ekansekans's blog: "df"

Fitter, confident and in a better place than before lasts year World Cup debacle, an experienced Canadian womens soccer team is primed for this summers Olympic Games. But captain Christine Sinclair acknowledges its time for the seventh-ranked Canadians to deliver against top opposition. "Were a very confident team right now and we feel that on any given day we can beat the Japans, the U.S.A.s, the Swedens," Sinclair told a media conference call Monday. "But realistically we havent shown that in a huge tournament like the Olympics or World Cup in quite some time. Were a confident team and we fell that we can beat them, but thats just words. We have to actually do it." Coach John Herdman agrees. "Theyve gone on this podium adventure on a number of occasions and never seem to cross the line," said the Englishman. "They get close but they never cross the line." To get there, he says his players have had to identify and address the weaknesses that have let them down. "Theres no hiding, there has to be a commitment to new behaviours," he said. Experience wont be an issue. The 18-woman squad announced Monday has a combined 1,374 caps.Sinclair (180), Diana Matheson (131), Rhian Wilkinson (121), Brittany Timko (112), Candace Chapman (108) and goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc (100) each have more than 100 or more caps to their credit. Twelve of the women are veterans of the 2008 Olympics, when Canada lost 2-1 after extra time to the U.S. in the quarter-finals. And all but defender Lauren Sesselmann have appeared in at least one World Cup. The Canadian women are looking to erase the memory of a dreadful World Cup last summer, when Canada came into the tournament with high expectations and left with an 0-3 record, outscored 7-1. Coach Carolina Morace quit midway through her review session on the tournament with the Canadian Soccer Association. In the absence of a womens pro league, the Canadians have been preparing for the Games at a residency camp in Vancouver. Herdman says that has allowed them to develop as a team, although he believes the players progress more with club sides where they are fighting for starting positions with games each week. "They are certainly pros and cons, but weve done everything we can to make sure that the players are getting the best of both worlds," he said. Herdman says the camp has allowed his staff to improve the players fitness, which had been one of his concerns. "I think the players are where they need to be," he said. Sinclair, who has 134 career goals for Canada, says the mood is good. "Were in a completely difference space right now," Sinclair said when asked to compare how the team is prior to the London Games as opposed to last years world Cup. "Heading into the last World Cup, players were away from their homes for a long period of time being (at a residency camp) in Rome. Whereas players this time round have had that balance. Theyre excited to play, and focused and ready to go." The team feels like its part of the country, as opposed to being removed from Canada last year, she said. "We train hard and then we live our lives," explained Sinclair, a native of Burnaby, B.C., who plans to take the fall off from soccer. "Thats what weve been doing in Vancouver and its been very nice."Still, she insisted that coming out of the World Cup, the players "werent as low as people thought we were." Herdman, who took over last September, says Canadas challenge is to take it to the next level. "If were going to move from good--which this team has been good, theyve been ranked from seven to 10 for a long time--but moving to greatness is going to need another shift. And it needs a total buy-in to those players knowing theyve got to accept responsibility for every action in every game that we play." Canada opens the Olympics on July 25 against World Cup champion Japan, ranked third in the world, before matches against No. 61 South Africa and No. 4 Sweden. Canada wraps up its pre-Olympic program on Saturday against the top-ranked U.S. in Sandy, Utah. The Canadian women are coming off a 1-0 win over No. 18 China in Moncton on May 30. Additions from the squad that finished runner-up to the U.S. at the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in Vancouver in January are defender Emily Zurrer, midfielder Matheson and forward Jonelle Foligno. Matheson (knee) and Foligno (ankle) were injured and unavailable for qualifying. Zurrer won her job back with her performance on the field. Herdman called Zurrer a "seasoned campaigner" who has raised her game during the selection period. "She worked hard on her game and shes showed some real promise in the last six months where shes been impossible not to select," Herdman said. The coach says the Olympics will mark the end of one cycle and signal the start of team preparations for the 2015 World Cup in Canada and 2016 Olympics in Brazil. "There will be some players that will retire after this Olympics, Im absolutely sure of that," he said. And some will find that the game has moved beyond them, he added. "With that, around 400, 500 caps could disappear," he added. "I think if thats the case, its a new beginning for Canada. Its a new start, its a four-year cycle building into the next Olympics where were going to have get new player through, young players invested in, and an exciting future." Forward Chelsea Buckland is not on the Olympic roster after injuring her knee. "Probably the hardest decision to make was (forward) Christina Julien," said Herdman. "Shes been a big part of the team, helped us through the qualifiers, played nearly every game in my tenure." He called it a "football decision," saying Foligno "showed that little bit more." "Ive got no doubt that Christina will come back fighting and this will be a great learning curve for her," he said of the Ottawa Fury forward. Robert Griffin III Jersey . No problem. Big comebacks are their specialty. Shannon Brown scored 14 of his 22 points in third quarter to bring Phoenix back, Jared Dudley had 20 points and the Suns added to their list of comebacks by beating the Sacramento Kings 101-90 Monday night. Authentic Robert Griffin III Jersey . The NBA commissioner suspended World Peace for seven games Tuesday, a penalty that could force him out of the entire first round of the playoffs, for the elbow he delivered to Hardens head in a game against Oklahoma City on Sunday. Stern said during a conference call that he took many things into account, including World Peaces numerous past troubles. http://www.dancewithmeusa.com/new.html . Madrid qualified 5-2 on aggregate, but it was Ronaldos third goal in the 87th minute at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the second leg that put the result of the last-16 match beyond doubt. It was Ronaldos third hat trick this season and the 18th of his Madrid career, but his opening goal in the third minute was the pick of the three.INDIANAPOLIS -- Reggie Wayne has an emphatic message for his teammates. Hes got bigger plans for this years Indianapolis Colts. Less than 12 months after taking less money to play for a team in major rebuilding mode and then leading it back to the playoffs as he had promised, Wayne has started concocting all sorts of grand possibilities in his mind. "If all goes well, if my dreams are correct, I wont be playing in this (Pro Bowl) game. I have a bigger game to play in and my dreams normally come true," Wayne said with a chuckle after earning his sixth Pro Bowl selection. "Lets hope that this one is headed in that direction." Wayne is no mentalist, just a good-natured optimist and a key reason Indianapolis (11-5) is hitting the road to face AFC North champion Baltimore (10-6) in a wild-card round game Sunday. Clearly, the Colts needed Waynes presence this season and not just because of his skills on the field. He showed this young, unproven offence what it takes to excel in the NFL, how to stick around a while, and what it means to play this game with purpose and passion. The results have been nothing short of remarkable. Quarterback Andrew Luck set NFL rookie records for most yards passing and most attempts in a season. He tied the NFL single-season mark for game-winning fourth-quarter drives, broke Peyton Mannings franchise rookie mark for completions, set a new Colts record for rushing TDs by a quarterback and presided over a historic turnaround. Indys rookies also combined for 3,108 yards rushing and receiving, the most of any team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, according to STATS LLC. And at age 34, Wayne gave no indication he was slowing down. The New Orleans native hauled in 106 receptions for 1,355 yards -- the second-best marks of his career -- and tied Marvin Harrison for the franchises most 1,000-yard seasons (eight). He moved into the top 10 on the NFLs reception list (968), the top 15 in yards receiving (13,063) and broke the NFL record for most consecutive games with three or more catches (64), all while putting football into perspective for these rookies. "Reggie really is the leader of the offence," Luck said. "Everything he does helps us out. He sets a great example for all the young, new guys that are on the team - myself included -- and he is a lot of fun to throw the ball to." When it comes to work, though, Wayne is all business. During the first week of training camp, he hung around after practice in the blazing sun to catch balls from the Jugs machine. He started by himself. Each day, though, the crowd increased and within days, seemingly every receiver on the team was waiting behind one of the NFLs top receivers. That didnt change when the Colts returned to their team complex. "You know his professionalism, I think thats big especially with the young group on that side of the ball," safety Antoine Bethea said when asked what Waynes most impportant contribution has been.dddddddddddd "Just showing them how to be a professional, how to be a pro. ... You see him in the weight room, but youd never know anything is wrong with him because hes out there every day on the practice field and you can count on him every Sunday." But it almost didnt work out. Two days before Indys miserable 2-14 season ended in 2011 and about to become an unrestricted free agent, Wayne packed up his locker, took down his nameplate and spoke somberly to reporters as if his career in Indy was about to end. The Colts did send many of Waynes longtime pals -- Joseph Addai, Gary Brackett, Dallas Clark and Manning -- packing in March. Jeff Saturday and Pierre Garcon, a receiver Wayne helped groom, signed free agent contracts with other teams, and most figured that with Indianapolis going young and trying to shed big-dollar contracts, Wayne would go somewhere else, too. Thats when new coach Chuck Pagano, who befriended Wayne when the two were at the University of Miami, made a personal request. "Basically I told him, I said I dont want to do this without you," Pagano said. "I said, If were going to get this thing done and move forward and get back to the winning ways that this organization and certainly our fans in the community are used to, we need you back. I want to do this with you. We all want you back." Wayne had to weigh more lucrative offers from other teams with his passion for playing in front of the fans who chant "Reg-gie, Reg-gie" each week. Speculation focused on New England, Indys bitter rival. Andre Johnson, a friend of Waynes from the Hurricanes, said Wayne wanted to join him in Houston, too. After reflecting on Paganos words, Wayne turned down the extra money, re-signed with the Colts for three years and $17.5 million so he could help the franchise re-establish itself as a Super Bowl contender and made good on his word. "This is the journey that all teams want to take," Wayne said. "This is the approach that we wanted. We wanted to give ourselves a chance." He never imagined the twists and turns of this odyssey would go quite like this. In April, Waynes poster-sized photo replaced Peyton Mannings on the facade of Lucas Oil Stadium. On Sept. 26, Pagano began the first of three rounds of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with leukemia. On Oct. 7, wearing orange gloves to support his ailing coach and leukemia awareness, Wayne capped a 13-catch, 212-yard game by stretching the ball over the goal line with 35 seconds left to give Indy a 30-27 victory over Green Bay. On Dec. 23, Wayne hauled in a 7-yard TD pass with 4:08 to break a 13-13 tie and give Indy its playoff-clinching victory. And now, he has a vision to finish off this storybook season the right way. "Its a good one, a good dream," Wayne said. "I wont tell you the complete ending of it but its a good one." ' ' '