OTTAWA - Qualifying for Canadas Olympic Skating Team takes place this weekend at The Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Ottawa This is not just another national championships. It is the chance of a lifetime to make the Canadian Olympic Team and its a celebration of 100 years of the Canadian Championships. Canadian skating is celebrating its past at these Championships and also its future, as based on stellar results, Canada has qualified to send the largest skating team to Sochi. This is about Canadian skaters continuing to break new ground at home and on the international stage. Patrick Chan is on the verge, he hopes, of being the first Canadian man to win Olympic Gold. He has treated us in the past to superb performances at nationals, en route to his World Championship wins. In light of his performances this season, we can expect nothing less of him here. Saving and peaking are words not in his vocabulary. He will no doubt hold nothing back as he goes after his 7th Canadian title. This is about what is believed to be a Canadian farewell to Olympic Champions and ice dance legends Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who unless we can convince them otherwise, will leave competitive skating after the Games. They have been building throughout this season and are looking stronger and fitter, more refined and in tune each time out. They will look at their performance here as a gift to themselves to be able to perform their Olympic programs in front of their Canadian fans while in peak condition. They will likely be soaking it all in and storing it to memory so that it can be looked back on fondly down the road. So too I bet, will the audiences. This is a welcome back to the nationals for six-time Canadian Medalists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje. Kaitlyn was injured last year in practice a month before nationals and so was unable to compete. Her injury, a broken fibula, was so severe the doctors even ruled out the possibility of competing at Worlds last March. Three months to the day after the accident and after methodically and relentlessly working through the pain of rehab, Kaitlyn and Andrew competed and finished 5th at The World Championships and once again showed us how they can grow stronger and more resilient through adversity. Injury free and at the top of their game, they hope that they will put up the kind of numbers here that are worthy of podium contention in Sochi. This is about two rival pair teams continuing the rich tradition of Canadian pairs as they duke it out once again for the Canadian title. Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch were Canadian Champs in 2011, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in 2012. Last year in the closest of contests Meagan and Eric defended their title, beating Kirsten and Dylan by less than a point in the short and just over a point in the long. It was one of those events where when its over you literally sit back in your seat and think, "Wow! What a fight!" At last years World Championships, the edge once again went to Meagan and Eric who finished third and just one spot ahead of Kirsten and Dylan. Both teams have the same goals, Canadian title and Olympic medal. As teams, they cant get much closer. As a competition, it doesnt get much better. And then there are the unknowns. Kevin Reynolds, the quad king, who had a break-out season last year finishing 5th in the world, has not competed this year due to boot problems. There are seven guys going after three spots. Patricks got one of those spots and Kevin certainly has the credentials to earn the second, but he will be pressured in this, his first competition of the season. Canadian ladies champion Kaetlyn Osmond is feeling the same kind of heat as hers has been a season of untimely injuries which have cost her valuable training time. Six women fighting for two spots. Kaetlyn has posted by far the best scores to date, but she will contend with a Canadian Champion and some young and feisty up-and-comers and so will have to be on her toes, so to speak. This is about dreams coming true and bitter disappointments. About your last four years being defined by the next four minutes. About becoming a champion, a medalist, an Olympic team member or going down trying. As Roosevelt said in The Man in the Arena, "His place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." This is the 100-year anniversary of the Canadian Skating Championships. The tradition continues. Jessie Bates III Jersey . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen. Malik Jefferson Bengals Jersey . And while taking highly-touted Simon Fraser offensive lineman Matthias Goossen second overall on Tuesday night will definitely help in an area of need for the club, it was a swap of draft picks that may prove to be his most shrewd move. "When Jesse Briggs started to fall a little bit, you could just see Kyle perk up in his chair. http://www.bengalsrookiestore.com/Bengal...-Walton-Jersey/. Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Billy Price Jersey . And while taking highly-touted Simon Fraser offensive lineman Matthias Goossen second overall on Tuesday night will definitely help in an area of need for the club, it was a swap of draft picks that may prove to be his most shrewd move. "When Jesse Briggs started to fall a little bit, you could just see Kyle perk up in his chair. Jessie Bates III Bengals Jersey . UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport.NEW YORK -- The Nashville Predators snapped out of their funk with a solid win at Madison Square Garden. The host New York Rangers might ask the visitors how they did it before they head back to Tennessee. Nick Spaling and Rich Clune scored first-period goals, and seldom-used backup Carter Hutton made 28 saves as the Predators broke a five-game losing streak by beating the skidding Rangers 4-1 on Tuesday night. New York geared up for a team-record, nine-game homestand, but three games into it the Rangers have only an overtime loss on the positive side of the ledger (0-2-1). And now they will have to go the next four to six weeks without captain Ryan Callahan, who sprained his left knee in the first period. Callahan is second on the club with seven goals. "Everyone has to step up a little more," defenceman Dan Girardi said. "He brings a lot to the team, a lot of different characteristics." The Rangers were already playing without top defenceman Marc Staal, who sustained a concussion two games earlier. Hutton (5-3-1) made his first start since Nov. 10 and his third appearance in that span as the Predators try to get by while No. 1 goalie Pekka Rinne (hip) is out. Marek Mazanec went 0-4-1 in the previous five games. "I played a couple periods," Hutton said. "We practice pretty hard, we train pretty hard. This was kind of something I was ready to do." Matt Hendricks made it 3-1 just 2:38 into the third, knocking in a loose puck from in front, with Clune earning an assist. Paul Gaustad scored an empty-net goal with 1:06 left and added two assists. "I think everyone is going to sleep a little easier tonight," Clune said. "We stopped the bleeding, but we have to move forward, ride the high on the plane, but refocus fast." Rick Nash cut New Yorks deficit in half in the second period and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 22 shots. The Rangers have dropped four straight at home (0-3-1). "The only thing I know right now is it can only go up," Lundqvist said. "Its extremely tough mentally, and you try to be positive. You have to." Despite a team meeting after their 4-1 loss to Washington on Sunday, several lineup changes -- and a call-up from the AHL -- the Rangers came out flat and fell into a 2-0 hole in the first period. New York (15-16-1) added veteran forward Arroon Asham to the lineup, but the Rangers still cant find consistency to their game.dddddddddddd "There were certain areas we talked about before the game," coach Alain Vigneault said. "I thought we started off all right, but it makes it real challenging when you are down 2-0 early." Nashville was hardly impressive or overly aggressive, but the Predators made the most of their chances and scored twice on only six shots. Spaling made it 1-0 with 6:15 left, right after the Rangers briefly avoided falling behind on another scoring chance in front. Spaling delivered a hard hit on defenceman Ryan McDonagh and then was free in front to score his fifth of the season before McDonagh could get back in the play. Another breakdown produced the Predators second goal 4:07 later. Hendricks raced the puck up right wing and flipped a perfect pass over the stick of Rangers forward Dominic Moore and onto Clunes blade. Clune, who had no points and 69 penalty minutes in 17 games this season, deftly shifted the puck from forehand to backhand and slid it past Lundqvist. When the period ended, the Rangers were serenaded with boos as they trudged off to the dressing room. "This crowd is a demanding crowd. You can hear the crowd getting on them, letting them know what they thought," Clune said. New York enjoyed a better second period. Even though the Rangers were outshot 12-6, they scored the only goal. Nash finished a crisp three-way passing play that started with Derick Brassard moving the puck to his left to Brad Richards, who quickly found Nash down low. Nash cut right to left across the crease and tucked in his sixth goal of the season at 6:38. Brassard nearly tied it with 1:49 remaining in the second, but his hard drive struck a post behind Hutton. "It was not the start we were looking for," Lundqvist said. "Still, after two periods, it is just a one-goal game. We tried to fight back in the second and in the third. "That third goal killed us." NOTES: Nash earned his 600th NHL point. ... Vigneault confirmed Staals concussion, but said it doesnt appear to be as severe as his previous one a few years ago. ... Clune entered with four goals, 11 points and 208 penalty minutes in 78 NHL games. It was his second multipoint game. ... Earlier this season, Hutton became the seventh goalie to win a game with the Predators. Authentic Bills JerseysDolphins Stitched JerseysCheap Patriots JerseysWholesale Jets JerseysWholesale Texans JerseysCheap Colts JerseysJaguars Jerseys StoreAuthentic Titans JerseysAuthentic Broncos JerseysAuthentic Chiefs JerseysCheap Raiders JerseysChargers Jerseys StoreCheap Ravens JerseysWholesale Bengals JerseysCheap Browns JerseysSteelers Jerseys StoreWholesale Cowboys JerseysWholesale Giants JerseysAuthentic Eagles JerseysCheap Redskins JerseysAuthentic Falcons JerseysPanthers Jerseys StoreWholesale Saints JerseysAuthentic Buccaneers JerseysWholesale Cardinals JerseysCheap 49ers JerseysSeahawks Jerseys StoreWholesale Rams JerseysWholesale Bears JerseysAuthentic Lions JerseysCheap Packers JerseysVikings Jerseys Store ' ' '