CALGARY -- Unlike her two previous Olympic Games, Mellisa Hollingsworth heads to Sochi, Russia, less of a favourite and more an underdog. Danny DeKeyser Jersey . Shes fine with that. Hollingsworth, from Eckville, Alta., joined Sarah Reid and John Fairbairn of Calgary and Eric Neilson of Kelowna, B.C., as the first skeleton racers named to Canadas 2014 Olympic team Wednesday. Another man and woman may be added to the skeleton team in January. Reid, Fairbairn and Neilson are Olympic rookies. The 33-year-old Hollingsworth says her third Winter Games will be her last and she does not intend to bow out quietly. "Im definitely ready to step up to the plate," she declared. "Im still striving. Im not there to participate, Ill tell you that." Hollingsworth owns over 30 world championship and World Cup medals. The last time many Canadians saw her, Hollingsworth was tearfully apologizing on national television for finishing fifth in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Hollingsworth won a bronze medal in 2006, so the pressure to win a medal at home was enormous. Heading to Sochi, shes felt empowered by Canadians reactions to her public despair almost four years ago. "I feel a lot stronger from that experience," she said. "A lot of that has come from Canadas support of people not throwing me under the bus for not winning a medal at those Olympics. "That was a big eye-opener to know people are still behind you because of your character and not necessarily your result. Thats my definition of success right there." Hollingsworth was informed Sunday by head coach Duff Gibson, the 2006 Olympic mens champion, that she was going to Sochi. She won silver at the 2012 world championship, but felt short of the criteria for automatic nomination to the 2014 Olympic team. Reid and Neilson both met the standard of four top-six World Cup results last season and in the first half of this season. Fairbairn earned Canadas second male spot because he is currently Canadas top-ranked male in the spot. Hollingsworth ranked No. 2 among Canadian women behind Reid to earn the second female berth. "Sure, its not the way I came in every other Olympic year kind of on fire and leading the World Cup standings, but then again at those Olympics Games I didnt achieve what we thought I could," Hollingsworth explained. "I won an Olympic medal in Torino, but I was expected to win gold. Same thing in Vancouver." Canada had to rank among the top two countries in womens skeleton and in the top three in mens skeleton on Jan. 19 in order to qualify a third sled for both sexes. Defending Olympic mens champion Jon Montgomery was not among the group introduced Wednesday at a Calgary mall theatre. The Russell, Man., slider faces an uphill climb to claim the third mens berth should Canada get it. Montgomery took the 2011-12 season off from racing to build a new sled from scratch, but has yet to adjust to it and his results have suffered. Cassie Hawrysh of Brandon, Man., and Robynne Thompson of Calgary are in the running for the possible third position on the womens team. Reid, a bronze medallist at the 2013 world championship, and the experienced Hollingsworth are Canadas best chances to continue the countrys run of Olympic medals in the sport. Hollingsworth also tried a new sled this season that did not work for her. She didnt qualify at fall selection trials for Canadas World Cup team and opened the season on the secondary Intercontinental Cup circuit. When she had the opportunity to race a recent World Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., Hollingsworth got back on the sled shed been on for a decade and a half and finished eighth. "I was doing everything possible to get on some new equipment and get onto that state of flow on a new sled and it just did not work for me," she explained. "I spent 15 years of my life learning the ins and outs of that sled that its become an appendage, another part of my body. I went to Lake Placid and felt like me again. This is the first time since the world championships in 2012 that Ive been this confident or this comfortable on my sled." For that reason, shes hoping to build momentum in the four World Cup races before the Sochi Games in February. "Im the strongest and the fastest Ive ever been," Hollingsworth said. "Im pushing a sled very, very well and now Im confident in my sled that I have, the old sled and knowing it can still go fast. "Ive got four more opportunities to see where things can go result-wise, but it really doesnt matter. What matters is Sochi." Pavel Datsyuk Jersey . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. Johan Franzen Jersey . A day after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said three stadiums would not be ready in time for the Dec. 31 deadline, Brazilian officials said they actually plan to deliver all six remaining venues after that date. They claim only three are delayed, with the other three being handed over after the expected date only because of problems accommodating the schedule of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who wants to be present for the ceremonies. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/luke-witkowski-jersey/ . Every. Single. Game. Thats 1,230 in total to cover the regular season. The man is Corey Sznajder, a soft-spoken 23-year-old Salisbury University grad who lives in Annapolis, Maryland and has been charting zone entries and zone exits throughout the NHL. I love big projects, he said. No kidding. At the 2013 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, I met Eric Tulsky, who presented research on the value of controlled zone entries (short answer: about twice as valuable to enter with control of the puck rather than dumping it in) and Sznajder had charted a couple hundred games that were included in that study.SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Their gold-and-white sunglasses flipped upside down on the brims of their caps, Joshua Houston, Marquis Jackson and Darion Radcliff filed into the interview room at the Little League World Series brimming with confidence. Houston pitched five-hit ball over five innings and drove in three runs, his defence rescued him with two double plays, and the Great Lakes champions beat Pearland, Texas, 6-1 on Tuesday night in an elimination game. Another victory for the all-black Chicago squad from Jackie Robinson West Little League means theyll play again. "Im confident," Houston said. Chicago jumped to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a run-scoring single to right field by Jackson, a throwing error, and Houstons RBI groundout. "That was huge," Chicago manager Darold Butler said. "I think it relaxes the team. It just makes things a lot easier when teams have to chase us." Houston doubled home two more runs in the fourth and held Texas at bay until the sixth, when Jackson came on in relief and struck out the side. "Im excited for the kids, for the city of Chicago, for the state of Illinois," Butler said. "Were sleeping in. Just keep everything relaxed. Them still being in a bubble, its not overwhelming for them." Chicago will play the loser of Wednesday nights game between hard-hitting Las Vegas and hard-throwing Mone Davis and her Philadelphia teammates, and the Chicago players plan to be there. Las Vegas routed Chicago 13-2 in four innings on Sunday. Pearlands season didnt end the way manager Don Smith had envisioned. He was happy for his kids, nonetheless. "I told the boys to look around and take it all in," Smith ssaid. David Booth Jersey. "Theres nothing to be ashamed of. It ended a little sooner than we wanted. They have no idea what theyve done — fourth in the United States." Pearlands lone run came on Joshua Gabinos double in the third inning. Walter Maeker III, pitching for the first time in a month, was the loser despite a game effort. Chicago star Pierce Jones, who leads the Little League World Series with four home runs, injured a leg on a hard-hit ball to right field early in the game, but Butler said he was OK. MEXICO 11, VENEZUELA 1 Juan Garza pitched a four-hitter and struck out six to lead Mexico past Venezuela in five innings. Garza also hit a a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Second baseman Ruy Martinez, who stands 4-foot-8, had three hits and three RBIs for Mexico, while Daniel Quiroz also had three hits with two RBIs. "Hes not a surprise," Mexico manager Hector Arrieta said of Martinez. "Hes a great hitter who brings a lot of energy to the team." Mexico advanced to a matchup Wednesday against the winner of the South Korea-Japan game on Wednesday. NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 12, CANADA 9 Sam Slaughter homered twice and drove in six runs to help Nashville, Tennessee, beat Canada 12-9 in a consolation game. The catcher hit three-run homers in the first and fifth innings, while third baseman Blake Money also had a solid performance, going 2 for 3 with two RBIs. He hit a solo home run following Slaughters homer in the fifth. Canada made it close, scoring five runs in the sixth inning before its comeback attempt came up short. Both teams Little League World Series runs came to an end as they were eliminated from contention last Saturday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '