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Indians RHP Dillon Howard was suspended
TORONTO -- When the darkness threatened to envelop Clara Hughes, the six-time Olympian sought solace on her bike. Clayton Keller Jersey . Hughes climbed on her bike again Friday for what she called the most important ride of her life. The retired athlete, who is known almost as much as a tireless advocate for mental health awareness as she is an Olympic champion, set off on Claras Big Ride -- a 110-day journey around Canada to promote conversation about mental health. "This is bigger than anything Ive ever done or ever will do," Hughes said. "And the best part about it is its not about me. Im using the bike as a vehicle to bring the mental health conversation and then using every community event that we visit, every school, to really elevate the people in the community, the students to give them a voice, give them the platform. "Its so different from sport because this is not about me. It is actually what motivates me to do this." The 41-year-old Hughes, who has been vocal about her battle with depression, won Olympic medals in both cycling and long-track speedskating, and when she retired from competitive sports after the 2012 London Olympics and suddenly found herself with more time on her hands, a cross-country bike ride seemed the perfect vehicle for her cause. "Over the years, Ive done a lot of bike touring as well as my racing, and theres a curiosity when you roll into town and roll out of town. Where have you come from? Where are you going?" Hughes said. "And I wanted it to be epic. I felt like we need something epic for people to really connect to, and riding across and around Canada is epic. "This is a massive country and I just feel like maybe we can show also the importance of movement, of being active, whatever it is. Going for a walk, riding your bike. Thats a big part of my mental health practice, so I also wanted to show that." The Winnipeg native, accompanied by her husband Peter Guzman, will cover 12,000 kilometres and visit 95 communities, eventually reaching Ottawa on July 1, Canada Day. Hughes, the spokesperson for Bell Lets Talk, set off from a lunchtime ceremony at Maple Leaf Square, wearing blue cycling suit, black tuque, and her trademark megawatt smile. "Today, I woke up and thought Its game time. Lets go. And Im ready. And this is the best day of my life, that I get to start this journey. I cant wait for this to unfold," Hughes said. Hughes slipped into severe depression after winning two bronze cycling medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and for nearly a year she hid her sombre secret behind her wide smile. She initially thought it was simply post-Olympic letdown, and believed shed get over it. But she found herself sleeping away the days, and crying uncontrollably when she was awake. She gained between 15 and 20 pounds. More than a decade later, Hughes has become one of the most vocal advocates for erasing the stigma around mental illness as the spokesperson for Bell Lets Talk Day. "I do feel theres a shift (in the discussion around mental illness)," she said. "Has it changed? No. The shift has started to happen in the last number of years and I think the (Lets Talk) campaign is a big part of it. And thats why I had the idea of when I finally did quit, I had all this time on my hands. . . what more can I do? And thats where this ride kind of stemmed from." Hughes and her husband plan to cover about 150 kilometres a day. Theyll be accompanied by a Greyhound bus carrying support staff and supplies. A rotating group of cyclists will ride with them. There were about 100 that set off from Toronto to Hamilton for Day 1 on Friday. "I think its going to be really different," Hughes said, comparing her Big Ride to her days of competing. "Its funny, the other day I woke up and had a big cinnamon roll and coffee for breakfast, and I was just like: I would never do this if I was getting ready for a race. "Get to relax a little more. And theres no finish line, Im not sprinting, theres no race. The race is just getting the message to as many people, connecting to as many people, and I really like that. Because I dont have to go hard either. So its different in terms of intensity as well, obviously. "And Im loving life after sport. Im a proud recreational athlete, and this is part of my recreation is riding my bike." Asked about her own health, Hughes said shes "doing very well" but admitted it was a big transition into life after sport. "One of the things even doing this ride whenever I have something big in my life, I worry about after, because thats when things start getting dark and difficult," she said. Hughes speaks regularly with a psychologist shes worked with since her last year training in Calgary, and will have that outlet during the ride if she needs it. Shes although thankful for the support of her husband. "Hes trained for many Olympics kind of in the shadows but with me, hes been a force behind me," she said. "But this is the first time weve done everything together and spent so much time together, and its going really well. Hes so excited. Hes the kind of person who never ever quits what he starts. So even if disaster strikes and whatever, and this ride doesnt finish, Peter will be out there on his own, finishing in Ottawa on Canada Day, so Ive got great partners." Mental health issues in sport made headlines again this week when Terry Trafford, a 20-year-old from Toronto and a forward for the Ontario Hockey Leagues Saginaw Spirit, committed suicide. Hughes spoke about meeting Olympic speedskating champion Stefan Groothuis last month at the Sochi Olympics. The Dutch gold medallist was on the brink of suicide a year ago. "Hes been talking about what that was like to go through that dark period and depression and to come back, and to say This gold medal represents that there is light to go to. Dont give up. "So there are so many athletes that are starting to come out and talk about their experience with mental illness, and the stress, anxiety. . .Athletes are not immune to it, but also athletes are not superhuman and need support. I always tell that to athletes, make sure youre getting the help you need." Along with her two Olympic bronze medals in cycling, Hughes won four winter Olympic medals in speedskating -- one gold, one silver, and two bronze. Her six medals ties her with speedskater Cindy Klassen as the most decorated Canadian Olympians. Christian Dvorak Jersey . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Dylan Strome Jersey .com) - The Atlanta Hawks have stepped up to every challenge during their 14-game winning streak and will face another daunting task Friday with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in town.CHICAGO -- Early leads werent safe and late advantages werent, either. It all added up to two jarring losses for the Chicago White Sox and one long, crushing doubleheader sweep. Nick Swisher ripped a long solo homer to cap a four-run ninth inning against Addison Reed Friday night, lifting the Cleveland Indians to a 9-8 victory over the White Sox for a sweep of the longest doubleheader by time for two nine-inning games. After pounding Chicago 19-10 in the opener in a game that lasted 4 hours, 2 minutes, the Indians came through in the end to take a nightcap that ran 3:51. The 7:53 total made it the longest doubleheader with two nine-inning games on record, but the marathon came to an end after Swisher delivered a crushing blow. Throw in 63 minutes between games -- a 38-minute break, and, get this, a 25-minute rain delay -- and thats one long night at the ballpark. "It seems like a break here and there obviously doesnt go our way. Or when things like this happen, youre devastated about it," White Sox slugger Adam Dunn said. Reed (3-1) entered with an 8-5 lead in the ninth but quickly ran into trouble, blowing his fourth save in 25 chances. "They did everything they could to get the ball in my hands," Reed said. "I wanted nothing more than to close that game out and get the win tonight." He started the inning by giving up three straight singles to Ryan Raburn, pinch-hitter Asdrubal Cabrera and Michael Bourn to make it a two-run game. He then threw a wild pitch to pinch-hitter Jason Giambi, allowing Cabrera to score. Jason Kipnis then tied it with a sacrifice fly to centre field, driving in Bourn, and Swisher drilled a 3-2 pitch well into the seats in right to put Cleveland ahead. "When youve got a closer throwing that hard, man, all you got to do is just try and find the barrel, man, and hell provide a lot of the power," Swisher said. The late rally made a winner of Matt Langwell (1-0), who got his first career win even though he allowed two runs in the eighth. Vinnie Pestano walked Wells with one out in the ninth but struck out three for his sixth save in eight chances, finishing a game that ended just after 1 a.m. Alejandro De Aza had three hits and scored four runs in the second game for Chicago. Jeff Keppinger had a pair of three-hit games for Chicago, with a homer in the opener. Adam Dunn drove in two runs in Game 2 after going deep in the opener, and the White Soox looked like they were going to come away with the split before Reed gave it away. Christian Fischer Jersey. "Ball was over the plate and up in the zone and they made me pay for it," Reed said. Jose Quintana lasted six innings, allowing five runs and five hits for Chicago. Clevelands Carlos Carrasco allowed six runs and 10 hits in 5 2-3 and saw his ERA rise from 7.78 to 8.17. But in the end, it was the Indians handing the White Sox another brutal loss. In the opener, Jason Kipnis reached base six times and scored four runs, while Ryan Raburn homered and drove in four. The Indians matched a season high for runs. They also set a season best with eight doubles while falling one hit shy of their most hits, 21. Yet despite all that, Cleveland had to dig itself out of a five-run hole after the first inning and hang on after a nine-run lead dwindled to four. Raburn gave the Indians some breathing room with a two-run drive off Ramon Troncoso in the seventh, making it 16-10. He also had a two-run single to break a 5-all tie in the fourth and spark a six-run rally. Kipnis, who grew up in suburban Northbrook, Ill., extended his hitting streak to 10 and reached safely in his 30th straight game. He had three doubles, drove in two runs, and the only out he made was when Alejandro De Aza ran down his line drive to left in the ninth. Then, in Game 2, the Indians somehow pulled one out in the end. "To kick and scratch and fight," Giambi said. "We just kept going and going and going." NOTES: Cleveland won a game with its starter lasting 2-3 of an inning or less for the first time since Paul Byrd got just two outs in a 15-13 victory over Kansas City on Aug. 23, 2006. ... Indians RHP Dillon Howard was suspended for 50 games without pay under baseballs minor league drug program following a positive test for an amphetamine. ... White Sox slugger Paul Konerko remains sidelined because of pain in the lower right side of his back. Konerko had six painkilling injections on Friday after undergoing an MRI the previous day but was not available for the doubleheader against Cleveland. Hes feeling "a little better" and hopes to be ready to play by the end of the weekend. He plans to take swings Saturday and figures hell know then whether he needs to go on the disabled list.... RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (6-4, 4.58 ERA) starts Saturday for the Indians, with RHP Dylan Axelrod (3-4, 4.57) going for the White Sox. 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