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. Tony McDaniel 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. Steve Largent Womens Jersey . Whether on game or practice days, whether in Montréal or on the road, Bell lets fans into the world of the Club de hockey Canadien, with this unique content, no matter where they are, and on the screen of their choice. Doug Baldwin Womens Jersey . Moskalski, a fourth-year physical education and recreation student from Edmonton, collected four points in two games as the Pandas kicked off conference play with a pair of road wins over Canada West champion Manitoba.ST. LOUIS - Albert Pujols thrust both arms high in the air, even before he reached home plate. It was only the first inning, and already it felt as if the St. Louis Cardinals were home free. Because after they had overcome so much just to get this far, what could stop them? The Cardinals won a remarkable World Series they werent even supposed to reach, beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night with another key hit by hometown star David Freese and six gutty innings from Chris Carpenter. Pushed to the brink, the Cardinals kept saving themselves. A frantic rush to reach the post-season on the final day. A nifty pair of comebacks in the playoffs. Two desperate rallies in Game 6. "This whole ride, this team deserves this," said Freese, who added the Series MVP award to his trophy as the NL championship MVP. A day after an epic game that saw them twice within one strike of elimination before winning 10-9 in 11 innings, the Cardinals captured their 11th World Series crown. "Its hard to explain how this happened," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. After surging from 10 1/2 games down in the wild-card race late in the season, La Russas team didnt dare mess with Texas, or any more drama in baseballs first World Series Game 7 since the Angels beat Giants in 2002. Freeses two-run double tied it in the first, with Pujols celebrating as he scored. Good-luck charm Allen Craig hit a go-ahead homer in the third. Given a chance to pitch by a Game 6 rainout and picked by La Russa earlier in the day to start on three days rest, Carpenter and the tireless St. Louis bullpen closed it out. No Rally Squirrel needed on this night, either. Fireworks and confetti rang out at Busch Stadium when Jason Motte retired David Murphy on a fly ball to end it. "We just kept playing," Cardinals star Lance Berkman said. Said La Russa: "If you watch the history of baseball, teams come back." The Rangers, meanwhile, will spend the whole winter wondering how it all got away. Texas might dwell on it forever, in fact, or at least until Nolan Ryan & Co. can reverse a World Series slide that started with last years five-game wipeout against San Francisco. "We were close. Two times. Game 6. Thats it," Texas pitcher Colby Lewis said. Ryan left tightlipped. When a reporter tried to ask the Rangers president and part-owner a question, someone in his entourage said: "Hes not talking." Texas had not lost consecutive games since last August. These two defeats at Busch Stadium cost manager Ron Washington and the Rangers a chance to win their first title in the franchises 51-year history. Instead, Texas became the first team to lose the Series two straight years since Atlanta in 1991-92. "Sometimes when opportunity is in your presence, you certainly cant let it get away because sometimes it takes a while before it comes back," Washington said. "If theres one thing that happened in this World Series that Ill look back on is being so close, just having one pitch to be made and one out to be gotten, and it could have been a different story." Added Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre: "We tried to come back today, but the momentum just took them." "Its not a nice feeling, you know, being one strike away twice. I guess its probably easier to lose four games in a row in a World Series, but being a strike away its something that will be hard to forget," he said. This marked the ninth straight time the home team had won Game 7 in the World Series. The wild-card Cardinals held that advantage over the AL West champions because the NL won the all-star game -- Texas could blame that on their own pitcher, C.J. Wilson, who took the loss in July. A year full of inspiring rallies and epic collapses was encapsulated in Game 6. Freese was the star, with a tying triple in the ninth and a winning home run in the 11th. His two RBIs in the clincher gave him a post-season record 21. The Cardinals won their first championship since 2006, and gave La Russa his third World Series title. They got there by beating Philadelphia in the first round of the NL playoffs, capped by Carpenter outduelling former Toronto Blue Jays teammate Roy Halladay 1-0 in the deciding Game 5, and then topping Milwaukee in the NL championship seriees. Michael Bennett Womens Jersey. "I think the last month of the season, thats where it started," Pujols said. "Different guys were coming huge, getting big hits, and we carried that into the post-season and here we are, world champions." By the time Yadier Molina drew a bases-loaded walk from starter Matt Harrison and Rafael Furcal was hit by a pitch from Wilson in relief, the crowd began to sense a championship was near. The Cardinals improved to 8-3 in Game 7s of the Series, more wins than any other club. Yet fans here know their history well, and were aware this game could go either way -- Dizzy Dean and the Gas House Gang won 11-0 in 1934, but Whitey Herzog and his Cardinals lost 11-0 in 1985. On this evening, all the stars aligned for St. Louis. Starting in place of injured Matt Holliday, Craig hit his third homer of the Series and made a leaping catch at the top of the left field wall. Molina made another strong throw to nail a stray runner. And Carpenter steeled himself to pitch into the seventh, every bit an ace. "It was in our grasp and we didnt get it," Washington said, referring to Game 6. "Tonight we fought hard for it and the Cardinals got it." Pujols went 0 for 2, walked and was hit by a pitch in what could have been his last game with the Cardinals. Many think the soon-to-be free agent will remain in St. Louis. "You know what? Im not even thinking about that. Im thinking about, you know, were the world champions and Im going to celebrate and whenever that time comes, you know, then well deal with it," he said. Pujols did plenty of damage. His three-homer job in Game 3 was the signature performance of his career and perhaps the greatest hitting show in post-season history. Dismissed by some as a dull Series even before it began because it lacked the big-market glamour teams, it got better inning by inning. Plus, a post-season first: A bullpen telephone mixup played a prominent role. "I told you it was going to be a great series, and it was," Texas slugger Josh Hamilton said. "I dont care what other people remember. We fell a little bit short," he said. "Hats off to the Cards, they did a great job, especially last night. It was actually fun to watch and fun to see. You hate it but it happened." Craig hit a solo home run in the third, an opposite field fly to right that carried into the Cardinals bullpen and got their relievers dancing. The super-sub put St. Louis ahead 3-2 with his third homer of the Series. He was in the lineup only because Holliday sprained his right wrist on a pickoff play a night earlier and was replaced on the roster. By then, the largest crowd at 6-year-old Busch Stadium was buzzing. The fans seemed a bit drained much earlier, maybe worn out from the previous night. They grew hush in the first when Hamilton and Michael Young hit consecutive RBI doubles. Texas might have gotten more, but Ian Kinsler strayed too far off first base and was trapped by Molinas rocket throw. Freese changed the mood in a hurry as St. Louis tied it in the bottom half. Pujols and Lance Berkman drew two-out walks and pitching coach Mike Maddux trotted to the mound while Freese stepped in to a standing ovation. Freese rewarded his family and a ballpark full of new friends by lining a full-count floater to the wall in left centre for a two-run double. Harrison was in trouble, and Wilson began warming up after only 23 pitches. Carpenter wasnt sharp at the outset, either. All over the strike zone, he started seven of the first 10 batters with balls. Pitching coach Dave Duncan made a visit in the second to check on the tall righty, lingering for a few extra words. "I was hoping to have an opportunity to go ahead and pitch in that game and fortunately it worked out," Carpenter said. "It started off a little rough in the first. But I was able to collect myself, make some pitches and our guys did an awesome job to battle back. And I mean, its just amazing." NOTES: Texas set a Series record by walking 41 batters, one more than Florida in 1997. Of the 34 runs the Cardinals scored, 11 reached on walks and two more on hit batters. ... The crowd was 47,399. ... The Cardinals will play the first game of the 2012 season in North America, opening the Miami Marlins new ballpark on April 4. wholesale nfl jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
