an pride and Olympic Pride. #ThankYouGilmore," M

Posted in IYH Forums by lavender123456 at 01:42, Jun 26 2014

LANGLEY, B.C. -- Amber Holland cant go to the grocery store -- or many other places -- without getting recognized. "Literally, two or three people stop me as Im grocery shopping," she said. "It almost seems like every place I go, someone knows you." Such is the price of newly-found fame for the reigning Canadian womens curling champion. But after winning her first national crown in Charlottetown and following it up with a silver medal at the world championships in Denmark, she has had a much harder time finding suitable competition this year. By gaining an automatic return ticket to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts through the Team Canada berth, Hollands Kronau, Sask., rink does not have to compete in provincial playdowns. As a result, she will play fewer events before heading to Red Deer, Alta., next month to defend her Canadian crown. This weeks Continental Cup of Curling, an international competition pitting a North American squad a Team World comprising rinks from Europe and China, is helping to pick up some of the slack. "Its great playing conditions out there and you feel like you can make any shot," said Holland, 37. "The pressure to go out and perform well? Its good. Were in a good space out there for what we need to do to prepare." But Holland is still trying to get some of the kinks out of her game. She dropped a 6-4 decision Friday to Binyu Wang of China, the 2010 Olympic bronze medallist. With a strong mixed doubles showing, World took a 66-42 lead after two days of comeptition. World is looking to avenge last years one-sided loss to Team North America at St. Albert, Alta. "Its a big day for me and a big day for the World," said Wang after she followed her victory over Holland with a mixed doubles win. "We have to keep going." Holland battled back to tie the score three times after trailing 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3. "We just had so many opportunities,"said Holland. "We just missed. We played well, just missed some of those key shots. When they missed, we didnt make (shots) and thats the difference at this level of play." Wang claimed the win as she broke a 4-4 tie by scoring two with the hammer in the eighth and final end. (Continental Cup womens and mens matches are shortened to eight ends from the standard 10.) The turning point came in the seventh end as Hollands rink failed to lay two when third Kim Schneider was heavy with one of her shots. Holland and Wang then played a game of hit-and-stay with successful takeout attempts before the Canadian skip drew to the button and had to settle for just one point. "I thought we played pretty good," said Holland. "I was disappointed with two or three of my shots. They just went two or three feet heavy, like the last end -- which really hurt us." Holland finished womens team play with a 0-1-1 record. Wang finished womens play with a perfect 2-0 record. "It was a lucky one," Wang said. "We had to pick that one out of there. For this game, we are so happy for a win." Wang was also grateful for the opportunity to play against the Canadian skip as she prepares to qualify her Chinese rink for the world championships again. "I think this is the first time we beat Amber Holland," said Wang. "She defeated us twice last year at the worlds. So this is good for us." In other womens action Friday, Stefanie Lawtons Saskatoon rink gave North America a 3-3 draw with Scotlands Eve Muirhead, a four-time world junior gold medallist. It was Muirheads second draw with a Canadian rink here. She and Holland battled to a 5-5 tie Thursday. Meanwhile, Patti Lank, a Midale, Sask., native who lives in Lewiston, N.Y., guided her U.S. national-champion rink to an 8-5 victory over Swedens Annette Norberg, the defending world champion and two-time Olympic champ. "I dont remember ever losing to her," said Lank. The non-traditional event includes mens, womens, mixed doubles, singles and skins competitions. The first team to get 201 of a possible 400 points will be declared the winner. In mixed doubles action, World took all three of the days matches. Wang and Torger Nergard of Norway teamed up to beat Lank and Craig Savill of Ottawa 5-4; Scotlands Muirhead and Fredrik Lindberg downed Lawton and Ben Hebert of Calgary 8-7; and the Scottish duo of Greg Drummond and Anna Sloan defeated Holland and Joe Polo of Duluth Minn., 7-5. The two teams split the mens matches later Friday. Scotlands Tom Brewster scored one in the final end to beat Winnipegs Jeff Stoughton 7-6. Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., scored four in the sixth end of a 6-4 win over Swedens Niklas Edin. And Norways Thomas Ulsrud scored two in the final end in a 4-4 tie with American Pete Fenson. Notes--Lank, a dual Canadian-American citizen, is preparing for the U.S. championships by playing and practising at her longtime Niagara Falls, Ont., club. ... Wang qualified for the world championships by winning Chinas National Winter Games crown last weekend. Her rink has made adjustments this year because regular third Yin Liu has taken the season off to studying in the U.S. this season. Regular second Qingshuang Yue is playing third and former alternate Jinli Liu has moved into second. wholesale jerseys . The Lions hired Caldwell on Tuesday to replace fired coach Jim Schwartz, ending a search that included a phone conversation between Mayhew and Tony Dungy. wholesale nfl jerseys . -- A 67-car field, an unusually low attrition rate and a relatively tight road course turned an endurance race into a pushing and shoving match. http://www.jerseysfromchinahome.com/. The rookie running back galloped 73 yards for a touchdown with 33 seconds left to give the Argos a 30-23 CFL pre-season win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. cheap nfl jerseys . Zach McAllister wasnt nervous, either. cheap jerseys from china . returned an interception 55 yards for the go-ahead touchdown in Texas A&Ms 52-48 victory over Duke on Tuesday night in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.With the Olympic Games wrapping up in Sochi, the debate about who should carry the Canadian flag into the Closing Ceremony can begin. Its been a successful Games for Canada, which will finish near the top of the medal standings again. From repeat gold medal winners to multiple medal winners to undefeated teams to acts that define the Olympic spirit, there are many solid candidates who could be considered to receive the honour. Who do you think should carry the flag for Canada on Sunday? Four years ago, Alexandre Bilodeau made history by winning Canadas first Olympic gold medal on home soil. He followed that up by defending his title in moguls this year. He is set to retire at seasons end so this would be a fitting way to honour his accomplishments. Bobsledders Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse also won gold in Vancouver, a first in the womens event, and earned their way back to the top of the podium again in Sochi. Jennifer Jones and her rink from Winnipeg didnt lose a game in womens curling, going 9-0 in the round robin before beating Great Britain and Sweden in the playoffs. Canada has shown well in curling since its inception into the Olympics as an official sport in 1998 but has yet to have a flag bearer from the sport. "Were going to have that little OR — Olympic record — next to our name forever," Jones said after the final game. "Its one of those records that can only be tied and never broken. Well always be remembered." Speed skater Denny Morrison has been the lone Canadian athlete to win multiple medals in individual disciplines, taking the silver in the 1,000m event and bronze in the 1,500m. However, if not for the unselfish act of teammate Gilmore Junio, Morrison may have come up empty in Sochi. Junio stepped aside to llet Morrison race the 1,000m event and the move paid off for Canada.dddddddddddd Morrison then went on to win his bronze medal but it all started with Junio putting the team before himself. "People talk about it as being a huge sacrifice, but I dont see it that way," Junio said. "It was such an easy decision. It was such a simple decision for me. It was about giving Canada a chance to win a medal." It was actually Morrison who started a campaign on Twitter to have Junio carry the flag. "@cdnhappygilmore for Closing Ceremonies flag bearer! This guy showing everything that is Canadian pride and Olympic Pride. #ThankYouGilmore," Morrison tweeted as the #GilForFlagBearer campaign gained popularity. Along the same lines, theres Justin Wadsworth, the cross-country skiing coach who ran onto the course to help a Russian skier who had broken a ski. "I wanted him to have dignity as he crossed the finish line," Wadsworth said. That is the essence of good sportsmanship. The Dufour-Lapointe sisters captured Canadians attention on the first day of competition with Justine winning the gold and Chloe the silver in moguls skiing. And then theres hockey. Forward Marie-Philip Poulin and goaltender Shannon Szabados were key players in Team Canadas march to gold, especially in Thursdays riveting come-from-behind overtime victory. And what if the mens team were to follow suit on Sunday? Should Sidney Crosby or Carey Price warrant some consideration? There are many great candidates who have stood out among the throng of superb athletes in Sochi these past two weeks. But only one individual can carry the flag. Who do you think should have the honour of carrying Canadas colours into the stadium on Sunday? As always, its Your! Call. ' ' '