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Im writing this having just returned from the International Broadcast Centre in Sochi after watching and broadcasting a portion of the mens final in figure skating.Brian Moorman Bills Jersey . It would be an understatement to say that I am still stunned by what has transpired here in Russia. Yuzuru Hanyu, a 19-year-old, has just become the Olympic gold medallist, the first for his country, in this individual discipline. Meanwhile, the three-time and reigning world champion, Patrick Chan of Canada, has taken the silver medal. Neither skated perfectly, far from it, but the drama of it all was breathtaking. And although I might have forecast a different result, I find myself unable to quibble with the bottom line. Someone came first and someone came second. The only call I took when I got back here to the hotel was from an old acquaintance and colleague named Dave Campbell at CHED radio in Edmonton. I had run into him during my Hockey Night in Canada days covering the Oilers. But tonight Dave didnt even mention the score of the Canadian mens hockey game versus Austria, a 6-0 shellacking by the maple leaf men. He wanted to talk figure skating. “You know, we were discussing Chan and the result in the office, and we were disappointed,” he said. “But then again we thought that figure skating must surely be the most difficult of the Olympic sports.” I would have to agree. Personally speaking, I cannot fathom what it must be like to go onto a sheet of ice in front of 12,000 people and to perform what appears to be a series of impossible acts without an overwhelming fear of failure. There is nowhere for these young people to hide. There is no mulligan for a bad jump, or second chance to eliminate the sting of a fall on ones ass. You cannot skip a shift and survive in figure skating. It is what it is. These athletes accept that they are required to stand and deliver and when the dust settles they must live with the result. In the end, they must go it alone. The thing is, I felt completely helpless for Patrick Chan as he skated with a chance to be the Olympic champion. I have followed his career since the time he first won the national title seven years ago. Ive been there for each of his three world championships. He has never dodged a question and never given an excuse for something less than a perfect performance. He is, in my experience, a conscientious and hard-working young man who is supremely talented. Tonight, he came up short, and I know he wishes he could do it all over again … but he cant. Dave Campbell may have been right when he suggested that figure skating is the most difficult of the sports. Im convinced it is simultaneously the most beautiful and brutal. The judges reward you lavishly when you succeed, and they punish you ruthlessly when you dont. And they make you sit by yourself to await your fate on a giant-sized television screen so that everyone in the arena and around the globe knows what they think of you. Those are the facts when it comes to figure skating. And while Im disappointed for Patrick Chan and happy for Yuzuru Hanyu, Im astonished that the result has affected me the way it has. Its not like I havent witnessed something like this before. “Its just so thrilling,” Dave Campbell said. “And its causing me to lose sleep, but I cant get enough of it.” I feel the same way. Its the savage beauty of sport and the incredible attraction that the brave hearts who dare to venture onto the Olympic field of play hold for me. Marcell Dareus Bills Jersey . -- Ben Brust scored 18 points, Sam Dekker added 17 and No. E. J. Manuel Womens Jersey . A collision sent the ball spiralling over to Houstons Giles Barnes just inside the area. Barnes sent a sliding pass back to Will Bruin, whose shot deflected off Impact defender Eric Millers foot and bounded over goalkeeper Troy Perkins.SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- David Lee had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Klay Thompson scored 18 points and the Golden State Warriors held off the Sacramento Kings 101-92 on Wednesday night in a game both teams played short-handed. Stephen Curry added 13 points and eight assists for the Warriors (32-22) in the first game following the All-Star break for each team. Golden State is 3-0 against Sacramento this season. With both centres out with injuries and a shorter roster from trades each team made earlier in the day, the depth of the Warriors was just too much for the Kings to overcome. Isaiah Thomas had 26 points and seven assists, and Travis Outlaw scored 18 points for a Sacramento (18-36) team thats headed for an eighth straight losing season. Quincy Acy grabbed a career-high 12 boards to help the Kings outrebound the Warriors 49-35, but Sacramento committed 21 turnovers, fading in the closing minutes. The game was played in the aftermath of a busy day for both Northern California teams. The Kings traded guard Marcus Thornton to Brooklyn for veterans Jason Terry and Reggie Evans in the afternoon. Just before tipoff, the Warriors acquired point guard Steve Blake from the Los Angeles Lakers for reserves Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks. Andrew Bogut also missed his fifth straight game for the Warriors with a left shoulder injury. DeMarcus Cousins, who strained his left hip flexor in Sacramentos final game before the break in New York, also sat out. Both centres are day to day. The Kings dropped to 0-8 without Cousins this season but still led 76-75 entering the fourth quarter. Frank Summers Jersey. . The Warriors quickly put together a pair of scoring spurts to pull away. Lee converted a layup through traffic, Thompson made a 3-pointer and Andre Iguodala hit a fadeway jumper in an 8-0 run that gave Golden State an 86-79 lead early in the fourth. After the Kings started to rally, Iguodala found Draymond Green for a dunk, and Lee followed with a layup that put the Warriors up 94-84 with 3:28 remaining that all but sealed it. Most of the game played out in similar fashion. The Warriors went ahead by 10 points in the first quarter and 15 in the second, spreading the floor and moving the ball fast without any true centres on the court. The Kings had come back each time, though, playing just like the two-faced team theyd been before the All-Streak break -- prone to scintillating scoring spurts but, at times, lacking defence and discipline -- that buried them at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. Sacramento scored the final nine points of the third quarter, including the last six by Thomas, to take a 76-75 lead before the Warriors pulled away for good. NOTES: The teams meet for the final time this season April 4 in Oakland. ... Recently retired NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez, a former star at California, sat in a courtside seat between Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and team executive Chris Mullin. ... The Warriors are hoping Blake will be in uniform when they host Houston on Thursday night in Oakland. ... Terry and Evans should have plenty of time to make it to Sacramento before the Kings host Boston on Saturday night. ' ' ' |
