Liam Firus, a 21-year-old Vancouverite with an enviable slip across the ice, can see an opportunity: one of those three Olympic spots that Canada has earned for men. He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. He surprised himself, because he had been battling a groin injury in the weeks leading up to the event. The skate of a lifetime doesnt usually happen after such impediments. And it was a painful injury, too. He had endured six tortuous injections of a sugar solution into his injury, meant to inflame the site, bring blood to a bloodless area and help the healing. He and coach Lorna Bauer had considered withdrawing from the Canadian championships, but only the Sunday before the event, they decided to go. And because Firus really wasnt trained, the long program slipped out of his control and he dipped to fifth overall. It was still his best finish at the senior national level. His problems werent over, by any means, when he went home. He immediately set to work with choreographer Mark Pillay to design two new programs for the Olympic season and then he didnt set foot on an ice surface for months. He got six more injections, a week apart. He went to physiotherapy three to four times a week. His life revolved around rehabilitation. He didnt get back onto the ice again until June. "It was tough," he said. With the Olympics coming, he wanted to train like a fiend, but he knew that wasnt smart. "I knew that if my groin was bothering me while I was training for the Olympics, I dont think I would have a shot," he said. "It was just so painful and so mentally hard, too." So restrain himself, he did. He didnt start jumping again until late July, and that didnt mean full-out triple Axels. It meant doing doubles, half a year before the Sochi Olympics. By the middle of August, he slowly introduced triples back into the mix. By the beginning of September, he was finally doing full programs. With five months to the Olympics, his training finally began in earnest. He decided to step things up, by leaving Vancouver to train full time in Colorado Springs with Christy Krall, Damon Allen and Eric Shultz, coaches hed visited sporadically for four or five years. It meant leaving his first and only coach, Lorna Bauer, behind. Visit Skate Canada to read the rest of this story. Cheap Hockey Jerseys China . The Maple Leafs will play on the road for the first time this season after dropping home contests to Montreal and Pittsburgh to begin the campaign. After losing a one-goal decision to the Canadiens on Wednesday, they were bested 5-2 on Saturday by the Penguins. Fake Hockey Jerseys . In sunny and almost windless conditions, the Swede shot four consecutive birdies on the front nine on his way to a 68 and went 9 under for a one-shot lead over Englands Lee Slattery and two over Paraguays Farbrizio Zanotti (68). https://www.fakehockeyjerseys.com/ . Beanballs were the theme Friday night as the Red Sox and Rays had another AL East rumble, with Boston earning a 3-2 victory on A. Cyber Monday Hockey Jerseys . "Its way better than running gassers, thats for sure," the inside linebacker said Monday, when the Chargers started their third and final week of organized team activities, which are practices in shorts, jerseys and helmets. Wholesale Hockey Jerseys . James Jones got his turn Sunday. And the lift he brought, combined with the expected playoff showings from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have the Heat off and running in these playoffs. SYLVANIA, Ohio -- Lee-Anne Pace made a name for herself as an amateur in her native South Africa, then proved herself with eight wins on the Ladies European Tour. Now shes ready to make waves in the U.S. Pace shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday to grab a share of the third-round lead with Laura Diaz in the Marathon Classic. She can barely express what a breakthrough win on the LPGA Tour might bring. "Itll mean quite a lot to be able to come out here and play well," she said after recovering from bogeys at 11th and 12th holes with three late birdies. "It already has made my week. I was so tired in the beginning of the week and now this has happened, so Im very excited." Pace could have foundered after losing the two shots to par. But she came right back to birdie the next two holes and then added another at the par-5 17th to join Diaz at 11-under 202. The 33-year-old, in her 10th year as a pro, wants to keep it simple in the final round at Highland Meadows. "I play a very similar type of game every time I go out there: Hit the fairways and try to hit the green and make the putt. And so far its been working," she said. "Hopefully, coming down the stretch its going to be enough." It was a day of highs and lows for Diaz, the leader since birdieing her first five holes in an opening 62. She led by four and then three strokes after the first two rounds. Chasing her first win since 2002, she could have regained the outright lead but left a 7-foot birdie putt short on the 18th to finish with a 71. Up by three shots on the fourth hole on Saturday, the 39-year-old faltered with a double-bogey. After pull-hooking her drive under a pine tree, she and caddie Pete Smith moved away some twigs and the ball moved. The gallery around her let out a collective gasp. She quickly assessed herself a one-shot penalty and ended up punching back to the fairway, hitting to the green and two-putting for the double. By the time Diaz got to the tee at No.dddddddddddd9, rookie Jaye Marie Greens torrid play had pulled her into a tie for the lead. Playing one group ahead, Pace would nail a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe to join them. But before Paces putt, Diaz hit the shot of the day. Officials had moved the tees up on the 255-yard, par-4 hole to allow players to go for the green off the tee. Pace and playing partner So Yeon Ryu, the 2012 winner of the Marathon, vacated the putting surface to allow Diaz and Lydia Ko to hit their drives. Diazs ball landed 25 yards short of the green and had a bead on the pin before edging past. Diaz later rolled in the 10-foot downhill eagle putt to regain a two-shot lead. Diaz bogeyed the 12th. The lead remained one shot until Pace hit into the deep rough near the bunker fronting the par-5 17th, dropped a delicate gap wedge to 8 feet and then rolled in the birdie putt to forge the tie. Diaz consistently left birdie putts short all day. Asked if a player can ever forget how to win after a long respite, she said, "I cant say that I knew how to do it then, and I dont know that I know how to do it now." Green applied pressure with a low round early on the cloudy day. The medallist in last years LPGA Tour qualifying school, she turned in 30 and birdied four holes in a row before closing with a par on the par-5 closing hole. The 63 allowed her to climb from a tie for 31st at the start of the day to a share of the lead before Diazs eagle. Green is tied a shot back with Ryu, who birdied the 15th, 16th and 17th holes for a 68. Another shot back, at 9-under 204, was Ko, who birdied the last two holes in a 70. The group at 205 included Cristie Kerr (68) and last weeks Womens British Open champion, Mo Martin, who had a 67. Eighteen players are within four shots of the lead. Pace sounded thrilled by the all the potential mayhem. "Yeah, the whole LPGA is chasing," she said. ' ' '