ROUEN, France -- On the day he was confirmed as the British team leader for the Olympic road race, star sprinter Mark Cavendish hit the ground heavily at the Tour de France in a crash that could have ruined his entire season. DeMarco Murray Cowboys Jersey . Racing the Tour as part of his preparations for the Olympic Games, Cavendish fell about 2.5 kilometres from the finish of the fourth stage Wednesday but was lucky enough to escape with just bruises and scratches. The Manxman has made clear that his main goal this season is to win Olympic gold in London in front of his home crowd. "Its disappointing and worrying when you see lads going down," Sky manager Dave Brailsford said. "Mark is okay. He has injuries but he is okay. Its nothing serious, well discuss it tonight." Cavendish, winner of Mondays stage in impressive fashion, fell in the build-up to the sprint at the end of the days racing. His German rival Andre Greipel of Lotto-Belissol went on to win the stage. Robbie Hunter (Garmin-Sharp) caused the pile-up, slipping onto the road as Cavendish went down with him. The crash happened in the last three kilometres of the trek from Abbeville to Rouen, meaning that Cavendish was awarded the same time as Greipel despite crossing the line more than four minutes behind with his teammate Bernhard Eisel. "Bernie got quite a big gash above his eye, which was quite nasty," Brailsford said. "Hes having stitches - that will be sore. Marks more superficial, just skin." With his world champion rainbow jersey in shreds, Cavendish looked infuriated as he returned to his bus and did not give interviews. "I cant repeat what he said when they came into the bus," Brailsford said. An official race medical report said Cavendish sustained several scratches and a cut on a finger and that Eisel had stitches for the cut on his forehead. Cavendishs girlfriend was quick to react on her Twitter feed, hinting that the Sky team should take better care of the rider. "Cavendish is down, and that is what happens when you take a man that is so harshly marked to the Tour without protection," Peta Todd said. "This is peoples lives. If you havent got the intention of making sure you have the team to look after the World Champ. Dont just wing it. He is just a man." This years edition of the Sky team is focused on Bradley Wiggins ambition to win the yellow jersey leaving Cavendish short of support from his usual lead-out train in the sprints. Brailsford said Cavendishs form will be assessed carefully. "After a crash like that, its high emotion," Brailsford said. "And when you hit the ground that fast, it always shakes you up, it builds up adrenalin. Well let the adrenalin go and see where we are later. Now he is OK." Dez Bryant Black Friday Jersey . China defeated Myanmar 3-0 while South Korea blanked Thailand 4-0 at the AFC Womens Asian Cup to secure top-two finishes in the Group B standings. Three more Asian countries will book their World Cup tickets by Wednesday. Terrance Williams Jersey . The delighted Vancouver Whitecaps coach was "lost for words" after his club scored three goals in the first 20 minutes en route to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes.LOS ANGELES -- After Patrick Marleaus fourth career playoff overtime goal silenced Staples Center for maybe the next-to-last time this season, the veteran San Jose Sharks forward attributed his knack for post-season heroics to one simple trait. "Well, you just try to shoot it on net," Marleau said. "This one was not a hard shot by any means, but you just get it to the net." Thats how good things happen for Marleau and the Sharks, who weathered the Los Angeles Kings best game of the series and emerged on the brink of advancement. Marleau scored 6:20 into overtime, and the Sharks beat the Kings 4-3 on Tuesday night to take a 3-0 first-round series lead. Rookie Tomas Hertl tied it with 10:43 left in regulation for the Sharks, who had to grind out a nail-biting victory after two blowout wins in San Jose. But the Sharks have won five straight overtime playoff games and 10 of their past 11, with Marleau repeatedly delivering the decisive blow. "For Patty Marleau to come up with that goal, its just huge for us," captain Joe Thornton said. "It was just going back and forth." The Kings largely controlled overtime until Marleaus shot banked off Kings defenceman Slava Voynovs stick on its way past Jonathan Quick, who made 36 saves in his third straight loss. Marleaus goal was his third of the series. "They had the bat in their hands, and they were going to swing it," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "They had us on our heels, but sometimes it goes that way. We will take that break." Matt Nieto got his first career playoff goal for the Sharks, and Brent Burns also scored. Antti Niemi stopped 28 shots for San Jose, winning three straight in the matchup of Stanley Cup-winning goalies. Game 4 is Thursday in Los Angeles. Los Angeles has slipped to the brink of first-round elimination just two years after its Stanley Cup title run. The Kings were the NHLs best defensive team during the regular season, but theyve allowed 17 goals in the first three games of this series. Only three teams have ever rallied to win a best-of-seven NHL playoff series after trailing 0-3. "It was a better effort," said leading scorer Anze Kopitar, who doesnt have a goal in the series. "We had some chances, but it wasnt enough. Were going to have to come back in a couple of days and throw everything at them. Dan Bailey Cowboys Jersey. quot; Jeff Carter tipped in a tiebreaking goal for Los Angeles on a power play early in the third period, but Hertl evened it right after a power play expired. San Jose dominated the third, but Quick made 23 saves to send the Kings into their first overtime playoff game at home in three years. Marian Gaborik scored and Jarret Stoll ended his 29-game playoff goal drought for the Kings, who stumbled back home after opening the series with two disastrous games at the Shark Tank. The Kings nervous fans got quiet early on when Burns partly whiffed on a wrist shot and produced a knuckling puck that sailed past Quick just 10 seconds into a Sharks power play. Stoll evened it with his first playoff goal in two years early in the second period. Stoll hadnt found the net in the post-season since his series-clinching overtime goal against Vancouver in 2012. Gaborik then put the Kings ahead all by himself, lugging the puck from the opposite blue line and beating Niemi with a vicious backhand. "I think our better players were better," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "That was noticeable. That will give us a chance next game." San Jose evened it 1:18 later when Nieto, from nearby Long Beach, scored into an open net. Quick had been knocked to the ice by Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr moments earlier. Carter capitalized in the waning seconds of a power play by tipping Anze Kopitars shot in front for his first playoff score since Game 2 of last seasons Western Conference finals, ending a personal 393:34 drought. Hertl converted his own rebound midway through the period to even it again, scoring on the rink where a knee-on-knee hit from Dustin Brown sidelined the Czech rookie for 45 games earlier this season. NOTES: The Kings scratched F Colin Fraser after recalling the two-time Stanley Cup champion from the AHL earlier in the day. Los Angeles also scratched F Kyle Clifford, who went scoreless with a minus-3 and 16 penalty minutes in the first two games, and D Matt Greene, a minus-4 in the series. ... The Kings dressed F Tanner Pearson, who made his NHL playoff debut last season before he had ever played in a regular-season NHL game. ... Los Angeles played its 41st playoff game in the past three seasons, the most by any NHL team in that span. ' ' '
