Kellermann-Strauss Forum » ds Daniel Alfredsson and Stephen Weiss to

Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Rising Romanian Simona Halep whipped former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and resurgent German Andrea Petkovic upset 2012 runner-up Sara Errani in a pair of lopsided quarterfinal matches Wednesday at the French Open. Both Halep and Petkovic will now play in their first-ever Grand Slam semifinals. The fourth-seeded Halep handled the 27th-seeded Russian Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-2 on Court Lenglen and the 28th-seeded former top-10 star Petkovic played her best match of the fortnight in whipping the 10th-seeded Italian Errani 6-2, 6-2 on Chatrier in a pair of matches that started under overcast skies following a three-hour rain delay. The veteran Kuznetsova was slowed by a left leg injury on Day 11. Errani was the Roland Garros runner-up to Maria Sharapova two years ago and lost to eventual champion Serena Williams in the semifinals last year, while the two-time major champion Kuznetsova titled here in 2009 and was the runner- up in 2006. The graceful Halep is now 3-2 lifetime versus Kuznetsova, while Petkovic improved to 2-1 against Errani. The 22-year-old Halep hadnt reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal until this years Australian Open. Shes captured a whopping seven WTA titles over the last 13 months, second only to Williams. Halep, however, is the only woman to have won titles on clay, grass and hard courts during that stretch. The 26-year-old one-time world No. 9 Petkovic reached the quarterfinals at three of the four major events in 2011 before injuries derailed her in 2012 and for the first half of last year, dropping her as low as 177th in the world. Halep and Petkovic will meet on Thursday, with the Romanian leading their all-time series, 2-1. Thursdays other semi will pit a seventh-seeded Sharapova against 18th-seeded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard. Sharapova completed the career Grand Slam with a title here in 2012 and lost to Williams in last years finale. The 20-year-old Bouchard has reached the final four at both Grand Slam events in 2014. The 27-year-old Sharapova is 2-0 lifetime against Bouchard, including a second-round win here in Paris last year. Old Skool Vans Canada . At this rate, the Flyers captain is set to be remembered more for a fantastic finish. Old Skool Vans Canada Sale . -- Lara Gut of Switzerland regained the overall World Cup lead with Sundays super-G win in Lake Louise, Alta. http://www.cheapoldskoolcanada.com/. The Islanders own the fifth pick in the 2014 draft but had until June 1 to decide whether to keep it or defer to 2015. The selection was packaged in the teams deal for Thomas Vanek on October 27, 2013. Old Skool Vans Cheap Canada . Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them. Wholesale Vans For Sale . The England international raised his middle finger toward Manchester City supporters during Saturdays game at Etihad Stadium, which Arsenal lost 6-3. The incident was not seen by match officials at the time but the FA charged Wilshere retrospectively after a study of video footage.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Detroit Red Wings will play their first game as a member of the Eastern Conference on Wednesday, as they welcome the Buffalo Sabres to Joe Louis Arena in the season opener for both teams. You can watch the game on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 8pm et/5pm pt. Every NHL team has new divisional opponents thanks to this seasons realignment plan, but only the Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Winnipeg Jets switched conferences. Detroit had been a member of the Western Conference since the last time the NHL realigned the league before the 1993-94 season. The Sabres and Red Wings now find themselves in the new iteration of the Atlantic Division, a group that also includes Boston, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto. Its one of the NHLs four divisions and the top three finishers in each group will receive automatic bids to the playoffs. Detroit has made the playoffs in 22 straight seasons and Mike Babcocks club is a good bet to make it 23 appearances in a row in the spring of 2014 after making it to the second round in 2013. Buffalo, however, is a club in the midst of a rebuilding phase, although there is hope the reclamation project wont take too long to bear fruit. The Red Wings made some notable additions to their offense last summer, signing forwards Daniel Alfredsson and Stephen Weiss to free-agent deals. Of course, the signing of the former guy made big waves in Ottawa, which was Alfredssons home for his entire NHL career before the 40-year old signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract to join Detroit. Alfredsson has said he expects to hear boos when the Red Wings visit their new division rival in Ottawa for the first time this season, although that first trip to Canadas capital city wont come until Dec. 1. With Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg still expected to do most of the heavy lifting on offense, the Red Wings dont need Alfredsson or Weiss to play like superstars, only to provide a boost to the teams offensive depth. "The biggest thing for our team, we look good on paper, we have good depth, good team, we have to execute on the ice," said Red Wings forward Daniel Cleary. "Im looking forward to playing these new teams more often. Itll be great for everybody involved, the fans, the media, just a different look." Jimmy Howard will get tthe call in net for the Red Wings on Wednesday after turning in his best season as an NHLer in 2013, going 21-13-7 with a 2.dddddddddddd13 goals against average and .923 save percentage in 42 appearances. The 29-year- old also tied with four other players for the league lead with five shutouts, giving Howard 11 white-washings over his last two seasons. Ryan Miller will face Howard tonight and, along with sniper Thomas Vanek, the Buffalo goaltender is one of his teams best assets. However, Miller, a former Vezina Trophy winner, did not have his best season in 2013, although that had something to do with Buffalos lack of depth on both sides of the ice. Miller went 17-17-5 in 2013 and his goals against average of 2.81 was his highest number of any season in which he played in at least 10 games. Miller also failed to record a single shutout for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign, when the American played in only three games. Both Miller and Vanek, who had 20 goals and 41 points in 38 games last season, are impending unrestricted free agents and could be used as trade bait during this season for the rebuilding Sabres. However, Miller says he hasnt ruled out re-signing with Buffalo when his contract is up at the end of the season, even if the Sabres decide to trade him before he is scheduled to hits free agency in the summer of 2014. Vanek, meanwhile, was named as Buffalos co-captain along with Steve Ott earlier this week. Ott will serve as captain in road games, while Vanek will take on the duties at home. On the injury front, Buffalo will be without forwards Marcus Foligno (strained shoulder) and Corey Tropp (jaw surgery) and defenseman Nikita Zadorov (lacerated finger). All three players are currently on injured reserve. The Sabres have missed the playoffs in two straight and four of the last six seasons, and the chances of returning to the postseason in 2014 seem slim heading into this campaign. Because teams from opposing conference didnt play each other during the lockout-shortened season of 2013, this will mark the first meeting between the Sabres and Red Wings since 2011-12, when Detroit won both encounters. The Red Wings are 19-2-1 with a tie in the last 23 meetings between these teams overall and Buffalo has lost three straight and 11 of its last 12 games in the Motor City. ' ' '