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Leading up to SportsCentres Year In Review on Christmas Eve, TSN and TSN. Branden Oliver Blue Jersey .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at the Roberto Luongo saga. One thought he was on the way out. The other thought he was staying. Two summers ago, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo was ready and willing to accept a trade out of town. What transpired afterwards was a lengthy whirlwind of speculation on when and where he would go. And its not like the Canucks didnt try. The team spent a full year attempting to deal the Luongo - and the nine years remaining on his $64 million contract. But nothing came of it, and the franchise goaltenders showed his frustration after the Apr. 3 trade deadline passed without a new address. "My contract sucks," said Luongo. "Thats what the problem is...unfortunately it is a big (factor) in trading for me. Id scrap it right now if I could." The offseason brought speculation once more that the Canucks would have another shot at getting Luongo out. But after months of failed attempts, the Canucks surprised pretty much everyone in the hockey world and traded Schneider instead. Even Luongo was shocked by the decision, after accepting the idea that he was the one that was on the move. "I had moved on from Vancouver and I was ready to start a fresh new chapter of my career somewhere else," the three-time NHL All-Star told TSNs James Duthie. "It felt like a divorce, I accepted it and I had moved on personally. "The only problem was she wanted me back." And Luongo was even more surprised that the team would make such a decision without talking to him. "Out of all the situations that I envisioned, that wasnt one of them," he said. "Thats a pretty big move, I thought, to make without having input from the guy youre going to put your trust in." Schneider also described the trade as shocking, adding that after several seasons of expecting to be moved out of Vancouver, he had finally begun to believe he would stay. Schneider, who spent years developing as the Canucks No. 1 prospect, felt he earned the starting job. "It was pretty stunning," Schneider told Duthie. "In this business you know you are always in the mix, you are always fair game. I really felt that having spent my entire career there, having been in the organization a long time, I was hoping to spend the rest of my career in Vancouver. But circumstances changed. Its one of those things where unfortunately it came down to this." And after weeks of more speculation about whether or not he would return to Vancouver, Luongo confirmed he would report to the Canucks training camp in September as the teams starting goalie. "I have a contract. I plan to honour it," Luongo told Duthie. Theres a lot at stake for me this year." LaDainian Tomlinson Womens Jersey . - Russell Wilson is getting on the diamond again. Dan Fouts Blue Jersey . -- Jermaine Marshall scored eight of his 29 points in the second overtime and Jordan Bachynski blocked T.One of the best underdog stories of the Sochi Olympics may be nearly undone. According to The Globe and Mails James Mirtle, the Latvian mens Olympic team - which finished eighth in the hockey tournament - now faces possible disqualification after a second player has allegedly tested positive for a banned substance. Mirtle cites a report from Latvian web site sportacentrs.com that states an unnamed player has turned up the teams second positive drug test of the tournament. Forward Vitalijs Pavlovs failed a drug test following Latvias 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Canada. Under Olympic rules, hockey teams do not face disqualification until mmultiple players test positive for banned substances. Lance Alworth Blue Jersey. The eighth-place finish improved Latvia to 10th in the IIHF world rankings, which is a key determinant to Olympic qualification. The top nine teams in the IIHF world rankings received automatic berths to the Sochi Games, which was the reason why Norway (ranked ninth through 2012) was able to avoid the qualification tournaments that saw Slovenia, Austria and Latvia qualify by beating the likes of Germany, France and Belarus. IIHF rankings are based on tournament performance over a four-year span, including both the Olympic hockey tournament and the World Championships. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
