.s John Morris. Stoughton was just as mystified. "We w

KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- Two veteran skips were both left scratching their heads at the Canadian mens curling championships Saturday night, as a change in ice conditions saw crucial draw attempts in an extra end fall at least five metres short of the house. Newfoundland and Labradors Brad Gushue, who lost the game 6-5 to Manitobas Jeff Stoughton, was more than a little peeved as the opening day of the Tim Hortons Brier ended. Gushue expressed his clear frustrations with the ice conditions. "They lost the ice," said Gushue, the 2006 Olympic gold medallist who, like Stoughton, is curling in his 11th Brier. "You see two world class skips throw draws to the four foot that end up 20-feet light. Its embarrassing. I think the ice is just (terrible). Its unfortunate that it came down to that." He said he saw it happen to a lesser degree in an earlier game between Albertas Kevin Koe and B.C.s John Morris. Stoughton was just as mystified. "We were going to draw probably half in the top four and I let it go, the guys said good weight and it just ground in," he said. Although, for him, the result was a little more satisfying as he left his shot stone in the house to win the game. "I guess that side of the sheet got lost somehow but well take it. We had one in there and he missed both his last two shots, what are you going to do?" Stoughton and Morris sit at the top of the standings with two wins apiece after Saturdays draw, followed by Brier rookie Greg Balsdon from Ontario and Steve Laycock from Saskatchewan with one win each. Gushue joined Northern Ontarios Jeff Currie at 1-1 while five rinks were winless after one game, Alberta, New Brunswick, The Northwest Territories-Yukon, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. In the evening draw, Morris beat Currie 8-2 in eight ends, after struggling earlier to edge Albertas Koe 7-6. Currie split the day, beating New Brunswicks Jamie Grattan 13-5 in the opener. Balsdon opened his first Brier by topping Quebec veteran Jean-Michel Menard 9-7 and Saskatchewans Laycock beat the Northwest Territories-Yukons Jamie Koe (Kevins brother) 8-5. Morris, curling for his third province at the Brier, was glad to get off to a good start. "The first one was a little tough on the melon, that one was a little nicer," he said, referring to the difference in the two games. "We played a little better this team, a good solid team effort." He also said he found the ice on the sheet he played on a little more consistent at night. Laycock said his first win wasnt without its scary moments. "Especially in nine there, there was a chance we could have blown a three-point lead in a hurry," he said. "It was nice to sneak out of that with only giving up two." He scored two in the final end to seal it. So did Balsdon, playing in his first Brier after managing to beat Ontario veteran Glen Howard to win the right. "We all felt pretty comfortable. The speed was good, the ice was very consistent, what youd expect from the Brier," he said. He says it helps in a way being a rookie. "Because Im a rookie here I dont really feel a whole lot of pressure for myself and the team. . . Were just hoping to scrap out some games." NBA Jerseys Wholesale .com) - The NFL is investigating whether the New England Patriots intentionally deflated balls during Sundays AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis. Wholesale NBA Store . -- Patrick Kueng of Switzerland was nearly flawless as he captured his first World Cup and halted Aksel Lund Svindals streak of four straight super-G victories on Saturday. http://www.nbacheapjerseysstore.com/. -- The NFL Players Association wants to determine if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaked information about quarterback Josh Freeman being in the NFLs substance abuse program. Wholesale Jerseys Basketball . Levante, which had lost five straight including a Copa del Rey game last weekend, fell behind at its Ciutat de Valencia stadium when Ionut Sapanura opened the scoring for Elche in the 26th minute. NBA Jerseys Cheap China . Both the top-seeded Djokovic and sixth-seeded Fish took relatively easy paths, with the Serb winning when opponent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired in the second set with a sore arm and Fish dominating Janko Tipsarevic in two quick sets. BERLIN -- Kevin-Prince Boateng scored late for Schalke to beat Wolfsburg 2-1 and move fourth in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while Hamburger SV slipped further into crisis with a 3-0 loss at Hoffenheim. Boateng scored in the 81st minute following some good interplay between Leon Goretzka and Roman Neustaedter, restoring the home sides lead after Maximilian Arnold equalized for 10-man Wolfsburg in the 65th. Felipe Santana opened the scoring in the ninth, when Boatengs effort rebounded off his shoulder and squirmed inside the post after a corner. Wolfsburgs task was made more difficult when midfielder Daniel Caligiuri was sent off in the 50th. TV replays suggested he had made a remark to the linesman. "Im delighted with the win," Boateng said. "It was hugely important. The fans got to see a good match, they had to fret for a little bit, but that keeps us all young." Borussia Moenchengladbach lost 3-1 at Hannover in the late game, missing out on the chance to reclaim fourth place. "Its not undeserved, the 3-1," Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said. "We lost the ball too often, didnt move enough. They played well, countered well, theyre very dangerous here." Artjoms Rudnevs opened the scoring in the 57th when Szabolcs Huszti crossed to the far post. It was the Latvian strikers second goal in as many games since switching from Hamburg. Huszti also created Hannovers second in the 82nd, with another precise cross for Mame Biram Diouf. Peniel Kokou Mlapa pulled one back two minutes later to set up a frenetic finish, but Diouf sealed the result in the 89th to maintain new Hannover coach Tayfun Korkuts winning start. Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen left it late to come from behind and beat Stuttgart 2-1 and consolidate second place. Eren Derdiyoks 84th-minute header condemned Stuttgart to its fourth successive defeat. Moritz Leitner opened the scoring for Stuttgart with a fine strike to the top left corner in the 12th, 14 minutes before Stefan Kiessling equalized by beating a defender and curling his shot inside the far post. "Its like Groundhog Day for me," Stuttgart coach Thomas Schneider said. "Wee take the lead like in the last games and then give the game away.dddddddddddd Altogether a bitter afternoon for us." Mainz defeated Freiburg 2-0, and Augsburg beat 10-man Werder Bremen 3-1. Hamburg, the only side to have played every season of the Bundesliga, offered little to suggest it would escape its first relegation in slumping to its fifth successive loss. "Our biggest problem is that were conceding goals too easily," said Hamburg coach Bert van Marwijk, whose side has the worst defence in the league. Roberto Firmino fired Hoffenheim ahead in the fourth, though TV replays suggested a hint of offside when Kevin Volland played him through. Poor defending allowed Niklas Suele to make it 2-0 with a header from Sejad Salihovics cross at the end of the first half, and the visiting fans began leaving when Andreas Beck made it 3-0 on the hour. Hamburg is in the relegation playoff place and will end the weekend in a direct relegation place if Nuremberg beats Hertha Berlin on Sunday. "Were facing criticism, were playing catastrophically. The coach cant do anything about that," Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart said. "We understand his system. Its the quality thats lacking at the end of the day." Goals from South Koreans Park Joo-ho and Koo Ja-cheol in the 25th and 86th respectively were enough for Mainz to give Freiburg its 10th defeat of the season and leave it just one point ahead of Hamburg. Augsburgs seven game unbeaten run is a club record. It started badly against Bremen when Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker headed Zlatko Junuzovics corner into his own net in the third minute, but Tobias Werner equalized with a deflected shot in the 11th, and the visitors were reduced to 10 men before the break when Santiago Garcia received his second yellow card for a lunge. The Argentine was incensed with the decision after appearing to make no contact with Matthias Ostrzolek. Halil Altintop gave Augsburg the lead with a fine volley in the 49th and Andre Hahn capitalized on a defensive mix-up to secure the win six minutes later. Runaway league leader Bayern Munich hosts Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. ' ' '