LONDON - Hes the player the opposition tries in vain to contain. Charles Sims Buccaneers Jersey . The ball follows him like a loyal dog. When the ball clangs off the rim or backboard, one hand rises effortlessly above others. Every sport has a game-changer such as Sidney Crosby, or in his prime, Kobe Bryant. Patrick Anderson is that in wheelchair basketball. Sport may be given to hyperbolic language but in Andersons case, the Canadian lives up to his billing as the best player in the world. "In every sport, there always comes along a physical specimen who is ideally suited for that particular sport and the guy becomes a superstar," Canadian coach Jerry Tonello says. "We have Pat. "Pat is the perfect wheelchair basketball machine." The perfect wheelchair basketball machine almost wasnt wearing Canadian colours at the Paralympic Games in London. After winning gold in 2000 and 2004 and silver in 2008, Anderson retired. The retirement turned into a two-year hiatus before he returned to the game. "When I started playing wheelchair basketball, I was totally inspired by guys telling me about Seoul - guys who had played basketball for Canada in 1988," Anderson said. "I wanted to be that one more time. "When I started to hear about London and people in the U.K. who really seemed to get the Paralympics and the media coverage here was going to be something special, that started the ball rolling. I wanted to be part of the show and represent Canada well, my friends and family and also the Paralympic movement well." Canada downed Columbia 68-42 on Monday to cap the preliminary round of the Paralympic tournament at 5-0. The Canadians will play in Wednesdays quarter-finals. Anderson was the only player to score over 100 points and led the tournament in points (133) and assists (39). He tied for first in fouls drawn (28) and ranked second in rebounds (45). Listed at six-foot-four when hes wearing prosthetic legs, Anderson is long from his hips to his head. He doesnt wear prosthetics on the court, so without the lower legs he lost at age nine when he was struck by a drunk driver, Anderson sits higher in his chair than those who still have their legs. "Hes got great levers," Tonello explains. "His weight distribution is suited to our sport. Hes carrying no weight low in the chair where its dead weight and hes worked on his body to be strong from the waste up." In wheelchair basketball, a player gets two touches of his wheels before dribbling. Anderson has the core strength to thrust his body forward and get maximum distance before he has to put the ball down. And while the ball is in his hand, it seems glued there. With Germany often double-teaming Anderson on Sunday, the court opened up for teammate Bo Hedges to pour in 24 points. Anderson had his second triple-double of the tournament with 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists in that game. "You cannot defend against Anderson one-on-one," British player Gaz Choudhry told The Telegraph. "It takes the whole team to defend him." Canadian co-captain David Eng says Anderson is more than his physical gifts. "Hes really long, really tall, but theres a lot of tall, long players out there like Pat," Eng says. "What really makes Pat Anderson is his work ethic and his will to analyze and understand the game. "A lot of people think Pats a natural. What makes him a super player is his work ethic, how he studies the game and his knowledge of the game." Australia foiled Canadas bid for a golden three-peat in Beijing. Returning to the top of the podium requires all Canadian hands on deck and not just Andersons. Tonellos challenge has been to work a dominant player seamlessly into a team effort. "I have to build a supporting staff around him," he explains. "I lose all respect if its just about Pat. Ive been working hard on getting other players who can work with him and we saw Bo Hedges come through from the top of the key." Anderson was born in Edmonton, but grew up in Fergus, Ont. The 33-year-old is married and working on a music degree at New York Citys Hunter College. He has a dry, understated sense of humour. Anderson takes a few moments to respond to his label as the best player in the world. "Um, what do I think about that?" he said. "It never gets old." "Whether Im the best player in the world or not, I take it as a bit of a point of pride to play like it or try to play like it," Anderson continued. "Im capable on any given day of living up to that. "Thats the least I owe the sport, to not shy away from that label, embrace it and enjoy it and be grateful that people appreciate my game." Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kadeem Edwards Jersey . St-Gelais, from Saint-Felicien, Que., finished with a time of 44.069 seconds. She won silver in the same event four years ago in Vancouver. South Koreas Seung-Hi Park won the heat in 43.611 and Italys Arianna Fontana also qualified with a time of 43.www.authenticbuccaneersshop.com/Kadeem-Edwards-Buccaneers-Jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside.MADRID, Spain -- Barcelona stumbled to a 3-2 home loss against Valencia on Saturday, giving Atletico Madrid a chance to move into sole possession of first place in the Spanish league. The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. Barcelona led through Alexis Sanchezs eighth-minute goal but Dani Parejo equalized for Valencia before the break. Pablo Piatti headed Valencia ahead after the restart before Lionel Messis penalty -- and first league goal since September -- levelled the game again. But Barcelonas defence let Sofiane Feghouli burst free into the area to set up Paco Alcacers 59th-minute winner. Barcelona played with 10 men from the 78th after Jodi Alba was shown a second yellow card. The defeat means Atletico can lead the league alone for the first time this season if it does not lose at home to Real Sociedad on Sunday, when Real Madrid can also overtake its greatest rival with a victory at fourth-place Athletic Bilbao. Also on Saturday, Levante and Rayo Vallecano played to a scoreless draw, as did Getafe and Valladolid, while Malaga rallied to beat Sevilla 3-2 in an entertaining encounter. At the top of the standings, Atletico and Barcelona share 54 points, while Madrid has 53. Valencia provisionally moved into eighth. Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino was preoccupied by Barcelonas drop in play after just half an hour. "Im always worried after every one of our losses," Martino said. "Despite us having played well for a while against Valencia, Im very worried, much like the players are." Messi set up the opener after slashing a pass across the box beyond the far post where Alexis connected oddly to float it over goalkeeper Diego Alves. Valencia took control from the 44th when Parejo exploited a turnover inside the Barcelona half to lead a breakout with Feghouli, who returned a pass inside the area for Parejo to score easily.authenticbuccaneersshop.com/Austin-Seferian-Jenkins-Buccaneers-Jersey. "Their goal hurt us and, in the second half, the team failed to respond," said defender Javier Mascherano, who refused to blame the off-field distractions that have enveloped Barcelona. "Today it wasnt the distractions that beat us, but Valencia. The margin of error (to be champion) is zero." Valencia went ahead in the 48th when the 1.63-meter (5-foot-3) Piatti held off Dani Alves to jump high and head a looping ball over goalkeeper Victor Valdes. Valencia was unlucky as Pedro Rodriguezs shot came off Ricardo Costa to set up the spot kick, even though it appeared Costa had no chance of getting out of the way as the ball grazed his shoulder. Messi slotted home his ninth league goal in the 54th, and first since Sept. 28 against Almeria. Barcelonas defence was dormant five minutes later as Feghouli moved past three players to the goal line before cutting back to meet Alcacer, who blasted past Valdes for the winner. Messi had a golden opportunity to draw Barcelona even in the second minute of stoppage time, but he shot wide after precisely combining with Dani Alves and substitute Andres Iniesta to get free into the box. Valencia, which was Spains most active team in the January transfer, snapped a five-game winless run to deal Barcelona its first home league defeat in nearly two years. Malaga captain and winger Duda proved the hero at Rosaleda Stadium as he took advantage of Alberto Morenos silly clearance attempt to gather inside the area and lift the winning goal past goalkeeper Beto in the 82nd. Dudas penalty put the hosts ahead after half an hour before Sevilla scored a pair of unanswered goals through Carlos Baccas 10th of the season and Federico Fazios header in the 66th. Samuel Sanchez pegged home the equalizer in the 77th as Malaga rallied for an emotional victory during which coach Bernd Schuster was red-carded in stoppage time. Malaga moved four points clear of Valladolid and the last relegation spot. ' ' '
