straight shots in one stretch. They had the best-shooting

Liam Firus, a 21-year-old Vancouverite with an enviable slip across the ice, can see an opportunity: one of those three Olympic spots that Canada has earned for men. He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. He surprised himself, because he had been battling a groin injury in the weeks leading up to the event. The skate of a lifetime doesnt usually happen after such impediments. And it was a painful injury, too. He had endured six tortuous injections of a sugar solution into his injury, meant to inflame the site, bring blood to a bloodless area and help the healing. He and coach Lorna Bauer had considered withdrawing from the Canadian championships, but only the Sunday before the event, they decided to go. And because Firus really wasnt trained, the long program slipped out of his control and he dipped to fifth overall. It was still his best finish at the senior national level. His problems werent over, by any means, when he went home. He immediately set to work with choreographer Mark Pillay to design two new programs for the Olympic season and then he didnt set foot on an ice surface for months. He got six more injections, a week apart. He went to physiotherapy three to four times a week. His life revolved around rehabilitation. He didnt get back onto the ice again until June. "It was tough," he said. With the Olympics coming, he wanted to train like a fiend, but he knew that wasnt smart. "I knew that if my groin was bothering me while I was training for the Olympics, I dont think I would have a shot," he said. "It was just so painful and so mentally hard, too." So restrain himself, he did. He didnt start jumping again until late July, and that didnt mean full-out triple Axels. It meant doing doubles, half a year before the Sochi Olympics. By the middle of August, he slowly introduced triples back into the mix. By the beginning of September, he was finally doing full programs. With five months to the Olympics, his training finally began in earnest. He decided to step things up, by leaving Vancouver to train full time in Colorado Springs with Christy Krall, Damon Allen and Eric Shultz, coaches hed visited sporadically for four or five years. It meant leaving his first and only coach, Lorna Bauer, behind. Visit Skate Canada to read the rest of this story. Fake Pirates Jerseys . Former two-time Olympic gold medallist Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine in both her "A" and "B" samples, the German Olympic Committee said. Pittsburgh Pirates Shirts . But history aside, theyre still happy to participate in the Par 3 contest, traditionally held on the day prior to the first round of the Masters. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ .com) - The St. Pittsburgh Pirates Pro Shop .Y. -- As if the worst start in franchise history isnt bad enough, Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black braced his teams win-starved fans for potentially more tough times. Wholesale Pirates Jerseys . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov.MIAMI -- History would suggest they did everything right. Oops. Since LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh teamed up for the "Big 3" era with the Miami Heat, there had been some absolute truths when it came to their home playoff games. When they shot at least 48 per cent, they were 18-0. When they made at least 10 shots from 3-point range, they were 12-0. And in this post-season, they were a perfect 8-0 in their building. No more. On any count. No Miami miracle this time, either. A blowout got interesting for a few minutes, but in the end, it wound up as a blowout -- and the road to a third straight NBA championship for the Heat got considerably tougher. Down by a staggering 25 points at one point in the first half, the Heat whittled their way within single digits. But they never got all that close to the San Antonio Spurs and wound up falling 111-92 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night. The Spurs lead the series 2-1, and need only to hold serve at home to end Miamis reign as NBA champions. "What it feels like is the finals," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And you have to deal with all the emotions there are in the finals -- frustration, anger, pain, elation, all of it, and it can swing back and forth. Its a long series. We have to be able to manage this and it starts with tomorrow, owning it. Thatll be the process we all have to go through together." James and Wade each scored 22 points, Bosh didnt miss a shot, they connected on 52 per cent of their tries from the floor, and they still got drilled. Rashard Lewis scored 14, Ray Allen had 11 and Bosh had only nine -- getting just four shots in 34 minutes. "We will get better from tonight," James said. "We hate the performance that we put on. But its 2-1. Its not 4-1. Its 2-1, and we have to make some adjustments, come in and learn from our mistakes as we always do after a loss." So far, these finals are just like the 2013 version: Spurs win Game 1. Heat win Game 2. Spurs blow Heat out in Game 3. Only this time, Miami doesnt have the luxury of potentially having a Game 7 at home. "We have to take this one oon the chin," Bosh said.dddddddddddd"We are kidding ourselves if were going to win a championship with that kind of effort, home or away." Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 29 points. Danny Green and Tony Parker each scored 15 for San Antonio and Tim Duncan added 14 for the Spurs. The signs of trouble for the Heat were obvious from the get-go. James had 14 points in the early going, and Miami was still down by seven. The Heat gave up 41 points in the first quarter, defence nowhere to be found. At one point in the second quarter, it was Spurs 55, Heat 30. That matched the largest deficit Miami has faced at home at any point in the Big 3 era, tied only with the 25-point lead Oklahoma City held over the Heat during this regular season. The numbers were absurd. Out of San Antonios first 21 shots, the Spurs missed two. Yes, two. They were shooting 91 per cent for the game at one point in the second quarter. They made 11 straight shots in one stretch. They had the best-shooting first half by any NBA team since ... well, them, more than three years ago against Detroit. "That will never happen again," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I mean, thats crazy." Predictably, the Heat locker room was not the worlds happiest place at halftime, with Miami down 71-50. "We had every conversation," Allen said. "We yelled at each other. We encouraged each other. We went through a range of emotions trying to find a spark." A spark, they found. But they needed an inferno. Miami got within seven in the second half, and the 19,900 white-clad fans in the building had to be thinking of the ridiculous finals comeback last season against the Spurs. The Heat were down by five with 28.2 seconds left in Game 6, then rallied to not just save the game, but save their title hopes. "We knew they were going to make a run," Duncan said. Thats all it was, just a run. The outcome was never really in doubt. And the building was just about empty when the final buzzer sounded. "Little frustration," Wade said. "But thats the nature of the playoffs. Its not always good." ' ' '