Dein erstes Forum » Que., recovering from a virus, finished 14th, follow

KOLOMNA, Russia -- Charles Hamelin ended the short-track speedskating World Cup season on a high note Sunday, winning gold in the 1,000-metre event in the final Olympic qualifying event of the year. Canadas strong showing throughout the World Cup season has qualified it for the maximum number of spots in every short-track speedskating event at the Sochi Games in February. "With the beginning to the season that Ive had, beginning with the Canadian trials in August, I have nothing to doubt in myself. How strong I am, how fast I am," said Hamelin. "I think that the program that our coaches have put in front of us is the perfect one for us." Hamelin won gold on Sunday despite having to withdraw from Saturdays competition with a bruised left thigh. He won the race in one minute 24.923 seconds. Frances Thibaut Fauconney (1:25.054) was second followed by American J.R. Celski (1:25.148) and Chinas Tianyu Han (1:25.195). Charle Cournoyer of Boucherville, Que., and Olivier Jean of Lachenaie, Que., both stumbled in the preliminaries and finished at the bottom of the rankings. Sochi wont be Hamelins first Olympics. He won gold in the 500 metres and 5,000-metre relay at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and silver in the 5,000-metre relay in 2006 in Turin. Despite that wealth of experience, this World Cup season has been formative for Hamelin. "Ive learned a lot on what to do at the Olympics in two months," said Hamelin. "I feel very confident that I can be on the podium in every distance and Im going there with that confidence." The mens relay team did not reach the main final on Sunday. Charles Hamelins fall in the 30th lap created too large a gap for his teammates to close, excluding them from the A final. The team of Charles and Francois Hamelin, from Ste-Julie, Que., Cournoyer, Yellowknifes Michael Gilday and Jean took advantage of a fall by the two leading teams in the B final as the final bell was ringing to win the heat and take fifth place. First place went to the Americans (6:44.941), second to the Russians (6:45.552) and third to South Koreans (6:45.470). Yves Hamelin, Canadas short-track speedskating program director and father to Charles and Francois, believes that Canada is poised for a very strong showing in Sochi, possibly better than its performance in Vancouver. "Theyre healthier, theyre stronger," said Yves Hamelin. "Four years to keep building up their performance. Getting more experience, having the chance to do more semis and finals. Our guys in these critical races, we see them reacting very well, even better than they were in Vancouver. "Thats very encouraging to see such a large racing background develop over the last four years, in addition to what they had prior to Vancouver." With several months to prepare for the Olympics, Charles Hamelin isnt getting ahead of himself. "Ill be focusing on my training," said Hamelin. "I will not be trying to focus on things too far away. I think thats the way to relieve the pressure." On the womens side, Valerie Maltais of La Baie, Que., was in fine form in the 1,000-metre event, leading until the last turn when she lost her footing and found herself in the mats, ultimately finishing fourth in 1:29.169. "On the last corner, Elise Christie from Great Britain passed me inside," said Maltais, who said she was uninjured in the fall. "The pass was clean but it was tight. She hit the block and I stepped on that block when I fell." Marianne St-Gelais of St-Felicien, Que., recovering from a virus, finished 14th, followed by her teammate Jessica Hewitt of Kamloops, B.C., in 15th. Neither skater advanced past the quarter-finals. In the 3,000-metre relay, China won in 4:06.785 after taking the lead with seven laps to go. The South Koreans (4:06.215) were second and Italy (4:09.217) third. The Canadian team of Edmontons Jessica Gregg, Maltais, St-Gelais, Hewitt and Marie-Eve Drolet of Laterriere, Que., were shut out of the podium, finishing fourth in 4:11.880. "Im very excited (for the Games), Im very for the whole team because everyone got their spots for the individual distance and also for the relay," said Maltais. The relay was Drolets return to competition, after battling injury since last Augusts Olympic trials. Gregg fell during the race, slowing down her teams rhythm. Steven Souza Jersey . The 19-year-old Swiss centre back will initially have to impress in Uniteds reserve side to earn a spot in the first team. Veseli says "Manchester United has a long history of younger players coming through and hopefully I can follow and do the same. Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Jerseys . On Thursday, they signed former Browns linebacker DQwell Jackson. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. http://www.diamondbackssale.com/diamondb...-szczur-jersey/. Orlandos Glen Davis tried to get in the way, only to be driven back into the padding under the basket as the Pelicans forward slammed home a windmill jam. Yasmany Tomas Jersey .B. -- Canadian pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford went from elated to frustrated in the span of a few minutes. Curt Schilling Jersey .com) - Mikko Korhonen carded a 5-under 67 on Thursday to claim medalist honors at the European Tours Final Qualifying Stage tournament.DUNEDIN, Florida – Could it be? With the Blue Jays failure to land Ervin Santana and the continuing spring struggles, to varying degrees, of Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond and J.A. Happ, Ricky Romeros name is being brought up on an increasing basis. Its getting lumped in with that large group competing for a job in the starting rotation. Manager John Gibbons was effusive about Romeros Wednesday performance, in which the former ace lefthander allowed one run over four innings of work. "All hes got to do is get it in the zone," said Gibbons. "That ball is moving every which way too. Its tough to square him up. If he gets in the zone, he makes them swing, you add that great changeup on top of that, thats where hes had his success. Where he ran into trouble he was just scattering it. He was walking guys, things like that. Hes getting in the zone now and thats the key." Baby steps, though. Romero did walk two batters and hit another. He was the beneficiary of a beautifully turned double play and of an outfield assist on a base hit by Jose Bautista, who threw out a runner at third. If Romero was to land the starting job, at this moment it seems remote, the Jays would likely begin the season with an eight-man bullpen. The fact Romero isnt on the 40-man roster works against him, performance over the last two seasons aside, but he is owed at least $15.6-million over the remaining term on his contract and the Jays would love to get some value for it. Romero has simplified his approach. "Like Ive told Kratz and Thole, the guys who have caught me the last two times, just set up down the middle and stuff will move," he said. "I feel like Im getting that movement back with the changeup and the sinker. There are going to be times when I come out of my delivery a little bit but I think the good thing now is that Im realizing when Im coming out of it. Its just slowing myself back down and my delivery is going to be key, just finding that rhythm." One noticeable difference from last season: when Romero talks about feeling good, feeling confident, his eyes and his body language emit the same. That hasnt been the case. "I definitely feel like its in the right direction and how can you not," said Romero. "Everything Ive been through, this feels good. Im not going to get ahead of myself or anything like that but its taking it day by day and working.dddddddddddd I think if I do that, just continue to work, work, and see the little wins each and every day and remain positive I think Im going to be just fine. The rest will take care of itself." Its a long road back to being the 15-game winner from 2011 and Romero may never regain his All-Star form. But hes trying. His manager hopes the crisis of confidence is a thing of the past. "Some guys never rebound from it," said manager John Gibbons. "What hes done here this spring, we noticed it, first started noticing it, just warming up in the bullpen, just throwing their sides and in BP, before we even started playing games, he looked different. Were all pulling for him here." McGowan feeling better Dustin McGowan threw two scoreless innings in Thursdays 7-5 loss to the Astros. It was his first game action in 10 days thanks to a stomach bug. It was the same illness that affected Sergio Santos earlier this month. "I lost eight (pounds,) exactly, too," said McGowan. "I think its the eight pound flu or whatever it was. Next time Sergio needs to stay home." After years of battling shoulder problems, McGowan made 25 appearances out of the bullpen last season, posting a 2.45 ERA while striking out, essentially, one hitter per inning pitched. Hes stretching out this spring, longing to be a starter once more. He felt no side effects from his sickness-induced layoff. "I felt good," said McGowan. "For me, thats the most important thing is feeling good. Pitches are starting to come around and location is starting to get better so its a positive outing today for me." McGowan seems to understand the unlikelihood that hell end up in the rotation, admitting "Its hard to say in my head Im going to be a starter but thats where I want to be." Still, hell continue to try to pitch deeper into games. "Ill keep going this path but if Im at four innings by the end of spring, if they want me in the bullpen thats easy to transfer right into," he said. "If you throw one or two, youre ready for it easily." Has he gained the eight pounds back he lost while sick? "You dont see this," joked McGowan, pointing to his stomach. "Ive got it." ' ' '