmore Nordic Centre, winning the men’s and women’s individual start races at the Haywood NorAm Race Series on Sunday.

With a conservative game plan heading to the start line of one of the most difficult courses in the country, the 24-year-old Nighbor posted the fastest opening split time and held down the throttle to the finish line in the men’s 15-kilometre skate race where he stopped the clock at 36 minutes 01.0 seconds.

(Read the full post about ‘DAVE NIGHBOR AND MADELEINE WILLIAMS HEAT UP CANMORE NORDIC CENTRE WITH GOLDEN PERFORMANCES AT HAYWOOD NORAM RACES’…)

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Hot start for DC men’s volleyball at the Fleming Invitational

Men’s Volleyball: Durham defeated Fleming

Peterborough, Ont. – It was a great start to 2009 for the Durham Lords men’s volleyball team as they opened up round robin play at the Fleming Invitational with a convincing win over the hosting Fleming Knights.

The Lords will look to continue their winning ways in Pool A action on Saturday as they take on the Sheridan Bruins (9 a.m.) and Nipissing Lakers (12 p.m.) at the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the semi-finals later that evening.

(Read the full post about ‘Hot start for DC men’s volleyball at the Fleming Invitational’…)

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GAGNON STARTS 2009 WITH NOR-AM SLALOM WIN AT CRAIGLEITH

COLLINGWOOD, ON (January 3, 2009) – Marie-Michèle Gagnon (Lac-Etchemin, QC) won today’s Northwest Funds Coupe Nor-Am Cup slalom at Craigleith Ski Club near Collingwood, ON, to capture the first Nor-Am slalom win of her career.

Gagnon finishined in a two-run combined time of one minute 30.59 seconds to win the first Coupe Nor-Am Cup event of the 2009 calendar year. Canadian development team skier Eve Routhier (Sherbrooke, QC) finished second, 0.2s back of Gagnon’s time with American Julia Ford placing third.

“Today I skied two good runs in a row.

(Read the full post about ‘GAGNON STARTS 2009 WITH NOR-AM SLALOM WIN AT CRAIGLEITH’…)

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Marat Safin showing up in Australia with black eyes after getting his ass kicked (or winning a barfight?); Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams still injured; Pete Sampras saying the U.S. could be in for a long talent drought at the top. Welcome to the 2009 tennis season:

Qatar ExxonMobile Open 2009
DOHA, Qatar
Surface: Hard

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick go from collecting bank at the Abu Dhabi exhibition to making real green this week as the top three under-the-table appearance-money gatherers in Doha, where Murray is the defending champ.

(Read the full post about ‘Tennis-X Previews: Safin Beat Up, Doha Brings Big Guns’…)

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Hartlepool celebrate Michael Nelson’s opener. FOREST AND POOLS OUST TOP-FLIGHT PAIR
Nottingham Forest caused one of the upsets of the FA Cup third round with a 3-0 win over Barclays Premier League opponents Manchester City, heaping further pressure on Blues boss Mark Hughes. The Coca-Cola Championship side spoiled what was supposed to be a day of celebration for City, who had unveiled new signing Wayne Bridge on the pitch before kick-off, when they stunned their hosts with two goals in four minutes as half-time approached. Nathan Tyson struck first after 38 minutes with a thunderous volley from 25 yards and Robert Earnshaw made no mistake from close range for the second. (Read the full post about ‘FOREST AND POOLS OUST TOP-FLIGHT PAIR’…)

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Whitlock - into round two. WHITLOCK FOCUSED ON LAKESIDE SUCCESS
Simon Whitlock declared his intention to go one better than last year after cruising into the second round of the BDO World Championships at Lakeside. The Australian bricklayer, who lost to Welshman Mark Webster in the final 12 months ago, demolished Scottish debutant Mark Barilli 3-0 in only 23 minutes. Whitlock told www.lakesideworlddarts.com: “I feel a lot more confident this year after finishing runner-up last year but hope this week to go one better. I learn every time I go up on stage - Lakeside is definitely the place to be.” Top seed Gary Anderson survived a major scare to scrape past Norwegian Robert Wagner 3-2. (Read the full post about ‘WHITLOCK FOCUSED ON LAKESIDE SUCCESS’…)

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It’s a pretty impressive opening week on the ATP circuit with seven of the Top 8 players all lacing it up. In Doha, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal joins No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 4 Andy Murray and No. 8 Andy Roddick in the best event of the week.

Nadal opens his official 2009 campaign against Fabrice Santoro who I thought had retired.

(Read the full post about ‘Nadal, Federer Lead 7 of Top 8 as ATP Season Begins’…)

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