Canadas Charles Hamelin was knocked out of the Olympic mens 1,000-metre short track event Saturday at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi when he fell during his quarter-final race. Competing in the third heat, the 29-year-old from Ste. Julie, Que., was sitting comfortably in second place when he lost his balance during a corner and slid into the boards, taking American Eduardo Alvarez with him. "I hit a crack or the ice broke under my blades and I got off balance and I wasnt able to come back from that," Hamelin told CBC. "It wasnt enough [time], there was two laps [left] in the race. Its unfortunate but I need to come back strong and be ready for the 500 metres." Later in the final, Victor An and Vladimir Grigorev thrilled the Russian crowd by winning gold and silver, respectively. Hamelin, who won gold in the 1,500-metre race on Thursday, was seeking his fifth career Olympic medal. While not his best event, Hamelin won three World Cup races this season in the 1,000m. Hamelin will now turn his attention to defending his Olympic gold medal in the 500m beginning with the heats on Tuesday (5:15 a.m. ET). "You have to come, you need to be strong and thats what I will do," said Hamelin. "I will come back on the ice tomorrow morning and make sure that Im ready to focus on the 500 metres and be ready to do good things in that distance." Two other Canadians, Charle Cournoyer, 22, of Longueil, Que., and Olivier Jean, 29, of Lachenaie, Que., also failed to qualify for the semifinals. Sochi hasnt been kind to the Canadian mens short track team. A gold-medal favourite in the 5,000m metre relay, the defending Olympic champions failed to qualify for the final on Thursday when François Hamelin — in similar fashion to his brother Charles — fell around the halfway point of the race. An and Grigorev took control of the final and were never really challenged. An, a former South Korea competitor who earned three gold medals at the 2006 Torino Games, won Saturday in 1:25.325. An became a Russian citizen in 2011. "I spent the whole last eight years for this medal," An said through a translator. "Thats why I cried." Grigorev made it a 1-2 finish for Russia, taking silver with a time of 1:25.399. Knegt Sjinkie of the Netherlands won the bronze medal in 1:25.611. . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. . The injury could land Machado on the 15-day disabled list, but its not as serious as it looked on Monday night, when the third baseman crumpled in a heap at the plate after taking an awkward swing in a game against the New York Yankees.
http://www.cheapsharksjerseysauthentic. ... ure-jersey. PETERSBURG, Fla. .com) - The Toronto Blue Jays will look to snap a three-game skid Friday night when they continue their road trip in the opener of a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. . Almost 40 years to the day, the two teams will meet again, this time at BC Place, to celebrate the past and try to earn important points for the present.QUEBEC CITY, Que. - Used to battling tight corners at speeds well in excess of 100 km/h, Olympic bobsled champion Kaillie Humphries tried her hand at handling a pair of top UFC fighters Sunday. Welterweight Rory (Ares) MacDonald and middleweight Francois Carmont were on their best behaviour, serving as benign training partners as top coach Firas Zahabi gave Humphries an introduction to mixed martial arts paces before a small crowd at a Quebec City mall. It was all part of the UFC Experience, a public workout ahead of Wednesdays Ultimate Fighter Nations Finale UFC card. Under the tutelage of Zahabi, Humphries worked on a double-leg takedown, armbar and kimura submissions as well as punching and kicking. At the end of the session, he had her put all the moves together in taking the pro fighters to the ground and then going after a submission. The 28-year-old from Calgary clearly enjoyed the lesson, enthusiastically throwing a tattooed tree-trunk of a leg over the six-foot-three Carmont in a bid to subdue him as he lay on his back. MacDonald is ranked the No. 2 contender in the world at 170 pounds by the UFC while Carmont is No. 9 at 185 pounds. Zahabi trains both in Montreal as well as former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. The bobsled champ signed autographs and, holding her two Olympic gold medals, posed with fans before changing into workout gear to get some tips from Zahabi, along with a local youngster. "One more," Zahabi yelled as Humphries kicked the training pad he was holding. "Harder." As he urged her on to kick again and again and again, the coach mischievously asked if she was competing in the next Olympics. When she said yes, he told her: "Youve got to do more," referring to the kicks. "Come on, youve got four years. Go. Again. Again. Four years of this." The inspiration worked. Humphries kept kicking, with the audible thuds becoming louder. "Didnt want it to end," she tweeted later. Humphries is a longtime fan of MMA — so much so that she planned to fly back to Calgary on Sunday night to honour a previous commitment before returning to the Quebec capital to take in the fights. "Its so cool for me to be able to see and get to meet the fighters and be a part of something so spectacular," she said in an interview. "Its an opportunity you cant miss, so you make travel work." The UFC treated her like royalty, producing a real championship belt that she put on while holding her medals with an Olympic-sized grin.dddddddddddd Humphries says the UFC is literally part of her family. Her parents named their cats Rampage and Tito after former light-heavyweight champions Quinton (Rampage) Jackson and Tito (The Peoples Champion) Ortiz. But combat sports are new to the bobsled champion, who only has one boxing class under her belt. She is, however, contemplating adding MMA training as part of her general fitness regimen. While not bobsled specific, the explosive nature of MMA could be beneficial, she said. So what about getting punched, she was asked? "I think its something I can handle. Bobsleighs not exactly the most princecessy of sports," she replied. "Im used to rough and tough a little bit and I can take a punch." Then she paused. "Ive never actually been hit so I cant actually say that," she said with a giggle. Humphries cited Jackson and current womens bantamweight champion (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey as her favourite fighters. Rousey, the UFCs first female title-holder, is a former Olympic bronze medallist in judo. "Nowadays women can do anything the men can do," said Humphries, who won her Olympic gold in Sochi, Russia with Heather Moyse, who also competes in cycling and rugby. "At the end of the day, women are inspirational in completely different ways than men," she added. "And to know there are women out there that are as rough and as tough, and can dedicate their lives and work just as hard, it (the UFC) allows us to show that off to the rest of the world. "Im super-proud of all the women that do sports across the board, especially at such a high and extreme level. Its an inspiration for me and I know many young girls out there." Dont look to Humphries to start fighting for real, however. The UFC womens competition is restricted to bantamweight (135 pounds), although a new strawweight division (115 pounds) is being formed. "Im far away from that," she laughed. "As of right now I would definitely be one of the heavyweights, for sure. "I usually compete at around 170, Im about 165 right about now. So Im a long way off from a 115 or a 135. But at the same time, our training and the way we train with our sport, we need to be at that weight so I do what I can to maintain my weight up there." Wednesday will be Humphries first live UFC show. "Its one of those experiences that Ive never had that Im very, very excited to see." ' ' '
