a Thursday night showdown that will launch the Week 3 schedule of this

  VANCOUVER -- Canadians Steven Diez and Frank Dancevic got off to a good start in the mens singles opening round at the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open on Tuesday. . Torontos Diez defeated Great Britains Jamie Baker 6-4, 6-4, while Dancevic, of Niagara Falls, Ont., downed American Chase Buchanan 6-1, 6-2. The tournament is being held at the Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver, B.C. Pierre-Ludovic Duclos of Sainte-Foy, Que., scored an upset over Rajeev Ram of the United States 6-2, 7-6 (5). Duclos is currently ranked No. 382 on the ATP Tour, while Ram is No. 93 worldwide. Peter Polanksy of Thornhill, Ont., was defeat by American Denis Kudla 1-6, 6-4, 7-6. Philip Bester of North Vancouver, B.C., lost in a tight match to Frances Gleb Sakharov 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4. Taiwans Jimmy Wang topped Filip Peliwo, of North Vancouver 7-6(4), 6-0 in one of the days late matches. Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium crushed Moldovas Roman Borvanov 6-0, 6-1, while countryman Maxime Authom defeated American Alex Kuznetsov 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. Australias James Duckworth, ranked No. 194, scored an upset win over South Africas Izak Van der Merwe 7-6(2), 6-3, whos No. 152. Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic toppled Australian John-Patrick Smith 6-3, 7-5. Israels Dudi Sela defeated fellow countryman Amir Weintraub 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. In mens doubles, Australians John Peers and John-Patrick Smith dropped American Alex Kuznetsov and Polansky 6-3, 7-5. In the opening round of womens singles action, Ottawas Gabriela Dabrowski shocked American Alexa Glatch with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Dabrowski is ranked 376th in the WTAs singles rankings, while Glatch is No. 138. Torontos Sharon Fichman played a close match against Australian Sacha Jones 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, while Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill, Ont., took a tough loss to American Madison Keys 6-0, 6-2. Chi Chi Scholl of the United States defeated Great Britains Naomi Broady 6-1, 6-4. In the final round of the womens qualifying, American Ashley Weinhold defeated Frances Sherazad Benamar 6-2, 6-1 and American Lauren Embree crushed Indonesias Romana Tedjakusuma 6-0, 6-1. Nicole Gibbs scored a win over fellow American Victoria Duval in a close match 7-5, 7-6(4), while two other Americans faced off, Krista Hardebeck and Jacqueline Cako, with Hardebeck winning 6-3, 6-3. In the opening round of womens doubles play, Japans Mika Miyamura and Brazilian Teliana Pereira defeated Australian Monique Adamczak and Polands Sandra Zaniewska 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. Americans Jacqueline Cako and Natalie Pluskota beat American Jan Abaza and Indonesias Romana Tedjakusuma 6-1, 6-0. Israels Julia Glushko and Australian Olivia Rogowska defeated Madison Brengle of the United States and Naomi Broady of Great Britain in a close match 7-6(5), 6-4, while Aleksendra Krunic of Serbia and Israels Keren Shlomo scored a win over Glatch and Maria Sanchez by walkover. Luxembourgs Mandy Minella and Ukraines Olga Savchuk beat Australias Bojana Bobusic and Britains Emily Webley-Smith 6-4, 7-6(5). . Instead, Gardenhire said Thursday that right-hander Nick Blackburn was going on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left quadriceps. Blackburn was pulled after two innings in his start Wednesday night at Detroit. .S. President Jimmy Carter gestures towards Aijalon Mahli Gomes family that came to greet him in Boston, Massachusetts, August 27, 2010. .Y. -- Shanshan Feng set two personal goals this year on the LPGA Tour. . The two teams will also be aiming to build off extremely important wins in their last outing when they take the field at Charlottes Bank of America Stadium for a Thursday night showdown that will launch the Week 3 schedule of this 2012 NFL season. Carolina earned its long-awaited return to notoriety thanks largely to the talents and charisma of Newton, the leagues reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year who established a new season standard for first-year quarterbacks by amassing 4,051 passing yards and accounting for 35 touchdowns (21 passing, 14 rushing) during a dynamic debut for the top overall selection of the 2011 draft. . It doesnt get much bigger than that on the NBA landscape and it will take place on Saturday in South Florida when the Miami Heat host the Boston Celtics in the deciding game of the Eastern Conference finals. Tweet The Columbus Blue Jackets retained some of their snarl up front, agreeing to a new two-year contract Tuesday with forward Jared Boll. A fourth-round pick of the team in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, the 24-year-old Boll completed his third season with the Blue Jackets in 2009-10 by recording 4 goals, 7 points and 149 penalty minutes in 68 games. "We are very pleased to complete this two-year deal with Jared,," General Manager Scott Howson said. . "He has proven to be a great teammate in his three years in Columbus and we look forward to seeing him continue to grow as a player." Boll has led the team in penalty minutes in each of his three seasons, including a career-high 226 as a rookie. In his sophomore season, he registered a career-high 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists). In 218 career games, Boll has totals of 13 goals, 31 points and 555 penalty minutes. ' ' '