SAITAMA, Japan -- European champions Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte received 69.
Matt Elam Ravens Jersey .70 points to finish first in the short program. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont.,
trailed by half a point. Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France were
third on 68.20. "This is definitely where we want to be, in the attacking
position of the top spot, because we feel that we put great work into this
season especially and we want to end on a high note and put out two solid
performances," said Poje. Torontos Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Unionville,
Ont., were 10th with 59.42 points. Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and
Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., scored 57.68 points for 11th place heading into
Saturdays free dance. Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev, the top-ranked
Russians, were forced to withdraw after Soloviev injured his groin in the
morning practice. Defending champions and Olympic gold medallists Meryl Davis
and Charlie White of the United States were not taking part. The ice dance
concludes on Saturday with the free dance. Japanese teenager Yuzuru Hanyu came
back with a brilliant free skate to become the first man in 12 years on Friday
to win the Olympic and world figure skating titles in the same year. The
19-year-old Hanyu, who trailed compatriot Tatsuki Machida by nearly seven points
after the world championships short program, produced a near-flawless free skate
to finish with 282.59 points, just three-tenths of a point ahead of Machida.
Javier Fernandez of Spain was third with 275.93. "That was very close," Hanyu
said. "I work hard to become a skater who can always end with strong
performances. I felt the responsibility to win the event." Hanyu fell twice
during the free skate at the Sochi Olympics but had no falls on Friday. Skating
to "Romeo and Juliet," he opened with a quad salchow and followed with a quad
toeloop. His only deduction came on the triple flip and he got extra points on
five straight jumps. The mens Olympic-worlds double was last achieved by Alexei
Yagudin in 2002. Machida captured his first major medal with a graceful
performance to Stravinskis "Firebird." "I showed everything I have at this
moment," Machida said. "I tried to perform without caring about the score or
ranking but it got into my head and I had a really tough four minutes."
Fernandez, who was fourth in Sochi, was deducted points when he singled a
planned triple lutz. "I popped the triple lutz," Fernandez said. "And I didnt do
my quad salchow triple toeloop combination, but still it was a good program even
though Yuzuru did better than me." Maxim Kotvun of Russia was fourth followed by
Jeremy Abbott of the United States. Canadian Patrick Chan, who had won the last
three world titles, decided to skip this years competition. Kevin Reynolds of
Coquitlam, B.C., was the top Canadian in 11th place. Its been a tough season for
Reynolds, who struggled with ill-fitting skates for several months. "The whole
season was a giant learning experience, and I can take from that knowing I can
still skate my best even though Im not feeling even close to where Id like to be
in terms of being comfortable and being ready, being prepared," said Reynolds.
"What I can take away from this is that even if Im not feeling 100 per cent, I
know that I can still do the job, and that should give me confidence when I do
feel good." World junior champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto was 12th while Elladj
Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., was 18th. "Skating in front of 20,000 plus people,
its amazing," said the 15-year-old Nguyen. "Im not intimidated at all. Im very
excited to skate for them. I love to hear them cheer for me. I just want them to
skate with me." -- With files from The Canadian Press
Kamar Aiken Ravens Jersey . Both of Padakins goals came in the second period while Zane Jones added a single in the first
period for Calgary (13-6-4). Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger finished with 30
saves for the shutout.
Marcus Spears Jersey . Mike Ribeiro had a goal and an assist as Phoenix held on to snap a two-game losing streak with a
4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.CLEVELAND - The Indians will unveil a
statue of slugger Jim Thome at Progressive Field on Aug. 2. Thome, the teams
career leader in home runs, is being immortalized with the statue of him in his
signature pose pointing his bat toward the pitcher. Hall of Fame pitcher Bob
Feller is the only other Cleveland player to receive such an honour. Thome said
he never could have dreamed of such a tribute. One of Clevelands most ppopular
players, Thome hit 337 of his 612 career homers with the Indians.
Josh Bynes Ravens Jersey. He broke in with the club as a slender third baseman in 1991 and developed into of baseballs most
feared hitters. Thome had two stints with the Indians. He played with the club
from 1991-2002 before signing as a free agent with Philadelphia. He also played
for the White Sox, Dodgers, Twins and Orioles before retiring in 2012.
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