Fragen und Antworten » Eskimos and the Saskatchewan Roughriders sh

EDMONTON - Its November football in Canada with freezing temperatures and a cold, slippery field — making defence and the running game potentially bigger factors in a teams success. That means Sundays CFL West semifinal between the host Edmonton Eskimos and the Saskatchewan Roughriders should be typical hard-nosed playoff football. You can watch the game starting at 4pm et/1pm pt on TSN1, TSN4 and TSN5. Its going to be a smash-mouth game, the way it should be, Eskimos defensive tackle Eddie Steele said after Saturdays final walkthrough. The key for the Eskimos, who finished second in the division at 12-6, will be to avoid a repeat of last week in Regina. The Riders ran for 172 yards in the first half en route to a 24-17 win that gave them the third seed. It comes down to how physical we are, said Eskimos linebacker Rennie Curran. If we dont go out there and put our foot down and impose our will theyre going to keep running the ball. Theyre a team thats hard nosed, thats physical and if we dont handle things up front and stop the run its going to be a long day for us. The Eskimos allowed just 24 rushing yards in the second half in Regina. So we really have to do a good job of taking that element of the game away from them from the get-go and put the game in Kerrys (Joseph) hands, he added. Both teams will be starting backup quarterbacks — Joseph for the Riders and Matt Nichols for the Eskimos. The 41-year-old Joseph won a Grey Cup with the Riders in 2007 but Nichols has limited playoff experience. His lone post-season appearance came in the second half of the Western semifinal in 2012 when he suffered a dislocated ankle. I definitely welcome the challenge, said Nichols, who played three games during the regular season. Im going to do everything I need to do to make sure this team is successful. Players on both teams expressed confidence in their backups to make the plays needed to win, but agree the Riders have an advantage with Josephs experience. Once youve been there and won a championship you know what it takes mentally and physically and you have experience to draw back on, said Riders defensive tackle Derek Walker, adding Joseph has provided teammates with some words of wisdom on how to get there. While Riders starter Darian Durant will not play, Mike Reilly is on the game day roster and could see some action. That would not surprise Saskatchewan defensive end Ricky Foley, who said he doesnt believe Reilly is hurt and feels the Eskimos are just playing games. If I see Matt Nichols take 50 or so snaps then Ill believe it, he said. But it doesnt matter whos back there, my job is hit him in the mouth. Reilly was limited in practice this week and did not speak to reporters Saturday. Both teams have dependable running backs. Saskatchewans Anthony Allen finished second in rushing in the West with 930 yards and Edmontons John White was third with 852 yards. White played only nine games and averaged 95 yards per game compared to 71 per game by Allen. In addition, White, along with league-leading receiver Adarius Bowman, were healthy scratches in Regina. White, who ran for 283 yards in Edmontons two wins over Saskatchewan this season, doesnt expect to be the sole focus on Sunday. Weve got too many playmakers on offence, he said. The ball has to get spread around in order for it to work and thats how we work, everybody gets the ball. We have a lot of explosive players and that makes it tough for the defence. Matt Calvert Jersey . The 55th-ranked Istomin saved 11 of 14 break points to win in just over two hours, setting up a second round meeting with Australian Marinko Matosevic. It was the Uzbeks third win in three matches against fifth-seeded Kohlschreiber, the 2007 and 2012 tournament winner. 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Tyson Jost Avalanche Jersey .com) - The Miami Heat will try to close out the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first round series.ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Top-ranked Serena Williams advanced to the semifinals of the WTA Championships by sweeping past Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday. Williams, the defending champion, won all three matches in her group without dropping a set. Shes bidding for her fourth title in the elite, eight-women tournament. Earlier, Li Na outlasted Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 for her second victory in two matches and eight-seeded Angelique Kerber upset No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-2 to remain in contention for the semifinals. Radwanska was eliminated. Kerber went 0-3 last year in the tournament and this was her first win in the event. She will play Kvitova on Friday for a slot in the last four. Williams needed to win only a set to qualify and she breezed through the first despite fighting off three break points in the very first game. She quickly warmed up to overwhelm the fifth-seeded Kvitova, who won Wimbledon and the WTA title in 2011. Kvitova had to withdraw last year because of injury. "Something told me to hold serve in that game, and Im glad I did," Williams said. "Could have definitely changed things. I could still be out there. I really just dug deep and tried to hold. "When I play top players or a Grand Slam winner, such as Kvitova who has such a dangerous game, youve got to go in there knowing that anything can happen, and I have to be really focused." Williams did not stop after the first set and broke serve again for a decisive 3-1 lead in the second. Williams set up a match point with a service winner and won when Kvitovas return sailed into the net. She finished with 11 aces. "I think her serve is really big, so I knew I wanted to hold. I served well," said Williams, who has never lost to Kvitova in five matches. Williams, 32, is enjoying the finest season in her career, having already won 10 titles. She added the French Open and U.S. Open titles to bring her Grand Sllam record to 17 championships and is 76-4 for the year.dddddddddddd Making her eighth appearance in the event, Williams is looking to become the first player to successfully defend the title since Justine Henin in 2007. Henin was also the last to win 10 titles in a season, in 2007. Williams has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the third time in her career after 2002 and 2009. The key to Lis victory in an error-filled match full of long rallies was her break of serve in the third set for a 4-3 lead. She never looked behind again, winning the last three games. Jankovic hit a backhand into the net on Lis second match point. The fourth-seeded Li has a 2-0 record in the White Group and looks likely to advance to the semifinals for the first time. Seventh-seeded Jankovic is 1-1. Jankovic is back in the tournament for the first time in three years. The two of them and Victoria Azarenka are vying to make the semis. "It was tight, yeah, but at least its better than the last two years," said Li, who won only once in 2011 and 2012. She was pleased to add she had one foot in the semis but her other foot was "still out of the door." Kerber is 1-1 in the Red Group. Radwanska fell to 0-3. "Im feeling good," Kerber said. "I was really playing very well today ... I was focused from the first point." Li holds a 6-4 career edge over her Serbian friend, but she had to work hard for her win. Both players were inconsistent and error-prone. Li had 45 unforced errors and 21 winners, Jankovic 36 unforced errors and 17 winners. "We had a great fight," Jankovic said. "In the third set it was just a couple of points. I got broken in that (seventh) game. She lobbed me, and the ball went on the line." Li followed the lob with a crisp backhand winner to take the game. "They were the crucial points at that stage and made a difference," Jankovic said. ' ' '