Red Deer Advocate from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada • 6

a A8 NHL A10 Olympic A9 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 SPORTS A6, RED DEER ADVOCATE, TIME OUT NFL checks Moore The National Football League is investigating the injury that put Detroit Lions wide receiver Herman Moore on the injured reserve list, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. Moore was placed on IR on Oct. 17 after tearing an abdominal muscle from his right hip in a loss at Minnesota on Oct. 14. "It's common for the league to bring in guys off IR to validate the injury," Lions spokesman Bill Keenist said Monday.

"It's not uncommon or unexpected." Moore has said that he could have returned this season. Moore's agent, Brad Blank, said it's routine for the NFL to look into the health of people on IR, just as it checks for drug abuse. Today Senior high basketball: Wetaskiwin at Hunting Hills, Rocky Mountain House at Notre Dame, Lacombe at Ponoka, Olds at Camrose; girls at 6:30 p.m., boys to follow. Junior hockey: Ponoka at Rimbey, 7:30 p.m.; Mountainview at Lacombe, 8 p.m. Men's basketball: Henry's vs.

HPC, Banshee vs. Wild Bill's, 7:15 and 8:30 p.m., Lindsay Thurber. Wednesday WHL: Rebels vs. Regina, 7 p.m., Centrium. Men's basketball: DT Thunder vs.

Henry's, Canalta vs. Generals, 7:15 and 8:30 p.m., Sylvan Lake Fox Run. Curling: Millerdale Super League, 8:45 p.m., Red Deer Curling Club. On the tube Curling: Olympic Trials, from Regina, on TSN at 8 a.m. 12:30 p.m.

and 5:30 p.m. Monday scores NHL Calgary 2 L.A. 0 Chicago 3 Montreal 2 Colorado 4 Ottawa 2 NFL Packers 28 Jaguars 21 NBA Orlando 113 Memphis 71 Knicks 89 Houston 86 Phoenix 110 G. State 93 Chris Simnett Sports editor Advocate sports: 314-4365 (days) 343-2244 (sports line) 341-6560 (fax line) E-mail: sports Blake wins By GREG MEACHEM Advocate staff One thing was certain heading into Monday's final of the $45,000 Terroco Classic MacDonald was going to emerge victorious. battle of brothers, Blake MacDonald of Sherwood Park downed older sibling Brent's Edmonton crew 9-5 at the Red Deer Curling Club to snare a cheque for $10,000.

The runners-up earned $6,000. "It was neat playing against Brent. He's always been my hero," said Blake MacDonald, who also bested his brother in Saturday's A-event semifinal of the World Curling Tour cashspiel. 'Any time you can beat him, you relish it because there's a bit of a rivalry there, but also because he has a very good team." The younger MacDonald, who played third and tossed skip rocks while Jamie King called the game, counted in only three ends of the championship match. But each time he erupted for three points, the final trio coming in the eighth frame when he got a piece of the four-foot with a lastrock draw.

The teams shook hands after the ninth end. "We were pretty fortunate," insisted the new champ. "There was a couple of tricky spots out there and they had some pretty questionable rocks. "Any time you play those guys, if you can score one three-ender you're doing pretty well. We were lucky enough to get three of them." Winner Blake MacDonald The MacDonald brothers competed together in the '98 Olympic Trials and hooked up with Ken Hunka to represent Alberta in the '99 Brier in Edmonton.

Blake, 25, formed his current team which also includes second Ryan Keane and lead Aaron Skillen two years ago and last winter advanced all the way to the provincials. Although he delivers the last stones, MacDonald leaves the tactical duties to King. Favre leads Pack past luckless Jags Packers 28, Jaguars 21 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Facing a tie game with two minutes left Monday night, the Green Bay Packers weren't worried. Not with Brett Favre on their side.

And not with the Jacksonville Jaguars on the other. Favre threw three touchdown passes, and ran six yards for the game-winner with 1:30 left, to rally the Packers from 14 points down for a 28-21 victory over Jaguars the masters of the late collapse. Favre rolled around left end on a bootleg, then just squeezed into the corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score. It was his first rushing touchdown since Oct. 25, 1998, and ended the longest such drought of his career.

"I wasn't going to throw the ball unless someone was absolutely wide open," Favre said. "I figured I was the last guy the Jaguars would figure to run with the ball." Mark Brunell led the Jaguars (3-8) to midfield on their late desperation drive, but he was sacked on second-and-short, and two plays later lost a fumble to end yet another close loss. Favre threw for 362 yards to help the Packers (8-3) stay one game behind Chicago for the NFC Central lead with the teams set to meet next Sunday. The three-time NFL Most Valuable Player improved to 7-0 lifetime as a starter when the game is tied after three quarters. "It was one of the better wins I've been associated with," Favre said.

The Jaguars blew a late lead for the fourth time in six games, battle of Finalist Brent MacDonald "We're just a stronger sweeping team that way," he said. "I get too nervous if I'm just standing there. It's better for me to be expending some energy." Brent MacDonald, who's seven years older than his brother, trailed all the way in the final, although he did manage to whittle the count to 6-5 with a deuce in the sixth end and a stolen single in the seventh. "Their field-goal kicker was feeling pretty good tonight," said Brent, refer- brothers ring to the trio of three-enders. "We got down early and this is tough ice to come back on.

It's tricky when you're trying to get rocks to bury. But we fought back well to make it 6-5, then the last field goal did it." Brent, who had Mark Johnson at third and Gary Greening and Jack Lutz manning the front end, admitted he was impressed with his brother's crew, which earlier this season pocketed $10,000 for taking top honours at a WCT stop in Russell, Man. "They had a really good weekend here. They didn't lose a game, and you don't see that too often in 'spiels like this," he said. Blake MacDonald downed Leon Moch of Medicine Hat in a semifinal Monday morning, while Brent MacDonald defeated Adrian Bakker of Calgary.

Moch and Bakker each earned $4,000. In quarter-final action, Blake MacDonald thumped Dennis Graber of Grande Prairie 9-4, Moch edged Red Deer's Rob Armitage 7-5, Bakker doubled Frank Morissette of Calgary 6-3 and Brent MacDonald beat Barry Chwedoruk of Lac La Biche 7-4. The losing quarter-finalists each picked up $3,000, while five teams skipped by Mickey Pendergast of Calgary, Kurt Balderston of Grande Prairie, Winnipeg's Mert Thompsette, Dan Lepine of Edmonton and Brad Lafleur of Smoky Lake won $1,800 for advancing to the playoff round. Armitage's supporting cast consisted of third Doug Marks, second Trevor Sparks and lead Shaun Meachem. and threw yet another distraction onto a pile that includes Jimmy Smith's recent positive test for cOcaine and Tom Coughlin's potential candidacy for the Notre Dame job.

They looked bad doing it, committing 111 yards in penalties, more than enough to nullify Smith's 116-yard receiving night. "It's unfortunate, when you're in a battle life, and you've got to get a win, then you put yourself in a position where the penalties are Coughlin said. The Jaguars also had four turnovers. With the game tied 21-21, Mike Hollis had a chance to give the Jaguars the lead, but his 42- yard field goal! hit the left upright somehow fitting for Jacksonville's star-crossed season. Before that, Favre rallied the Packers from a 21-7 deficit.

Most of the damage came at the expense of cornerback Fernando Bryant, who has made himself one of Jacksonville's numerous distractions this season, as the most outspoken critic of the soft-zone defences the Jaguars have used to blow all those leads. Given the chance to play in the he likes, Bryant surrendered a 45-yard TD to Bill Schroeder to make it 21-14. The Jaguars lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Favre looked Bryant's way again, hooking up with Antonio Freeman for a 29-yard gain to set up the tying touchdown. The Jaguars went up 21-7 early in the third quarter when defensive end Tony Brackens sacked Favre and forced a fumble that Ainsley Battles scooped up for a 60-yard touchdown return. Photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS Brett Favre has the ball knocked loose from behind by Jacksonville Jaguars' Tony Brackens.

Ainsley Battles recovered the ball and returned it for a TD Rebels' slide in rankings continues By GREG MEACHEM Advocate staff Not only have the Red Deer Rebels slipped a notch in the weekly Canadian Hockey I League rankings, they're no longer the top-ranked Western Hockey League team. The Kamloops Blazers are the third-ranked team in week nine of the CHL Bank of Montreal MasterCard top 10 rankings, compiled by a panel of National Hockey League scouts. The defending Memorial Cup champion Rebels mired in a five-game winless streak and losers of three in a row have slipped to fourth spot. Red Deer dropped down to No. 3 last week after being the CHL's No.

1 squad since January, Meanwhile, the Prince George Cougars have moved up three places to No. 6 and the Spokane Chiefs have been dropped from the top 10 list. Acadie-Bathurst of the QMJHL and Plymouth of the OHL are ranked first and second, while Shawinigan of the QMJHL comes in at No. 5. The seventh- to 10th-ranked CHL teams are LEAGUE HOCKEY WESTERN WHL report Barrie (OHL), Rimouski (QMJHL), Peterborough (OHL) and Guelph (OHL).

Kelowna Rockets head coach Marc Habecheid appreciates enforcer Stephen Sunderman for the obvious reasons. Big (six-foot-four, 235 pounds) and tough (10 fights, 64 minutes in penalties), the 18-year-old winger has been an able bodyguard for Kelowna's stars this season. But Habscheid is particularly impressed with the rookie's demeanour following a scrap. "What I like about him is that after four games. he gets involved physically, or after a Watson recorded three goals and fight, he doesn't celebrate or make a two assists in a 6-2 win over the Tigers scene," Habscheid told the Kelowna in Medicine Hat, and had two goals Daily Courier.

"He's very unassuming, and an assist in a 5-4 overtime loss to and that's a very good trait." the Hitmen in Calgary. The Regina Pats can't wait to get The 18-year-old from Calgary was back on the road. selected by the Florida Panthers in the And for good reason. The Pats have 2001 NHL entry draft. won the last eight games of their 12- The Lethbridge Hurricanes will game road swing setting a franchise be minus the services of import forrecord in the process and play the fi- wards Tomas Kopecky and Martin nal three this week, starting Wednes- Podlesak during the world junior day The in Red Deer.

championship. Kopecky will suit up team returned home after last with the Slovakian team and Podlesak Friday's 3-1 victory over the Rebels. will skate with the Czech Republic. "When you're winning, you want to The Kootenay Ice will lose winger keep it going," Pats centre Grant Ja- Marek Svatos to the Slovakians, while cobsen told the Regina Leader-Post. Regina Pats rearguard Filip Novak, "To be honest, if we had stayed on the Medicine Hat defenceman Petr Chvojroad for another week it really ka and Brandon forward Jiri Jakes wouldn't matter because we're having have been named to the Czech team.

fun. It's nice to sleep in your own bed Medicine Hat centre Ryan Hollweg for a few nights but we're going back is expected to be named to the U.S. naon the road and we're all looking for- tional team later this week. ward to it." Prince Albert Raiders forward Greg Watson is the WHL player of the week after collecting eight points in Neither of the Rebels' imports Russian Mikhail Yakubov and Czech Ladislav Kouba will play in the world junior tournament..