was a complete non-factor; regardless of county of nationality

Canadian pairs and dance duos are at the top of their game early in the season at Skate Canada International. Air Force 1 Low Pas Cher . World bronze medalists and Canadian pairs champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford posted the highest total score of the season and won their first-ever Grand Prix gold at the recent Skate Canada International in Kelowna, B.C. Once again they challenged themselves this season by upping the ante technically, with the addition of a throw quadruple salchow. Only one team tried the risky throw in competition last year with no success and Meagan and Eric are one of only two teams that are likely to include it this year. Their strategy is unapologetically athletic and they are hoping that if they keep raising the technical bar higher and completing their elements well enough, the risk will produce big rewards and make them world title contenders along with the artistic Russian teams. Early in the season added technical risks tended to be their undoing as their dividends werent seemingly apparent until later on at Nationals and Worlds. This year, however, they have started out on fire and already look to be improving on last years World bronze win. In regard to their long program, I think this years routine is the perfect vehicle for them to showcase their athleticism while drawing in and engaging the audience in their performance. Canadian ice dancers were impressive in Kelowna, winning gold and silver. World silver medalists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje won gold by a comfortable margin and received instant standing ovations. While they delivered a convincing win, coupled with crowd pleasing performances on home ice, their real test will come in December at the Grand Prix Final where they will face off against the worlds best. It was an impressive first outing but what matters now is where they take the material from here. Past seasons have shown us that they are tenacious in their pursuit of improvement and refinement, so stay tuned. Silver medalists in the dance, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are off to a terrific start this season and made their eighth place finish at Worlds look like simply a stepping stone to bigger and better things this year. Their new material was well received and well rewarded, including that of their free dance, which I see as the best work they have done to date. Its inviting and easy to like while also showcases their innovative and superior skating quality. Results for Canadian skaters in the singles events were slightly subdued at Skate Canada due to the withdrawals of Kevin Reynolds, Elladge Balde and Kaetlyn Osmond due to injury. The big news for Canadians on the mens international stage is the emergence of 16-year-old Nam Nguyen on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. He shocked more seasoned competitors at Skate America, the season opener, with his bronze medal win. On his way to the bronze he defeated the current Olympic bronze medalist, Denis Ten and also finished ahead of U.S. Champion Jeremy Abbott with a flawless long program. What was most impressive was the fact that it was Nguyens senior Grand Prix debut and he managed to nail a quad salchow in the free skate. Coming into this season Nam was not a skater who the contenders would figure into the mix. Now hes got the top guys glancing sideways at him, knowing that with the newfound quad and the impressive technical scores he has put up in the free skate, he can surely be a fit to play spoiler at any upcoming event. Nguyen will compete at the Cup of China this weekend alongside his training mate, Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Japanese men have won the first two Grand Prix events and Yuzu has said hes hoping to ride the wave to gold at the Cup of China. As strong as the Japanese men are, its the Russian women who are dominating the ladies events this season. It is possible - in fact quite likely - that the Russian women could win all of the Grand Prixs and qualify four or five spots out of a total six spots at the final. Thats how deep their women are. With the National Champ on the sidelines, Canadian hopes in that event shift now to the national silver medalist Gabrielle Daleman who begins her quest this Grand Prix season in China. She is young, a capable jumper and a determined competitor who is looking to move from her 13th place finish at worlds. She will be up against a tough field so will need to be at the top of her game to be in contention. Air Force 1 France .com) - Former FBI director Robert Mueller said his investigation found no evidence that the NFL saw the elevator video of Ray Rice striking his then-fiancee before the tape was released in September. Air Force 1 Just Do It Pas Cher . - The Florida Panthers are getting some Army training to finish off their preparations for the season. http://www.siteairforce1pascher.fr/air-force-1-low-soldes/basket-basse-homme.html . Tyutin has missed the last nine games with an ankle injury which occurred while playing for Russia at the Olympics. The top-two defenceman has four goals and 20 assists, 30 penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating in 53 games with Columbus this season.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, Welcome back! Im sure you heard Peter Forsbergs comments last week regarding Canadian referees in the gold medal game. Seems to me that he was questioning the integrity and impartiality.Did you think there was anything peculiar about this decision? Thanks,Ed Hi Ed: I am thrilled that NHL hockey is back and we can all adjust our watches back to the North American time zone! Initially, I was surprised by the expletive-deleted comments Peter Forsberg made the day before the Gold Medal game and following the IIHFs selection of four North American NHL officials to work the Canada-Sweden game. Even though the officials nationality and residency slanted exclusively toward Canadian soil, the timing of Forsbergs comments (the day before the puck was dropped) caused me to pause and consider the Swedish general managers motives. Ive seen plenty of "gamesmanship" from general managers and coaches during Stanley Cup playoffs and finals, but Peter Forsbergs public comments rank up near the top of the list in attempting to gain an advantage and competitive edge. Peter was not only a world class player but I also know him to be a very intense competitor. That being said, Peter is not a stupid man and made a calculated move in hopes of gaining some advantage for his players against a highly skilled Canadian team. I believe Peters comments were designed to put the IIHF on notice in the event he felt the need to complain post-game but most importantly to plant a seed in the head of each game official hoping his team might receive the benefit of the doubt when one could be offered. It also became a story the day before the game designed to deflect some of the pressure away from Team Sweden players. I dont believe that Peter Forsberg would honestly question the integrity and impartiality of the NHL Officials that were assigned to work the game. Kelly Sutherland, Brad Meir, Derek Amell and Greg Devorski were selected on the merit of their work during the Olympics and weere regarded as the very best! They are professionals in the true sense of the word. Air Force 1 Haute Homme. The players have more confidence in the NHL officials ability than their International counterparts. Swedish team captain Niklas Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings believed that both teams would benefit from North American officials when he was quoted as saying, "We are used to having referees from USA and Canada in the NHL. We know their standards so I think its easier for us too if the referees are from there." And teammate Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators agreed. Prior to 1998, the IIHF would not assign an official to work a game in which his country of nationality was participating in. Only neutral officials were assigned. That changed in Nagano with the inclusion of NHL players and officials. The best officials were assigned to the games regardless of their country of nationality or residency. In response to Peter Forsbergs comments, IIHF officiating manager Konstantin Komisarov issued the following statement on the selection process; "The main factor of the selection of these officials has most of all to do with their experience officiating in high-level competitions. These include Stanley Cup playoffs, World Championship competitions and Olympic competitions. Their nationalities arent considered as factors nor should they be, we want the best officials working the medal games. We are fully confident that with their experience and professionalism these officials will do their job well and preserve the integrity of the game." Good for Konstantin Komissarov and the IIHF officiating committee for selecting the best officials to work the Gold Medal game. The officiating crew did an outstanding job and preserved the integrity of the game as Konstantin was confident they would. Last Sunday, the game was played on Olympic ice in Sochi and not in the media. Peter Forsbergs silver medal-winning Swedish team was beaten fair and square by Canada to take Gold. The officiating was a complete non-factor; regardless of county of nationality. NHL officials are clearly the best in the world. ' ' '