Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford added a quadruple throw to their program this year to push themselves as much as to push the sport. Nike Air Max Thea Norge .The difficult element has helped propel the Canadians up the pairs figure skating rankings.Duhamel and Radford go into the Grand Prix Final this week ranked No. 2, trailing Olympic silver medallists Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia.The two-time world bronze medallists spent much of the off-season perfecting the quad throw Salchow, which has Radford throwing Duhamel four revolutions through the air.Anything that pushes us and pushes the sport we feel is important, Duhamel said. Adding the throw quad to our skating has kept us really motivated, its encouraged us. . . and not just for us, were looking to push the sport of skating. Weve been seeing the throw triple Salchow for 30 or 40 years now, so I think its time that people push it and try harder things.Canada has three entries at the Final in Barcelona — Duhamel and Radford, and ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., had considered doing the throw quad years ago, but their coaches believed it wasnt worth the risk. They decided to add it this past off-season, and drew an audience when they were working on it during practices in Montreal.Every day it got closer and closer, eventually I would land on my feet and put my hand down, or I would step out, and it was so exciting for us and our coaches and teammates, they would all stand back and watch, and would be like Ooh, is this the one shes going to nail? Duhamel said.Then the one day we hit it clean with a lot of flow out of it, we were like, Oh thats it, thats what it feels like. And weve been able to repeat that feeling quite consistently.Duhamel landed the quad throw at Skate Canada International, but then fell on it at the NHK Trophy two weeks ago in Japan.The Canadians have a seasons best score of 210.74 points, just behind the Russians, whose best is 211.97. Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov, the only other pairs team in the world currently doing the quad throw, are also in the field.Partly because of the quad throw, Duhamel and Radford went into this season reinvigorated after a gruelling Olympic campaign that saw them finish seventh in Sochi.We dont have any fear when were skating anymore. Last year, I was always scared, I was scared we would lose, I was scared wed be bad, I was scared the other Canadian teams would score higher than me, Duhamel said. Im so happy. . . that I didnt decide to quit last year because I would never know what it feels like to skate with this freedom and relaxation that weve found.There was a lot of pressure last season, and at the end we realized we put too much pressure on ourselves, Radford added. We were always comparing ourselves with everybody else, rather than just concentrating on ourselves, and I think that weve just sort of learned to let all of that go, all of that extra worrying and energy that we put everywhere else.Weaver and Poje, from Waterloo, Ont., will also be in the gold-medal hunt in Barcelona. The Canadians have the seasons second-best ice dance score behind Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates.The post-Olympic landscape for ice dancing has changed with the absence of Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White, and Weaver and Poje could be favourites three years from now at the Games in South Korea.Its been very exciting, its a new year, a new quadrennial and were happy to be at the forefront of it, and hoping to continue Canadas tradition of great domination in ice dance, Weaver said.Asked if theyd sought out any advice on how to handle the new pressures that came with heightened expectations, Weaver mentioned Canadian bobsledder Kaillie Humphries.The biggest thing she has is confidence in herself, and she knows how shes prepared and she knows that thats the best she can do, and I think thats what really exudes from her, Weaver said. Its tough in a different sport with something like bobsled where youre racing against the clock and you dont have to convince people youre the best. But that type of persona is fun to learn from, and I consider us pretty different individuals, but that strength of power and confidence is something I would love to bring as a part of our game as well.In mens singles, Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu hopes to defend his title and recover his winning form after a scary on-ice accident.Hanyu won last years final at home in Japan. He then started the year by claiming gold at the Sochi Games in February, and a month later he won the world title to become the first man to complete the Olympic-world double in the same year since Alexei Yagudin in 2002.But Hanyu, who turned 20 on Sunday, barely qualified for the Final after he was injured in a collision with another skater during warm-ups at the Cup of China in early November, receiving bruises on his head and hurting his left thigh.Three weeks later, he could only manage a fourth-place finish at the last of six qualifying events in Tokyo. That result, however, was just good enough for him to join the other five finalists and keep alive his bid to repeat.Ill be going to the final as a challenger, Hanyu said. It doesnt matter if you are Olympic champion, people know they can beat the Olympic champion. Ill be starting from scratch and aiming to get to the top by any means.Hanyu will be up against Japanese teammates Tatsuki Machida and Takahito Mura, Russian rivals Maxim Kovtun and Sergei Voronov, and Spanish skater Javier Fernandez.Fernandez, the European champion, trains in Canada with former Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser. Orser also coaches Hanyu.Four Russian teenagers will look for a possible medal sweep in the womens final against Ashley Wagner of the United States and Rika Hongo of Japan. Hongo qualified after American skater Gracie Gold withdrew because of a broken foot.The Russian contingent includes two-time junior world champion Elena Radionova (15), European champion and world silver medallist Julia Lipnitskaia (16), Anna Pogorilaya (16) and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (17).— With files from The Associated Press. Nike Air Force 1 Low Dame . - With their captain under fire and their season on the brink of collapse, the Pittsburgh Penguins responded with a crackling show of force. Nike Free 4.0 V2 Herre . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles wont be closing a deal for All-Star closer Grant Balfour. Days after reaching a preliminary agreement with the free agent pending a physical, the Orioles said Friday that they werent satisfied with the results of Balfours exam. "This is a deal thats not going to come together," Orioles executive vice-president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said on a conference call. Duquette declined to say what specifically concerned him about Balfour, who turns 36 later this month. Balfour had shoulder and elbow surgeries that kept him out of the majors in 2005 and 2006. "The Orioles were disappointed we couldnt complete a contract with Grant Balfour," Duquette said. Baltimore and Balfour agreed Tuesday to a $15 million, two-year contract that included $1 million in deferred payments, a deal dependent on the physical. Duquette said the team would not seek to restructure the agreement. "Were going to turn our attention elsewhere for now," Duquette said. The Orioles were hoping Balfour, who had 62 saves over the last two years for Oakland, would replace Jim Johnson. Baltimore traded Johnson, who had 101 saves in 2012 and 2013 to the Athletics on Dec. 2. "Grant is completely healthy and that was told to us today by Dr. Koco Eaton, a well-respected club physician," said Seth Levinson, one of Balfours agents. Adidas Superstar Sko Tilbud. . Levinson said Reds team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek "reviewed the Orioles medical report and advised that he is remarkably impressed that there has been little change in Grants arm for almost 10 years." "The only reasonable conclusion is that Grant is healthy and the Orioles at the last moment changed their minds," Levinson said. Baltimore could trade for a closer, sign another free agent or use an existing player. Duquette pointed out that Johnson did not come through the minors as a closer. "The good news is we have other options to look at," Duquette said. Besides Balfour, there are two other prominent free agent closers still available, Chris Perez and Fernando Rodney. Perez saved 123 games over the last four seasons for Cleveland, and Rodney saved 85 in the last two years for Tampa Bay. The Orioles have lost right-handed pitcher Scott Feldman, second baseman Brian Roberts and outfielder Nate McLouth in free agency during the off-season. Duquette said the team still hopes to make some moves. "Were not done yet," he said. Baltimore signed lefty-hitting outfielder Xavier Paul to a minor league deal. He was not offered a contract by Cincinnati earlier this month. Paul batted .244 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs in 97 games with the Reds in 2013. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '
