12-05-2015, 09:13 AM
DETROIT -- Canadas Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch set a personal best score en route to the silver medal in pairs on Sunday at Skate America, the first stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit. World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187.35. It was the same top-three order after Saturdays short program. "This is the kind of start we definitely wanted in an Olympic year," said Moscovitch, from Toronto. "Its a confirmation that we are doing the right thing with our programs. And we know there is still a lot of room for improvement." Moore-Towers and Moscovitchs previous best overall score was 199.50 set in a fourth place finish at the world championships last season. "Its really been a combination of factors thats helped us achieve these scores this early in the season," said Moore-Towers from St. Catharines, Ont. "Our programs are a lot more consistent and we are a lot better at telling a story when we perform." Margaret Purdy of Strathroy, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., were eighth. The Canadians were also pleased with their performance, seeing it as a building block to develop their Olympic season. Moore-Towers and Moscovitch had some slight errors, such as his step-out on their side-by-side triple salchows. The free skate, to a "Fellini Medley" by Nino Rota, was not their original concept when they started preparing for the year. They didnt feel a strong connection to the first program, and switched to the Fellini selection for a better spirit. The pair said the Skate America scores for the program validated their decision. "Both feel that this is the program that will take us where we want to go," Moscovitch said. In womens singles competition, Japans Mao Asada beat American Ashley Wagner to take the championship. Asada, the leader going into the free skate, won despite a fall on her triple axel and a two-footed landing on her triple lutz. She scored 204.55 points, thanks to her elevated technical difficulty. Wagner, the 2012 Skate America champion, finished with 193.81. Russias Elena Radionova, only 14, finished third at 183.95 in her first ISU Grand Prix event. "I am not completely satisfied with my performance today," Asada said, through a translator. "This was a learning experience." Asada scored higher than Wagner in each of the five program component elements, more than overcoming a one-point deduction for falling. Walter Payton Bears Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Matt Forte Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.nflbearsusjerseys.com/Womens-...rs-Jersey/ . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Tim Jennings Bears Jersey . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. Ryan Mundy Youth Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months.The New York Islanders have acquired forward Thomas Vanek from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for forward Matt Moulson, a conditional first round draft pick in 2014 and a 2015 second round pick. Should the first round pick end up being in the top 10 this year, the Islanders have the option to defer the pick to the 2015 NHL Draft. Vanek, 29, is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2013-14 season. In 13 games this season, he has scored four goals and added five assists. The Austrian is in the final year of a seven-year deal he signed with the Sabres prior to 2007-08 worth an average annual value of $7.142 million. "We had opportunity to acquire an elite player and given where we are right now (.500), you go for it," Islanders general manager Garth Snow told TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie. "If we hadnt drafted so well, if we didnt have good prospects, we couldnt afford to take the risk," Snow told McKenzie on the steep price the Islanders paid to acquire Vanek. The Islanders had not held contract extension discussions with Vanek prior to acquiring him. Getting the deal done in October came as a surprise to many, but Sabres general manager Darcy Regier stated his pleasure with the return the team was able to get so early in the season. "It was something we felt we had to do," Sabres general manager Darcy Regier told reporters Sunday night. "I think this is more an overall deal that will improve this hockey club going forward." Vaneks agent Stephen Bartlett told McKenzie that his client is "excited to be an Islander." "Well take it day by day and focus on the short term for now and see where we are at seasons end," Bartlett told McKenzie.dddddddddddd. Vanek has scored 254 goals and 243 assists in 598 career NHL games, all with the Sabres. He has eclipsed the 30-goal plateau on four occasions, including a career-high 43 in 2006-07. The Sabres originally selected him fifth-overall at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Moulson has scored six goals and three assists with the Islanders in 11 games so far in 2013-14. He, too, is set to become an unrestricted free agent at seasons end. He is in the final season of a three-year deal worth an average annual value of $3.13 million. Moulson has emerged as an offensive threat alongside Islanders captain John Tavares. He has scored 30-or-more goals in his last three full NHL seasons, including a career-best 36 in 2011-12. The 29-year-old expressed his surprise at the end of his Islanders tenure to ESPNs Katie Strang, saying "I thought this could be a possibility but I didnt think this was going to happen." "I guess this is what happens in pro sports," Moulson told Strang. "I gotta move on. Ill obviously miss everyone, but this will be a new chapter." He was originally selected in the ninth round (263rd-overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He has scored 124 goals and 109 assists in 333 career NHL games with the Islanders and Los Angeles Kings. The Sabres are currently last in the Eastern Conference with a 2-10-1 record and just five points through their first 11 games. Vanek was one of two high-profile Sabres playing out the final year of a contract alongside goaltender Ryan Miller. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '