(CCA) - One of the finest front-end players in curling histo

(CCA) - One of the finest front-end players in curling history has passed away. Neil Harrison, a two-time world champion with skip Ed Werenich (1983 as the lead, 1990 as the alternate), died early Monday at the age of 64. In his prime, he was one of the games best leads, and was a trailblazer for front-enders who specialized in the positions. He earned six Brier Purple Hearts, representing Ontario, and was elected to the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 1991. "Hell be greatly missed, obviously," said fellow Hall-of-Famer Russ Howard, who played against Harrison for many years in Ontario, and played two seasons with him in the late 1990s. "I truly believe he was the first of the guys in the modern era of curling to say that he was going to perfect his position. It used to be that your lead was your worst curler, where you put your weak link. But he was so good - he made a positive difference on every team he played for." Howard said Harrison, who also won 10 Canadian firefighters curling championships and was the captain of the victorious Team North America team at the 2011 WFG Continental Cup in Camrose, Alta., caught on to some of the nuances of curling, most of which are now commonplace, long before his peers "We got to a final for $40,000, and I was throwing my draws heavy all week. I had a draw to the four-foot for the win against Kerry Burtnyk," recalled Howard. "I let the rock go, and Im screaming, whoa, whoa, right off. But Neil has his head down and hes pounding it as hard as he can. Well, the thing ends up right on the button. We come off the ice to have a beer, and I say to Neil, Why were you sweeping that? I slid out heavy, and I was heavy all week, but he told me that I slid heavy, but there was no rotation on the rock, so he knew it was going to die. That was Neil; he was ahead of his time in recognizing that sort of thing." Harrison was equally in demand off the ice, said Howard with a laugh. "Nobody could hold court like Neil Harrison," he said. "He was one of those guys who everybody wanted to sit down and have a beer with." Nathan Eovaldi Jersey . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). Steven Souza Jersey . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. http://www.officialraysgearshop.com/Ray ... ds-Jersey/. The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal sustained minor damage during the protests, but demonstrators stayed away on Sunday and officials said the stadium passed its first test, with only minor adjustments needed going forward. Rob Refsnyder Jersey . In a matchup of teams battling head-to-head for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccers Western Conference, the Whitecaps run to the post-season took a hard hit when FC Dallas blew open a tie game with two goals in the final minutes for a 3-1 victory Saturday night. Custom Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys . Infante hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and had an RBI single in a four-run fifth against former teammate Justin Verlander, helping the Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 11-8 Monday night.PHILADELPHIA -- As word spread through NBA inner circles that Kansas prospect Joel Embiid suffered a foot injury, the Philadelphia 76ers wondered if his misfortune was just the break the downtrodden franchise needed. "I sniffed opportunity," Sam Hinkie, the teams president and general manager, said Friday. "The moment he got hurt, we thought we might get him. We might be just the organization with just the set of owners, and we might be the one to do it." When the 7-foot centre was available at three, the Sixers pounced, even though he could miss up to a full season because of a broken foot. The 76ers are used to big men sitting out the season. Former All-Star centre Andrew Bynum never played a second because of bad knees in 2012-13. And rookie Nerlens Noel sat out all of last season because of a torn ACL. Noel, the No. 6 overall pick out of Kentucky, was antsy to play toward the end of a 19-63 season. The Sixers refused to rush him, not wanting to risk additional injury in what was always planned as a lost -- or, tanked -- season. Embiid recovery from a stress fracture in his right foot could take five to eight months. So will the Sixers play him in another season where the Sixers are building again toward a high lottery pick instead of a post-season berth? "Guess what our approach will be," Hinkie said, smiling. "Well focus on the long-term health of the player." Embiid wont be Philadelphias only lottery pick sitting out next season. Croatian forward Dario Saric, the 10th overall pick, signed a three-year deal last week to play in Turkey. The Sixers hold the rights to the 6-foot-10, 230-pounder for the next three years, and it could be that long until he plays for Philly. By the time hes set to join the Sixers, the organization hoped a playoff berth would be within reach. Hinkie said the Noel-Embiid frontcourt will be a "menace" at the rim. Coach Brett Brown was already drawing up plays for the duo -- Xs and Os hell have plenty of time to perfect. "I do think that Joel and Nerlens can co-exist," Brown said. "I think I can find a way to play those two guys together. Its a really good problem to have.dddddddddddd" Hinkie credited Philly fans for their "patience and understanding" for another lean season where the best outcome would be a No. 1 draft pick and not a seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Outside of rookie of the year Michael Carter-Williams and veteran forward Thaddeus Young, the Sixers have few other credible players, and will likely stack the roster again with D-League castoffs and 10-day contract stopgaps. "Its not even close to demoralizing," Brown said. Brown tried his best at an optimistic spin on the seasons ahead. Knowing the security of three more years left on his contract makes it easier to wait for a project like Embiid. The versatile 7-foot Embiid had a fantastic freshman season with the Jayhawks, averaging 11.2 points and 8.1 rebounds while blocking 72 shots to earn Big 12 defensive player of the year honours. Embiid, who grew up playing soccer and volleyball, only decided to pursue basketball a few years ago. He started to blossom as a senior at The Rock School and ultimately chose to attend Kansas, where he arrived with less fanfare than fellow freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden. Embiid hurt his back while landing awkwardly during a game late in the season, and missed the Jayhawks final two regular-season games and the Big 12 tournament. He also missed a victory over Eastern Kentucky and a season-ending loss to Stanford in the NCAA tournament, after which he said that he would have been able to play had Kansas advanced to the second weekend. Hinkie said the Sixers consulted various doctors and felt confident there was little long-term risk to his health once the foot healed. Embiid was projected as Clevelands No. 1 overall pick before the draft. The honour went to Wiggins. "In this scenario, and only this scenario, does he fall to three," Hinkie said. "If he can remain healthy, he can have a fantastic, fantastic NBA career." Notes: 76ers G Jason Richardson exercised the $6.6 million player option for next season and will return. The 7-foot C Byron Mullens declined his $1.1 million option and will become a free agent. ' ' '