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The Jamaican bobsled team may be headed to another Olympics. The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. Olympic organizers said Saturday that Jamaica has qualified for the two-man competition at next months Sochi Games, though it remains unclear if the fledgling squad will get a chance to race. Funding is a serious problem and sled driver Winston Watts told The Associated Press on Saturday that hes trying to raise as much as $80,000 in the next couple weeks to cover travel and equipment costs. "Right now," Watts said, "were at zero." They are certainly among the worlds most storied bobsled teams, and that has little to do with results. Jamaica first competed in Olympic bobsledding in 1988 at the Calgary Games, a story that inspired the "Cool Runnings" film. For a nation lacking bobsled tradition, or snowy winters, Jamaica has often fared quite well on the international circuits. Its been 12 years since Jamaica has had a sled in the Olympics, with Watts finishing 28th at the Salt Lake City Games with Calgarys Lascelles Brown -- now a key part of Canadas national team. Brown won a medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games, one where the Jamaicans were hoping to compete but were again thwarted by funding issues. Still, the 46-year-old Watts -- who called himself "retired" from sliding for nearly a decade -- has held on to hope of sliding again on the sports biggest stage. "Were pretty good," Watts said. "Were not there with the rest of the world, of course. But we if had some more sources for funding, wed have a better chance." He started the season thinking he could get a four-man sled ready for Sochi, before quickly realizing that was too expensive. His focus then shifted to the two-man sled and by racing in a number of lower-tier events at tracks in Park City, Lake Placid and Calgary in recent months, Watts and brakeman Marvin Dixon piled up enough points to get into the Olympic mix. Sochi officials tweeted word Saturday that the Jamaicans were in, but the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation -- the sports governing body -- is not expected to confirm before Sunday at the earliest how many nations qualified for the Olympic fields. Watts said hes confident that Jamaica is qualified. "Im not a person who likes to quit," Watts said. "I put my heart into it and I know for a fact that people are going to help this team." Damian Lillard Blazers Jersey .com) - Semyon Varlamov more than earned his third shutout of the season as he made a career-high 54 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Jaylen Hoard Jersey . You can see all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Chicago won two of three games during its stay at the United Center. The club began the homestand with a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh on March 1 and fell to Colorado on Tuesday before posting another blowout win in Thursdays tilt against Columbus. https://www.blazerslockerroom.com/Zach-C...Edition-Jersey/. Detroits powerful offence made that unnecessary. Scherzer allowed two hits and struck out seven, and the Tigers backed their star right-hander with three early homers in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. Nik Stauskas Blazers Jersey . -- Dane Fox scored his 61st and 62nd goals of the season and Brendan Gaunce had a goal and three assists as the Erie Otters downed the Kitchener Rangers 7-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Anthony Tolliver Jersey . However, it wasnt a problem on Monday night. Evgeni Nabokov made 23 saves for his 56th career shutout in the New York Islanders 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.A group of elite players has filed a lawsuit in Canada challenging plans to play the 2015 Womens World Cup on artificial turf.The players, led by U.S. womens national team forward Abby Wambach, filed Wednesday in the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in Toronto, lawyer Hampton Dellinger told The Associated Press.The women claim that playing the sports premier tournament on fake grass amounts to gender discrimination under Canadian law. Their male counterparts have always played the World Cup on natural grass surfaces, and will for the foreseeable future.The players say they believe there is a greater risk of injury on turf and that an artificial surface impacts both how the game is played and how the ball behaves.Among the athletes joining Wambach are U.S. teammate Alex Morgan, Germanys Nadine Angerer, Brazils Fabiana Da Silva Simoes and Spains Veronica Boquete.The gifted athletes we represent are determined not to have the sport they love be belittled on their watch. Getting an equal playing field at the World Cup is a fight female players should not have to wage but one from which they do not shrink. In the end, we trust that fairness and equality will prevail over sexism and stubbornness, Dellinger said in a statement.On Tuesday, a FIFA official visiting Canada in advance of the tournament next year said there were no plans to reconsider using artificial turf.We play on artificial turf and theres no Plan B, said Tatjana Haenni, FIFAs head of womens competitions.FIFA has appointed an independent examiner to make sure the turf at the six venues meets its strict guidelines for top-tier tournaments. The consultant is travelling with a FIFA delegation currently inspecting the sites.FIFA rules stipulate that matches can be played on artificial turf if special dispensation is granted, as it was in Canadas case. The regulations also state that all matches in a tournament must be played on the same surface.Canadas bid for the event specified that the final match be played at Vancouvers BC Place, which seats 55,000 and has an artificial turf.But many players, including Wambach, have been voicing their objections since the bid was accepted. They sent a letter to FIFA and the CSA in July, saying they were prepared to take the legal action.Since then, there has been growingg support for the women on social media, with celebrities including actor Tom Hanks and NBA player Kobe Bryant joining the cause.ddddddddddddTim Howard, the goalkeeper for the U.S. mens team, also voiced his support on Twitter.Theres so many different debates around this. But the reality is, the men would never play (the World Cup) on field turf, Wambach told the AP. So for me its a womens rights issue, its an equality issue.The players have said they will not boycott the World Cup matches, which will be played in six Canadian cities.Many players believe that FIFA and the Canadian federation could cover the six fields that will be used with sod. The real stuff was rolled onto the artificial surface at Michigans Big House this summer for a match between Manchester United and Real Madrid.Its not ideal, they say, but better than the alternative.Is it going to cost them a little bit of money? Yeah. Maybe a drop in the bucket for FIFA for the amount of money that they have, U.S. player Megan Rapinoe said last month. It just seems like theyre kind of like, Oh, yeah, whatever, this is just what youre going to have. When theres an alternative option, thats frustrating.Wednesdays legal action, known as an application, names the Canadian Soccer Association and FIFA. Lawyers filed a brief detailing the facts and law in support of the discrimination claim, and also filed a motion to expedite the proceedings.The brief suggests that tournament venues in Vancouver (B.C. Place Stadium), Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium), Ottawa (TD Place Stadium) and Winnipeg (Investors Group Field) replace their turf with permanent or temporary grass pitches.Games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal should be moved to Saputo Stadium, which has real grass, or a temporary grass surface could be installed. The brief also calls for a temporary grass surface at Moncton Stadium. It also suggests that games could be moved to Torontos BMO Field, which has a natural grass surface.The U.S. womens team is about to take part in the championships for soccers North and Central American and Caribbean region, which serves as qualifying for the World Cup next year. The tournament will be played in four U.S. cities starting on Oct. 15 with the final scheduled for Oct. 26 at PPL Park in Pennsylvania. ' ' '