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EAST RUTHERFORD, N. Chris Gatling Jersey .J. - The NFL and personnel at MetLife Stadium had a Super Bowl pop quiz on snow removal less than two weeks before the title game between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks. The league and stadium officials decided to use a winter storm that dumped a foot or more of snow in the New York City metropolitan area Tuesday as somewhat of a dress rehearsal to see how quickly they could clean the 80,000-seat facility that will hold the first outdoor Super Bowl in cold weather. NFL executive vice-president Eric Grubman said Wednesday an 18-hour time limit was set for removing the snow from the stadium, surrounding parking lots and access roads in the Meadowlands sports complex, where the game will be played Feb. 2. Grubman refused to speculate whether the storm that snarled roads, closed schools and had states of emergency in New Jersey, New York City and some surrounding areas would have caused the Super Bowl to be postponed. He said that would be a decision made by state authorities. Grubman, however, said the league has several contingency plans for the game, including moving it up to Friday or Saturday, pushing it back to Monday or adjusting the scheduled start on Sunday deal with the weather. The game is scheduled to start at 6:25 p.m. EST. "Based on the long-range forecast, all that I would even hazard to guess is that it is probably going to be cold. I doubt we are going to have an unusual warm spell," Grubman said at the news conference originally called to showcase how the stadium was preparing for the Super Bowl. The snowstorm on Tuesday was a fortuitous coincidence for the cold-weather Super Bowl. MetLife spokeswoman Nicole Fountain said the stadium and its contractors had 1,300 workers removing the 13 inches of snow that fell in and around the stadium. The crews started removal at around 8 a.m. and had sections of the stadium and most of the tarp-covered field cleared by noon. During this past season, the crews removed six inches of wet, iced-packed snow in roughly 12 hours before a Seahawks-Giants game on Dec. 15, Ron VanDeVeen, the stadiums senior vice-president of events said Wednesday. The snow being removed Wednesday was not as heavy, he said. Grubman said the league is prepared to play the game even if there is still some snow in the stands. "Games are played with snow all the time," he said. "Its not just MetLife Stadium. I think the crowd will be an exceptional crowd and they will enjoy the game. I dont think they will be fazed by a little bit of snow on their seats, if thats what comes to pass. We aim to not have that happen, but if it happens, its sort of what happens in NFL stadiums all the time." Grubman also displayed warm welcome kits that fans will receive entering the stadium on game day. Cushions hold the kit items which included ear and hand muffs, mittens, a hat, neck warmers, lip balm and other items. "The warm welcome kit was designed to make fans comfortable," he said, "and to have those last-minute items that they may not think about." Grubman also advised fans to dress in layers for the game. He said there will be warming areas in the stadium should anyone need them. The storm that hit the area Tuesday stretched from Kentucky to New England. "If you are going to have one, and you are going to have it 10 days out, were going to make use of it," Grubman said of the storm. "The silver lining is we are running ourselves through a rigorous dress rehearsal." Grubman said the league was gathering information from law enforcement authorities about how the emergency conditions might have affected the game had it been played Tuesday. The two groups will go over the information soon. Whatever happens, the league is ready to deal with all scenarios, Grubman said. "Some people will say perfection will be a nice little dusting of snow in the third quarter," Grubman said. "Other people will say perfection will be 40 degrees in early February with the sun shining until sundown at 5:35 or 5:45 or 6:20 on Sunday, the second. "I think it is really up to the individual." Brad Davis Jersey . The Calgary Stampeders running back received the West Division nomination for the CFLs top individual award Thursday in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada and leagues eight head coaches. Ryan Broekhoff Jersey .com) - Guard Greivis Vasquez and forward Patrick Patterson, two key pieces to the Toronto Raptors run to an Atlantic Division title in 2013-14, were both given qualifying offers by the team on Saturday.SAINT JOHN, N.B. - The Swiss were as surprised as anyone else by their gold-medal victory at the 2014 Ford Womens World Curling Championship. Binia Feltschers inexperienced Flims Curling Club foursome upset Canadas Rachel Homan 9-5 in Sundays final at Harbour Station. "Im speechless. Its like dream. Its awesome," Swiss third Irene Schori said. "We were very relaxed. We had nothing to lose and they were under pressure. "We are surprised. We did a great job the whole season, but we never thought we could win a medal at the world championship." Its Switzerlands second womens world title in three years after Mirjam Ott won it in Lethbridge, Alta., in 2012. Feltscher won an Olympic silver medal in 2006 playing third for Ott, but Schori, second Franziska Kaufmann and lead Christine Urech made their world championship debuts in Saint John. It was a deflating end for Canadas Homan, third Emma Miskew, second Alison Kreviazuk and lead Lisa Weagle out of the Ottawa Curling Club. The host country boasted an 11-1 tournament record going into Sundays final, but a devastating eighth end cost Canada. Leading 5-3 after seven, the Swiss scored three points on Canadian mistakes and Homan couldnt recover. More errors in the ninth forced Homan into a low percentage angle raise double takeout with her final throw. The Canadian skip missed and gave up a steal of three for the first time in the tournament. Down four points coming home, even a team as potent with the hammer as Homans had been couldnt generate four points. "Im disappointed we didnt finish off that last game," a stoic Homan said. "We had a really good week. "The whole game we just werent quite making the shots we needed to make." Homan went undefeated to win a second Canadian championship and earn a return trip to the world championship. The skip missed her last shot of the semifinal in Riga, Latvia, last year to give up the steal of a point and the win to eventual champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland. The Canadians settled for bronze in Riga and came to Saint John bent on moving two steps up the podium, not one. Muirhead opted to focus on the Winter Olympics in Sochi instead of participating in playdowns for this world championship. Canadas lone loss of the preliminary round was to Switzerland on Day 2. With runbacks and raises, Homan drained the Swiss of their offence in Fridays playoff game between the tournaments top two seeds. The Swiss felt no weight of expectations and Canada did. "A silver medal is still an improvement from the bronze last year," Kreviazuk said. "We worked so hard this year. It feels good to come out of this with at least a medal. "Tomorrow were going to look at the silver and be a lot happier. Right now, its a little tough to swallow. Im still proud and happy. I know I will be tomorrow." Winnipegs Jennifer Jones went undefeated in Sochi to claim Olympic womens curling gold last month, but Canada hasnt won a world womens title since Jones in 2008 in Vernon, B.C. Homan and Miskew led in shooting percentages at their position prior to the final, but shot 61 and 63 per cent, respectively Sunday. "They just made more mistakes than they usually make," Feltscher said through an interpreter. In the eighth end, Kreviazuk needed to put her draw on the top of the four-foot rings, but her stone stayed top 12. Miskews draw was heeavy and Homan missed a freeze with her first shot of the end. James Donaldson Jersey . She threw big weight to chip off one of her own stones to the button and missed, leaving Feltscher with a draw for three. "I thought I stuck it for shot and it just kept spinning," Homan said. The future of Homans team in Canadian curling remains bright if they continue on together as a team. Weagle, who turns 29 on Monday, is getting married in July. Her teammates are all 25 or under and in the early stages of their careers after earning their university degrees. The South Koreans, Chinese and Russians are full-time, paid athletes. The federations focus on a chosen few because those countries dont have Canadas depth. Canada determines its international representatives via the natural selection of regional, provincial and national playdowns. Qualifying for Canadas 2017 trials requires travelling to World Curling Tour events across Canada throughout the winter to earn ranking points. Thats a difficult commitment when juggling careers and families. "Its not a discussion weve had, but I cant see the girls backing down anytime soon," Kreviazuk said. "Youll probably see a lot of us." Kelly Scott, winner of the womens world title in 2007, recently announced her team is disbanding. "At this point, all the ladies are assessing where curling fits into their busy lives; complete with careers and young families," Scott said in a statement. Jones, 39, has a young daughter. It is unclear at this point if she wants to commit to another Olympic quadrennial. Earle Morris, who had a cult following at Harbour Station, has coached Homan for the better part of the last decade. He wasnt certain he would be coaching them next season because he too may take a break. "I think they will have a great future," Morris said. "The problem with curling and stereotypically with women is life gets in the way. We just have to hope thats not going to happen with this team. It would be hard to replace anybody on this team in their position. "Your motivation, suddenly its not the most important thing in the world when you have a little baby to worry about or a family to raise or work commitments. It is a challenge for women more so than men in that regard." Anna Sidorova claimed the first womens world curling championship medal for Russia by scoring two in the 10th and stealing one in an extra end in a 7-6 win over South Koreas Ji-sun Kim. "I just dont have enough words to describe my feelings," said Sidorova, who went 3-6 in Sochi. "Now Im pretty sure we are able to play at a really high level and were able to beat everybody. We just need to execute well and believe in ourselves sometimes." Albertas Kevin Koe won the Tim Hortons Brier and will represent Canada at the mens world championship Saturday to April 6 in Beijing. The 2015 Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be held in Moose Jaw, Sask., and Sapporo, Japan will be the host of next years womens world championship. Saint John drew approximately 44,000 people to Harbour Station for the nine-day event. The last world curling championship at Harbour Station in 1999 drew 96,000 when it combined both mens and womens events. Since they were split into two separate events in 2005, Grande Prairie, Alta., holds the attendance record for the womens event at 60,000 the following year. ' ' '

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