Allgemeines » team in the must-win sit

KELOWNA, B.C. - When Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier didnt make Canadas team for the Sochi Olympics, the ice dancers put themselves on autopilot.It was the low point on a roller-coaster season of crazy highs and heartbreaking lows.We really had to keep moving forward, so we had to go home, take it one day at a time really, because we couldnt really dwell on: Well, that was it, Gilles said. We had to turn our minds off for a little bit.Gilles, from Toronto, and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., captured a silver medal in ice dance at Skate Canada International on Saturday night, and reflected on how far theyve come from last season.Its so nice to be prepared coming into the Grand Prix season this year, I think there are so many positives coming out of this competition, Poirier said.Their Sochi Olympic campaign got off to a nightmare start when Poirier broke his ankle in May of 2013, a break so severe it took three plates and 13 screws to repair it. He wasnt back on the ice until August, and the two werent able to do full run-throughs of their programs until about three weeks before their Grand Prix debut last November.All the while, the American-born Gilles was nervously waiting for her Canadian citizenship, which she was finally awarded a few weeks before the Olympic trials, making her eligible to compete for Canada in Sochi.It wasnt to be — they would finish fourth at the trials, narrowly missing the team.The first couple days (of Sochi) were hard for me, Gilles said. I couldnt watch the first couple of days. But then once your competitors and your friends are all there, youre like, OK, I have to, because you want to cheer them on. And as hard as it is for you, it still gives you the motivation for the next four years.Gilles and Poirier, who are both 22, didnt have much time to dwell on their disappointment. They were named to the Four Continents team, where they finished second, and then were replacements for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir on Canadas team for the world championships, where they finished eighth.I think more at the end of the season, it was like: Aw man!, Gilles said on not making the Sochi team. But we did worlds and we had a positive worlds, so that kind of helped the negative part of it.It gave us a lot of momentum going into this season and we saw what we could achieve with training behind us, and weve tried to really embrace that this season, Poirier added.Gilles and Poirier say they already have more training under their belts this season than they did all of last year, and with the changing landscape of ice dancing post-Olympics — both Virtue and Moir and U.S. Olympic champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White are taking the season off to contemplate their futures — are keen to position themselves among the worlds best.We really want to make a big statement this year, said Poirier, who was 14th at the Vancouver Olympics with former partner Vanessa Crone. We really want to show were contenders in this quadrennial, and I think it has to start now. Weve really been pushing ourselves because now is the time where we can really break into the ranks.Looking back on the stresses of last season, especially the nerve-wracking wait for citizenship, Gilles said, I wouldnt change it.Were still hoping for our goal, a medal, for the next one, so were still pushing, she added.The end goal is still the same, Poirier said. And were still hoping to get there three and a half years from now. Cheap Jets Jerseys . Now the Minnesota Vikings have set their sights on soccer. Cheap Adidas Jets Jerseys . The San Angelo, Texas product, who was a high school and college quarterback sensation in the Lone Star State, will start his first CFL game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-4) on Friday at Mosaic Stadium against the leagues top team, the Calgary Stampeders (11-2). http://www.cheapwinnipegjetsjerseys.com/ . Cellino was ordered by a judge to pay a 600,000 euro ($800,000) fine foc taxes on a yacht he purchased in the United States and brought to Italy, the ANSA news agency reported. Cheap Jets Jerseys Authentic .com) - No Sidney Crosby, no problem. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . They started shooting the puck. Joe Pavelski had a hat trick to move into a tie for second in the NHL in goals and the Sharks beat Philadelphia 7-3 Thursday night in the first game for both teams following the Olympic break.BOSTON - This series played the maximum number of games (five) possible without a team facing elimination. Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Boston needs one win, either tonight or tomorrow, to punch its ticket to the big dance. Both clubs have made a habit of appearing in the World Series over the last decade. Boston has been twice, beating St. Louis in 2004 and Colorado in 2007. Detroit has been twice, too, but has lost on both occasions, to St. Louis in 2006 and to San Francisco in 2012. Four of the five games have been decided by one run and theres no reason to believe we wont continue to watch close games between the two best teams in the American League. GAME SIX PREVIEW: PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RHP Max Scherzer (Regular season: 21-3, 2.90, 0.970 WHIP; Playoffs: 3G/2GS: 2-0, 2.25, 0.875 WHIP in 16IP) Game 2 vs. Boston: ND, 7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 13 K, 0.571 WHIP. Scherzer was dominant a week ago but exited the game after seven innings and 108 pitches. We all know what happened next (Tigers bullpen + Meltdown + David Ortiz grand slam + Jarrod Saltalmacchia walk off = Red Sox win.) When Tigers manager Jim Leyland was questioned for his decision to remove Scherzer, Scherzer came to his skippers defense saying he was "spent." As for a pitch count in Game 6, Scherzer offered this: "You know how your arm feels within the pitch count, when you reach 80 pitches, 90, 100, 110 pitches. But when you have a win or go home type game, youre going to pitch as long as you can physically execute pitches. I have to be smart enough to know when that limit is. That wont be a number. That will be something Ill be able to tell Skip when I have reached that limit." Detroit closer Joaquin Benoit, whos given up a run in each of his last two appearances in this series (Ortiz grand slam included,) says he isnt spooked by the Red Sox and remains confident in himself and the entire bullpen. "I think everybody has contributed and I think we going to be all right. I think we got a great group of guys and we have come in and out of tough situations pretty good." LINEUP CONSIDERATIONS: Miguel Cabrera, who in Game 5 made a base running mistake resulting in him being thrown out at home, committed a costly error at third base and who grounded into a double play with runners at the corners and nobody out to quash a seventh inning threat as Detroit was attempting a comeback, will continue to play through the groin/leg injury which has rendered him limited. Cabrera has only two home runs in the playoffs but one came off Bostons Game 6 starter, Clay Buchholz, in Game 2. Both home runs, the other off Oaklands Sonny Gray in Game 5 of the ALDS, were mistake pitches left up in the strike zone, which allowed Cabrera to clear his hips through the ball and drive it out to left field.dddddddddddd The injury has rendered Cabrera unable to drive the ball to the opposite field. As long as Buchholz pounds the outer half of the strike zone, even cheats an inch or two off the plate and doesnt make a mistake, he should be able to contain Cabrera as a power threat. Meantime, Prince Fielder is still looking for his first RBI of this postseason. He heard boos from the hometown crowd after grounding out to end the eighth inning of Game 5. Catcher Alex Avila, who fouled a ball off his right foot in Game 4 and left Game 5 with a strained tendon in his left knee following a home plate collision with David Ross, is questionable for Game 6. Jose Iglesias will get the start at shortstop. Jhonny Peralta will be bumped to left field, his bat too valuable to remove from the lineup. Red Sox RHP Clay Buchholz (Regular season: 12-1, 1.74, 1.025 WHIP; Playoffs: 0-0, 6.17, 1.542 WHIP in 11.2IP) Game 2 vs. Detroit: ND, 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 6K, 1WP, 1HBP, 1.141 WHIP. Buchholz seemed to hit the proverbial wall in the sixth inning of Game 2. Through five innings, hed held the Tigers to a run on three hits. But, after retiring Torii Hunter to lead off the sixth, he hung a curveball to Miguel Cabrera, who promptly deposited the pitch over the Green Monster. Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez followed with doubles and, two hitters later, Alex Avila hit a two-run home run. After Omar Infante singled, Red Sox manager John Farrell came to get Buchholz. Farrell showed in Game 5 his willingness to go to his three best relievers for extended work. He yanked Jon Lester after only 5 1/3 innings and relied on right-hander Junichi Tazawa, left-hander Craig Breslow and right-handed closer Koji Uehara to record the games final 11 outs. Farrell knew he had an off day before Game 6, so he leaned heavily on the three he trusts most out of his bullpen. Will he have a quick trigger for Buchholz if a similar situation crops up on Saturday night? Detroits the team in the must-win situation but Boston surely doesnt want the prospect of facing Justin Verlander in a winner-take-all Game 7. Manage with the intention of winning Game 6 and worry about the ramifications of Game 7 later, I say. LINEUP CONSIDERATIONS: Jarrod Saltalamacchia will draw back in at catcher. Xander Bogaerts will make his second consecutive start at third base. Will Middlebrooks will be on the bench. GAME SIX PREDICTION: From the beginning, this series had seven games written all over it and it has shaped up to be a series well talk about for a long time. Scherzer outduels Buchholz and the Tigers score enough to give their ri