Sports

Maurice Moore

The era of the multi-sport athlete competing at a high level in two or more athletic endeavours, it seems, is a thing of the past.

In North America, there was Deion Sanders who is the only individual to play in the Super Bowl and the World Series and also the only athlete to hit a home run and score a touchdown in the same week.

Bo Jackson was a Major League Baseball All-Star Most Valuable Player and a National Football League number one draft pick.

By RON FANFAIR

Canada begins its march to this summer's London Olympics in the regional Confederation of North, Central American & Caribbean Associations of Soccer (CONCACAF) qualifier that starts tonight in Vancouver.

The national side meets Haiti in the second match of a double header. Kick-off is at 10:30 p.m. local time. Canada opposes Cuba on Saturday and Costa Rica in its final group contest on January 23.

The other group comprises the Dominican Republic, the United States, Mexico and Guatemala.

The semi-finals take place on January 27 and the final two days later. The finalists in the eight-team tournament will advance to the Olympics.

By RON FANFAIR

Sandhurst-trained former Jamaica Army officer, Devon Harris, knows what it's like to be constantly told, 'you must be kidding, because that cannot be done'.

That was all he and his fellow Army officers heard after they signed up to compete in bobsled in the Calgary Olympics in 1987 with the Games just over a year away.

With limited training and preparation, the raw Jamaican team finished 30th in the 42-team, two-man event and completed the four-man race despite a spectacular crash when driver Dudley Stokes lost control of the sled while coming out of a challenging turn on the track.

By RON FANFAIR

An eight-game unbeaten streak and a spot in Round Three of the 2014 World Cup soccer qualifying competition paved the way for Canada to move up 11 spots to 72nd in the world in the latest International Soccer Federation (FIFA) ranking.

Canada drew nil-all with St. Kitts & Nevis on the road, and shut out the twin-island federation 4-0 in the return match four days later at BMO Field to finish on top of its group in the last round of regional qualifiers.

The national side is ranked eighth in the Confederation of North, Central American & Caribbean Associations of Soccer (CONCACAF) behind Mexico (which is ranked 20th in the world), the United States, Jamaica, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador.