Hobart, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - American women Alison Riske and Madison Brengle each won two matches on Thursday to reach the semifinals at the Hobart International tennis event, a final Australian Open tune-up. The eighth-seeded Riske started her day with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Serb Bojana Jovanovski, while Brengle beat Ukrainian fellow qualifier Kateryna Kozlova 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) in the second round. In quarterfinal action, the Pittsburgh native Riske then upset second-seeded Kazakhstani Zarina Diyas 6-3, 6-0 and the Delaware native Brengle overcame Italian Karin Knapp 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-4. Two other quarterfinal results saw Japans Kurumi Nara upend third-seeded Italian Camila Giorgi 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 and Brit Heather Watson humble ninth- seeded Italian Roberta Vinci 7-6 (7-0), 6-2. Three other second-round bouts saw Knapp oust top-seeded Aussie Casey Dellacqua 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, Diyas down Slovakian wild card Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 6-1 and Giorgi receive a walkover past Estonian Kaia Kanepi. Five second-round matches were postponed because of rain here on Wednesday. Fridays semifinals will pit Riske against Watson and Brengle versus Nara. This years Hobart titlist will earn $43,000. Padres Jerseys China . The Detroit Tigers closer blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night against the Dodgers. San Diego Padres Gear .Y. -- The Montreal Canadiens have had few reasons to celebrate this season as they have been mired near the basement of the Eastern Conference. https://www.cheappadresjerseys.us/ . Now, the hottest team on the ATP are pointing their sights on qualifying for the eight-team season finals in London next November. Pospisil has now established the year-end World Tour Finals as the benchmark for a breakthrough season, with Pospisil and Sock provisionally standing ninth. San Diego Padres Store . Patton told The Baltimore Sun that he took an Adderall pill four days before the season finished, trying to improve his short-term focus. "I took one because I was stupid," Patton told The Sun. Fake Padres Jerseys . On the day after Billy Horschel posted his 12th straight round in the 60s, won his second straight tournament against a world-class field and picked up an additional $10 million bonus as the FedEx Cup champion, Watson was kicking back in his seat at a Kansas City Royals game.The Montreal Alouettes have parted ways with Arland Bruce III. The veteran wide receiver, who has played 12 seasons in the CFL, spent last year with the Als after stints with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and B.C. Lions. In his only season with Montreal, Bruce caught 64 passes for 851 yard and five touchdowns. The 36-year-old Bruce made headlines earlier this month when he went to his Instagram account to make anti-gay remarks in regards to Missouri defensive end Michael Sams announcement that he is gay. The team fined Bruce for his comments. "Our organization supports all types of diversity," said Alouettes general manager Jim Popp at the time. "Every individual is unique and free to make his or her own choices. We evaluate players, coaches and support staff based on their skill set and not by gender, colour, religion or sexual orientattion.dddddddddddd The Montreal Alouettes have a simple criteria to determine who can be a member of our organization. We seek individuals who will make a positive contribution to our team goals and to the Montreal community." Though the comments certainly didnt endear Bruce to Als management, they werent cited as a reason for his release. Bruces high salary considerations and the fact that Montreal and new head coach Tom Higgins would like to start two Canadians at wide receiver this year were the two main factors in his release. "The Alouettes would like to thank Arland for his hard work and contributions last season," Popp said in a statement on Wednesday evening. "Through the challenges we faced, he played multiple roles on game day and came to work every day with the determination to win. We wish Arland the best in his future endeavours." ' ' '