You may have been busy these past days, picking out your Halloween costume or getting goodies for those little goblins who will show up at your door tonight.
Or maybe it was just one of those weeks.
So in case you might have missed some of The Telegram sport department’s offerings over the last seven days, here’s a rundown of some of the stories we carried.
Just click on the links to go to the referred item.
Instead of starting the beginning of the week, we will get underway with a couple of stories about Newfoundlanders winning major championships on Saskatchewan ice over the past weekend.
On Saturday, Marystown native Katelyn Osmond captured the women’s singles title at the Skate Canada International Grand Prix event in Regina, maintaining the momentum she’s been building as focus begins to turn squarely on the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
The following day, Brad Gushue and his St. John’s rink continued what has been their remarkable start to the 2017-18 curling season by winning the Masters Grand Slam of Curling event in Lloydminster, Sask. As is the case with Osmond, the Gushue rink’s strong start to the season augers well for its Olympic aspirations.
Meanwhile, with Gushue and Co. guaranteed a berth as Team Canada by virtue of their win at the national men’s championship at Mile One earlier thus year, for the first time in more than a decade another rink will represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2018 Brier. Some of the contenders for that spot play in the Re/Max SuperLeague, which began its new season last week.
Staying on the ice — the hockey kind: after a decade in the NHL, St. John’s native Teddy Purcell is heading overseas to play in Russia.
Closer to home, the defending Herder champion Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars found themselves without a game, while its former partners in the Avalon East Senior Hockey League launched their new circuit, the East Coast Senior Hockey League, holding a pre-season draft as they readied for their opening games this past weekend.
Still with senior hockey, the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts went through some significant off-season changes, but still look like strong contenders for a Central West Senior Hockey League title.
There will be no pro hockey at Mile One Centre in St. John’s this winter, but the facility will be home to the National Basketball League of Canada’s St. John’s Edge, who are busy getting ready for their inaugural season, which begins in mid-November.
Much of the news surrounding the Edge came with the daily revelation of players who are attending the team’s training camp, which gets going this week.
Among the players signed for training camp were a Newfoundlander not named Carl English, a former NBL Canada first overall draft pick, a Canadian known for his rebounding skills, and guard with a last name that could go over big in these parts.
The Edge’s season-starting roster still has to be selected, but head coach Jeff Dunlap has said he wants speed to be a team hallmark, something that goes in line with what Telegram Sports Editor Robin Short says will be needed if the team is to be successful.
The Edge, who play their first game Nov. 18, aren’t the only local basketball team beginning a new season in November. Memorial University’s Sea-Hawks hoopsters are starting their AUS 2017-18 schedules this coming weekend, while MUN’s men and women soccer players will be ending theirs at conference championship tournaments in Nova Scotia after clewing up their regular seasons at home.
