Two Canadian snowboarders who were critical of Shaun Whites decision to pull out of the Olympic slopestyle competition were among eight riders who qualified Thursday for the events final. Alvaro Morata Jersey . Max Parrot posted the days best score, a 97.50 in his second run. Sebastien Toutant also made it through to Saturdays final as the Sochi Olympics opened with one of the new events debuting at the games. White, the American star known for his daring halfpipe tricks, withdrew from the event on Wednesday, saying he wanted to concentrate on winning his third straight gold medal in the halfpipe. He hurt his wrist during a training run on Tuesday but initially indicated he would not miss the event. His decision to withdraw was mocked by Parrot and Toutant on social media. In a since-deleted tweet, Parrot said he thought White was "scared" to compete and "knows he wont be able to win the slopes." "I just think me and Seb said something all the other riders would have loved to tell, but maybe are scared to tell," Parrot told TSN on Thursday. "He choked a couple contests this year with not really good reasons. With him here he has the potential to be...Why choke on it for nothing?" Toutant tweeted, "Its easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you cant win." Toutant also deleted his message, but clarified his stance after his runs on Thursday. "I think its sad for all Americans who trained hard for that spot," he added. "Cant replace him - pretty sad. If you think its too dangerous, go do something else." The slopestyle course drew criticism as being potentially dangerous and was modified after Norways Torstein Horgmo broke his collarbone on Monday. The event, making its Olympic debut, features riders doing tricks over rails and jumps, like skateboarders in a city park only down a snow-covered trail. Parrots first run was smooth, but for a dragged hand at the end of one of his jumps, and drew a score of 91.75. The reigning Winter X Games gold medalist was better on his second run, which had few obvious flaws. Toutant scored a 74.25 on his first run and qualified through his second with a score of 87.25. Canadian Mark McMorris, a two-time X Games gold medalist, fell on his first run and will have to qualify through the semifinals. McMorris, who suffered a broken rib at the X Games last month, pulled off a triple-cork on his second run but earned an 89.25, not among the four best riders in his heat. Americans Sage Kotsenburg, Ryan Stassel and Charles Guldemond will also have to try to qualify through the semifinals, which are Saturday. Moving directly to the final with Parrot and Toutant were Norways Staale Sandbech and Gjermund Braaten, Finlands Peetu Piiroinen and Roope Tonteri, Great Britains Jamie Nicholls and Swedens Sven Thorgren. Pepe Jersey . The NFLs Defensive Rookie of the Year will be named at the NFL Honours Award show on February 1. The 23-year-old 2013 second-rounder out of Oregon becomes the third Bills linebacker to win the honour after Jim Haslett (1979) and Shane Conlan (1987. Marcelo Jersey .J. - Trying to learn and absorb the new West Coast offence being installed by new offensive co-ordinator Ben McAdoo, the New York Giants wrapped their final organized team activity Thursday before a three-day mini-camp next week.GREEN BAY, Wis. - Ted Thompson is happy to have Julius Peppers in the fold. But the Packers general manager insisted Thursday that landing the eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end from the rival Chicago Bears wont have an effect on what Green Bay does with its nine selections in next weeks NFL draft. In his first public comments since Peppers surprising signing on March 15, Thompson said he believes the 34-year-old lineman has plenty left in the tank and that he expects him to have an impact on the Packers up-and-down defence. "Theres no evidence of any decline in his play, in our opinion," Thompson said Thursday. "He still has the same athletic traits that he had coming out (of college). Hes had a remarkable history in the NFL in terms of durability. Were looking forward to it. I think he is, too." The 6-foot-7, 287-pound Peppers certainly has been durable, playing in 186 of a possible 192 games. Hes also been productive, registering the second-most sacks (118.5) in the NFL and forcing the fifth-most fumbles (39) since he entered the league. He leads all NFL defensive linemen with nine interceptions over that span. But playing 855 snaps for the Bears last season, Peppers managed only 7.5 sacks, the third-lowest total of his 12-year NFL career. The Packers envision him as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker in their 3-4 defence, and their hope is that by playing him fewer snaps, they will not only increase his production but give opposing offences another pass-rushing threat to worry about opposite four-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Clay Matthews. Matthews, who missed six games last season with a twice-broken thumb, is expected to be fully healthy for training camp. "When I view him as a football player, hes an individual youd like to create targeting problems," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said of Peppers in March. "He has the ability to pplay from the two-point stance, has the ability to play on the move. Fabio Coentrao Jersey. " In 10 career games against the Packers with Carolina and Chicago, Peppers has recorded 9.5 sacks, his fourth-highest total against a specific opponent. The Packers finished tied for eighth in the 32-team NFL last season in sacks with 44 despite Matthews absence. Their hope is that Peppers, who reported for the first day of the off-season program last week, will have an impact on more than just that one category. Last season, the Packers finished tied for 24th in scoring defence (26.8 points per game), 25th in yards allowed (372.3), 25th in rushing yards allowed (125.0), 24th in passing yards allowed (247.3) and tied for 20th in takeaways (22). "Its fun to see Julius. Hes a specimen. He looks great," Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said last week. "Itll be fun to get him really into the fold and get him feeling like hes part of the team, encouraging him to be a leader for us. I think he brings a lot to the table -- on the field and in the locker room. Im just excited about not having to run away from him anymore." As hopeful as the Packers are of Peppers contributions, Thompson insisted that he wont approach the No. 21 overall pick - or any of his other picks - differently with Peppers on board. "We talked about this before. I might sound like a broken record, but we feel that the draft is a long-term investment," said Thompson, whose teams most immediate needs appear to be at safety, linebacker, tight end, offensive line and cornerback. "We dont get too carried away with what our perceived needs are at the moment. We think thats good business. If you can marry those things up thats fine but if you stretch to try to fill quote unquote need somewhere then you end up messing up a couple of spots, so we try to stick to the best player available." Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '