What is the Olympic readiness of Canadas champions after their first Grand Prix event? Are they on track or in trouble early in this Olympic season? The results from Skate Canada International in Saint John, New Brunswick, though mixed, bode well and while we are still over three months out, there are some encouraging signs and lots of reasons for optimism heading to Sochi. Patrick Omameh Jersey . The one thing we know for sure is that Tessa Virtue and Scott Moirs new free dance has Olympics written all over it. Their music is by Russian composer Alexander Glazunov, who is described as a Romantic Classicist. It is an emotionally poignant and uplifting piece that plays to Tessa and Scotts strengths and is bound to captivate the Sochi audience. Last year, the reviews for their provocative Carmen free dance were mixed. The daring darkness of the dance brought either "love it or hate it" kind of reactions. The reviews of the new Olympic free dance have been universal in their praise. Artistically and creatively, it is a winner and a crowd pleaser that is vintage Virtue and Moir. The gold will demand endless hours now of drilling and refining in preparation for challenging U.S. rivals Meryl Davis and Charlie White. The stage is set for an intriguing showdown. In an Olympic year, one cannot underestimate the value of a stable and supportive training environment and Patrick Chan has found that place in Detroit with coach Kathy Johnson. In his words, he is "happy" and it shows. He is patient and confident in practice, not perfect by any stretch but unfazed by any stumbles or jumping errors. In a warmup at Skate Canada, he had a jarring fall on a quad, shrugged, circled and did it again as it was intended. It was a decisive win at Skate Canada. His demeanour spoke of confidence, preparedness and experience, qualities that were missing heading into Vancouver. As he builds to Sochi and expectations rise and demands on him increase, it is the balance he has built in his life outside the rink and the foundation he has built in it that will, he hopes, make the difference. For Canadian pairs champions Meagan Duhammel and Eric Radford, it was a bit of a case of, youd better "dance with the one who brung you". In the past, it was their feisty ability to maximize technical risk and capitalize on it that got them to the world podium and it is the technical mark that let them down at Skate Canada International. In what Meagan called their lowest technical score ever, they dropped to third in their long program. Their focus in Saint John was on artistry and character development and, while they delivered emotionally charged performances, their new focus distracted them from what they do best and their challenge over the next few weeks will be to bring the old and new together. The one thing I know about these two is that they are fighters and, with the less than stellar start and their backs to the wall, they will come out swinging. Dont drop your hands, dont count them out. Just when Kaetlyn Osmond thought she could begin her Olympic quest in earnest, she suffered another setback. Having missed a number of weeks due to an injured foot heading into Skate Canada, Kaetlyn woke up after the short program with a sore hamstring and was unable to compete in the free skate. The word is, she has tears in two tendons in her hamstring and will see limited ice and training time for the next 7-10 days, at which time it is expected to have healed. It adds up to a lot of training missed and can set up the cycle of overtraining to catch up and then reinjuring. She is young and has a bubbly personality so it will be tough to contain her. Kaetlyn has three weeks until her next Grand Prix and it is their plan that she will compete. Other Canadian honorable mentions and notable performances were those of Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje who finished second in the Ice Dance event, Amelie Lacostes short program and Eladje Baldes quad in the short. One of the most compelling performances for me at Skate Canada International was that of 28-year-old Akiko Suzuki from Japan, who critics often dismiss as being too old and past her prime. Her performances were captivating and her joy was palpable every time she took the ice. Watching her compete, I was reminded of a conversation I had with Elvis Stojko before one of his Olympic Games. When discussing dealing with Olympic pressure, he said, "I just want to remember why it is I love to skate and, if I can think of that, I will have the right frame of mind to compete." Canadas skaters would do well to take that phrase to heart. Through all the hype and the weight of pressure and expectations of an Olympic season, it is remembering the pure joy of skating that can keep things in perspective, calm the nerves and inspire break-out performances on the road to Sochi. Kareem Martin Jersey . Cruz set the tone with a two-run homer in the first inning, and Baltimore scored eight times in the eighth to pull away for a 12-3 victory in Game 1. The major league leader with 40 homers during the regular season, Cruz added an RBI single to his early blast off Max Scherzer. Saquon Barkley Giants Jersey .com) - A pair of programs shooting for their 10th win of the season get together at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as the NC State Wolfpack tangle with 22nd-ranked West Virginia during the challenge round of the Gotham Classic. http://www.giantsrookiestore.com/Giants-Saquon-Barkley-Jersey/ .Martin Caceres marked his return from injury by scoring in the 3-1 win at Napoli and he believes Juventus sent out a warning to the rest of the league with that result.We go out on the pitch every game looking to give our all, Caceres said.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the NBA Draft Lottery, the Redskins name, Donald Sterling, and fights in the playoffs. Dave Feschuk, Toronto Star: My thumb is down to the NBA Draft Lottery, which once again rewarded one of the worst franchises in pro sports with another No. 1 pick. Im talking about the Cleveland Oilers, I mean the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or, same thing. And same question: how many more Canadians have to suffer thanks to a dated draft model that rewards incompetence? Well, probably one more. Chances are good Cleveland will use the pick to select Canadas Andrew Wiggins next month. Third time in four years theyll pick No. 1. Theyve also got Canadas Anthony Bennett and Tristan Thompson in the lottery, Not to mention Kyrie Irving. And howve they been doing? Theyve averaged 26 wins the past three years. Hey, these are the guys who tanked for LeBron James and couldnt figure it out. The NBA needs to look hard at tank-proof alternatives to the lottery. They might not save the worst franchises from themselves, but they might save the best players from having to play for them. Gary Lawless, Winnipeg Free Press: My thumb is down to the Washington foot-draggers. Its down to the 50 senators who tried to make political hay out of this sad and tired situation after years of slurping martinis in luxury suites watching the football team not to be named here. Now theyre offended? What changed? Certainly not their moral stance but only the winds of public opinion. Its down to the NFL, who pretends the use of a racial slur is ok because its been used for so many years. Down to Daniel Snyder, who profits from said slur and ignores his own role in the spread of racissm. Jonathan Stewart Giants Jersey. NBA players were outraged when Donald Sterlings racism was laid bare. NFL players should take the opportunity to halt another affront. Demand change, NFLers. Rid your league of this slur and shame Snyder, Roger Goodell and the rest of the leagues owners to enact change. Steve Simmons, SUN Media: My thumb is up to Donald Sterling, yes up, to that old, disgraceful bigot who is barely hanging on to the Los Angeles Clippers, for apparently conceding defeat. Or what certainly seems from the outside like defeat. Far be it for the cloudy-minded Sterling to see clearly but ESPN has reported that Sterling has agreed to allow his wife, Shelly, to negotiate a sale of the team, which is exactly what the NBA wants. The quicker Sterling goes away, frankly, the better. The sooner the Clippers are sold, the happier NBA players will be. Should the team be sold for $1 billion, which is possible, the Sterlings would be taxed more than $328 million on the sale. It would be an expensive ending, but ending this is where the NBA wants to be. Dave Naylor, TSN Radio 1050: My thumb is up to the New York Rangers Derek Dorsett and the Montreal Canadiens Brandon Prust for reminding us what we havent been missing for most of these Stanley Cup Playoffs: fights. The tilt between Prust and Dorsett during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final was the first fight of the playoffs since Round 1 and the first since the calendar turned to May. In fact, there were 2,113 minutes of great playoff hockey played without a single fight. Which only proves that fighting is meaningless when it comes to winning hockey games, because if it was meaningful, coaches would send their players out do it more. When the games matter most. That would be the playoffs. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '