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CALGARY -- While Jeremy Wotherspoons Olympic comeback bid took a major hit on Saturday, several other athletes took a step closer to realizing their dreams. Rodney Stuckey Swingman Jersey . On the first day of the Olympic trials for Canadas long-track speedskating team, Wotherspoon finished sixth in the mens 500 metres. According to Sean Ireland, Speed Skating Canadas long-track program director, that wont be good enough for the four-time Olympian from Red Deer, Alta., to earn a spot to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. "The top four have a chance of being selected to the Olympic team," Ireland said. Canadas Olympic long-track speedskating team, which will consist of 10 women and eight men for all disciplines, will be announced on Jan. 22. Wotherspoons brother-in-law Jamie Gregg, from Edmonton, finished first in the mens 500 metres with a combined two-race time of 69.15. "The whole year Ive been kind of trying to focus on Sochi, not wanting to take this for granted, but at the same time I wanted to be building through this and up into Sochi," said Gregg. "Were going to go back and train hard after this and hopefully I can do a lot better because Im going to have to do better if I want to do what I want to do in Sochi." Finishing in the second, third and fourth spots respectively were Calgarys Gilmore Junio (69.31 seconds), William Dutton of Humbolt, Sask. (69.38) and Quebec Citys Muncef Ouardi (69.41). Wotherspoon found himself in third spot after the first race before falling out of contention after his second 500 metres around Calgarys Olympic Oval track. "In the first race I was almost the same time as guys who won medals at the world cups in the fall," said Wotherspoon, who still holds the world record of 34.03 seconds set in Salt Lake City in 2007. "I was pretty happy to be that close. That makes it even more disappointing to have the second race that I had." Wotherspoon said he hasnt decided whether hell race in the mens 1,000 metres on Monday or not. "Right now I feel a bit tired and disappointed so I have to refocus for that," said Wotherspoon, while noting that he believes both Gregg and Junio have great shots at winning medals in Sochi. "Jamie and Gilmore for sure have shots at medals in Sochi based on what theyve done so far this year and what I know theyre capable of. It would have been nice to go there with them as a skater." In the womens 500 metres, Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont., finished first with a two-race time of 76.45 seconds. "This definitely makes me feel good about things," said Nesbitt, who will also compete on Monday in the womens 1,000 metres and on Thursday in the 1,500 metres. "Of course, I still have two more distances Id like to qualify in, my best distances, so Ill see how those go." Rounding out the top four were Marsha Hudey of White City, Sask. (76.91 seconds), Calgarys Anastasia Bucsis (76.93) and Red Deers Danielle Wotherspoon-Gregg (77.08), who his Wotherspoons sister and is married to Gregg. Also on Saturday, Winnipegs Brittany Schussler won in the womens 3,000 metres, while Mathieu Giroux of Point-aux-Trembles, Que., finished first in the mens 5,000 metres to virtually earn themselves spots at the Winter Olympics. "I cant wrap my head around it," Schussler said. "Ive been so, so nervous. I knew that that was my spot and that that was my race to win. I cant even believe it -- I cant even comprehend -- that that Im going to Sochi." A member of Canadas gold-medal winning mens pursuit team in Vancouver, Giroux said this was his best race of the season. "The last two months Ive had some back issues that were slowing down my progression," he said. "We fixed a lot of the back problems in the last month. Also, I had troubles with my skates in the straight away to get proper glide, so we fixed the inside of the boots. That helped also." Chris Copeland Pacers Jersey . The team announced Wednesday that the six-time American League All-Star agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract, opting to come back rather than retire or sign elsewhere. The 37-year-old Konerko will receive $1. Donald Sloan Authentic Jersey . - A Tuesday funeral is planned in Toronto for 20-year-old Saginaw Spirit forward Terry Trafford.ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Less than one year ago, Al Davis made Stanford Routt one of the cornerstones of the Oakland Raiders defence with a lavish contract that kept him from free agency. Routt became the first player casualty under the new regime with the Raiders. Routt was released on Thursday just one year into a US$54.5 million, five-year contract, ending his seven-year tenure in Oakland as the team heads in a new direction. The move by new general manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen signifies a change of approach from when Davis ran the team and was fiercely loyal to players he drafted. Davis died Oct. 8, setting the stage for a busy off-season. McKenzie was hired in January and fired coach Hue Jackson after one season on his first official day on the job. He then began a coaching search that ended up with Allen, and now changes are being made to the roster even before free agency begins next month. After the news conference announcing Allens hiring on Jan. 30, McKenzie said the Raiders had some contracts that were "out of whack." Apparently, Routts was one of them. Routt got the big contract after grading out as one of the leagues top cover cornerbacks in 2010. The oppositions 39.4 per cent completion rate when throwing at him was the lowest of any player targeted at least 60 times that season, according to STATS LLC. Davis gave Routt the big contract, while letting Pro Bowler Nnamdi Asomugha test free agency. Asomugha later signed with Philadelphia, making Routt the No. 1 cornerback in Oakland. While he once again held opponents to a low completion percentage (47.4 per cent) and allowed less than six yards per pass attempt for the season, accordiing to STATS, he was susceptible to penalties and touchdowns. Monta Ellis Jersey. . He was credited with allowing eight touchdown passes -- tied for the second-most in the NFL -- and led the league with 17 penalties committed, according to STATS. More changes are sure to come on the Raiders, who have not had a winning record or made the playoffs since 2002. Oakland is coming off one of its worst defensive seasons ever during last years 8-8 campaign. The Raiders had franchise worsts in touchdown passes allowed (31), yards per carry (5.1), yards passing (4,262) and total yards (6,201), while giving up the third-most points (433) in team history. Oakland also became the sixth team since the 1970 merger to allow at least 2,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards passing in a season. The Raiders also set an NFL record last season with 163 penalties for 1,358 yards. Routt has played 110 games with 53 starts since being drafted in the second round by Oakland in 2005. He became a starter his third season before falling behind Chris Johnson on the depth chart in 2008-09. He worked his way back into the starting lineup in 2010 and was Oaklands top cornerback last season when he set career highs with four interceptions and 15 passes defenced. Notes: The Raiders also hired two more assistant coaches, making Johnny Holland the linebackers coach and Keith Burns the assistant special teams coach. Holland spent the past five seasons in Houston, where he coached two AP NFL Defensive Rookies of the year in Demeco Ryans (2006) and Brian Cushing (2009). He had previously worked in Detroit and Green Bay. Burns has spent 28 years as a college coach, most recently with Mississippi. Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Authentic Cheap Jerseys Authentic Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys NFL China Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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