Cuts » s and Ricker make Canada a double med

LAKE LOUISE, Alta. -- With the Winter Olympics coming over the horizon, its tempting to want to wrap Canadas top athletes in bubble wrap so they stay in one piece over the next few weeks. Sorry, cant happen, says snowboarder Maelle Ricker, the reigning Olympic champion in womens snowboard cross. The start of Rickers season was delayed by a concussion, but she vows she wont back off between now and February, when the Winter Games will be held in Sochi, Russia. "You cant be hesitating or hanging back or holding things back," she said Friday at Lake Louise. "It doesnt work that way. Thats just not the way to look at it. Youve got to keep your level of riding, keep progressing and hopefully you peak in February." Ricker became the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal in a home Games when she won in 2010 in Vancouver. She says a training crash "sent me on my head" earlier this month in Austria. The 34-year-old from Squamish, B.C., returned to Canada with a mild concussion instead of racing the first World Cup of the season in Montafon, Austria. The cobwebs cleared in time for Ricker to compete at the Sportcheck Snowboard World Cup in Lake Louise, which is the closest boardercross race to home shes had since winning gold on Cypress Mountain. Ricker and Dominique Maltais of Petite-Riviere-St Francois, Que., qualified Friday for the womens quarter-finals, semifinals and finals Saturday. Calgarys Chris Robanske was first in mens qualifying. Hell be joined in Saturdays main event by teammates Rob Fagan of Squamish and Kevin Hill of Vernon, B.C. Robanske, Ricker and Maltais have already qualified for Sochi. Ricker is also the reigning world champion after winning this years title in Stoneham, Que. Maltais, 33, won the overall World Cup snowboardcross title each of the last three years and was a bronze medallist at the 2006 Winter Games. Robanskes World Cup win at Blue Mountain in Collingwood, Ont., last season was the first by a Canadian male since 2007. Maltais opened this season finishing second in Montafon. Shes been a model of consistency and her reward has been the crystal globe that goes to World Cup champions. "You have to be on it pretty much every race," Maltais said. "I love what Im doing. Im always looking to improve myself. "Everything Im eating, everything Im touching is to make me a faster, better athlete and a better person too." Maltais and Ricker make Canada a double medal threat in womens boardercross in Sochi. The two women are supportive of each other and will high-five each other even before going head-to-head in a final. "I have so much respect for Dom when were on course," Ricker said. "Shes really pushed the level the last few years. Its really made our whole girls team rise up. "When were on course, were definitely not trying to take each other out. Thats not the idea. The idea is we both get to stand on the podium." Instead of racing each other in four-boarder heats as they do Saturday, the snowboarders race alone against the clock in qualifying. The top 32 men and 16 women advance. Maltais was second and Ricker fifth among women. Robanske was the fastest man with Fagan third and Hill 16th. Lake Louise is a rare race close to home for Robanske, who learned to snowboard at Calgarys Canada Olympic Park at the age of nine. He crashed in Montafon and is racing with injured soft tissue in his right elbow. "What we do is extreme and injuries happen," Robanske said. "If anything, its kind of an advantage for me. I put less pressure on myself when I have something wrong or somethings not working. I think Im going to have a good day tomorrow." Ricker has achieved the pinnacle of her sport, but she doesnt see Sochi as a place where she cant do better than she did in Vancouver. "I dont think about that at all," she said. "If youre thinking about that then maybe youre kicking yourself in the butt. "The big thing that most of us are looking for is that feeling of the perfect run where everything comes together. I really hope its going to produce a good result, but one thing I definitely realized in Vancouver was it was the whole journey leading up to that day and thats sort of where Im at right now." Nike Vapormax Saldi . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. Vapormax Italia Scontate . Sami Salo scored two goals as the Canucks overcame a hat-trick from Edmonton Oiler rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to win 4-3 in NHL action Saturday. http://www.vapormaxitalia.it/. The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career. Nike Vapormax Italia . Jannero Pargo scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help the Charlotte Bobcats erase a 21-point deficit and rally for an 83-76 preseason victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. Vapormax Miglior Prezzo . Aaron Hill and Cliff Pennington hit home runs in the first inning for the Diamondbacks, who beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Friday night.The Los Angeles Kings made a pair of moves to address their blue line on Tuesday. L.A. signed defenceman Jamie McBain to a one-year, two-way contract worth $550,000 in NHL salary and designated Slava Voynov as a non-roster player. McBain, 26, appeared in 69 games with the Buffalo Saabres in 2013-14, notching one goal and six assists.dddddddddddd Originally selected in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, McBain has scored 25 goals and 67 assists in 275 career games with the Sabres and Hurricanes. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '