SAINT JOHN, N. Jon Bostic Jersey .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan opened the Ford Womens World Curling Championship with a 7-5 win over Russia on Saturday. The skip and her teammates know properly managing sleep, diet, stress and downtime for another eight days will keep those wins coming. Homan, third Emma Miskew and front end Alison Kreviazuk and Lisa Weagle have played in enough national and international events to know their off-ice schedule impacts the on-ice performance, particularly in the important games at the end of the tournament. The Canadians will sleep as much as they can and eat at pre-scouted establishments that serve healthy food. When they need to mentally "check out", the Ottawa Curling Club foursome will play cards or "Heads Up", which is a game app popularized by Ellen DeGeneres. In short, winning a world title is a marathon and not a sprint. "We make sure were trying to keep it as loose as possible when were not on the ice because its pretty stressful out there wearing the Maple Leaf," Homan said. "We want to be as stress-free as possible when were not playing." For Homan, that means going to the gym a couple of times during the tournament. Miskew doesnt love napping, but she knows its important to lay down, put her feet up and close her eyes for awhile, particularly on a day when Canada plays morning and evening draws and not in the afternoon. Thats Canadas schedule Sunday when the host team faces the Czech Republic in the morning draw and the United States in the evening. Those days are the toughest when it comes to eating at the right time of the day. "The eating schedule is challenging because you eat in the morning, have a game and youre starving to eat a big lunch," Miskew explains. "Youre not really hungry before your next game, but an end or two in youre starving. You almost have to force yourself to eat before the game so youre not dying during the game." Canada had a kind opening-day schedule in Saint John with one game in the afternoon draw. Homan had hammer coming home with the score tied 5-5. She didnt have to throw her last stone because Russian skip Anna Sidorova was heavy with a draw. Latvias Evita Regza, South Koreas Ji-Sun Kim and Swedens Margaretha Sigfridsson also opened with wins, while Scotlands Kerry Barr, Denmarks Madeleine Dupont and Anna Kubeskova of the Czech Republic joined Russia at 0-1. Canadas average age is 25.5 and the Russians are even younger at 23.5. Sidorova, vice-skip Margarita Fomina and front end Alexandra Saitova and Ekaterina Galkina went 3-6 at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Sidorova, 25, is making her fifth straight appearance at a world championship and her third as a skip. Russia was scheduled to arrive in Saint John on Thursday, but they were delayed until Friday because of winter storms that wreaked havoc on air travel midweek. The Canada-Russia opener wasnt a classic as both teams made mistakes. But when Canada made a costly error, Russia let them off the hook with one of their own. "I cant say were really tired," Sidorova said. "Were ready to play. We still want to win. "We need to be much better than the others. Thats probably the goal this week and hopefully we will (be). The game was pretty tight, but in the end, they were just better than us." Miskews shooting percentage was 90 per cent compared to Fominas 78. Homan outcurled Sidorova 89 to 66 per cent. Saitova at 78 per cent and Galkina at 91 outcurled Kreviazuk and Weagle both at 71. Kreviazuk missed shots in the fifth and seventh ends, but Russia handed momentum right back with lethal errors. Canada scored two points in those ends to lead 5-3. "Its the first game so youre not going to know the ice perfectly," Homan said. "A couple of spots were learning and a few misses here and there, not because were throwing badly, just because were learning the ice." Russia countered with two in the ninth to tie it up. Homans double takeout that end limited damage from Miskew miscue. Another double from the Canadian skip in the eighth erased Russias chance to score two and forced Sidorova to blank the end. Homan was pleased to start the tournament with a win in front of 2,848 at Harbour Station, which seats 6,000 for curling this week. "It wouldnt have been fun to lose that one with everyone coming out to cheer us on," the 24-year-old Canadian skip said. "Im glad we got the win under our belts. Now weve got the night off to have some dinner with friends and family and re-group for tomorrow." Homan and company won the bronze medal at last years world womens championship in Riga, Latvia. Their reward for a 13-0 record at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Montreal was a return trip to the world championship and in their own country this time. The Jennifer Jones team from Winnipeg went undefeated in Sochi to claim gold for Canada. Edmontons Kelsey Rocque won the world junior title earlier this month in Switzerland. Homan wants to continue the domination of Canadian women on the world stage. The last Canadian team to win a womens world curling title was Jones in 2008 in Vernon, B.C. Kelly Scott (2007) and Colleen Jones (2004) earned Canadas other world womens titles in the last decade. Joe Haden Steelers Jersey . -- Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton will be sidelined for at least two weeks because of a strained calf muscle, and pitcher C. Sean Davis Jersey .Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Customized/ . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate). TORONTO -- CFL president Michael Copeland says the ongoing labour dispute between the league and its players could prevent the regular season from starting on time. The 2014 campaign is scheduled to open June 26. But the league and CFL Players Association are at an impasse and a potential players strike threatens the season starting as planned. "Of course theres concern (about regular season starting as scheduled)," Copeland, who is also the leagues COO, said Monday. "I dont think we could be at this point in training camp and not be concerned. "But at the same time Id say Im hopeful because I believe in the strength of our offer. I think when the players have some more time with it, theyll realize its good for them to. Im hoping that can be basis of an agreement." CFLPA president Scott Flory didnt return two telephone messages Monday. The two sides havent met since Thursday. Copeland said no new talks were scheduled as of Monday afternoon. However, according to TSN, the CFLPA tabled a new four-year offer late Monday that was rejected by the league. The proposal reduced its salary cap demand from $5.8 million to $5.2 million, TSN said. The players also reportedly amended their revenue protection clause where it would have the right to renegotiate the cap in league revenues increased by $12 million in the third year of the deal. The players increased that figure to $18 million, according to TSN. The CFL and players met for more than 17 hours over two days last week. Both the union and the league tabled offers that were rejected by the other side. Training camps opened as scheduled Sunday but a players strike remains a strong possibility. Strike ballots have already been sent out but due to Alberta labour laws, the players wont be able to strike en masse until next week. Copeland said the league would welcome the resumption of talks as long as the "best and final offer" the CFL presented last week was the basis for discussion. "As we said to the executive, were certainly not closed to talking but it has to be talk thats within the parameters of the proposed agreement that we put on the table," Copeland said. &"By all means, if the PA executive wants to dig into that a little bit deeper, wants clarification of certain aspects of it, wants to make suggestions based on the framework of that offer then were open to listening to them. James Washington Steelers Jersey. ." In its most recent proposal, the players association called for a $5.8-million salary cap increasing three per cent annually with a $4.8-million minimum. That was down from its original demand of a $6.24-million ceiling and $5.84-million floor. Last year, the CFL operated with a $4.4-million cap. The union also wants a $15,000 ratification bonus for veterans and just one weekly padded practice during the season while maintaining its original position on pre-season and playoff compensation as well as pensions. It would like the elimination of the option year from CFL contracts, except for new players, and independent neurologists on the sidelines during games. The leagues offer calls for a $5-million salary cap (up from $4.8 million) and boosts the average player salary to $96,000 (up from $92,917 in its original offer). It also calls for ratification bonuses of $5,000 for veterans and $1,500 for rookies. The CFL contends the players salary cap proposal excludes benefits, pensions, pre-season and post-season monies as well as ratification bonuses. If those are included, the league argues, the cap would be well more than $6 million in the first year and result in six of the nine teams losing money. The CFLPA has also amended its stance on revenue sharing. Instead of wanting specific percentages of gross revenues, sponsorships and gate money, the players proposed allowing for a fixed cap for at least two years. After the second, if league revenues increased by more than $12 million -- excluding the Grey Cup -- the two sides would renegotiate the cap or the CBA would be terminated at seasons end. Under the leagues proposal, the salary cap would be renegotiated if its revenues increased by $27 million or more in the third year of the deal. "We want to get a deal done, we want to be in camp without this being a topic of conversation," said Copeland. "We want to focus on football." 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