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It doesnt matter where Im going to be,"
Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford added a quadruple throw to their program this year to push themselves as much as to push the sport. Marlins Magneuris Sierra Jersey .The difficult element has helped propel the Canadians up the pairs figure skating rankings.Duhamel and Radford go into the Grand Prix Final this week ranked No. 2, trailing Olympic silver medallists Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia.The two-time world bronze medallists spent much of the off-season perfecting the quad throw Salchow, which has Radford throwing Duhamel four revolutions through the air.Anything that pushes us and pushes the sport we feel is important, Duhamel said. Adding the throw quad to our skating has kept us really motivated, its encouraged us. . . and not just for us, were looking to push the sport of skating. Weve been seeing the throw triple Salchow for 30 or 40 years now, so I think its time that people push it and try harder things.Canada has three entries at the Final in Barcelona — Duhamel and Radford, and ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., and Radford, from Balmertown, Ont., had considered doing the throw quad years ago, but their coaches believed it wasnt worth the risk. They decided to add it this past off-season, and drew an audience when they were working on it during practices in Montreal.Every day it got closer and closer, eventually I would land on my feet and put my hand down, or I would step out, and it was so exciting for us and our coaches and teammates, they would all stand back and watch, and would be like Ooh, is this the one shes going to nail? Duhamel said.Then the one day we hit it clean with a lot of flow out of it, we were like, Oh thats it, thats what it feels like. And weve been able to repeat that feeling quite consistently.Duhamel landed the quad throw at Skate Canada International, but then fell on it at the NHK Trophy two weeks ago in Japan.The Canadians have a seasons best score of 210.74 points, just behind the Russians, whose best is 211.97. Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov, the only other pairs team in the world currently doing the quad throw, are also in the field.Partly because of the quad throw, Duhamel and Radford went into this season reinvigorated after a gruelling Olympic campaign that saw them finish seventh in Sochi.We dont have any fear when were skating anymore. Last year, I was always scared, I was scared we would lose, I was scared wed be bad, I was scared the other Canadian teams would score higher than me, Duhamel said. Im so happy. . . that I didnt decide to quit last year because I would never know what it feels like to skate with this freedom and relaxation that weve found.There was a lot of pressure last season, and at the end we realized we put too much pressure on ourselves, Radford added. We were always comparing ourselves with everybody else, rather than just concentrating on ourselves, and I think that weve just sort of learned to let all of that go, all of that extra worrying and energy that we put everywhere else.Weaver and Poje, from Waterloo, Ont., will also be in the gold-medal hunt in Barcelona. The Canadians have the seasons second-best ice dance score behind Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates.The post-Olympic landscape for ice dancing has changed with the absence of Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White, and Weaver and Poje could be favourites three years from now at the Games in South Korea.Its been very exciting, its a new year, a new quadrennial and were happy to be at the forefront of it, and hoping to continue Canadas tradition of great domination in ice dance, Weaver said.Asked if theyd sought out any advice on how to handle the new pressures that came with heightened expectations, Weaver mentioned Canadian bobsledder Kaillie Humphries.The biggest thing she has is confidence in herself, and she knows how shes prepared and she knows that thats the best she can do, and I think thats what really exudes from her, Weaver said. Its tough in a different sport with something like bobsled where youre racing against the clock and you dont have to convince people youre the best. But that type of persona is fun to learn from, and I consider us pretty different individuals, but that strength of power and confidence is something I would love to bring as a part of our game as well.In mens singles, Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu hopes to defend his title and recover his winning form after a scary on-ice accident.Hanyu won last years final at home in Japan. He then started the year by claiming gold at the Sochi Games in February, and a month later he won the world title to become the first man to complete the Olympic-world double in the same year since Alexei Yagudin in 2002.But Hanyu, who turned 20 on Sunday, barely qualified for the Final after he was injured in a collision with another skater during warm-ups at the Cup of China in early November, receiving bruises on his head and hurting his left thigh.Three weeks later, he could only manage a fourth-place finish at the last of six qualifying events in Tokyo. That result, however, was just good enough for him to join the other five finalists and keep alive his bid to repeat.Ill be going to the final as a challenger, Hanyu said. It doesnt matter if you are Olympic champion, people know they can beat the Olympic champion. Ill be starting from scratch and aiming to get to the top by any means.Hanyu will be up against Japanese teammates Tatsuki Machida and Takahito Mura, Russian rivals Maxim Kovtun and Sergei Voronov, and Spanish skater Javier Fernandez.Fernandez, the European champion, trains in Canada with former Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser. Orser also coaches Hanyu.Four Russian teenagers will look for a possible medal sweep in the womens final against Ashley Wagner of the United States and Rika Hongo of Japan. Hongo qualified after American skater Gracie Gold withdrew because of a broken foot.The Russian contingent includes two-time junior world champion Elena Radionova (15), European champion and world silver medallist Julia Lipnitskaia (16), Anna Pogorilaya (16) and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (17).— With files from The Associated Press. Marlins Miguel Rojas Jersey . Wade is posting a short film on his website next week, with a sneak preview scheduled to come out Wednesday. Cheap Marlins Replica Jerseys . In the last race before the Sochi Olympics, Bjoergen followed up her win in the 10-kilometre classical race on Saturday by beating World Cup sprint leader Denise Herrmann of Germany by 0.43 seconds for her fifth victory of the season.DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Jose Bautista hit his third home run of the spring for the Toronto Blue Jays in a 4-3 victory Saturday over the Minnesota Twins, who got three scoreless innings from newcomer Phil Hughes. After spending his first seven seasons with the New York Yankees, Hughes signed a $24 million, three-year contract with Minnesota in the off-season. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two. The right-hander missed most of spring training with a back injury last year and struggled mightily in the regular season, going 4-14 with a 5.19 ERA with the Yankees. Hughes said being able to participate in a full spring has given him a confidence boost. "You never want to struggle at any point," he said. "I think coming in off the year I had and to get off on a pretty good note is big. But again, its still spring training and once the season starts thats the biggest thing, and I want to get out of the gates going well." Adam Lind was 2 for 2 with two doubles for the Blue Jays. Melky Cabrera added an RBI single and Edwin Encarnacion scored a run. Bautista connected in the fourth off Twins closer Glen Perkins. Byron Buxton, rated the No. 1 prospect in baseball, hit a two-run homer off Toronto starter Drew Hutchison in the third. Hutchison struck out five, including three straight in the second, and walked one in three innings. STARTING TIME Twins: Hughes threw 38 pitches but only two or three changeups because they werent very effective. "It wasnt good," he said. "I threw one first pitch that was a bad ball and then I think I threw one on the plate. As the pitch counts increase, you give yourself a little bit more availability to work on some things. When Im going three innings, sometimes the concentration goes on making a pitch and getting a guy out and before you know it, maybe you havent thrown as many (specific pitches)." Blue Jays: Hutchison, a candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation, felt good after working with catcher Dioner Navarro for the first time in a game. Hutchison said he and Navarro worked before the spring to build chemistry and it has paid off well. Navarro signed an $8 million, two-year deal with Toronto in the off-season after spending last year with the Chicago Cubs. "I live here in the off-season and so does he, so I was working out at the complex with him. So I got to know him a little bit, develop a little bit of a relationship," Hutchison said. "He caught my first bullpen, I think, so I had a pretty good idea. Weve talked a lot. It was really ggood to work with him today. Stitched Marlins Jerseys. " TRAINERS ROOM Twins: Manager Ron Gardenhire said outfielder Aaron Hicks, who has been out with a minor elbow injury, could play Tuesday against Tampa Bay. Blue Jays: Colby Rasmus resumed on-field workouts after missing the past six games with a stiff neck. Toronto manager John Gibbons said Rasmus spent Saturday morning playing catch in the outfield, hitting in the batting cages and off a tee. Gibbons expects the centre fielder to continue working out at the teams training facility Sunday before returning to the lineup Tuesday in a split-squad game against the Canadian Junior National Team. "He should be full-go after that," Gibbons said. "Its a good, big day. He feels fine coming out of this." Right-handed reliever Dustin McGowan was expected to pitch two or three innings against the Twins, but was scratched before the game after getting a stomach virus. SANTANA WATCH Multiple media outlets reported Saturday that the Blue Jays are favoured to land Ervin Santana, the top remaining free-agent starting pitcher. ESPN first reported that Santana, who was 9-10 with a 3.24 ERA for Kansas City last season, was offered a one-year, $14 million contract by Toronto. However, the report said the right-hander was holding off on signing with the hope of getting a better deal from another team. Blue Jays officials did not comment on any of the reports, but right-hander Esmil Rogers, a teammate of Santanas during winter ball in the Dominican Republic who is vying for the fifth spot in the rotation, said the 31-year-old is a "great guy" and would not make it harder for him to make the team. "Im here to help the team win. It doesnt matter where Im going to be," Rogers said. "Im looking for the opportunity to start, but I cant make that decision. The office is going to make that decision. I cant do (anything). I just try to make my pitches and get people out to help the team." JANSSEN THROWS Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen, who has not pitched this spring because of shoulder inflammation, took a positive step by throwing on flat ground. Gibbons said "it wont be long," but the right-hander will have to throw a couple more times before he appears in a game. "I would think maybe next weekend he might get in a game, or maybe the following week," Gibbons said. "As long as hes got a couple weeks left, he should be fine." Janssen saved 34 games for Toronto last season and has just four blown saves in his past 60 opportunities. 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