in CIS sport a minimum of two years to be eligible and cant

SAO PAULO - The World Cup stadium in the Brazilian host city of Cuiaba is staging its first official match with only half of its seats installed and construction work still underway. Jon McGlocklin Jersey . The Arena Pantanal will open on Wednesday with a Brazilian Cup match between Santos and Mixto, but work is far from complete at the stadium, one of three yet to be declared ready for the World Cup in two months time. The official inauguration is set for April 26. The opening match in Cuiaba comes a day after labour officials prevented construction from resuming in part of the stadium hosting the World Cup opener in Sao Paulo. The decision was made because of safety concerns following a workers death over the weekend, the third at the venue and seventh overall. As in most World Cup stadiums in Brazil, infrastructure work around the Arena Pantanal continues at full speed, with bulldozers, cranes and dump trucks still at the site as hundreds of workers try to finish access roads, sidewalks and temporary structures. Wednesdays match will have limited attendance because organizers could only install about 20,000 of the 41,000 seats at the stadium. Fans will only occupy the lower seating sections. The delay came in part because the initial bidding process for the seats was suspended over prosecutors claims that they were overpriced. A court battle ensued over the suppliers and the installation took longer than expected to begin. The match is not going to be considered an official test event for local the World Cup organizing committee in part because not all security measures will be in place. The stadium was one of the six that were not finished by the end of last year as expected by FIFA. Sao Paulo was already behind schedule even before the death of a 23-year-old worker on Saturday, which prompted labour officials to halt the installation of the temporary seats that will be needed for the Brazil-Croatia opener. Work isnt expected to resume until next week as constructors scramble to add safety features to the site. Local organizers and FIFA said the work stoppage is not expected to significantly delay the stadiums date of completion. Local officials said it will be inaugurated in April, but FIFA expects the stadium fully ready only in mid-May, about a month before the opener. The Arena da Baixada, in the southern city of Curitiba, is also expected to be ready in May. But last week the local governments watchdog group recommended a halt on public financing for the stadiums renovation until organizers can explain alleged irregularities in the stadiums budget. FIFA almost excluded Curitiba from the tournament earlier this year because of the delays at the stadium. Marques Johnson Jersey . New York Red Bulls. TSN primes Vancouver fans for the start of the 2014 season with MLS on TSN: Season Preview Special airing tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt on TSN2 (encore Friday at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt on TSN2). Milwaukee Bucks Gear .C. - Nick Merkley and Damon Severson each had a goal and two assists as the Kelowna Rockets downed the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 on Saturday in Western Hockey League playoff action. https://www.cheapbucksonline.com/ . -- Ryan Millers debut for the St.CALGARY -- Basketball players swept the Canadian university sport awards in keeping with the buzz the sport is creating in Canada. Justine Colley of Saint Marys University and Carletons Philip Scrubb were named the BLG Award winners Monday as the top female and male athletes respectively in Canadian Interuniversity Sport. With the Toronto Raptors in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2008 and Torontos Andrew Wiggins touted as a possible first overall pick in the NBA draft, Colley and Scrubb hope the momentum continues for hoops in Canada. "Theres a lot of excitement over basketball, which is pretty exciting since were a pretty hockey dominant country," Colley said. "I hope more people get out to games, support all the different teams across Canada, obviously support the Raptors and hopefully they make it all the way to the final. "Its amazing to see basketball starting to flourish in Canada." Colley and Scrubb were just the second basketball players to sweep the BLG Awards in its 22-year history. Windsors Jessica Clemencon and Carletons Tyson Hinz -- a Ravens teammate of Scrubbs for the past four seasons -- were the 2011 winners. "You see all the athletes down in the States playing in the NCAA tournament and the Raptors have finally made the playoffs and the CIS is really improving in terms of basketball as well, so I think people are starting to care a little bit more about basketball and theyre recognizing our talent up here," said Scrubb. Colley and Scrubb each received a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship. They were chosen by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, which administers the awards, from a group of eight finalists. Each nominee received a gold ring and a watch. Colley from East Preston, N.S., took home the Jim Thompson Trophy that goes to the top female athlete and became the first athlete from Saint Marys to win a BLG award. "Huge honour for not only myself, but also my university," the 22-year-old guard said. "Tons of support goes into Saint Marys athletics and not just Saint Marys, but throughout the whole Atlantic area." Other finalists for the Jim Thompson trophy were McGill hockey player Katia Clement-Heydra, York sprinter Khamica Bingham and University of British Columbia volleyball player Lisa Barclay. Scrubb, from Richmond, B.C., claimed the male athletes Doug Mitchell Trophy ahead of nominees Liam Heelis, a hockey player from Acadia, Bishops football player Jordan Heather and University of Saskatchewan hockey player Derek Hulak. Scrubb follows Hinz and Osvaldo Jeanty (2006) as BLG Award winners from Carleton. The Ravens captured their fourth straight CIS mens basketball title this year. "Coming in, I was young and didnt really know what was going on, but Ive learned from passt teammates to be more unselfish and try and give back because theyve all done so much for me at Carleton," Scrubb said. Bobby Simmons Jersey. "Overall, I think Ive improved as a person and obviously basketball has helped has well." Colley capped her fifth and final season as the all-time leading scorer in CIS womens basketball with 2,376 points. She scored 38 points in a semifinal win over Saskatchewan in the CIS championship en route to a silver medal for the Huskies. Colley also earned her second straight CIS female player-of-the-year award averaging 20.8 points per game. She was a finalist for the Jim Thompson trophy last year. "Her impact on our team and a basketball game go far beyond stats," Huskies coach Scott Munro said in a statement. "She is simply one of the best leaders I have ever been around. Her desire to compete and win separates her from any other student-athlete I have coached." Colley played last summer for the national womens team that qualified for the world championship Sept 27 to October 5 in Turkey. She wants to wear the Maple Leaf again at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. "Olympics are on every athletes radar," she said. "Next year, we would have to qualify for the Olympics on the national team and from there go on and play in Rio. Obviously I would love to be a part of that group." Scrubb, a fourth-year commerce student, led the Ravens in points with (18.6) and assists (4.9) per game as the Carleton went 33-1 versus CIS opponents. The six-foot-three guard was named the most valuable player in CIS mens basketball for the third time. When Carleton downed archrival Ottawa in the CIS final, the Ravens avenged their only loss of the season, which was to Ottawa in the OUA final. Scrubb, 21, intends to return to Carleton and win another national title with the Ravens. He was the only university player invited to the national mens team camp last summer. "His ability speaks for itself in his success," Carleton head coach Dave Smart said. "He is a humble and selfless individual regarding the team. He is an extremely good student, balancing his dedication to the team and sport with his academics." CFL football player and Olympic bobsledder Jesse Lumsden, Olympic womens hockey team goaltender Kim St. Pierre, Olympic heptathlete Jessica Zelinka and Olympic swimmer Curtis Myden are among previous recipients of the awards, which are sponsored by the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais. The Canadian Athletic Foundation that chooses the winners is a board of 21 business people from five Canadian cities. Doug Mitchell is chairman of that board. Student-athletes must compete in CIS sport a minimum of two years to be eligible and cant be a previous recipient of a BLG Award. ' ' '