STIRLING -- She has taken to the catwalk at a New York fashi

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STIRLING -- She has taken to the catwalk at a New York fashion show, has been lined up for a photo shoot by a British tabloid and is possibly the most famous sportswoman in Scotland. Ibraheim Campbell Texans Jersey . The words "curling" and "celebrity" arent usually found in the same sentence, but brilliant play on the ice is ensuring plenty of exposure off it for British womens skip Eve Muirhead. "I enjoy it, although its a bit weird," Muirhead said of her glamorous life away from the rink. "But were trying to get the sport to grow because its a sport that needs to grow. So its always good to promote curling." Already a world and European champion with Scotland, Muirhead is heading to Februarys Winter Olympics in Sochi looking to fill the gap on her curling resume. And for the second straight games, she and her British teammates will be the favourites for the gold medal. Muirhead was only 19 when she competed at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. She lost five straight games after a good start and failed to make it past the round-robin stage. "Ive looked back at it and we didnt train hard enough, didnt practice hard. We just werent good enough," Muirhead said after a practice session at the Scottish Institute of Sport training base in Stirling. "I think I learnt from that, and for this cycle Ive really stepped up everything. Its actually probably the best thing that could have happened to me." Womens curling in Britain has undergone a generational shift since Rhona Martin, a 36-year-old from a small Scottish village, led Britain to an unlikely gold medal in Salt Lake City in 2002. More than 6 million Britons stayed up into the early hours to watch Martins team, labeled the "housewife superstars" by the British media, become overnight sensations in a sport many previously didnt even know existed. Eleven years later, things have changed dramatically. British curling at the highest level has gone professional, a fund of 5 million pounds ($8.2 million) is dedicated to the countrys Olympians over four years, and there is as much gym work as practice on the ice. Sports psychologists -- in Britains case, a former Bolshoi ballet dancer -- and strength and conditioning coaches are part of the support staff. The curlers themselves are much younger. Muirhead and teammates Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams and Claire Hamilton are all between 22 and 24, making them the youngest womens team in Sochi. "Its nice to see a young aspect to the sport, to show that you do need to be fit to be a curler," Sloan told The Associated Press in an interview. "Curling had the image of being an older sport but I think with us being young and showing we enjoy it so much, thats a healthy thing and hopefully we are going to get people to try it after the Olympics." Muirheads team is being held up as Britains best chance of gold in Sochi, more than a decade after Martin delivered what is referred to in Britain as the "Stone of Destiny" in the 2002 Olympic final against Switzerland. Muirhead was just 12 at the time, and recalls being allowed to stay up late on a school night to watch the final. No surprise given her father, Gordon, won a world championship in curling in 1999. "It was fantastic," she said. "Ever since that moment, you want to go there and do it yourself, dont you? It inspired me, for sure." That night also changed Martins life. She was shocked to see flag-waving crowds greet her at Heathrow Airport on her return to Britain. She was congratulated by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, awarded an honour by Queen Elizabeth II and invited to sit in the Royal Box at Wimbledon. Martin was stopped everywhere she went and was hounded by the tabloid newspapers. "Football (journalists) were even phoning, asking me: What do you think of the new Scotland manager? recalled Martin, who keeps her gold medal "in a cupboard, in its box, with the toilet rolls." That level of media glare is something Muirhead can expect, too, if she returns home from Russia with a gold medal. Britain doesnt have a strong tradition at the Winter Olympics, winning only nine golds since the first games in 1924. As a result, every champion is feted as a national icon. Muirhead is used to coping with pressure and attention. A youth champion in bagpiping and golf, she turned down golf scholarships from a number of American universities to take up curling, with her accomplishments on the ice tracked from the moment she won the first of her four world junior titles, in 2007. Off the ice, Muirhead was invited by actor Sean Connery to stride the catwalk at the annual Scottish-themed "Dressed to Kilt" fashion show in New York in 2010 and has a photo shoot scheduled with The Sun newspaper in Britain. She is a big name in Canada, curlings stronghold, and even bigger in Scotland, where the sport originated. Muirhead remains level-headed, though -- in her own words, a "normal down-to-earth person." And with Martin now coach of the British womens team, Muirhead couldnt have a better mentor in her corner heading into Sochi. "Obviously there is a target on their back." Martin said. "They are world champions so thats just reality. They know every single game there will be tough but . they have the potential. Its just about performing on the right day." Jordan Akins Texans Jersey . The NFL announced Friday that the Texans sixth-year veteran offensive lineman will replace Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters in the Jan. Martinas Rankin Texans Jersey . CEO Steve Koonin on Tuesday told the Hawks flagship radio station that he made the decision to discipline Ferry but allowed him to keep his job managing the team. He did not say what the punishment was, but noted that he relied on a law firms three-month investigation of Ferry and him describing Deng as someone who has a little African in him. http://www.footballtexansgearsshop.com/Black-Jordan-Akins-Texans-Jersey.html?cat=967 . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday.HOUSTON - The Houston Rockets are starting to gel after a rough stretch when new players were trying to find their place.James Harden had 30 points and five assists to lead the Rockets to their third straight victory, 97-82 over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.Were catching a rhythm, Harden said. Defensively, we look pretty solid. Offensively, we were sharing the basketball, and guys were scoring. Its a free-for-all out there.Harden, the leagues leader in points per game, had his 15th 30-point game.After acquiring Corey Brewer and Josh Smith within a week around Christmas, the Rockets lost five of seven. With their roles now clearly defined, things look promising in Houston.We had parts in the game where we moved the ball very, very well, Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. We played in spurts all night long. We dont want to do that, we want to be a little bit better.Harden made four of Houstons 13 3-pointers, including two in the fourth quarter, to maintain the large lead built during a turnover-filled third quarter for Utah.Houston used 16 steals and forced 31 turnovers to overcome poor first-half shooting.Trey Burke and Enes Kanter both scored 16 for Utah, and Derrick Favours had 15 points in just 17 minutes.Gordon Hayward, who leads the Jazz with 19.1 points per game, was held to just nine, as he was blanketed by Harden for much of his 30 minutes.The Rockets struggled to find their shots early. They rank first in 3-pointers made, but missed 10 of their first 13 attempts. In the third quarter, however, Houston heated up, hitting four straight 3s during one stretch and 5 of 8 to pull away.After the game was tied at 23 to end the first quarter, Houstons defence clamped down in the second, forcing 10 of Utahs 18 first-half turnovers in the frame.The struggling Jazz hit their season high in turnovers midway through the third.After winning five of their last seven games to close out the last two weekks of 2014, the Jazz have lost four of six to start 2015. Texans Jerseys. tah coach Quin Snyder said the turnovers were more a tribute to Houstons length and style of defence than shortcomings for the Jazz.Theyre long, theyre quick, and they have Dwight Howard back there, protecting the rim so they can be even more aggressive, Snyder said. Thats why theyre one of the top defensive teams in the league.Howard was held to just eight points and eight boards in 36 minutes.The Jazz scored a season-low 14 points in the second quarter, and the Rockets led 46-37 at the half.Behind Hardens performance, Donatas Motiejunas had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Trevor Ariza, Smith and Patrick Beverley each had 10 points.Were just trying to be a burst of energy, Smith said of the veteran depth. Whenever we see the starters not really getting off to a good start, we try to be that energy and that enthused group to come out and get it going.TIP-INSJazz: C Enes Kanter returned after a four-game absence after suffering a right ankle sprain on Jan. 2. Kanter scored 16 points and added six rebounds in 21 minutes. ... C Rudy Gobert, who entered the game averaging a league-leading 5.0 blocks per game since Jan. 1, had three blocks, including two against Josh Smith.Rockets: F Trevor Ariza recorded his 12th game of 3-plus steals, which is tied for the third highest in the league. He finished with a game-high five. ... After making just three free throws in a loss Wednesday at the Bulls, who made 27, the Rockets hit 18 to Utahs 19. Houston improved to 10-9 when its opponent hits more from the stripe. The Rockets are 15-1 when they make more free throws.HEAVILY FATIGUEDOnly two Utah starters played 30 minutes in the game, and Snyder said fatigue was a heavy factor.UP NEXTUtah returns home on Tuesday to face a streaking Warriors team that has won six straight.Rockets travel to Brooklyn to face the Nets on Monday. 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