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SAITAMA, Japan -- European champions Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte received 69. Billy Butler Authentic .70 points to finish first in the short program. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., trailed by half a point. Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France were third on 68.20. "This is definitely where we want to be, in the attacking position of the top spot, because we feel that we put great work into this season especially and we want to end on a high note and put out two solid performances," said Poje. Torontos Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., were 10th with 59.42 points. Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., scored 57.68 points for 11th place heading into Saturdays free dance. Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev, the top-ranked Russians, were forced to withdraw after Soloviev injured his groin in the morning practice. Defending champions and Olympic gold medallists Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States were not taking part. The ice dance concludes on Saturday with the free dance. Japanese teenager Yuzuru Hanyu came back with a brilliant free skate to become the first man in 12 years on Friday to win the Olympic and world figure skating titles in the same year. The 19-year-old Hanyu, who trailed compatriot Tatsuki Machida by nearly seven points after the world championships short program, produced a near-flawless free skate to finish with 282.59 points, just three-tenths of a point ahead of Machida. Javier Fernandez of Spain was third with 275.93. "That was very close," Hanyu said. "I work hard to become a skater who can always end with strong performances. I felt the responsibility to win the event." Hanyu fell twice during the free skate at the Sochi Olympics but had no falls on Friday. Skating to "Romeo and Juliet," he opened with a quad salchow and followed with a quad toeloop. His only deduction came on the triple flip and he got extra points on five straight jumps. The mens Olympic-worlds double was last achieved by Alexei Yagudin in 2002. Machida captured his first major medal with a graceful performance to Stravinskis "Firebird." "I showed everything I have at this moment," Machida said. "I tried to perform without caring about the score or ranking but it got into my head and I had a really tough four minutes." Fernandez, who was fourth in Sochi, was deducted points when he singled a planned triple lutz. "I popped the triple lutz," Fernandez said. "And I didnt do my quad salchow triple toeloop combination, but still it was a good program even though Yuzuru did better than me." Maxim Kotvun of Russia was fourth followed by Jeremy Abbott of the United States. Canadian Patrick Chan, who had won the last three world titles, decided to skip this years competition. Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., was the top Canadian in 11th place. Its been a tough season for Reynolds, who struggled with ill-fitting skates for several months. "The whole season was a giant learning experience, and I can take from that knowing I can still skate my best even though Im not feeling even close to where Id like to be in terms of being comfortable and being ready, being prepared," said Reynolds. "What I can take away from this is that even if Im not feeling 100 per cent, I know that I can still do the job, and that should give me confidence when I do feel good." World junior champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto was 12th while Elladj Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., was 18th. "Skating in front of 20,000 plus people, its amazing," said the 15-year-old Nguyen. "Im not intimidated at all. Im very excited to skate for them. I love to hear them cheer for me. I just want them to skate with me." -- With files from The Canadian Press George Brett Blue Jersey . - Eries top line of Dane Fox, Connor Brown and Connor McDavid combined for six goals and 14 points as the Otters crushed the visiting Windsor Spitfires 9-0 on Sunday in Ontario Hockey League play. Kelvin Herrera Blue Jersey . Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Buddy Robinson scored 43 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Binghamton Senators to a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night at the Bell Centre.BALTIMORE -- Eight games, eight wins. The Baltimore Ravens achieved perfection at home for the first time, and now theyre looking to add to that ledger in the playoffs. Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes, and the Ravens beat the bumbling Cleveland Browns 20-14 on Saturday to move one step closer to winning the AFC North. Ray Rice ran for 87 yards and caught a TD pass for the Ravens (11-4), who led 17-0 at halftime and held on. "I have never been perfect at home in 16 years of football. Thats amazing," Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis said. "As good of teams weve had here, weve always found (a way) to lose one or two here or there. I think this year we really made a focus on taking care at home. This is the result, us being able to go 8-0 and being able to be sitting where you want to sit at the end of the day." The Ravens would win the AFC North by defeating Cincinnati on the road next week. That would also give Baltimore a first-round bye and a home playoff game -- two if New England loses next Sunday at home against Buffalo. "Its big, man," linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "We are at our best when we are at (home) and our fans are rocking. So we definitely need a home playoff game, by any means necessary." Flacco went 11 for 24 with touchdown passes to Rice and tight end Ed Dickson. He also had a 33-yard run. Josh Cribbs had a career-high 84-yard punt return for a TD for Cleveland (4-11). But the Browns generated very little offence and were guilty of questionable play calling, bad clock management and untimely penalties in their fifth straight loss. Cleveland saved the worst for last. Having already burned their three timeouts, the Browns lined up on defence after the two-minute warning with the Ravens facing a fourth-and-two at the Cleveland 37. It appeared obvious that Flacco and the Ravens were merely hoping to draw the Browns offside. As the play clock moved close to zero, Cleveland tackle Phil Taylor jumped across the line of scrimmage to give Baltimore a first down. "It was the first hard count and we stayed onside," Taylor said. "The second time, I just jumped. Of course you feel bad, but you just got to move on." Said Flacco: "I dont know if Ive ever been in position for that to happen. Its never worked." The Ravens then ran out the clock on their eighth straight win over the Browns, including two this month. "We knew this would be quite a challenge for us," Cleveland quarterback Seneca Wallace said. "Were playing the Ravens at home, and theyre playing for everything. I should have played better, and I should have made better decisions." Wallace went 19 for 33 for 147 yards in place of Colt McCoy, who was out with a concussion. Peyton Hillis ran for 112 yards, but Clevelands offence mounted only one decennt drive. Salvador Perez Blue Jersey. The Browns took the opening kickoff and moved from their own 26 to the Baltimore 30 behind the power of Hillis, who gained 30 yards on six carries. But on a third-and-one, Cleveland inexplicably went to the air, and Lardarius Webb intercepted Wallaces pass for Mohamed Massaquoi. Flacco immediately threw deep for Torrey Smith, who drew a 60-yard penalty for pass interference on Mike Adams to set up a five-yard touchdown pass to Dickson. Later, a 29-yard throw from Flacco to Smith led to a 48-yard field goal by newcomer Shayne Graham, signed in the middle of the week to take over for the injured Billy Cundiff. After another Cleveland punt, Flacco directed an 82-yard drive that gave Baltimore a 17-0 lead. Rice slipped behind linebacker DQwell Jackson on the right sideline, caught a soft pass in stride and sprinted into the end zone to complete a 42-yard scoring play. That made Flacco 5 for 5 for 94 yards and two touchdowns on third down. Cleveland moved deep into Baltimore territory late in the first half, thanks in part to a 30-yard pass interference call against Chris Carr. But with the clock inside 10 seconds and the Browns without a timeout left, Wallace handed off to Hillis instead of spiking the ball, and Hillis went nowhere. Wallace took the blame, and so did Browns coach Pat Shurmur. "I need to communicate it better, OK?" Shurmur said. Time expired before Cleveland could get off another play, and the Browns headed to the locker room after being held scoreless in the first half for the second time this season. The other time it happened was also against Baltimore. Graham kicked a 43-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 20-0. The Browns finally scored when Cribbs took a punt on the right sideline, escaped an arm tackle and broke toward the centre of the field before outrunning three defenders into the left corner of the end zone late in the third quarter. "I was wondering where all the defenders were," Cribbs said. "I saw all the great blocking around me. From there, it was easy. It was just a walk in." Cribbs also contributed to Clevelands next touchdown, catching a 23-yard pass from Wallace as part of an 80-yard drive that ended with a nine-yard TD throw to Evan Moore midway through the fourth quarter. The Browns forced a punt, but on a fourth-and-four from the Cleveland 45 with 4:03 left, a pass to Hillis did not produce the necessary yardage. Taylors jump across the line of scrimmage soon followed. NOTES: Ravens KR David Reed hurt his left knee and declared himself out for the season. Also, Baltimore OT Marshal Yanda (chest) and CB Cary Williams (concussion) did not play in the second half. ... Shurmur said the Browns sustained no serious injuries. Cleveland closes the season next Sunday against Pittsburgh. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
