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SOCHI, Russia – Hours before his team would battle for an opportunity to play for gold here in Sochi, Canadian head coach Mike Babcock had an opportunity to meet with two members of the womens squad – Hayley Wickenheiser and Shannon Szabados – that rallied for gold of their own in historic fashion just a night earlier. "I just think what it does for everybody in life is real simple," said Babcock early on Friday afternoon. "You dont give in. You just keep on keeping on. Is it going to go your way every time? No. But you choose your attitude and how you perform and how hard you dig in." Nearly four years to the day of the 2010 gold medal match in Vancouver, his team dug in with its best effort of these Olympics, snuffing out the high-powered Americans for another opportunity at gold. The line between victory and failure was painfully thin at Bolshoy Ice Dome in a Friday evening clash of the tournaments two deepest teams, but ultimately Carey Price on the prowl, another Jamie Benn marker and a stiff Canadian defensive effort prevailed in a tight 1-0 win. "If we were to think about that result and visualize it at the start of the day, wed say, mission accomplished," Price remarked afterward. Their scoring struggles may have continued in victory – just four goals of offence in the past nine periods of regulation – but what Canada continued to do exceptionally well is defend, holding a potent U.S. team completely off the board. The Americans entered the night as the tournaments most fearsome offensive attack, scoring 20 goals in their first four games including five alone from Phil Kessel. But they were stifled by the Canadians, who have allowed, incredibly, just three goals and only two at even-strength. "Thats been something from Day 1 that weve really believed in and trust that thats a big part of having success here," said Sidney Crosby. "You see the games from every team at this point are pretty tight. Thats a common theme. And theres not much separating each team." Though the pace was absolutely frantic, the Canadians generally managed the feared American speed. Much of that effort came from simply controlling possession, forcing the likes of Kessel and Patrick Kane to defend a lot more than theyd like. "We forced them to play in the defensive zone a lot," said Crosby. "Theyve got a lot of guys who are skilled and create a lot of speed, but I think we did a good job of keeping them in there for at least 20 seconds in shifts. Hopefully that played a part in taking away their energy offensively." Toews and linemates, Jeff Carter and Patrick Marleau, drew the assignment of the slowing the Kessel line – which also featured Joe Pavelski, who had the most goals in the NHL since Jan. 1 and James van Riemsdyk – and did so in part by back-checking with fevered passion, a commitment that was shared by the rest of the Canadian forward contingent. Kessel had a rush or two of consequence early, but was held to four shots and none in the final frame. "It was just work ethic," said Toews. "It was good sticks, I think we had active sticks … we didnt stop moving our feet, and we were committed to doing the job right. Our penalty kill was great tonight, too. Those are the things, whether youre winning a Stanley Cup or an Olympic gold medal, those are the things you need to do." Zach Parise led the U.S. with eight shots and had one of the better opportunities to score in the second, redirecting a Patrick Kane pass attempt on Price, one of 31 shots turned aside by the 26-year-old in his first Olympic shutout. Price was facing the biggest and most scrutinized test of his career and he aced it, outdueling the always impressive Jonathan Quick. A stoic and unwavering personality, Price, a native of Anahim Lake, B.C., was cool in his fourth start of these Games and made the difficult look effortless. Maybe his most impressive stop of the evening saw John Carlson robbed by the glove in a scoreless opening frame. "I thought he was great," said Babcock. "The game was close. Its 1-0, its tight, and all those shots coming he had to make big saves, just like Quick did. Its not like there wasnt chances tonight. There was chances both ways, its just that the goalies are so good in todays world it makes it hard to get pucks by them." "Im just soaking in this moment right now," said Price, who owns a .963 save percentage thus far. Benn proved the only player on either team to score. The 24-year-old scored his second goal (and second game-winner) by redirecting a Jay Bouwmeester point shot past Quick, who was often awesome himself in turning aside 36 shots, including all 16 in a busy first frame. Only four Canadian forwards have scored with a game to go and if there is a concern heading into Sundays final with Sweden, its just that. Like the quarterfinal game against Latvia, there were numerous chances against the Americans on this night with only one resulting in a goal. Patrice Bergeron had an early backhand opportunity eschewed by Quicks blocker. Carter was stopped by the pads moments later. Two good chances for Patrick Sharp, who offered energy on an effective fourth line with Matt Duchene and Rick Nash, also failed to materialize into anything other than a shot or two on goal. "Weve had unbelievable opportunities and still havent finished," Babcock. "Were going to finish. We just hope we dont run out of time." A journey that started six months ago at an orientation camp in Calgary will conclude Sunday against the injury-riddled, overlooked and still dangerous Swedes, who topped Finland in the other semifinal. In line with Babcocks desired mantra at these Olympics, the Canadians have gotten better every day and know that will have to continue if theyre to repeat with gold for the first time in more than 60 years and also join the undeterred womens squad, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to capture their fourth consecutive gold on Thursday night. "Each and every level of the Stanley Cup playoffs, youve got to keep getting better and its the same here," said Babcock, who will face four of his Red Wing players in the gold medal match. "What I do know about the Swedes and I know lots of them actually, theyre good players and they play with no ego and itll be about the team. Theyve been really good here. Theyre going to be a hard test. We understand that." Cheap NCAA Jerseys . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans. Cheap College Football Jerseys . -- The Vancouver Whitecaps remained unbeaten with a scoreless draw at the New England Revolution on Saturday. http://www.cheapcollegejerseysauthentic.com/ .Y. - Referee Ed Hochuli referred to replay official Tom Sifferman by his nickname Jungle Boy, which was heard on the in-stadium microphone during the Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers NFC wild-card game Saturday. Cheap NCAA Basketball Jerseys .Y. - The New York Yankees made it official Saturday, announcing the completion of a seven-year deal with free-agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and a one-year contract for returning starter Hiroki Kuroda. Stitched College Jerseys . Wheeler said Kane was just making a joke that was misunderstood and misinterpreted by "Winnipeg folks" and the media once again. Wheeler repeated that he believes Kane is a player who has the ability to help the Jets get to the next level as they try once again to reach the playoffs in 2014. He made the comments initially in an interview, when asked how the Jets could compete in the Central Division with teams that have made some high-profile off-season signings....is the biggest, baddest and best poker festival in the WORLD. It helps if you imagine Jeremy Clarkson saying that, in that deep gravelly voice and elongated WORLDDDDDD. The 2016 WSOP is in town - well it is if Las Vegas is your town - so first up, what is the World Series of Poker, or as it is more usually known, the WSOP?Its the poker equivalent of Wimbledon tennis, The Masters Golf, horse racings Royal Ascot or Cheltenham, snookers World Championship - all of which have a natural home. Same with the WSOP - it belongs in Las Vegas. There are mini-versions and copycat events which feed off the brand and take place in Europe and elsewhere, but they are simply not the real deal. Put simply, its the very pinnacle of poker, where the best meet the best. Its live poker, not online poker, and it takes place in Las Vegas every summer, and has done since way back in 1970.Initially, it was just one tournament, and it cost $10,000 to enter. In 1970, $10,000 was a lot of money. Come to think of it, that is a lot of money in 2016, too.Originally, there was just one tournament - the $10,000 biggie. These days, having expanded and grown over the years, it now comprises of 69 events, but the one that matters is the Main Event, or as it has become known, The Main.The 2016 WSOP commences on Wednesday 1st June, and by tradition, it starts in a very odd way - an event in which entry is restricted to casino employees. You may well wonder how that works, in the same way as we wonder how the snowplough driver gets to work after overnight snow, so youd perhaps be surprised to learn that last years renewal attracted a whopping 688 runners, and if recent trends are anything to go by, that will increase this year.Once that is out of the way, June 2nd sees the start of the well-named Colossus, which last year saw no less than 22,374 hopefuls all stumping up $565. Can you even begin to imagine the logistics of a 22,000 runner live poker event? For starters, how many chairs, tables, packs of cards, dealers and poker chips will they need?Lets look at that another way. When the dust settles, and one player remains, how many chips will he have in front of him or her? The answer is at least 110,000,000. To save you counting those noughts, thats 110 million chips. From there, it moves on, and every known format of poker has its own WSOP event, often several at different price points. You may think that poker is poker, but there is a bewildering array of formats these days. The daddy of them all, and far and away the most popular, is No Limit Holdem, aka Texas, or simply NLH. Add to that Limit Holdem, Omaha, Omaha 8 or better, Razz, 2-7 Tripple Draw Lowball, Seven Card Stud, High Low Stud, Dealers Choice, H.ddddddddddddO.R.S.E., Eight Game Mix, and a few others, and you get the idea. Then add events restricted to Ladies, Seniors, even Super Seniors, 9 handed, 8 handed, 6 handed, 4 handed, Heads Up (2 handed), and you get the picture. This is the business, where poker is defined, where we get to see the real champions.Its truly global, too - in 2015, 111 different nations were represented. Can you even name 111 different countries? In total, 103,512 players played the 2015 WSOP, and we can reasonably expect that number to increase again, as it does every year, in 2016.Quite the occasion then.Whilst the vast majority of players are regular guys like you and I, it also includes the pro players, and celebrities galore, with many stars of stage, screen and sports taking part.Historically, the big names associated with the WSOP are guys like Stu Ungar, Phil Hellmuth, Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker, and, fingers crossed, if his ailing health permits, the grand-daddy of them all, Doyle Brunson.Doyle is 82 now, and a little frail, as you may expect, but when he trundles into the Rio cardroom in his mobility scooter, the place erupts. Poker is not known for deference to elders, but Doyle, aka Texas Dolly, is recognized as the most influential man in poker, and the original author of pokers most influential textbook Super System. He has 10 WSOP bracelets to his name - rather oddly, WSOP winners get a bracelet of all things, in addition to a wheelbarrow full of cash. Even more remarkably, he won the WSOP Main in successive years with the same hand, which, arguably, is one of the worst hands in poker, 10-2. On both occasions, in 76 and 77, his 10-2 became a full house, one of the very best hands in poker.The WSOP originally took place in the wonderfully named Binions Gambling Hall, and later moved across to the Rio All-Suite Hotel. Binions is Downtown, on Fremont Street, and exists to this day. Its tired and rundown, almost a health hazard in fact, but if you ever get to Las Vegas, you have to go to Binions and play a little poker, the place reeks of poker tradition and history.So there it is, the WSOP in a nutshell.If any of that tickles your fancy, Ill be there, as always, and during the coming weeks, maybe Ill send back a story or two from what is, in the world of poker, the greatest event on Earth, bar none. So bookmark this page, and the WSOP tales of derring do, or, in my case, not so derring do, will follow. Vicarious Vegas is the next best thing to being there, but really, if you can get there, you should.Remember Clarksons voice, eh? The WSOP - the greatest poker event in the WORLDDDDDD. ' ' '