|
Four days after being praised as a hero for helping Russia win its first gold at the Sochi Olympics, Evgeni Plushenko was taking criticism Friday for dropping out of the mens figure skating. Bo Jackson Authentic Jersey . Plushenkos strong performance in the team event brought wide accolades for his determination to overcome injury. But on Thursday he withdrew before the mens short program, complaining of severe spinal pain during the warmup. Plushenko was Russias only men singles skater in Sochi. He won the slot in a closed exhibition skate that cut out Maxim Kovtun, who beat him in the Russian nationals. Among his critics was longtime rival Alexei Yagudin, the 2002 Olympic gold medalist. He told the R-Sport news agency he supports "people who go to the end." "I think Zhenya will understand my words," he said, using the familiar version of Plushenkos name. "We always competed through the pain." The choice of Plushenko as the sole Russian man was debatable. Although he was the dominant skater the past 15 years, with an Olympic gold and two silvers before coming to Sochi, he is 31-years-old and underwent back surgery a year ago. When he was selected, advocates argued his long international experience made him a stronger choice than the 18-year-old Kovtun. Decision comes under fire But that came under sharp questioning Friday. "You should go when its time," Ruslan Nugmatullin, a former Russian national soccer goalkeeper said on Twitter. "Kovtun earned the right to participate in Sochi2014." Alexei Urmanov, the 1994 Olympic gold-medal winner, suggested that Plushenkos hubris backfired. "Its on the conscience of Zhenya, the team and the federation," he was quoted by R-Sport. To some politicians, Plushenkos withdrawal was a blow to Russias national pride. "Perform through the pain for the honor of the country," Igor Lebedev, a parliament member from the nationalist Liberal Democrats, said on Twitter. Elena Vaitsekhovskaya, the figure skating correspondent for Russias Sport-Express newspaper, seemed weary not only of the intrigue behind Plushenkos selection but also of the appearances of his flamboyant wife, Yana Rudkovskaya, in the mixed zone to support him. "All of this was reminiscent of an incompetently directed stage show," she wrote. "It became harder and harder to sympathize with the athlete." "The one-man show in Sochi has concluded. Real sport has begun," she said in the newspapers Friday edition. But more complaints may still come. "After Sochi, the federation will have to answer for its choice," nationalist lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky said. Harold Baines Jersey .C. -- Major League Soccers Vancouver Whitecaps and the City of New Westminster have signed a memorandum of understanding towards bringing a United Soccer Leagues Pro franchise to the British Columbia city. Bill Melton Jersey For Sale . Stamkos suffered a broken leg 10 weeks ago and continues to rehab in hopes of returning to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup before the Olympic break. As a result of the positive feedback from the X-ray, Stamkos will continue to ramp up both on- and off-ice workouts.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Nick Foles and Philadelphias high-scoring offence needed a little help from the defence to make sure it was the same old sad ending for the Dallas Cowboys. Foles threw two touchdown passes, one to NFL rushing champion LeSean McCoy, and Brandon Boykin had a game-sealing interception to help the Eagles beat the Cowboys 24-22 in a win-or-go-home game for the NFC East title Sunday night. The Cowboys lost to a division rival with a playoff berth on the line for the third straight year, and nobody can blame Tony Romo for this crushing loss. Kyle Orton, filling in two days after Romo underwent back surgery, had Dallas about 40 yards from field goal range with 1:49 remaining. But he threw behind Miles Austin on the first play, and into the arms of Boykin. "We kept fighting. We believed in each other," said Foles, who was 17 of 26 for 263 yards after throwing for only 80 in a 17-3 loss to Dallas at home. "When the offence was struggling, the defence picked us up." The Eagles (10-6) will host New Orleans in a wild-card game Saturday night, while the Cowboys (8-8) have now dropped a finale to each division rival the past three seasons and have missed the playoffs four straight years. Dallas is 136-136 since the start of the 1997 season. "Its unthinkable, really, to me to be sitting here three years in a row and this game ends up putting us at .500 and this game eliminates us from going to the playoffs," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. McCoy, who had a 3-yard scoring catch, rushed for 131 yards to finish with 1,607 yards and become the first Philadelphia running back to win the rushing title since Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren in 1949. "With the stats and the records, none of that stuff means anything, if you dont win in the end," McCoy said. "Thats the most important thing." The Eagles won the division for the first time since 2010 a year after going 4-12, which led to Andy Reids departure and the hiring of Chip Kelly and his fast-paced offence from Oregon. Dallas trailed 24-16 when Orton threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant. Orton went back to Bryant for the 2-point conversion, but Cary Williams dove to punch the ball away. But the Eagles, with the second-ranked offence in the NFL, couldnt run out the clock against the leagues worst defence. Foles even tried to throw on third down, but had to slide shoort of the first down when nobody was open. Luis Aparicio Authentic Jersey. Boykin took care of things from there. "It definitely wasnt our best, but some guys came up with some huge plays when we needed them to," said Connor Barwin, who knocked down a fourth-down pass earlier in the fourth quarter. Romo was the quarterback for losses the past two seasons to the New York Giants and Washington -- and against the Eagles in the same scenario in 2008. The Cowboys were down 10-0 early in the second quarter and never led, but still found a way to make it interesting without Romo and defensive leader Sean Lee, who was out with a sprained neck. Regardless, Dallas is only the third team in NFL history to finish with three straight 8-8 records, according to STATS. And those are in Jason Garretts three full seasons as coach. "You feel a tremendous sense of pride about how the team played, how they fought, how they scratched, how they clawed, how they battled," Garrett said. "But having said that, we didnt get the job done." Orton, who was 30 of 46 for 358 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in his first start in two years, was the first Dallas starter not named Romo in an elimination game since a playoff loss to Carolina with Quincy Carter under centre during the 2003 season. The Cowboys werent shy about throwing without Romo. Trailing by one, Dallas tried to pass on fourth-and-1 from the Philadelphia 40 early in the fourth quarter, and Barwin knocked down Ortons throw to DeMarco Murray, who was open in the flat. That decision came after Garrett called a timeout moments before the Eagles would have been called for a false start on fourth down from the Dallas 1. The defence bailed him out by stuffing Foles on a sneak. After the Cowboys failed fourth-down try, Foles led a steady march to Bryce Browns 6-yard run for an eight-point lead with 6:09 remaining. Notes: Cowboys K Dan Bailey had three field goals and made his last 21 of the season. He was 28 of 30. ... McCoy had 134 yards from scrimmage and finished with 2,146 to break Brian Westbrooks team record of 2,104 from 2007. ... Murray had 51 yards rushing and finished with 1,124, the most for Dallas since Emmitt Smith had 1,203 in 2000. ... Eagles WR DeSean Jackson had 28 yards for No. 2 on the franchises single-season receiving yardage list with 1,332. Mike Quick had 1,409 in 1983. ' ' ' |
