ASPEN, Colo.
Emmanuel Mudiay Nuggets Jersey . -- Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que., won X Games gold for the first time on Friday,
finishing on top of the podium in the snowboard big air final. Parrot scored
93.00 points in his best two combined runs, which included a backside triple
cork 1620 and cab triple underflip to late 180. Yuki Kadono of Japan took silver
with 88.00 points and Norways Stale Sandbech finished third with 77.00. All
three medalists will face off again in Sochi, Russia when slopestyle makes its
Olympic debut. Parrot earned his berth on the Canadian Olympic team after
winning his first World Cup slopestyle event in Stoneham, Que., last week. The
mens slopestyle X Games final goes Saturday afternoon, with Parrot and two other
Canadians competing in the event. Parrot placed fifth in qualifying, while
Reginas Mark McMorris qualified with 92.00 just behind Torstein Horgmo of Norway
at 93.33. Sebastien Toutant of lAssomption, Que., also advanced to the final,
placing seventh. All three slopestylers will compete at Sochi. McMorris didnt
compete in Fridays big air competition in order to keep his focus on slopestyle.
Earlier in the day, Kevin Hill of Vernon, B.C., was 0.222 seconds shy from a
podium finish, taking fourth place in the snowboard cross final. Nate Holland of
the United States took gold in the six-man final, clocking 52.049 seconds.
American Alex Tuttle was second in 52.419, and Konstantin Schad of Germany
placed third at 52.445. Hill followed at 52.667. "I was really happy with my day
overall except for the final," said Hill. "Consistency is something I really
want to work on leading into the Olympics." Hill rocketed out of the start gate,
even holding a brief lead at the top of the course. He appeared to be
comfortably installed in third for most of the race before Schad went wide on
one of the last jumps to whizz by the Canadian. Calgarys Chris Robanske won the
small final for seventh overall while Rob Fagan of Squamish, B.C., was fourth in
that race for 10th overall. In the womens snowboard cross, Carle Brenneman of
Whistler, B.C., reached the final and placed fifth. Lindsey Jacobellis of the
U.S., was first, Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic second and Helen Olafsen of
Norway third. Brenneman fell behind early in the race and had to play catch-up
the rest of the way, a tough task against an Olympic medal contender field.
Olympic champion Maelle Ricker of Squamish won the small final for seventh
overall.
Wilson Chandler Jersey . You can watch coverage on TSN, TSN2 and CTV beginning today at 3pm et/Noon pt. The
championships will feature approximately 250 of Canadas best figure skaters in
senior, junior and novice as they vie for spots on the national team,
international assignments and will act as the final step in the 2014 Olympic
qualification process.
Custom Nuggets Jersey . -- Brady Heslip scored a season-high 20 points to help Baylor beat No.BALTIMORE – Kevin Seitzer
does not have a doctorate in psychology and the Blue Jays recent offensive slump
has him wishing he did. "Now would be a good time to have one," Seitzer joked to
TSN.ca before Friday nights game against the Orioles. Its been a tough week.
Entering Fridays action, the Blue Jays had lost five of their last six games,
scoring a total of eight runs in that span. Baseballs leader with 91 home runs
as a team, Toronto didnt hit any in the five defeats. The frustration is
mounting, not that Seitzer needed anyone to point it out. "Its mental, emotional
stuff," said Seitzer. "We were having so much fun and playing so well that when
you hit a little bump in the road nobody likes it. When you dont like it you get
mad and when you get mad after an at-bat and you go up for your next at-bat and
it doesnt work out the way you want then you get more mad." Now is the time
Seitzer gets away from swing-tweaking and mechanical suggestions. He becomes
more a mental coach, inviting his group to take a seat on the proverbial couch.
"I said, I want you guys to stay aggressive. I want you to compete your butt off
on every at-bat but keep the emotions out of it," said Seitzer. "Weve got to
keep the emotions in check. Understand that umpires are going to make bad calls
you dont like, pitchers are going to hit spots that theyre not used to hitting
consistently, were going to go through a little phase where we get painted up a
little bit with guys who arent used to doing that." Hes talking about a guy like
Minnesotas Kevin Correia, who entered Tuesday nights start with an ERA above six
but shut the Jays offence down over six innings. Hes talking about a guy like
Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals, who baffled Toronto over seven innings last
Sunday. Garcia has a pedigree but is only recently returned from a year-long
layoff following complicated shoulder surgery. Young Orioles fireballer
Kevin Gausman held Toronto to a run over six innings on Thursday but Seitzer
felt his offence had its best outing in a week. Gausmans fastball tops out at 98
miles per hour; he has a nasty splitter and a tough slider and hes learned a
changeup, an effective weapon to keep hitters off balance. Seitzer liked,
despite Gausmans relative dominance, his pitch count hitting 100 in the sixth
inning, which forced him from the game. Theres also been some griping about
recent umpires strike zones. Players have done a good job of not embarrassing
the men in blue, quietly voicing displeasure without causing a scene. Seitzer
had a way of handling such situations when he played. "Dont show them up, dont
show body language, dont get them all mad but you have to let them know that you
know that pitch was outside," said Seitzer.
Swingman Emmanuel Mudiay Jersey. If Seitzer felt a called strike was a few inches off the plate, hed murmur as much to the
umpire. A third baseman and first baseman in his playing days, Seitzer often
would speak to the same umpire the next day and would receive admissions of
missed calls. He said the conversations often helped to develop friendships with
the umpires. One thing he doesnt want his pupils doing: going out of the strike
zone because the umpire has a wide one. "The thing Im telling the guys is you
cant change your zone," said Seitzer. "You dont want to expand because once you
start expanding a little bit then youll expand more. You dont even want to deal
with those pitches until two strikes when youre battling and protecting but I
dont want you protecting four inches off the plate even with two strikes
because, number one, you probably will miss it and number two, if you do put it
in play youre going to be out because itll be softly hit." Seitzers ability to
relate to hitters is, in part, a result of the experiences he had during his own
career. In 1993, following his release by Oakland, Seitzer returned for a second
stint with the Milwaukee Brewers. He made a decision. As an experiment, he would
no longer allow himself to be affected by negative thoughts. If he went 0-for-5
in a game, hed arrive at the park the next day repeating to himself Youre hot,
youre hot until he was convinced the previous nights donut was an aberration.
There were times when his hitting coach thought he was crazy. Seitzer said he
never went into a prolonged slump in either 1994 or 1995 and in those two
seasons he posted OPSs of .828 and .815. Reflecting, Seitzer said his mental
experiment laid the groundwork for his future career in coaching although he
didnt know it at the time. Hed like Jays hitters to apply his theory. "We have
to let that transition again back to the good," said Seitzer. "I said dont
fight, dont force, dont try and do too much and dont get mad about it and just
keep competing; compete each at-bat." Despite the recent team-wide slump,
Toronto continues to lead baseball with 91 home runs (Colorado is second with
84) and is second in OPS (.769). Blips happen. The statistics suggest the Blue
Jays will come around. A tough week doesnt negate a strong two-month stretch.
"Ill admit I was extremely spoiled rotten watching this offence go night after
night," said Seitzer. "Hopefully we can get this sucker turned around quick."
Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '