TORONTO -- There were several similarities between football and bobsled that drew former CFL running back Jesse Lumsden to the ice from the gridiron. For one, he still gets to crank the intensity to the max. "I push pretty angry. I ran pretty angry too though, but I have fun doing it," Lumsden said. "Its kind of an oxymoron but I dont know, it makes sense to me. Im grinding teeth and snorting and foaming at the mouth when Im pushing. "Like when I had the opportunity to hit somebody in front of me, I loved it. I loved that feeling of catching somebody on their heels and just going straight through them." Lumsden spent parts of six seasons in the Canadian Football League before retiring in 2011 after a few injury-plagued campaigns. His transition to the winter sports scene has been a smooth one. The six-foot-two, 223-pound brakeman from Burlington, Ont., first gave bobsled a try in 2009. He had aspirations of becoming a pilot but coaches told him his skills were best suited for the back of the sled. He took the news in stride and soon became one of the sports elite pushers. Lumsden qualified for the 2010 Olympic team in the two-man and four-man sleds, finishing fifth in both events. The 31-year-old Calgary resident has blossomed over the last few seasons, winning silver at the world championship last year and taking the World Cup title last season with pilot Lyndon Rush of Humboldt, Sask. The strong Canadian team tinkered with its lineup this season, with Lumsden now in the two-man sled with Calgarys Chris Spring. They won bronze at the season opener last month in Calgary and nearly reached the podium in the four-man event as well with a fourth-place result. With the season approaching the halfway point, Lumsden and Spring are third overall in the standings. "Were on the right path of where we need to be going," Lumsden said Thursday at a promotional event at a downtown mall. "Obviously the end of the road is Sochi and things are progressing nicely." The camaraderie that Lumsden experienced during his football days is much the same on the bobsled team. There is a great chemistry on the squad and a real sense of unity. Lumsden and Spring have been teaming with Ottawas Cody Sorensen and Saskatoons Ben Coakwell in the four-man sled. The other two-man sleds include Rush with Calgarys Lascelles Brown and the duo of Edmontons Bryan Barnett and Justin Kripps of Summerland, B.C. The womens team is led by the powerhouse pairing of reigning Olympic champions Heather Moyse of Summerside, P.E.I., and Kaillie Humphries of Calgary, who won gold at the season opener. Spring was born in Australia and became a Canadian citizen earlier this year. The third-place result at Canada Olympic Park was significant because it was his first World Cup medal with Lumsden. "Hes athletic so he contributes on the push as well," Lumsden said of his teammate. "He just has a presence about him thats very positive. Its confidence. Its not a cockiness but its a solid confidence that makes you feel good." Lumsden spent seven hours a day training in the off-season and has the chiselled physique to prove it. He generates his explosiveness from a rock-solid lower body and blasts out of the start area with a vengeance. He showed off that power last month in Calgary when he won the WinSport World Push Challenge to kick off the new season. Lumsden was formally named to the Olympic team this week. He learned a lot from the Vancouver experience but didnt feel a lot of pressure because he was so green. Things will be different when the Sochi Games begin Feb. 7. Lumsden is confident that hell be ready. "Theres more on the line this time around because I have invested my four years into it," he said. "This is my passion. This is what I love to do." . Julien coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship in 2010-11 and is the longest serving coach in consecutive seasons in the teams history. Claude is one of the top coaches in the NHL and has consistently shown a passion for winning, general manager Peter Chiarelli said Sunday in announcing the signing.
http://www.cheapbrownsjerseyssale.com/? ... ersey-sale. - Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte sees the commitment to the handoff and cant help but come away impressed. . -- Hal Steinbrenner says Alex Rodriguez is "a great player" and "obviously an asset," but the New York Yankees managing general partner wouldnt discuss the third basemans possible return to the team following a season-long suspension. . Felton was in court as the Manhattan district attorneys office outlined the agreement, which would resolve a gun case that arose amid the breakup of his marriage. Hes expected to admit June 30 to at least one charge, attempted criminal possession of a weapon -- he wont have to come to court to do so -- and get a $5,000 fine and 500 hours of community service. INAWASHIRO, Japan -- Canadian moguls skier Mikael Kingsbury says he always sets his sights on a podium finish. And lately, hes been getting a lot of them. After winning bronze at a World Cup event on Saturday, the reigning Olympic silver medallist capped off his weekend in Japan with gold in dual moguls on Sunday. "Yesterday I wasnt disappointed, but I made an uncharacteristic mistake. Today I felt very good," Kingsbury said. "I really wanted to win and I focused on the stuff I was doing well. I didnt have my best training this morning so I had to refocus and managed to get the win." Kingsbury, of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., outperformed Japans Sho Endo in his final run. Montreals Pascal-Olivier Gagne took bronze for his first World Cup podium finish. The 24-year-old Gagne, who was ousted by Kingsbury in the semifinal, said that simply cracking the semis was a huge step for him, but winning bronze and sharing his first podium with Kingsbury and Sho was even better. "I was already assured of fourth place so it didnt even matter what happened after, I was just so happy to be there," he said. "I went to see Mik before the dual and took him in my arms because I knew it was my best result ever. "To share the podium with him, hes the most consistent skier Ive seen and Sho, hes one of the best right now, so to share the podium with both these guys really means a lot to me." Gagne got off to a slow start this season, making only one final in his first six events. While his Canadian teammates were winning medals in Sochi, Gagne had to go back to the NorAm circuit to earn a spot in this weekends World Cup event in Japan. He placed seventh in singles and second in dual moguls at Appex Mountain Resort outside of Penticton, B.ddddddddddddC. on Feb. 15 and 16, respectively. Gagne says winning his first World Cup medal on the tough Japanese course made his victory even sweeter. "To finally have my first podium ever, and to have it here in Inawashiro means a lot to me," he said. "Its one of the courses thats the most difficult in the world. Its the course I always looked up to when I was young watching my idols. Its really a fight every time to ski here so Im really happy I made my first podium here." Quebec Citys Philippe Marquis was fourth, Montreals Marc-Antoine Gagnon placed fifth after being knocked out in the quarter-finals by Kingsbury, and two-time Olympic gold medallist Alex Bilodeau of Rosemere, Que., was ninth. In dual moguls, two skiers race down a course against each other, with the top score awarded to the athlete who performs the best tricks in the quickest time. Kingsbury admitted that having to ski against a fellow Canadian isnt exactly ideal. "For sure I dont want to face them in duals because its not fun to have to go up against your teammate," he said. "But when were in the gate, its like theyre from another country. Im not going to ski differently because theyre my friend. We push even harder almost when we are going against our own teammates, but we had a lot of fun today." On the womens side, Hannah Kearney of the United States won gold, followed by Elena Muratova of Russia and Japans Junko Hoshino. Montreals Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, who won bronze in the womens singles event Saturday, placed fifth. Her sister and reigning Olympic gold medallist Justine Dufour-Lapointe, finished ninth after taking first place on Saturday. ' ' '
