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Olympics BriefsTeter's win was America's second half-pipe gold of the Games
GDO Report
The complete list of competitions is as follows:
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2006 Winter Olympics Feature Story
Sluggish start for Canada
Beat host Italy 7-2 in opener
TURIN, Italy - With Wayne Gretzky looking on from a box high above the ice, Team Canada opened defence of its 2002 Olympic championship with a 7-2 victory over Italy today at the Palasport Olimpico arena. Though Canada looked sluggish in the first period, likely a result of a hectic travel schedule that saw them practice in Toronto on Monday then flight overnight to Turin and practise here Tuesday night, a five-goal second buried the valiant but over-matched Italians. Canada outshot Italy 50-20. That his team was finally playing likely proved a relief for Gretzky, the executive director who faced a media storm when it was revealed his wife Janet was making sports wagers through a gambling ring allegedly run by Rick Tocchet, Gretzky's assistant coach with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes. Jarome Iginla led Team Canada with two goals, while the line of Vincent Lecavalier between Tampa Bay teammate Martin St. Louis and Ottawa's Dany Heatley combined for six points. Heatley and St. Louis each had a goal, while Shane Doan, Brad Richards and Joe Thornton scored the others. Canada outshot Italy 50-20. "It was an okay game,"Canada's goaltender Martin Brodeur said. "I know in (this round) people expect us to walk through everybody, and I guess we did to a certain extent in the second period, but we had a pretty good vibe, did well on the power-play." Canada now plays Germany tomorrow and Switzerland on Saturday before their first real test Sunday against Finland. Though they only arrived yesterday, Iginla said the 1 p.m. local start time was a blessing. "I liked that it was an afternoon game and that we didn't have to think about it all day," said Iginla, and paid tribute to Italy, whose roster includes nine Canadians of Italian descent. "Italy skated well. They were very fired up and they're a talented quick-skating team. "I don't know how it looked but it felt like a pretty quick period." The pro-Italian crowd certainly appreciated their team's effort. The country hasn't played in the Olympic tournament since 1992 in Albertville and when Montreal-born Giulio Scandella beat Brodeur just 43 seconds into the second period with Heatley in the penalty box for charging, the crowd exploded in cheers. "He's from Montreal?" Montreal native Brodeur said with a smile, when informed of Scandella's birth place. "Good." The goal seemed to wake up the Canadians as they then scored three times in five minutes and 21 seconds. Heatley made amends for his penalty by finishing off a pretty passing play from Lecavalier and St. Louis at the 1:55 mark. Shane Doan made it 3-1 three minutes and 43 seconds later and Iginla scored his second of the game on the power-play just 26 seconds after that. Richards made it 6-1 before Sault Ste. Marie-born John Parco beat Brodeur with a one-timer at 18:08 of the second. Both Scandella and Parco play in Italy for the A&O Asiago club. Italian goaltender Jason Muzzatti, a Toronto native and a first-round pick of the Calgary Flames in 1988 who played 53 games with the Hartford Whalers in the mid-1990s, was proud of his team's performance. "We were defeated but not humiliated and that's very important," said the 36-year-old who plays for HCBolzano. "We were able to score a couple of goals and that was great." While Muzzatto might find the NHLers old hat, others on the team appreciated the opportunity to play against the best. "I didn't get a chance to play in the NHL. This is my Stanley Cup - the Olympics," said Jason Cirone, a 35-year-old Torontonian who was a third-round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 1989. Brodeur said he appreciates their sentiment, but said the attention from opponents can sometimes make him feel embarrassed. "It's flattering to an extent," he said. "I remember playing in a world championship against a team and one of the goalies, he was all in awe and I said 'You just played against me. Don't worry about it." Earlier this morning, Sweden dispatched Kazakhstan, 7-2. Other games scheduled today see Switzerland play Finland, Germany against the Czech Republic, Russia vs. Slovakia and Latvia against the U.S. in the nightcap. |
Star hurdler Perdita Felicien is skipping next month's world indoor championships and Commonwealth Games.
The former world champion from Pickering, Ont., doesn't plan to race until the late spring, still shaking off the last troublesome remnants from her fall at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Her late start to the season means she'll miss the world indoor championships March 10-12 in Moscow and the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, March 15-26.
"It was definitely a hard decision, because I won the world indoors two years ago (in Budapest, Hungary) and have never been to a Commonwealth Games," Felicien said yesterday from her home in Champaign, Ill. "But at the beginning of the season we realized I had a lot of lingering problems, a lot of lingering injuries since '04 that hadn't cleared up yet, and then competing in '05 ... it wasn't a good season."
SPEIRS, MCLEOD WELL BACK
CHINO HILLS, Calif. -- Tom Stankowski set the tone early during the opening round of the Canadian Tour's winter qualifying school yesterday.
The native of Santa Barbara, Calif. opened with a 7-under 65 and leads Christo Greyling, Ryan Carter, Ryan Grant and Michael Sims by one stroke.
Winnipeggers Adam Speirs and Mac McLeod shot 73 and 75, respectively.
When final-round play wraps up Friday, the Canadian Tour will award exempt playing cards for the 2006 season to the low 20 finishers. The next 10 plus ties will earn non-exempt status.
Speirs is tied for 71st, while McLeod is tied for 106th.
MEN'S TEAM ON ONEROUS SCHEDULE
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Many of the country's best players wandered around a suburban practice rink, collecting their new Team Canada equipment from cardboard boxes and quickly exchanging hellos.
On the ice, two workers scrambled to put the finishing touches on advertisements lining the boards in the minutes before the hockey team's first full practice yesterday.
Everything about Canada's pre-Olympic gathering seemed hastily thrown together, but coach Pat Quinn called it a necessary first step in defending its gold medal.
"We've got a very short period of time to become a team," Quinn said. "We don't have many practices.
"This is a very onerous schedule. It'll be a lot of hockey."
SOUR GRAPES FROM U.S.?
TURIN -- A member of the U.S. women's hockey team says Canada's lopsided wins to date at the Turin Olympics are not helping the sport.
And defenceman Angela Ruggiero questions why the Canadian women put 16 goals past Italy and 12 past Russia.
"I'm upset that Canada has been running up the score, especially against the host nation," Ruggiero was quoted yesterday on SI.com, Sports Illustrated's website. "There was no need for that. They're trying to pad their stats ... Canada is running up the score for whatever reasons -- personal, short-term."
SWEDES ON TAP
TURIN -- Sweden has never beaten Canada in women's hockey, yet the Canadians are still wary of their next opponent at the Olympic Games.
The Canadians hammered host Italy 16-0 and then Russia 12-0 to open defence of their Olympic gold medal -- and they admitted to taking their foot off the gas later in those games.
Yet, while Canada is heavily favoured over Sweden today (CBC, 2:30 p.m.), the team expects a stiffer challenge from the Swedes.
"We never know what to expect with Sweden," Canadian forward Danielle Goyette said. "If they have the confidence, they can have a good game against us, and it's up to us to make sure they don't have that confidence."
Canada and Sweden are both 2-0, so the winner earns first place in Group A and crosses over to face the second-place team in Group B in Friday's semifinal. The opponent will likely be Finland, barring an upset over the U.S.
FORSBERG COULD PLAY
TURIN -- Superstar centre Peter Forsberg will play in the Winter Olympics, according to Swedish hockey coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson.
The Philadelphia Flyer forward's status had been in question due to a groin injury. He will arrive in Turin today.
TURIN, Italy -- The buzz surrounding Wayne Gretzky and his reported knowledge of a gambling ring will not be a distraction, Canadian Olympic Committee president Michael Chambers vowed yesterday.
The Great One is the executive director of Canada's hockey team, which many expect to win gold.
"Athletes live in the village, they're transported to venues and they're in an envelope of sorts during the games," Chambers said. "I'm sure when Gretzky arrives a lot of the media will be interested in talking to him, but I don't think that's going to distract our athletes in any way."
Gretzky is expected to arrive in Turin on Tuesday.
GUNNIN' FOR THE RECORD
CESANA, Italy -- Ole Einar Bjoerndalen still has a shot at Olympic history in Turin despite losing out in the first event of the Turin Games to Michael Greis of Germany.
Bjoerndalen gave his all but his two missed targets cost him the gold medal, and he settled for the silver in the men's 20-kilometre biathlon yesterday.
The 32-year-old Norwegian has stood atop the Olympic podium five times before in his sensational career that includes 57 World Cup wins. If he can win out in the Italian Alps, he would become the most successful athlete in the history of the Winter Games.
FIRST ITALIAN MEDAL
TURIN, Italy -- When Enrico Fabris glanced at the giant TV screen halfway through his 5,000-metre race, the news could hardly have been worse. The Italian speed skater was seventh, and far off the pace.
Then, the crowd of 8,000 started to roar, urging him on as he sped by them in his blue suit. Cutting through the din, he produced a remarkable third-place finish yesterday -- and a welcome medal for host Italy on the first day of competition in the Turin Olympics.
TOO FAST FOR HIS OWN GOOD
TURIN, Italy -- Canadian Manuel Osborne-Paradis finished second in the final downhill training run yesterday as competitors jockeyed hard to finish as close to 30th as possible.
The Olympic downhill start list is set by reversing the top 30 finishers from the final training run, meaning Osborne-Paradis will start 29th in Sestriere this morning. Many of the favourites, including American Bode Miller, who had a 1.5-second lead through the final interval, stood up and slammed on the brakes before they crossed the finish line. They did so in an effort to settle in the middle 30, considered the "sweet spot" for the downhill start.
The 22-year-old Olympic rookie from North Vancouver is a long shot to crack the top 10.
Teter's win was America's second half-pipe gold of the Games
Teenage US snowboarder Hannah Teter took gold in the women's half-pipe ahead of compatriot Gretchen Bleiler.
The Americans looked set for a clean sweep, until Norway's Kjersti Buaas put in a great final run to push defending champion Kelly Clark into fourth.
British boarder Lesley McKenna had a nightmare day, finishing 33rd after falling on both qualifying runs.
Fellow Briton Kate Foster, 20, fared better - scoring 24.7 on her second run - but failed to qualify in 20th place.
Teter's win completed an American half-pipe double after Shaun White won gold a day earlier.
Teter, who at 19 is the same age as White, put in two scintillating performances in her final runs scoring 44.6 and then 46.4.
"I guess I was kind of distracted at the beginning," said Teter, who was only fifth in qualifying. But then I chilled out and made it. It's amazing."
I had to take risks and they did not pay off
Lesley McKenna
Bleiler, 24, was delighted with her second place.
"The silver medal means everything to me, I've worked so hard to get here," she said.
Buaas said she had to throw caution to the wind to prevent a US one-two-three.
"I had to go big even if my tricks aren't as good as theirs," she said. "The Americans are really good and I'm happy to have a European on the podium."
McKenna - who has just returned to competing after a seven-month absence - said the Games had simply come too soon.
Despite having few chances to practice since her recovery from a shattered ankle, the 31-year-old was determined to go for broke.
"I did not come here to have a safe run and finish 16th or 17th," she told the BBC. "I wanted to get into the final, so I had to take risks and they did not pay off.
"In snowboarding you either go big, or you go home," she said. "This time I'm going home."
Foster, who enjoyed huge support from her family, was pleased with her first Olympic performance.
"It was shame I could not go for my better tricks, but I needed to get a safe run." she said.
Japanese competitor Melo Imai briefly lost consciousness after a nasty fall in the second round of qualifying.
She was flown to hospital in Turin where she was treated for a shoulder injury.
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