The life of a professional athlete can be a lonely one at times. Countless solitary hours spent in the gym, pushing your body to its limit, striving for just the slightest improvement in your game. While those hours in the gym can be lonely, the light at the end of the tunnel - being able to walk onto the pitch to compete along with your teammates - is always there for you, pulling you through the pain. No one knows that pain better than Kara Lang. For the past year, Lang has been been working day and night to re-train her body; to break it down so that she could build it up again, in the hopes that she could resume a career she was forced to end in 2011. It was then, at the age of 24, that she retired from the game. "I have come to the very difficult decision to retire from soccer and step down from the national team," she said. "I have always held myself to a very high standard — as it is demanded at the international level. Regrettably, I am physically incapable of maintaining that standard and fulfilling my role as a player." Lang has twice torn the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee, the first occurring in 2005 and the second in 2009. Early Thursday morning, Lang revealed that her knee has once again suffered serious damage. 2 days after being cleared to train w/ #CanWNT my knee literally exploded yesterday. Ive torn just about everything you can in a knee. — Kara Lang (@Kara_Lang) February 13, 2014 While the extent of the damage is not yet known, the chances of Lang recovering in time for next summers womens World Cup look remote. Lang is one of the most decorated players in the history of Canadas womens national team program. She made her debut for Canada at the age of 15, and has scored 35 goals in 92 appearances for her country. She won a silver medal with Canada at the 2002 FIFA U20 Womens World Cup, and competed in both the Olympic Games (2008) and the Womens World Cup (2007, 2003). Not only has she made her presence felt on the field for Canada, she has become an integral part of the womens national team program itself. When Lang was re-introduced to her teammates in Edmonton back in October, where the team was set to play South Korea, it was as if the prodigal daughter had returned. Players and staff alike accepted her back into the fold without skipping a beat, and it was like shed never been away. When she announced her retirement back in January 2011, Lang said, "For the past ten years, this team has been my second family and this program my second home." You can be sure that her "family" is hurting just as much as she is right now. Over the course of her career, Lang has become a role model for young players - both male and female - across the country. She has become the face of womens soccer in Canada, and her inspirational message of battling through adversity transcends gender. Kara Lang will recover from her knee injury, and will continue to inspire soccer players young and old across the country - regardless of her role within the game. . Paul, MN (SportsNetwork. . If there is one club built to handle an off-field controversy, its the Bill Belichick era Patriots. Even if New Englands offence stumbles a bit out of the gate, their defence can help them stay in games, especially in the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets in the first two weeks.
http://www.cheaparizonastatejerseys.com/. Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday. . With the win, the Marlies complete a three-game series sweep of the Admirals and move on to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. T.J. Brennan added an empty netter with less than 25 seconds remaining for his second of the playoffs.TORONTO - James Johnson hobbled to his locker Saturday night, one arm slung around Toronto Raptors teammate Jonas Valanciunas.From his locker across the room, DeMar DeRozan said loudly, to no one in particular: Move the cameramen back. Damn camera people. Theyve taken out some good men.The performances of DeRozan and Valanciunas were the highlights of the Raptors 111-93 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday — a night otherwise marred by an ankle injury to Johnson, when he stepped on a cameramans foot.It is an issue, DeRozan told reporters. You always hate to see someone get hurt because of that. With me experiencing guys (getting hurt), the Paul George situation (George horrifically broke his leg stepping on the basket stanchion), everything under there. Its kind of scary.Hopefully its nothing too serious with James.Coming off two uncharacteristically low-scoring games, DeRozan rediscovered his offensive form, scoring 27 points to lead the Eastern Conference-leading Raptors (8-2).Valanciunas had 17 points and 14 rebounds in his best game of the season, while Kyle Lowry had 19 points, and the Raptors dismantled the Jazz with a sizzling fourth quarter.Patrick Patterson chipped in with 16 points for Toronto, while Lou Williams scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth.In his previous two games, DeRozan shot 4 for 15 for 16 points against Washington, then a woeful 3 for 17 for a season-low 10 points against Chicago on Thursday.But he was back in form against the Jazz, shooting 10 for 17 from the floor on an array of jumpers and dunks.When you win or you play well, everybodys hugging you and kissing and on your shoulders. But when you have a bad game, everybody wants to panic, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.I dont know how many times Babe Ruth struck out but I guarantee you he struck out more than he hit home runs. When youre a scorer for a team like DeMar is for us, youre going to have (off) nights like that. I dont care how many he misses, hes going to come back and hit those same shots and he showed that tonight.Valanciunas hasnt been at his best all season but was solid at both ends of the court Saturday.He got himself involved tonight, Lowry said of Valanciunas. He rebounded the ball well, he played physical, he played with a lot of energy, he got himself going tonight. So we fed off his energy tonight.Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter had 18 points apiece to top Utah (4-7).Neither team led by more than seven points through three quarters that saw the lead change hands 16 times in front of a capacity crowd of 19,800 at the Air Canada Centre.Toronto has made a habit of strong fourth quarters, and Saturday was more of the same. Williams scored on a pretty 19-foot turnaround jumper that put the Raptors up by nine with just over five minutes to play.And when Lowry found a sprinting DeRozan, who finished with a massive running slam dunk, it gave Toronto a 13-point cushion with 4:24 to play and brought the fans out of their seats.ddddddddddddThe Raptors showed no mercy, as Lowry drained a three to put the home team up by 16 as they cruised to victory.The Raptors entered the game even with Chicago atop the East, but it was the Bulls that snapped Torontos five-game winning streak on Thursday, in an ugly 100-93 decision that Valanciunas had called a cold shower.The catchphrase going into Saturdays fifth of the Raptors seven-game homestand was: bounce back.It was a grind-it-out game and a lot of it is a byproduct of having some many home games every other day, a very stressful game against Chicago, Casey said. Right, wrong or indifferent, even though it was just one of 82, mentally it would wear on you. Physically, too.Johnson, who was coming off a couple of solid performances for the Raptors, left the game in the fourth quarter with a sprained right ankle — T.V. replays show he rolled it when he stepped on a cameramans foot.The mishap had Raptors GM Masai Ujiri livid after the game.Cameramen at the Air Canada Centre sit in a small apron on the baseline, their backs up against three rows of VIP seating.Utah, meanwhile, was playing the second of back-to-back games, having edged New York 102-100 the night before.Jazz coach Quin Snyder praised his young teams performance saying If you look at the game after three-and-a-half quarters, you have got to feel like there was some really good things.He also had kind words for Toronto.Thats a very good team, Snyder said. They are a team that is difficult to defend when they get going. One of the things that (Casey) does so well and its a credit to their players too, they complement one another, nobody tries to do too much, they pick their spots where everybody has a role. DeRozan scored 10 points in the first quarter, and his jumper a couple minutes into the game gave the Raptors a six-point lead. The Jazz went on an 18-8 run to go up by four, and a three-pointer by Burks at the buzzer sent Utah into second with a 25-23 lead.Kanter led the way with eight points in the second, including a 20-foot jumper that gave the Jazz a seven-point lead — their biggest at that point. A late spurt by Toronto pulled the Raptors to within 49-46 at halftime.DeRozan had 11 points in the third but it was Terrence Rosss spectacular alley-oop dunk from Lowry — Ross had to reach behind his head to catch the ball — that was the highlight of the quarter, and put Toronto up by seven.The Raptors host Memphis on Wednesday then cap their homestand against Milwaukee on Friday.NOTES: Brad Jacobs, Ryan Harnden and E.J. Harnden — three members of Canadas mens curling team that won gold in Sochi — were at the game. ' ' '
