Broken Wings » players have acknowledged Indiana needs to scale b

Liam Firus, a 21-year-old Vancouverite with an enviable slip across the ice, can see an opportunity: one of those three Olympic spots that Canada has earned for men. He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. He surprised himself, because he had been battling a groin injury in the weeks leading up to the event. The skate of a lifetime doesnt usually happen after such impediments. And it was a painful injury, too. He had endured six tortuous injections of a sugar solution into his injury, meant to inflame the site, bring blood to a bloodless area and help the healing. He and coach Lorna Bauer had considered withdrawing from the Canadian championships, but only the Sunday before the event, they decided to go. And because Firus really wasnt trained, the long program slipped out of his control and he dipped to fifth overall. It was still his best finish at the senior national level. His problems werent over, by any means, when he went home. He immediately set to work with choreographer Mark Pillay to design two new programs for the Olympic season and then he didnt set foot on an ice surface for months. He got six more injections, a week apart. He went to physiotherapy three to four times a week. His life revolved around rehabilitation. He didnt get back onto the ice again until June. "It was tough," he said. With the Olympics coming, he wanted to train like a fiend, but he knew that wasnt smart. "I knew that if my groin was bothering me while I was training for the Olympics, I dont think I would have a shot," he said. "It was just so painful and so mentally hard, too." So restrain himself, he did. He didnt start jumping again until late July, and that didnt mean full-out triple Axels. It meant doing doubles, half a year before the Sochi Olympics. By the middle of August, he slowly introduced triples back into the mix. By the beginning of September, he was finally doing full programs. With five months to the Olympics, his training finally began in earnest. He decided to step things up, by leaving Vancouver to train full time in Colorado Springs with Christy Krall, Damon Allen and Eric Shultz, coaches hed visited sporadically for four or five years. It meant leaving his first and only coach, Lorna Bauer, behind. Visit Skate Canada to read the rest of this story. Knockoff Football Jerseys .ca. Kerry, In Mondays Habs/Bruins game, there were three questionable/brutal calls against the Habs late in the game - Tomas Plekanec, then Douglas Murray, then Brendan Gallagher. Wholesale Football Jerseys . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. https://www.fakefootballjerseys.com/ . Dwyane Wade took over in the fourth quarter. Fake Football Jerseys Online . -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates. Fake Football Jerseys Free Shipping .A. Happ is coming off his first start of the year, a win at Philadelphia Monday. The former Phillie allowed three hits in five scoreless frames of a 3-0 triumph.INDIANAPOLIS - Larry Bird ended the speculation about Frank Vogels job security before it could even begin. Hes safe.On Wednesday, the Pacers president of basketball operations announced Vogel had signed a multiyear contract extension. Terms were not disclosed and players and coaches were unavailable because they had a scheduled day off. The 41-year-old Vogel is expected to take questions Thursday.The move comes exactly three weeks before Indianas regular-season opener against Philadelphia and eliminates a potential distraction since Vogel was entering the final year of his deal with the Pacers.Were very happy to extend Franks contract, Bird said in a statement issued by the team. I believe he has done a great job and I look forward to continuing our relationship and working together to achieve all of our goals.A year ago, winning the citys first NBA title seemed like an achievable feat. Bird acknowledged before training camp that the Pacers were going all in to make a championship run. Vogels players responded with a 33-8 start that gave Vogel his first chance to coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars.Little has gone right since then for the Pacers and Vogel, who has a 147-82 career record.The Pacers stumbled in the second half of the season, finishing 23-18 amid squabbling teammates and questions about whether Indiana had the right mix of players -- or even the right coach. That didnt stop during first- and second-round playoff series against Atlanta and Washington. Indiana wound up advancing to the conference finals and losing again to the Miami Heat.In early June, Bird defended his coach and denied there was any consideration of getting rid of Vogel.The day it (the report) happened, I went down to Frank and all of his assistantss and said, I want you back next year, and that was the end of it for us, Bird said at a season-ending news conference.ddddddddddddut things got worse during the off-season.In July, Lance Stephenson left for Charlotte in free agency, and in early August, two-time All-Star Paul George broke his right leg when he ran into a basketball stanchion during a national team scrimmage in Las Vegas. Stephensons decision and Georges injury, which is likely season-ending, left Vogel without his two best scorers.While many outsiders and some players have acknowledged Indiana needs to scale back its goals this season, Vogel has insisted the Pacers can win.The message to my team is that we have to bring a high level of competitiveness every night. We have to bring it every night, Vogel said last week during the Pacers media day. We have enough talent here to be competitive and compete with the best.Vogel got his big break in January 2011, succeeding the fired Jim OBrien as the Pacers interim coach. He turned around a team that looked like it would miss the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year, finishing 20-18 and leading it into the post-season for the first time since 2006. Vogel then got the coaching job full-time.In 2012, Vogel led the Pacers to their first playoff series win since Reggie Miller retired seven years earlier, and then to back-to-back conference finals appearances.So with the Pacers facing perhaps their most daunting challenge in years, Bird rewarded Vogel by eliminating by one more potential distraction -- his future.Im excited for the opportunity to continue my tenure as Pacers coach, Vogel said in the statement. Its an honour to represent this franchise and lead this team. I look forward to the challenge ahead. ' ' '