ekansekans's blog: "df"

November 28, 2011 - After qualifying their boat for the London 2012 Olympic Games, three of Canadas finest lightweight rowers have a new race on their hands: a race for seats. Veterans Tracy Cameron, 36, of Shubenacadie, NS, and Lindsay Jennerich, 29, of Victoria, BC, won their lone World Cup start of the season in early July 2011, gliding to a first-place finish in the womens lightweight double sculls in Lucerne, Switzerland. The stage was set for the two to defend the World title they won in Karapiro, New Zealand last fall. But shortly after, a rib injury kept Cameron from competing in the lightweight double sculls during the World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia. Thats when Patricia Obee, 20, of Victoria, BC, took hold of the oars, rowing with Jennerich all way to the podium. The duo won a silver medal and qualified the boat for the 2012 Olympic Games. Since that Olympic qualifying regatta, there has been some buzz about who will be paired up in the boat for the 2012 Games. Competitive? Absolutely. But as Cameron (who captured bronze with Melanie Kok in Beijing 2008) explains, shes embracing the competition. "If you hold on to tension, that leads to deterioration of your performance," she said during an interview at the Canadian Olympic Committee Media Summit on November 21 in Mississauga, ON. While itll be disappointing for whichever rower is the spare, the stakes are higher for Cameron, as this could be the veterans last chance to participate in an Olympic Games. Thats why from now until the official team selection is made in May 2012; Cameron is focusing on her training one day at a time. "Its not glamorous right now," said Cameron. "Right now theres no magic […] Its just taking care of the little details that make sure youre keeping yourself healthy." Shes saving the magic for the Games. And while much of her inspiration is drawn from the competitive tone of the national team, its also coming from Canadas last big performance on the world stage: Vancouver 2010. Cameron attended the Olympic Winter Games as a spectator and now, as an athlete, shes feeling the effects of Vancouvers magic and the national pride that comes with it. "I really believe that the energy carried over with us, as the athletes," she said, adding that Canadas summer athletes want to give Canada the same kind of show. "We feel the support this time," explained Cameron. "We feel celebrated. We feel like Canadians have embraced us as Olympians and that goes a long way." Fans can look forward to cheering on Canada in several rowing events. The team qualified boats for the mens and womens eights, the mens four, the mens pair, the mens double sculls and the mens and womens lightweight double sculls for the London 2012 Games. "We are the favourites," said Cameron. "Canada, in rowing, is a top nation and so theres a lot of expectation put on us that we will come home with the hardware." And as much as she hopes itll be her in that boat and on the Olympic podium, shes ready for anything.  "No matter what combination ends up going, were going to represent Canada in the best possible way," Cameron said. And if she doesnt make it into the boat? "Then you switch it and become a fan." Kaepernick Jersey . -- Collin Klein threw a touchdown pass and ran for two scores and No. Authentic Kaepernick Jersey . After earning their first walk-off win of the season Friday, the Astros followed it up with their first extra-inning win Saturday night. http://elevatedcolor.com/new.html . -- Joe Mauers first grand slam of the year helped the Minnesota Twins finish off a successful Saturday.TORONTO -- In just a few weeks the agony will end for Toronto FC and their supporters -- at least those who havent tuned out already. Just three league games remain in what has been a miserable season that started with nine straight losses under former coach Aron Winter. The team improved a little with new coach Paul Mariner, but nowhere near enough to get into the playoff picture. Toronto hosts DC United at BMO Field on Saturday, and with just a few games left its almost the time for decisions to be made about who comes back next season and who gets their marching orders. "I want to see that they want to be here next year. Its very, very simple," said Mariner after the team trained at BMO Field on Friday. "And thats what everybody in the stands wants to see. They want to see that the players are working hard for the club, for the shirt. Thats all you want." DC has won both of the meetings between the two clubs this season, outscoring Toronto 5-1. A loss Saturday would make Toronto just the third non-expansion team in MLS history to lose 20 games since the league stopped using shootouts to decide games in 1999. "Theres no hiding from the fact that its been a long slog this year," said midfielder Terry Dunfield, who will join up with the Canadian squad after Saturdays game. "Its important we just limp over the finish line with some pride and give the fans some belief in us for next season." For Dunfield, Saturdays game is one final chance to impress on the club level in advance of one of the biggest weeks of his international career. Canadas fate in World Cup qualifying will be determined against Cuba next Friday and Honduras the following Tuesday. "Id be lying if my mind hasnt drifted away at night thinking about it," said Dunfield. "Going in needing three points against Cuba and hopefully getting the job donee and maybe well take it from there.dddddddddddd" Torontos support was once amongst the strongest in the league, but dissatisfaction with the teams performance has seen average attendance drop almost 10 per cent from last season. At many games, the number of fans in the stands falls well below what is announced. Mariner thinks fans want some optimism before they get back fully behind the team. "Weve got to put on a performance tomorrow," he said. "The crowd will get behind us if we do it and the crowd will get us going." DC would clinch a playoff spot with a win, and theres incentive for Toronto to play spoiler. As a team that has failed to make the playoffs in their six years of existence, it would be an insult for TFC to see another team clinching a playoff berth on their pitch before Torontos had a chance to celebrate one at all. "I think we just want to win in front of our home fans and put up a good performance in front of our Toronto fans and thats the main thing," said forward Ryan Johnson. "Obviously I want to see the season come to an end so we can start fresh but we definitely can get something out of the rest of the games." Toronto has caught a break in that last seasons league MVP, Canadian Dwayne De Rosario, is still recovering from a knee injury sustained last month in international duty. But its scant consolation for a team that has injury woes of their own. Toronto has been without designated players Torsten Frings, Danny Koevermans and Eric Hassli as well as goalkeeper Stefan Frei with a variety of injuries. "To be fair to them theyve got a few injuries, weve got a few injuries so that might level the playing field up a little bit," Mariner said. "We have millions of dollars on the sideline which doesnt really please me too much but theres nothing I can do on that." ' ' '