Heres what I have learned about Sarah Burke.
Blank Manchester Jersey . She was a pioneer. She did things on skis that made the birds take notice. Sarah Burke was a crusader. For years she fought to get womens halfpipe recognized as a sport. She was a dreamer too. Her mom, Jan Phelan, told me that even as a little kid she wanted to ski in the Olympics. Jan still lives and makes art only a few blocks away from her daughters house in Squamish, B.C. A few weeks before the Sochi Olympics I went to meet her to talk about her daughters legacy. She told me about how when Sarah took up halfpipe as a teenager, as the only woman in the sport, she competed against men. “So she said , Okay, I will compete against the senior men. And so she came fourth, and landed the first 1080 in a competition. And so of all of these men, many of whom were on the world cup circuit, Sarah, this little kid came fourth. Isnt that something?" Thats how Sarah Burke first put womens halfpipe on the map. But she didnt stop there. Jan remembers proofreading the emails Sarah wrote when she was 14 to the X Games asking them why women couldnt compete. At events Sarah tracked down officials and demanded women be given a chance. For years she was turned down. “She would be crying in her goggles and venting her frustration and then she would say, Okay, I am going to go back and talk to them again. I could just imagine the tears filling up her goggles because she was so mad. And she had worked so hard at it.” Some super sad times I met Sarahs husband, Rory Bushfield, on his driveway. And in a matter of moments he had conviced me to put his bike in our little CBC rental car and shuttle him up a mountain so he could go for a ride. We obliged. “Its been two years since Sarah passed and I have gone through some super sad times but everything about Sarah is easy to smile about. She did it with grace, and she did it with class, pushed herself in the right places, skied half pipe like a champion, did so many first tricks for women that had never been done, you know, continued to push and continued to push.” Finally, in 2005, Sarah broke through. Her work paid off. Womens halfpipe got a spot in the world championships. Sarah won gold, and in her post-run interview she kept on pushing: “I am keeping my fingers crossed for the Olympics, we are only get better and I am hoping to get it in there.” But Sarah would never make it to the Olympics. On Jan. 19, 2012, Sarah Burke died after a crash while training in Utah. But in a way she won her fight. She got her sport into the Olympics. And so in Sochi, when the women drop into the halfpipe for the first time, Sarahs dream will have come true. Canadian slopestyle Spencer OBrien was a close friend of Burkes, and after her qualifying runs she showed me the little tape banner that still hangs on her board two years after Sarah died. Jan Phelan is making the long trip from Squamish to Sochi. She wants to stand near the halfpipe as the women compete and witness her daughters legacy. “If you had asked me, before this happened, what was the worst thing in my life would be, it would be to lose a child. To lose Sarah. I now know that there is one thing worse and that is to never have had her at all. Right. So what that tells me is to look at all these wonderful things she did accomplish and to enjoy them, let them bring you happiness.”
Matteo Darmian Manchester Jersey . - Playing a road game against a division rival raises the intensity for linebacker Clay Matthews.
Joel Castro Pereira Manchester Jersey . -- Isaiah Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left sideline and travelled 60 yards up the field before finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle.DUNEDIN, Florida - Melky Cabrera envisioned the worst-case scenario when he was diagnosed with having a benign tumour in his back. "I thought he was going to pass away, I was going to die, I was going to leave his kids behind and his family," said Cabrera through third base coach Luis Rivera, translating Spanish to English. "I know one day hes going to die but I wasnt ready to do that yet." It was a harsh dose of reality for Cabrera not long after turning 29 last August 11. It was a strange time. Finally, Cabrera had a proper diagnosis for the knee tendinitis and quadriceps inflammation that had sent him to the disabled list earlier in the season. But to that point, Cabrera couldnt understand why hed been rendered relatively immobile on the field. The tumour, which if left untreated would have continued to grow and could have ended up wrapping itself around Cabreras spinal cord causing paralysis, even death, was about the size of a walnut at the time it was surgically removed. The scar on Cabreras back is about five inches long and runs straight down the spinal column. "I was worried because of the way I was playing and the pain I was feeling in my legs and his back," Cabrera said through Rivera. "I didnt know what was wrong with me until I they decided to check. I found out, my family and myself, it was a tumour. They didnt know if it was benign or cancer and we were real worried." Once the stiches came out ten days after the surgery, Cabrera immediately began working out. He started slowly, capped at curls with 15 and 20-pound dumbbells. By December, Cabrera had moved his offseason home to Tampa. Teammate Jose Bautista lives in the area and the two began two-a-day workouts immediately, including cardio and weight training in the mornings and baseball related activities, namely hitting, in the afternoon. Cabrera is plenty motivated to have a bounce back season. Limited to 88 games last year, he posted a .279/.322/.360 slash line. He was coming off a 50-game suspension in 2012 for performance enhancing drug use. Now in the final year of the $16 million, two-year contract, Cabrera is playing for his next deal while trying to shake a shady past. In solid physical shape and moving better than he has in more than a year, Cabrera is reunited with his hitting coach from three seasons ago in Kansas City, Kevin Seitzer. "Im real happy that hes here," said Cabrera through Rivera. "Hes a real good hitting coach. He knows what kind of swing I have and he can work with me better." NAVARRO CATCHES BUEHRLE Asked before Fridays game if he could remember catching a pitcher who works as quickly as Mark Buehrle, Dioner Navarro didnt waste any time responding. "Nobody," he said. Navarro wouldnt offer a prediction of how things would go, which necessitated a follow up when he left the game after six innings. "On the positive side I dont have to do conditioning now," joked Navarro. "It was fun. I think hes still trying to build in as spring training goes along. I dont think he was throwing as hard as he can.
Marouane Fellaini Jersey. His mechanics looked fine. The ball was coming out fine. He likes to work fast, thats for sure." Buehrle threw two innings, allowing a run on two hits. He struck out one and walked one. "First thing I told him when we met, I said, Listen, I dont shake off, so I like the sign down and hope youve got a game plan back there, because I dont really go over one, I dont follow one, so I just kind of go off [the catchers signs]," said Buehrle. "Thats big for them to know the hitters and know what I like to throw in certain situations. So far, were just working on some stuff right now and getting his feedback on certain pitches that Im throwing, so its good." Buehrle sat in on a handful of advanced scouting meetings two years ago in Miami, at the request of then-Marlins pitching coach Randy St. Claire, but felt he wasnt benefitting from the information. Hed prefer if Navarro and pitching coach Pete Walker worked out the plan. Hell just throw the pitches, joking that if things go wrong it leaves the blame on the catcher. "We take the blame," said Navarro. "Hey, its been like that for 100 years. When somebody does good, good job. When something goes bad its the catchers fault. Ive got no shame on that. I take the blame. Its okay with me." IZTURIS ACCEPTING OF BACK UP ROLE As long as the regulars stay healthy, Maicer Izturis will find himself back in the role he had with the Angels. Hell play some second base, some shortstop and some third base and be a late-game option off the bench for manager John Gibbons. "Ive been in that situation before in Anaheim with Aybar and Howie Kendrick," said Izturis. "For me, Im coming in ready to help the team win. I just want to make the playoffs and win that thing. I think weve got everything here. We need to just compete." A 10-year veteran, Izturis also is serving as a mentor to Ryan Goins, who ended last season as the Jays second baseman and is expected to have the starting job when camp breaks. "Just be consistent, play good defense," said Izturis of his advice to Goins. "Hes got the same game that I do. Just play defense, move the runner, take some pitches, play for the team. Weve got a lot of players with power and speed. Thats what I try to tell him to help him understand his game." Izturis is fully healed following a season-ending ankle sprain late last August. He began running the bases and taking ground balls in November. LINDS BEARD GETTING ATTENTION Adam Linds goatee is being compared to the beard worn by former professional wrestler Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Shown a photo of Neidhart, Lind laughed and said, "Hes got a better tan." KRATZ DOES COMMERCIALS Check out these three commercials featuring new Blue Jays catcher Erik Kratz, done last year in Philadelphia for Godshalls Quality Meats. Some funny stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGOjaXfwdfg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bltl70SVyuU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oQi1uuq2xI
Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '
