Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. [url=http://www.cheappackersjerseyschina.com/randall-cobb-jersey/]Randal l Cobb Jersey[/url] . This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situati

Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. Randall Cobb Jersey . This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is down to Russias national mens hockey program, which is still making reverberations a week after Sochi. After falling in the quarter-finals for the second straight Olympics, Russias NHL stars came back angry. As Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin were unhappy for many reasons, but most of all resented the programs bias towards KHL players, which greatly distorted playing time, pairings, strategy, and felt like a punishment to Russian stars who dont play at home. Russia was one of the worlds great hockey powers, and a worthy rival to Canada; now its a mess, riven by petty rivalries. Its a shame, really. The Russians havent won a best-on-best tournament since the 1981 Canada Cup, and somehow they feel further away than ever. Steve Simmons, SUN Media My thumb is down to the International Olympic Committee for the mess it made of the Nicklas Backstrom gold medal game allergy pill fiasco. As a member of Swedens hockey delegation said, the IOC destroyed one of the greatest days in Olympic hockey history for the country. Backstrom, who did test positive for pseudo-ephedrine, didnt disagree with that assessment. The IOC first tested Backstrom last Wednesday. In the three days that followed, they never did do a second test. The Swedish team was not informed of Backstroms status until two hours before game time. Now dont get me wrong, the Swedes could have had Nicklas Backstrom, Ralph Backstrom, and all the Backstroms you can name available for the gold medal game and the result wouldnt have been different. What they didnt need was an unnecessary disruption, born of IOC ineptitude. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is down to John Tortorella, not for his most recent apology but for the continual need to apologize. This time, the Canucks coach launched into a mea culpa after saying he favored Sweden in the Sochi final because he wanted his Swedish Olympians - Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler - to return with smiles on their faces. Tortorella wears blinders. Professionally, he sees the small picture, nothing beyond his team. Belatedly, of course, he grasped context - Vancouver … Canada. So four weeks after apologizing for losing his mind between periods against Calgary, he again was at a microphone wearing a hair shirt and a tight expression. Thats Tortorella, the never-ending sorry. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to the excellence shown by Canadas Gold-medalists in curling - Jennifer Jones and her rink from Winnipeg and Brad Jacobs and his rink from Sault Ste. Marie. We used to take for granted Canadas worldwide dominance in curling, and then we didnt, because as good as the Canadians continued to be, several other countries showed they were capable of winning world titles. Not that Jones and Jacobs allow Canada to rest on its laurels, but the Sochi results were very impressive, and hows this for proof of Canadas wealth of curling talent - the Brier is underway in Kamloops and the field is strong with Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Koe, John Morris, and Brad Gushue. And imagine talking about a strong field that doesnt include Jacobs, Glenn Howard and Kevin Martin. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. Wholesale Packers Jerseys . The Canadian tennis players first full season on the WTA Tour was a strong one. She has risen to No. 32 in the world rankings and will likely be seeded at the first Grand Slam event of the 2014 season. http://www.cheappackersjerseyschina.com/ray-nitschke-jersey/ . For the Miami Heat, that was outstanding news. LeBron James scored the last of his 32 points on a layup that put Miami up for good with 11.The Indiana Pacers drew even in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Washington Wizards last time out, but the action shifts to our nations capital Friday night for Game 3. Watch the game on TSN2 and TSN GO at 8pm et/5pm pt. Friday will mark the first second-round playoff game in Washington since 2005. That year, the Wizards were swept by the Miami Heat in the semis, but that wont happen this time around. The Wiz won Game 1 on Monday, but the Pacers clawed back into the series with an 86-82 home victory on Wednesday. Indiana was carried by the unlikeliest of players in Game 2. Roy Hibbert, who scored zero points and grabbed zero rebounds in Game 1s loss, scored 28 points and grab nine rebounds on Wednesday. Hibbert went scoreless three times this postseason and put up donuts in both categories twice, but the All-Star took his mind off things and dominated the Wizards. "Sometimes I wear my heart on my sleeve and other times I just keep things in," admitted Hibbert. "Tonight, I just felt like I just had one thing on my mind: to help this team win. My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball in my sweet spot and believing in me. I just wanted to return the favor." Head coach Frank Vogel acknowledged he didnt call any plays for Hibbert, but the big man was active from the jump. He scored the games first five points and totaled 17 in the first half. "Im sure he didnt like the way he played the other night," said Vogel. "Im sure he didnt like the criticism. Thats the remarkable thing. You play with a certain amount of force and the ball finds you." Another factor that may have freed up Hibbert was the teams announcement that Andrew Bynum, who was signed as a backup in February,, would not appear in a game this postseason and that his tenure with the Pacers was over. Dave Robinson Jersey. Some reports indicated Hibbert wasnt pleased with the Bynum signing. George Hill finished with 14 points, followed by 12 from Lance Stephenson and 11 out of Paul George. Marcin Gortat had 21 points to lead the Wizards, Bradley Beal added 17 and Nene scored 14 despite rolling his left ankle in the first quarter. All-Star guard John Wall and Trevor Ariza, who scored 22 in Game 1, combined for 12 points in Game 2. Hibberts magical return to form meant a lot for the Pacers, but Game 2 was tightly contested until late in the fourth quarter. Gortat scored with 3:23 to go to get the Wiz within one, but Washington couldnt buy a bucket after that. The Wizards didnt score again until 11 seconds remained in the game and Indiana did enough to knot the series. "End of the day, we played a pretty good game," said Gortat. "We didnt shoot the ball well, especially from the 3-point line. Weve just got to play better." Playoff basketball returned to Washington for the first time since 2008 and this season is the third time since 1982 the Wizards advanced out of the first round. "I hope that when we get back to D.C. were going to see the crowd ready at least 30 minutes before the game," said Gortat. "We need them. I hope they come early and were going to try and bring it." The Wizards went 1-1 at the Verizon Center against the Chicago Bulls in round one. Washington has won two in a row over the Pacers as the host, but Indiana won four straight prior to that. "This is playoff basketball. You cant lose at home," noted Gortat. Game 4 will be Sunday night in Washington. 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