Forum » Canada settled for fourth

Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry,Love the column and of course the hair! We here in Orange County obviously have a great admiration for Teemu Selanne and have been fortunate to see him play for the last many years and win a championship. With his impending retirement, do you have any good or funny stories you can share with the fans? We know the kind of player he is and what a nice guy he is off the ice, but few of us know what kind of person he is on the ice. Thanks for doing this column, always a great read. Chris from Laguna Niguel Chris:I can tell you first hand that Teemu Selanne is as nice a guy on the ice as he is off of it. While we didnt always agree (as you might expect) I never heard a curse word or disrespectful comment come out of the mouth of the "Finnish Flash"; either directed at me or anyone else. From the very first game that I saw Teemu as a rookie with the Winnipeg Jets, I knew this guy was a very special talent. The rest of the hockey world would quickly recognize just how skilled Teemu was while on his way to scoring 76 goals and winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in the 1992-93 season. (Teemus record remains intact for most goals for a rookie in the NHL.) Teemu always seemed to exude a "boyish" smile when he was on the ice; a signal to me as how much he loved to play the game. I also witnessed acts of kindness that he demonstrated off the ice to arena and parking attendants in the Honda Centre and other NHL cities. An off-ice official of the Calgary Flames once shared with me that Selanne was such a friendly and classy superstar that he could make people around him feel better about themselves; even in their relative insignificance! As nice a guy as Teemu is, I also saw a fierce competitiveness and desire to win. Like all champions he hated losing; but unlike some, Teemu did so with class and grace. The worst I ever got from him at the end of a close loss (when he thought I was less than perfect in my performance) was a saddened look of disappointment and perhaps a slight shake of his head as he exited the ice. If the game was on the line Selanne wanted the puck on his stick. He had pull-away speed and a rifle of a shot that made him a game changer. Teemu always made players around him better because he could finish the play. We recently witnessed Selannes deep national pride as captain of the Finnish Olympic team in Sochi. The 43-year-old played with speed, youthful energy and determination in leading his team to a bronze medal for his home country. I first encountered that Finnish pride in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, an NHL-sponsored event as a prelude to the 98 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. I worked a game in Helsinki (Sweden vs. Finland) where the fan atmosphere was more like a U.S. college football game than a hockey game and was like nothing I had ever experienced before. An hour prior to game time fans jammed into the arena end zone, many with their shirt off and face and body painted in Finnish blue. They chanted and sang unceasingly. It also appeared that they consumed a considerable amount of alcohol. Drums were beaten and horns blew. The crowd never sat down in the end zone seats. Instead they stood throughout the whole game shoulder to shoulder and cheered for Teemu Selanne and their other heroes. They were a happy crowd; very loud but not boisterous or unruly. They were having fun watching the game they loved and went wild when Finland won the game. Back in the Officials dressing room I had showered and dressed as the party continued inside the arena. The dressing room door opened and a guy I thought to be Teemu Selanne said, "Hey Kerry do you have any beer in your room?" I thought it to be very unusual but invited Teemu in and told him to help himself. He sat down and we were having a great visit over a few beers when finally Teemu admitted that he really wasnt Teemu Selanne at all but his twin brother Paavo! Paavo Selanne was a real character and said that his brother Teemu told him there is always beer in the refs room. The next time I saw Teemu and told him of the case of mistaken identity his smile changed to a belly laugh over the joke his brother played on us. They are a fun-loving family. Congratulations to Teemu and his family on a tremendous NHL and international career. There is no doubt he will eventually enter the Hockey Hall of Fame. It couldnt happen to a more deserving candidate and nicer guy. When that day happens maybe I will be lucky enough to sit down and enjoy a beer with Teemu and his twin brother Paavo in celebration of this great players career. NBA Jerseys . A night later, he was back to help lead a rout of the Detroit Pistons. John Wall had 20 points and 11 assists, and Beal scored 10 of his 15 points during the second quarter as Washington pulled away for a 106-82 victory on Saturday. College Jerseys .The Canadiens will visit the Boston Bruins at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on New Years Day 2016, taking hockeys oldest rivalry outside.It was special in 2010 just to be there with the history behind Fenway Park and all that, Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron said. https://www.cheapjerseysjustwholesale.com/. Her return engagement begins tonight as TSN presents Day 1 coverage of the 2015 event from Melbourne. Watch Eugenie Bouchards opening round match at the Australian Open live tonight on TSN5 at 3am et/Midnight pt. China Jerseys . Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. NHL Jerseys . The 55th-ranked Istomin saved 11 of 14 break points to win in just over two hours, setting up a second round meeting with Australian Marinko Matosevic. It was the Uzbeks third win in three matches against fifth-seeded Kohlschreiber, the 2007 and 2012 tournament winner.LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - After winning two medals at the Sochi Olympics, internal expectations around the U.S. womens bobsled program as they enter a new four-year cycle are loftier than ever.With good reason, apparently.Elana Meyers Taylor and Cherrelle Garrett set both the track and start records in winning the opening womens World Cup bobsled race of the season Saturday, leading an American sweep of the medal spots. Meyers Taylor and Garrett finished two runs at Mount Van Hoevenberg in 1 minute, 52.68 seconds.Its great to be able to come out here and be able to put down a solid performance, Meyers Taylor said.This was more than solid.This was historic.Meyers Taylors winning margin over the USA-3 sled piloted by Jazmine Fenlator and pushed by Natalie Deratt was 1.12 seconds — massive, especially when considering that the total margin of victory in eight World Cup womens races last winter was 2.02 seconds.It was just the third time American sleds went 1-2-3 in a womens race, after also occurring in 2001 and then last season.Its a great confidence builder, USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Darrin Steele said. You try to keep that momentum going from a successful Olympics. Theyre getting better and better and theyre comfortable here. Its just a great way to start the season.Meyers Taylor missed the overall World Cup title last season by one point, then was second in the Olympics by one-tenth of a second, losing both to Canadas Kaillie Humphries. But she was dominant Saturday, breaking Humphries track record by 0.35 seconds in the first run, then topping the start record held by Jamie Gruebel Poser and Aja Evans of the U.S. by 0.01 seconds in the second heat.Weve been sliding really fast all week, Meyers Taylor said. It was a super-fast track. I knew wed be fast. I just didnt know how fast.Fenlator and Deratt were second in 1:53.80 and Gruebel Poser annd Lauren Gibbs completed the U.ddddddddddddS. sweep by finishing third in 1:54.04. All three U.S. push athletes were making their World Cup debuts, with last seasons Olympians Lauryn Williams (competing a limited schedule), Evans (planning to return next season) and Lolo Jones (focusing on track) all not in Lake Placid for various reasons.Theyre doing a really great job, said Gruebel Poser, the bronze medallist at the Sochi Games. Theyve all stepped up. They have really big shoes to fill, but this is a huge step in the right direction for our program.Anje Schneiderheinze and Lisette Thoene were fourth for Germany. Humphries, from Calgary, and Melissa Lotholz, from Barrhead, Alta., were fifth for Canada.In four-man later Saturday, 0.04 seconds separated the top three sleds — and the Americans failed to medal in a four-man race at Lake Placid for the first time since 2006.Germanys Maximilian Arndt and his team of Kevin Korona, Joshua Bluhm and Ben Heber rallied in the final turn to nip Russias Alexander Kasjanov, Maxim Mokrousov, Ilvir Huzin and Aleksei Pushkarev by 0.01 seconds. Arndts sled finished in 1:49.31, Kasajanov in 1:49.32 and the Latvian sled of Oskars Melbardis, Daumants Dreiskens, Arvis Vilkaste and Janis Strenga was third in 1:49.35.Canada settled for fourth. Justin Kripps of Calgary, Timothy Randall of Burlington, Ont., Bryan Barnett and Ben Coakwell, both from Calgary, had a time of 1:49.58. The other Canadian sled piloted by Chris Spring of Calgary was 10th.For the U.S., Nick Cunningham and his team of Casey Wickline, James Reed and Samuel Michener was fifth for the top American finish. Steven Holcomb and push athletes Justin Olsen, Alex Harrison and Aaron Victorian were sixth, while Codie Bascue with Carlo Valdes, David Cremin and Adrian Adams were ninth.The World Cup series resumes in Calgary next weekend. ' ' '