CALGARY - Alex Bilodeau retired this year after defending his Olympic gold medal in moguls, but silver medallist Mikael Kingsbury has no shortage of competition from within his own Canadian team. Vapormax Uomo Saldi .In the years between winning his gold medals in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games, Bilodeau was constantly challenged, and often beaten in World Cups and world championships by the upstart Kingsbury.The Canadians were each others measuring sticks, which helped propel them to the top two steps of the podium in Sochi, Russia, in February.When Bilodeau announced in October that he was putting away his skis to study accounting, the question was who could step up and challenge Kingsbury? But such is Canadas depth of talent in mens moguls that just making the national team requires being among the best in the world.Heading into Saturdays World Cup at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Kingsbury is chasing teammate Phil Marquis for the overall World Cup lead.Marquis, a 25-year-old from Quebec City, won the season-opening dual moguls last month in Ruka, Finland, to don the World Cup leaders yellow bib.Dual moguls, in which two skiers race each other to the bottom of a course, is not yet an Olympic event but is a staple of the World Cup circuit and world championships.Skiers are judged and scored on their turns, acrobatics and speed in single moguls, which is an Olympic event.Saturdays single moguls race in Calgary is the first of the 2014-15 World Cup season. Kingsbury has won gold in Calgary four straight years.Its a pretty tricky course, said the 22-year-old from Deux-Montagne, Que.You have to be very smart and I think Im a smart skier. I make good decisions. Theres a big pitch change here and you have to control your speed. Thats something Im good at.I dont want to focus on winning, but I want to focus on my skiing. If I do that, I put myself in a very good position to win here again in Calgary.Marc-Antoine Gagnon of Terrebone, Que., is also in the mens field Saturday. He nearly made it a Canadian podium sweep in Sochi by finishing fourth. Marquis was ninth to put four Canadian men in the top 10 at the Winter Games.The womens field Saturday features Montreal sisters Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Chloe, who won Olympic gold and silver respectively in Sochi, as well as two-time Olympian Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City.The top 12 from morning qualification advance to the final, followed by the top six moving onto the super final.Kingsbury knew his rivalry with Bilodeau was good for both of them. Another one developing with Marquis can keep him sharp and hungry in this post-Olympic season.This year Phil has the yellow bib, so its kind of bringing it back to that rivalry I had with Alex, Kingsbury said. Its always fun to have that with your friends and teammates.Ive been training with Phil all summer. Hes getting better every day. Hes going to be a good challenge all year. Hes feeling confident now that he wears that yellow bib. Im planning on getting it back, but one day at a time.The reigning world moguls champion edged Bilodeau by one point last season to win the overall World Cup crown for a third time in his career. Kingsbury finished ninth and Gagnon sixth in dual moguls in Finland to start this season.Marquis hopes he and Gagnon can be what Bilodeau was to Kingsbury with the intra-team competition driving them all to international success. In the past, weve seen Mik and Alex kind of being the one-two punch of the team, Marquis said. For now, I think we have way more depth.The three of us who have been to the Olympics have the potential to reach new heights. All of us kind of pushing each other every day on and off the slopes, is whats going to make the Canadian freestyle team super-strong.The World Cup in Calgary is the second of eight stops on the circuit for the moguls skiers this season. The moguls team has another home race Feb. 7 in Val Sainte-Come, Que.The 2015 world freestyle ski championships are Jan. 15-25 in Kreischberg, Austria. Kingsbury wants to defend his singles title as well as win dual moguls to sweep gold there.Im having fun with what I do, Kingsbury said. Im taking it very seriously. Im trying to make the little details make the difference. Theres no secret. Im just skiing and trying to look good when Im skiing. Balenciaga Scarpe Replica Italia . (January 11, 2014) – Once again Kevin Martin proved why he is the all-time TSN skins leader, winning $11,500 in prize money and a spot in the Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game presented by Pintys final following a semifinal victory over Brad Jacobs earlier this evening at the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alta. Air Force 1 Scontate . Joel Embiid was nearly unstoppable in the paint in the second half, and Naadir Tharpe seemingly couldnt miss. http://www.outletscarpesaldi.it/air-vapormax-prezzo-basso/scontate-vapormax-uomo.html .com) - Guess whos back, back again? Josh Gordons back, tell a friend.With one week to go until the March 5 NHL trade deadline, our TSN Hockey Insiders discuss some of the names that have been making waves with some insight on their situations and chances of being dealt. There are certain names that our Hockey Insiders have been talking about for months, Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, Matt Moulson. But the most intriguing names as we head towards TradeCentre are the most recent ones - Martin St. Louis and Ryan Kesler. Lets start with the latter. What are the real chances that Kesler gets dealt by the Canucks? Bob McKenzie: Well its by no means guaranteed but it is a possibility. The buzz on Kesler is increasing by the day. Now, we should get the disclaimers out of the way. The Vancouver Canucks are not aggressively shopping and trying to trade Ryan Kesler, but I do believe that theyre aggressively listening. Keep in mind though that Kesler has got a no-move, no-trade clause, so hes not going anywhere he doesnt want to go. Keep in mind also that hes technically injured right now, hes got a finger injury that might be broken, were only guessing. The Canucks say hes day-to-day so hopefully that wont come into play. But the question then becomes what would the Canucks have to get back in order to consider trading Kesler? It would obviously be a lot. What theyre going to be looking for is to pick up a young centre between the ages of 20-25 who can grow into the role that Kesler is in right now. Somebody that gives you a fighting chance at a reload if not necessarily a rebuild. So for example, would Kesler be prepared to go back to Ohio - he played at Ohio State University - for the Columbus Blue Jackets? And if he was prepared to do that, would the Blue Jackets give up a young centre like Ryan Johansen? Would the New York Rangers give up Derek Stepan, or someone along those lines? Again, someone who is between 20 and 25 who the Canucks can put in their lineup. If they can find the absolute right fit, and they would have to take some money back on Kesler because in order to make these trades, theres a lot of teams that are capped out and would have a tough time taking his salary - although when you look at his contract its an awesome contract for that guy. So yeah, its being considered. Darren Dreger: Well, theres no shortage of interest in Kesler. When hes healthy and competing with the edge that his reputation has been built on, what not to like about him? But when you talk to general managers who might be nibbling at the edges and might have interest in a player like Kesler, there is some concern. When hes healthy, he does have a history of health issues and hes not as intense and productive as hes been in recent years, so hes not entirely without risk. Martin St. Louis...when he refuses to deny that he has asked for a trade, saying there have been conversations, hes essentially saying "Ive asked for trade". Could this happen? Dreger:: It absolutely could happen between now and March 5, and it could also drag into the off-season. Air Max 270 Bianche Scontate. What we know is that the Tampa Bay Lightning did reach out to the New York Rangers prior to the Olympics to gauge interest in the possibility of trading such a dynamic and an impactful player within their organization. Now, it wasnt a fit at that point, and its going to be a complicated process to make it fit again now between now and March 5. Thats because Steve Yzerman isnt going to give St. Louis away. This is going to be a difficult negotiation and the Rangers, as much as they love St. Louis and what he might bring to their team, hes also 38 years of age and thats going to be difficult to give prime assets for. McKenzie: For sure. I would kind of be shocked if St. Louis got traded by the deadline, and if he really does wants out of Tampa Bay - and the indication seems to be that he does - then its much more likely to be resolved in the off-season then right now, but I guess you never say never. The thing if I were Yzerman I would look at is, St. Louis, if he was unhappy before, hes playing really well. And the Lightning are a good team and I dont know how you get immediate true value for St. Louis right now that doesnt interrupt the Tampa Bays progress toward making the playoffs and being a contender in the East. Andrei Markov has gone from injury-prone defenceman to a mini-iron man. He hasnt missed a game now in two seasons, and that presents a contract quandary to Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin. How much of a risk is he in terms of giving him term when hes 35 years old with a bunch of knee surgeries behind him? McKenzie: Well I guess the question is what is the term? I mean, lets make one thing perfectly clear - the Canadiens like Markov and want to re-sign him. Its been reported on Montreal radio that the Canadiens have offered one year at $6 million, which is a raise of salary, but only one year on the extension because hes 35 and over. My understanding is the Canadiens are not absolutely locked into "were only offering you a one-year deal, thats it, take it or leave it". But there is some flexibility on the part of the Canadiens to do a one-year, or maybe a two-year deal. Keep in mind, because youre an over-35 player, you can use games played bonuses and you can really jack up the salary based on those bonuses that you cant do with other contracts. That said, the question is how flexible is Markov? The word Im getting is that he may be looking for as much as a four-year deal, which seems really long for a guy of his age and injury history. Now is he flexible? Maybe it means four years, maybe it means three. So there is an issue with term. The issue then becomes, do they trade him before the deadline? I would be surprised, unless they got an offer that absolutely blew them away, but I think their goal is to try to get it signed, and I think this is a negotiation. ' ' '  |
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