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Denny Morrisons silver medal performance in the mens 1,000 metre speed skating medal nearly didnt happen. Mike Evans Buccaneers Jersey . After falling during the Canadian Olympic team trails, Morrison missed earning a place in the event. But on Tuesday, fellow Canadian Gilmore Junio gave up his spot in the race, saying that to have Morrison compete would be "in the best interest of the team." "When he rang me, I thought he was pulling my leg," said Morrison, of Junios decision. "Why would he do it unless he was injured? The coaches knew but decided he was the one to tell me. "We were at Canada Olympic House with our families and when it came from the horses mouth, it was a moment I will never forget." As Morrison stepped onto the podium following the race, Junios decision must have seemed clairvoyant. Morrison skated against 500m champion, Michel Mulder of the Netherlands, and finished in a time of one minute 08.43 seconds. The Canadian slotted into second place, with six of the top skaters remaining. One by one, each of the remaining athletes failed to earn a podium spot. "I called it, so it feels good to be a prophet," Junio told CBC Sports. "A lot of kudos goes to this guy [Morrison] because he made it happen." I feel like getting my medal and cutting it in half because he deserves it Morrison credits Junios help — not just in giving up the spot — but for his hard work as a training partner. "Hes been helping me with my openers for the last four years," said Morrison of Junio. "I opened 16.6 today. Its my fastest opener in six years time, and I never would have gotten this medal without having those openers, and guys like Gilmore and Jamie Gregg, and of course giving his spot up for me. "After what [Junio] did, it made it even more special. Giving up your spot is unprecedented. I feel like getting my medal and cutting it in half because he deserves it." Junio was watching from the stands as his friend and teammate took to the ice to race. Junio yelled even louder as subsequent athletes failed to beat Morrisons time. "I was literally shaking and couldnt stay focused," said Junio "I was definitely breathing hard, and I kind of lost my voice because I was cheering so hard. It was definitely worth it." Morrison will compete in the mens 1,500, Feb. 15, 2014.Buccaneers #9 Jersey . Instead, the offence has been the biggest turnaround for Minnesota. Joe Mauer hit his first home run of the season, Brian Dozier connected for his fourth and Nolasco earned his initial win with the Twins in a 7-1 victory Saturday over the Kansas City Royals. Buccaneers #32 Jersey ." Thornton went after Orpik during a stoppage in play a week ago, slew-footing him to the ice and punching him twice in the head. Orpik suffered a concussion and was taken off the ice on a stretcher and transported to the hospital. CHESTER, Pa. -- Toronto FC couldnt replicate last weeks dominating four-goal performance. Instead, the team conceded a stoppage time goal in Saturday nights 1-0 loss to playoff hopefuls Philadelphia Union. It was a familiar story for Ryan Nelsens team, which defended well and created scoring chances throughout the full 90 minutes. But the late goal, scored on a Kleberson free kick, sent Toronto home empty handed, even with the Reds playing with a man advantage for the final 15 minutes of the game. "The chances that we got were obviously very key ones," Nelsen said. "We just didnt take them, and thats football. Thats the thing about this game, generally it comes back to haunt you." Toronto was awarded the advantage after Union winger Fabinho was shown a straight red card in the 77th minute. The Brazilian was judged to have stomped on the back of Alvaro Rey after the pair became tangled up going for a ball near the far touchline. Just three minutes later, second-half substitute Robert Earnshaw had Torontos best scoring chance of the evening. Firing a freekick from 22 yards, the Welshmans strike hit the underside of the crossbar and ricocheted down, but did not cross the goal line. Philadelphia was able to clear the box with frantic defending. "I caught it so sweet," Earnshaw said. "If I caught it right, and if I hit the ball right, I thought it was going in. I got great contact on it. As soon as I saw it go over the wall, I was away. I was actually going to celebrate because I thought it was going to dip under the bar. Unfortunately it just hit the underside of the bar and came out instead of going in." Toronto had another chance at a game-winning goal in the 91st minute, whenn a Union corner kick turned into a counterattack opportunity. Adrian Clayborn Buccaneers Jersey. Earnshaw and Rey sprung a two-on-one, but Reys shot was smothered by Zac MacMath after the Spaniard elected to cut inside and try an effort from 18 yards. "We actually capitalized on the possession and we got some good second balls and created some situations in our favour and went through on goal," Earnshaw said. "We should have done better, really. There were a couple of times where our final pass didnt really make the chance clean through, but weve got to capitalize on that. "We had, I thought, three times where we had the opportunity to really go through on goal and get the tap-in. We didnt capitalize on that." Philadelphia found the games only goal with just seconds left to play. A foul from Doneil Henry set up the Union from just 25 yards out and the sparingly-used Kleberson curled the resulting free kick past goalkeeper Joe Bendik. "It was a lovely free kick," said Nelsen. "Set pieces, and pieces of skill like that happen in life. Our free kick hits the underside of the bar and hits the line and goes out. It could have easily gone in." Toronto falls to 5-16-11 on the season, including a 2-11-3 road record. With two games left to play, Nelsens team is locked into a 9th place Eastern Conference finish and can only focus on next season. "Weve got to see a lot more character, especially if theres games like this," said midfielder Jonathan Osorio. "The next game in Chicago will be the same thing, same atmosphere. Theyre playing for a playoff spot too. "We have to show a little bit more character in our team and I think were just building to next year." ' ' ' |
