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The first step on the road to Olympic qualification starts Thursday for the Canadian womens rugby sevens side.And with the 2016 Games beckoning, Canadian coach John Tait is expecting everyone on the Womens Seven Series circuit to raise their game this season.I think the games are just going to get tighter and tighter, he said. Thats why Dubai is really important for us this year, to get off to a really good start because I think the pressure is going to build with each Series event as the desperation for points climbs.The heat will be on as Canada plays Brazil, Fiji and England in Pool C play on the opening day of competition of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, the first of six tournaments. The forecast calls for temperatures around 30 degrees.Canadas men team starts play Friday in Dubai, which is the second stop on the HSBC Sevens World Series.The top four mens and womens squads at the end of the sevens season qualify automatically for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The Canadian women finished third on the circuit last season, behind runner-up Australia and champion New Zealand.The Canadians were the only team to make a final (in Atlanta) other than New Zealand and Australia.Tait believes Australia, Canada, New Zealand and England can win each time out, with teams like Russia and Fiji capable of upsets.Every years got tighter and I think this year is going to be the most competitive for sure, by far, said Tait, who had to deal with injuries in his squad last season.Jen Kish, who missed the 2013 Dubai event with a hamstring injury, will lead a veteran Canadian squad that includes Ghislaine Landry, Mandy Marchak, Kelly Russell and Ashley Steacy. World Cup star Magali Harvey, the IRB Womens Player of the Year, is also on the roster. Tait believes two-thirds of his squad is settled, with others still looking to make their case for the remaining berths on the Olympic team.The Canadian women geared up for Dubai with a three-week tour Down Under in October that saw Canada defeat Australia 17-12 before losing 17-12 and 17-15 in games that went down to the last play.They were excellent games, said Tait, a former Canadian international forward of some note himself. I was really pleased how we played.The Canadians also held a joint camp with the Australians, with former Canadian mens seven coach Geraint John — now head of Australias sevens program — refereeing one scrimmage.It was great for us because I think the girls now really know and believe in what we have to do to beat a team like Australia, Tait said of the trip. And that was one of the purposes in going there as well.The Canadians went on to win the Central Coast Sevens, going 6-0 while outscoring club opponents 221-21.Should Canada not finish in the top four in the series, it can still earn Olympic qualification by winning the North American and Caribbean regional (NACRA) championship. There are similar regional championships in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and South America.The regional events will take place between June 1 and Dec. 15, 2015.A final 16-team qualification tournament will send one other team to Rio, with host Brazil rounding out the 12-team Olympic field.The 204-15 womens season features 11 core teams, the top seven from the 2013-14 series (New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Russia, England, Spain and U.S.) and four teams from the first series qualifier in Hong Kong in September 2014 (Fiji, France, South Africa and China). An invited team, mostly Brazil, will make up the roster of each event.Tait is obviously hoping for automatic qualification. The alternative is a possible showdown with the U.S., led by former Canadian womens coach Ric Suggitt, in the NACRA regional championship.The Canadians, who have 21 centralized players in Victoria, have not lost to the Americans recently but Tait knows Suggitt will have the Womens Eagles ready.Theyve got some dangerous players and big home-run hitters, he said. Theyre going to be a dangerous side.----Canada RosterElissa Alarie, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Rugby Club, Trois-Rivieres, Que.; Arielle Dubissette-Borrice, Toronto Scottish, Toronto; Bianca Farella, Town of Mount Royal RFC, Montreal; Julia Greenshields, Sarnia Saints, Sarnia, Ont.; Magali Harvey, Club de Rugby Quebec, Quebec City; Jennifer Kish, Edmonton Rockers, Edmonton; Ghislaine Landry, Toronto Scottish, Toronto; Mandy Marchak, Capilano RFC; Winnipeg; Kayla Moleschi, Williams Lake Rustlers,Williams Lake, B.C.; Karen Paquin, Club de Rugby Quebec, Quebec City; Kelly Russell, Toronto Nomads, Bolton, Ont., Ashley Steacy, Lethbridge Rugby Club, Lethbridge, Alta.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter C. J. Cron Twins Jersey . This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Minnesota Twins Pro Shop . According to bodog.ca, Cleveland moved up to grab the best odds to win the Larry OBrian trophy at 4-1 on Friday. By comparison, the Miami Heats odds plummeted from 3-1 favourites before LeBron left, to 50-1. https://www.cheaptwins.com/472t-jake-cave-jersey-twins.html .Carla Fontes hadnt cut her hair since intermediate school, but her coach at Waiakea High School, Stan Haraguchi, thought the locks flowing below her waist were interfering with the sport. Rod Carew Twins Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes hope they now have the leadership tandem in place to turn the franchise around. Ryne Harper Twins Jersey . Anderson is scheduled to have neck surgery April 8 to repair the injury, which occurred when he collided with the Celtics Gerald Wallace during a game in Boston on Jan. 3. The 6-foot-10 Pelicans forward, who had been averaging 19. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- From the moment Phil Mickelson set foot at TPC Scottsdale early Thursday morning, it was clear that the back pain that sidelined him last weekend was gone. It also was quickly evident that his game was a little off. "My back is fine. My game was a little rusty," Mickelson said after opening his Phoenix Open title defence with an even-par 71. After effortlessly hitting his opening drive 300 yards down the middle on the par-4 10th, Mickelson dumped a 90-yard wedge shot into the left greenside bunker. He blasted 10 feet past the hole and sighed in relief when his par putt slid in. A few minutes later on the par-3 12th, Mickelson found the water hazard along the right side of the green. His chip from the fringe stopped about 15 feet short and he two-putted for a double bogey. He three-putted twice, once for par and another for bogey. "I threw away a lot of shots," Mickelson said. "I made some careless swings. Hitting it in the water on 12 was just pathetic." He was seven strokes behind leaders Bubba Watson and Y.E. Yang. "I got off to a poor start, played a couple over, and finished poorly," Mickelson said. "In the middle of the round, though, I hit a lot of good shots and had a good little run, but it just wasnt quite sharp. I wasnt quite focused on every shot the way I need to be and let way too many shots slide." Mickelson first felt soreness in his back two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, and pulled out of his hometown event in San Diego after making the 36-hole cut at Torrey Pines. He flew to Georgia to see back specialist Tom Boers and was told his facet joints locked up. "Its fine. Honestly, its no big deal," Mickelson said. "It was a five-minute fix. I just have to be careful for a week or two as it heals up. Its fine. Mobility is back. Its just not a big deal. ... It happens every now and then. Last time was about four years ago." After the double bogey on 12, he rebounded with 20-foot birdie putts on the next two holes, but three-putted for par on the par-5 15th after hitting a hybrid pin-high from 245 yards. "Fifteen really stung," Mickelson said. "It was only a 12- or 15-footer, and I am thinking eagle. I roll it 6 feet by and I miss it coming back. That was costly. Mickelson got to 3 under with birdies on Nos. 17, 1 and 4, then bogeyed three of his last five holes. He three-putteed the par-4 fifth -- missing from 5 1/2 and 3 1/2 feet -- and failed to get-up-down for par after finding greenside bunkers on Nos.dddddddddddd 7 and 9. "Playing the last five holes at 3 over ... that was really bad," Mickelson said. He hit five of 14 fairways, 11 greens in regulation and had 30 putts. "I wasnt as sharp as I need to be, for sure," Mickelson said. In his victory last year, he opened with a 60 -- lipping out a birdie putt on the final hole -- and matched the tournament record at 28-under 256. The 43-year-old former Arizona State star is making his 25th appearance in the event that he also won in 1996 and 2005. "Its fun to be back here," Mickelson said. "I love playing here." Watson and Yang shot 64. Watson birdied four of the final six holes. The 2012 Masters champion had eight birdies and a bogey in the afternoon session. "This golf course, if your ball-striking is good, you can shoot some good numbers here," Watson said after hitting 17 greens in regulation. "Hit a lot of greens, didnt make too many mistakes, didnt miss too many fairways. Just played solid." Yang birdied the final two holes. The 2009 PGA winner also had eight birdies and a bogey, playing the back nine in 6-under 30 in his morning round. "I think you have to be aggressive," the South Korean player said through a translator. "At the same time, you cant be too aggressive. ... You have to really balance it out, but you still have to be a little bit more aggressive than other tournaments." Scottsdale residents Pat Perez, Kevin Stadler and Matt Jones were a stroke back at 65 along with Harris English, William McGirt, Greg Chalmers and Chris Kirk. English birdied Nos. 12-15 to top the leaderboard at 8 under, but bogeyed the par-3 16th -- the rowdy stadium hole -- and the par-4 18th. He hit an 8-iron over the green on the 178-yard 16th. "I guess I was a little juiced up on that tee," English said. "I left myself with an impossible up-and-down." Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., fired a 4-under 67. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., is another shot back at 68. Amateur Ki Taek Lee of Vancouver shot a 2-over 74. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., carded a 75, and Calgarys Stephen Ames had a 76.. The crowd was estimated at 88,113, a record for the first round. ' ' '