Quasselstube » fire a shot from 25 yards out. Whitecap

MARSEILLE, France -- Yuzuru Hanyu took the lead with an electrifying performance in the short program on Thursday to stay on course for a fourth straight Grand Prix Final figure skating title.In perfect rhythm to the funky sounds of Lets Go Crazy by Prince, the Olympic champion brought the crowd to its feet at the Palais Omnisport, as he earned his season-best score of 106.53.This program cant be completed without the audience, Hanyu said through a Japanese translator. When I got out on the ice this morning I felt really comfortable. I feel like my body was well rested.Two-time former champion Patrick Chan of Canada was second, and defending two-time world champion Javier Fernandez was third after sloppy errors.Although Hanyu had to slightly correct a landing on his opening quad loop, he was clean on his quad salchow and triple toe loop. Even coach Brian Orser was dancing along to the routine beside the rink as the crowd got increasingly louder.Hanyu was probably the only one not totally impressed.My skating skill can still be improved and I can improve my jumps, he said.Chan, a three-time world champion, put some pressure on him with his season-best score of 99.76.I felt pretty happy about todays performance, said Chan, also a two-time Olympic silver medalist. Its my first good short program internationally for a long time.But Fernandezs bid to upstage Hanyu at the Final after finishing runner-up in the past two years looks like a long shot.The Spaniard just about recovered from a fall on his quad salchow and fell again on his flying sit spin to score 91.76.I wasnt happy for sure, more than one mistake this time, he said. We just have to go back to practice to find out what is going on with this short program. When I go to competition there are always mistakes. I just have to keep myself strong for the free program on Saturday.A comeback has precedence: At the worlds in April, he clawed back a considerable deficit on Hanyu to win.The Americans lagged behind, Nathan Chen in fifth place and Adam Rippon in sixth.I was at the Final last year as a junior skater, he said. Its a huge step for me and its cool to be competing with these top-level skaters. Im excited.Rippon admitted to being nervous.Its great to be here. Its a bonus, he said. I want to put out good performances. I got the crowd on their feet today, so thats what my main goal was. Im trying the least amount of quads, so my focus is to skate well overall.Russians Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov nailed all of their jumps for a season-best 78.60 to lead the pairs.We have managed to skate at the same level we trained for, Morozov said. Hopefully we can keep that trend going into the free program.They are ahead of Yu Xiaoyu and Zhang Hao, who also scored a season best, 75.34. The Chinese pair is working well in its first season, having won the Cup of China in Beijing last month.Canadians Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford have a lot to do to win back the title they lost to Russians Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov last year. Duhamel and Radford were recent winners at the NHK Trophy in Sapporo, Japan, but the two-time world champions are in third place here with 71.44 points after Duhamel made a couple of errors.She put one hand on the ice landing slightly awkwardly on a triple lutz, and fell over backward on the throw triple axel.Well, it wasnt the way I wanted to have my birthday go, said Meagan Duhamel, who turned 31 Thursday.Radford was also dejected.Were trying some really difficult elements, the triple Lutz and the throw triple axel, he said. Its frustrating because they were really good in practice, but theyre not transferring into the performance and today they werent even close. Were going to have to review this when we get home.It proved to be a tricky night for the Canadians, with Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau in last place with 60.86. They fell once each. Bilodeau fell back on the triple salchow, and Seguin tumbled forward on the throw triple lutz.Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert of Russia skated with elegance to the melancholic sound of Georgi Sviridovs Snowstorm but a lack of technical difficulty put them in fifth (65.79) behind Chinas Peng Cheng and Jin Yang (70.84). Roger Clemens Astros Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. https://www.cheapastros.com/ . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Wholesale Astros Jerseys . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Yordan Alvarez Jersey . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season.MONTREAL -- The Amway Canadian Championship will come down to a one-game final two weeks from now in Vancouver after the Whitecaps secured a scoreless draw in Montreal against the Impact in the opening leg. Both teams emphasized the positives after Wednesday nights draw at Saputo Stadium. The Whitecaps are happy to have home-field advantage in the deciding game at B.C. Place on May 29, though Montreal can secure a crucial tie-breaker with an away goal in the two-game, total-goals final. "I guess both teams will be aware that they wont want to take an away goal if we go out there and lead 1-0," Impact captain Patrice Bernier said. "Im thinking its going to be a more open game. Its going to be a final so at the end its going to be the last game. Theres no third game thats going to be played. Its either going to go into overtime or its going to be solved in 90 minutes." Whitecaps goalkeeper Brad Knighton posted the clean sheet and Vancouvers Alain Rochat had two solid scoring chances in the first half, including a header off a corner kick in the 32nd minute that was stopped on the goal-line by Montreal midfielder Justin Mapp. "Were happy with the result tonight," Rochat said. Vancouver defender Andy OBrien acknowledged that the Whitecaps will have to move away from the concentrated defensive approach the team took in the opening leg. "I think maybe in the second leg well have to open up a little bit but weve got plenty of time to prepare for that," OBrien said. Impact defender Jeb Brovsky was bloodied about the face in the 88th minute when he collided with Vancouvers Jordan Harvey as both went up for a ball kicked deep into the box by Montreal defender Matteo Ferrari. Brovsky, who returned to finish the game, went to the hospital after the game to check for a broken nose and possible facial fractures. "Thats Jeb. Hes a warrior," Impact coach Marco Schallibaum said. "His nose was over here (on the side of his face). You have to respect a player like that because he gives it his all." The Whitecaps are appeearing in their third championship series since the tournament format changed in 2011 from a round robin to two playoff rounds.ddddddddddddVancouver lost the first two ACC finals to Toronto FC, which won four straight Voyageurs Cup titles from 2009-12. "I thought we did a good job of shutting them down," Whitecaps coach Martin Rennie said. "We had a couple of chances ourselves and it would have been nice to have stolen one of those, but I think weve given ourselves a good chance going into the second leg." Impact striker Marco Di Vaio lifted his arms to appeal, though to no avail, for a handball in the 74th minute when his shot from inside the box off a pass from Brovsky was blocked. Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush jumped to stop Erik Hurtados shot in injury time at the end of the second half. Di Vaio had a scoring chance 19 minutes in when he curled around to the front to fire a shot from 25 yards out. Whitecaps goalkeeper Brad Knighton made the stop but had to scramble to recover his rebound. Montreal captain Patrice Bernier put a shot just wide of the right post moments later in the 21st minute. Vancouver threatened in the 32nd minute when Rochats shot was stopped by Bush. Rochat had a second straight opportunity to go for goal on the ensuing corner kick but Mapp blocked his header just inside the right post. Montreal coach Marco Schallibaum exchanged heated words with Whitecaps assistant coach Paul Ritchie on the sidelines after the Impact picked up its third yellow card in a span of seven minutes when Di Vaio was cautioned in the 33rd minute for his tackle on Matt Watson. Defender Hassoun Camara was shown Montreals first yellow card for fouling Vancouver captain Nigel Reo-Coker on a hard tackle 26 minutes in. The Impacts Collen Warner was also cautioned in the 31st minute. "There could have been three, four, five or six cautions the other way," Schallibaum said. OBrien picked up a yellow card in the 49th minute. Afternoon rain and a forecast of evening showers that did not materialize kept the crowd to 12,016. ' ' '