SOCHI, Russia – When the Canadian management team, headed by executive director Steve Yzerman, gathered in recent months to evaluate the crop of players that would be selected to play for Team Canada at the Sochi Olympics two central attributes emerged above all else. Carlton Fisk Jersey . There was the requisite hockey sense demanded from the countrys very best and of equal importance, if not more so, was the ability to burn up and down the ice, the latter of significant consequence on the generally unfamiliar international ice surface. "I think we have a really good mix of players here that bring a lot of elements," said Doug Armstrong, the Blues GM and a member of Team Canadas management team, "but the one element they all have is skating ability." Its likely why someone like 34-year-old Joe Thornton – a member of the gold medal winning squad in 2010 and top point producer again this season, but certainly not the fleetest of foot – was not named to the team this time around, replaced by explosive types such as Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn. In fact, the Canadian roster in Vancouver featured a number of players who were probably never be described as quick – Jarome Iginla, Brendan Morrow, Dany Heatley, Eric Staal – but could get around just fine, at that point in their respective careers, on the NHL-sized ice. "I think you see some players that can play on the North American ice [that are] not quite as fleet of foot, but the space they have to get to they can get to quicker and hold it longer. From the corners to the front of the net the distance isnt as great. I think its a different style," Armstrong said. "A bigger man can have success maybe in the North American game thats a little harder to have here." Absent is a single player on this roster who cant get up and down the ice effectively. Quickly adjusting to the larger international ice surface – 15 additional feet wide – will be among the greater challenges facing the Canadians as they look to become the first back-to-back gold medal winning squad in the NHL era of the Olympics. All of which explains why swiftness on skates – not to mention the ability to move the puck with equal speed and precision – was such a fundamental asset in the selection process. Canada managed to win its first gold in 50 years on the Olympic size ice in Salt Lake City, but fell badly short four years later in Torino – they finished a distant seventh. Though other gold medal hopefuls face a similar challenge – with the vast majority of talent migrating to Russia from the NHL – the Canadians (and Americans certainly) will be required to climb a somewhat higher hill, having only played on the 200 by 100 foot surface sparingly. "Theres no question," said head coach Mike Babcock, "when youve grown up your whole life playing on one surface youre probably pretty comfortable with that surface. I know we are in North America. So theres a little adjustment, well get it worked out." One adjustment Babcock will seek is shorter shift lengths: from the NHL standard of 45 seconds down to 40 seconds with more space to cover and ground potentially to protect. He and the coaching staff, which includes big ice expert and former Swiss National Team coach Ralph Krueger, will also stress the need to attack inside on the offensive end, rather than linger on the perimeter as an opponent would prefer. "As much wider [as] the rink is you still want to play an up and down, north and south game and I think its the strength of our team to be able to play at a high speed, high tempo, all four lines," said John Tavares, who played on the bigger ice in Switzerland during the last lockout. "I think thats where were going to be at our best." Other immediate challenges facing Canada (and just about every country) include the required role alterations demanded of NHL stars and energy-sapping jet lag, an adjustment most countries will face in some way or another. "We can talk about the size of the ice surface," said Yzerman, "but I think its adjusting to playing a lesser role. Youve got forwards that are used to playing 21-22 minutes a game that are going to play 10 and 11 and defencemen that are used to playing 27 playing 18. Thats a huge adjustment for them all." Stars and scoring champs are fighting for even the slightest bit of ice-time. Martin St. Louis was the oldest Art Ross winner in NHL history last season (he was 37) and has kept the Lightning afloat save the injured Steven Stamkos again this season, but he finds himself grinding amongst 14 forwards for an opportunity. He and Duchene, a fellow first-timer were on the outside of the forward lines on the opening day of practice at Bolshoy Ice Dome. "When I talked to St. Louis in Tampa I told him he was one of 14 forwards and that he has to grab his piece," said Babcock. "Thats what weve told everyone; theyve got to find a way to grab their piece." Babcock was flipping through lineups and line combinations from the triumphant experience in Vancouver alongside assistant coach Claude Julien and came to a very simple conclusion: things can change in a hurry. Mike Richards for instance, rose from the 14th forward to a key member of an effective trio which included Jonathan Toews and Rick Nash. "Its a competitive environment and we expect our guys to compete for their ice-time," Babcock said. The Canadian head coach got creative in his attempts to quell the effects of jet lag. Players were given a special package for the plane ride over to Sochi, a kit that included eye covers, ear plugs, melatonin, vitamins, and compression socks to reduce the possibility of swelling in the feet. They were also told to sleep no longer than four hours (some did anyway) and stay up until midnight if possible. All to curtail the effects of the drastic change in time zones. "Keep the players up," Babcock said of his goals for a practice that begin at 8pm local time. "We thought if we got some exercise at this time of night we had a better chance of staying up til midnight." Johnny Pesky Jersey . -- The Guelph Storm are moving on to the Western Conference final after defeating the London Knights 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. Pedro Martinez Jersey . Three pitches later, he was hugging Mike Napoli at home plate after his teammates winning home run. Napoli and Ortiz hit consecutive homers with one out in the 10th inning and the Boston Red Sox rallied past Minnesota 2-1 Wednesday, sending the Twins to their fifth straight loss. http://www.theredsoxteamshop.com/Red-Sox-Babe-Ruth-Kids-Jersey/ . Crawford hit his slam off Pirates starter Edinson Volquez to give San Francisco a four run lead in the fourth and they never looked back. Brandon Belt had three runs batted in as well. Bumgarner pitched all nine innings and allowed just four hits. MUNICH, Germany -- Sergio Ramos has his redemption, Cristiano Ronaldo has his goal record and Real Madrid is one win away from the long-awaited "Decima." Real Madrid carried out coach Carlo Ancelottis game plan to perfection and routed title holder Bayern Munich 4-0 on Tuesday to reach its first Champions League final in 12 years. Madrid will play either Chelsea or city rival Atletico Madrid in the May 24 final in Lisbon. Madrid, a 5-0 aggregate winner over Bayern, will be seeking a record 10th title -- "La Decima" in Spanish. "We played a perfect game in the first half, we defended very well and pressed very high," Ancelotti said. "We used the space we had for counters, with some great passing." Madrid had never won in Munich in 10 previous matches, losing nine of them. But this time, Ancelottis team put its stamp on the game early and struck with awesome efficiency -- something its Italian coach had promised ahead of the match. Madrids sweeping, fast counterattacks paced by Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Angel Di Maria, along with its tenacious tackling when Bayern tried to come out of the hosts own half, were a huge problem for Bayerns defence. However, the first two goals came from set pieces, as well as the last. Ramos, who missed the crucial penalty when Madrid lost to Bayern at the same stage in 2012 in a shootout, scored those first two goals and Ronaldo added two more to break the Champions League season record with a tally of 16. Ramos headed the first from a corner taken by Luka Modric in the 16th and nodded in the second four minutes later after a free kick from Angel Di Maria. "We prepared the set pieces and we used them to make things easy for us," Ancelotti said. "We knew they defend with a zone, not man to man." Ronaldo made it 3-0 to Madrid in the 34th minute after a perfectly executed counterattack and completed the victory with a free kick in the 89th as he shattered Barcelona star Lionel Messis record of 14 goals in a season. "Goals are great, satisfying on a personal level, but what matters is what we did as a team. The overall result was deserved," Ramos said. &quoot;Its a dream come true. Fred Lynn Jersey. Its a dream game, fantastic for all Madrid fans." After the final whistle, Madrid players put on T-shirts with the words Now for the 10th. It was a bitter defeat for Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, who had enjoyed so much success against Madrid when he was in charge of Barcelona. Bayern was seeking to become the first team to defend the Champions League title but instead slumped to its worst home defeat in the competition, and equaled its heaviest loss overall -- 4-0 away to Barcelona in 2009. Guardiola bemoaned the lack of possession in the first half -- although UEFA statistics show Bayern had two-thirds of possession for the game. "We didnt have ball possession and thats why we had no control," Guardiola said. "Its a great disappointment. 0-4 sounds very bitter," Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said. "We wanted a lot, but we failed tactically in the first half." Madrid had lost three consecutive semifinals, including a 2012 shootout when Ramos missed a penalty. Of five previous semifinal series against Bayern, Madrid had won only one. Coming into the match, Madrid had only two wins in 27 outings in Germany, with six draws. But Ancelotti had won with AC Milan in Bavaria and believed he could do it again. "Id won here, so thats why I felt confident about our chances here," the Italian said. "After 12 years to return to the Champions League final is very good for us." Holding midfielder Xabi Alonso will miss Madrids 13th final because of accumulated yellow cards. There is a good omen for Madrid: every time it had defeated a title holder, it went on to win the title -- in 1998, 2000 and 2002, the last two times getting through past Bayern, it the semifinals and quarterfinals, respectively. Madrid had won only two of its 27 previous matches in Germany, with six draws, but it has eliminated three German teams this season in succession -- Schalke, last seasons runner-up Borussia Dortmund and now Bayern. Ancelotti won the competition twice as a player with AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 -- under the European Cup format -- and then twice as coach of Milan in 2003 and 2007. Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap Yankees Jerseys Cheap Rays Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Athletics Jerseys Cheap Mariners Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys Cheap Phillies Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Pirates Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Padres Jerseys ' ' '