Canada pulled off a number of upsets on the way to a surprise appearance in the Davis Cup semifinals last weekend in Serbia. It was an incredible run that captain Martin Laurendeau feels was actually put in motion with a loss back in February 2012, when Canada dropped a 4-1 decision to a French side anchored by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. "What I liked was the way our guys responded and rebounded from that," Laurendeau said Wednesday on a conference call. "France is very deep, has a great tradition at Davis Cup. It really helped us as a reference point, just a way to approach the competition as a team. "I think it reinforced the bond and the team chemistry with the guys." Canada bounced back later in the year with a solid 4-1 victory over South Africa at Montreals Uniprix Stadium, with singles star Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., leading the way with a pair of victories. The win kept Canadas spot in the World Group and helped instil a feeling that the team belonged at the top level. Over the three ties that followed, the Canadians went out and proved it. The breakthrough season began with a first-round upset over top-ranked Spain in Vancouver. The Canadians returned to the indoor hardcourt at the Thunderbird Sports Centre two months later for an impressive quarter-final win over Italy. Canada then hit the road and pushed a powerhouse Serbian side the distance in front of a raucous crowd at the Belgrade Arena. Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil turned in a game performance in the fifth and deciding match on the indoor clay before falling to Janko Tipsarevic. It was a captivating weekend with plenty of drama and two five-set marathon victories for Canada. The effort should provide a tremendous building block for the 2014 Davis Cup, starting with a World Group first-round tie at Japan on Jan. 31-Feb. 2. "When you go through a Davis Cup weekend like we did against Spain, Italy and now Serbia, it really prepares you for the toughest experience you can go through," Laurendeau said. "So after that, you always feel like you can tackle anything that comes at you and I think the guys have handled that really well. "They really see now that Davis Cup is big, its huge, its very serious and theyre all aware of what we can do as a team. They know we can do great things and theyre really keen on doing that as best they can." Doubles star Daniel Nestor of Toronto is 41 now and continues to rise to the occasion. His five-set doubles victory with Pospisil was one of the highlights of Canadas first Davis Cup semifinal appearance in the modern era. Laurendeau said Nestor has no plans to slow down and expects to be in form for the Japan tie. "Hes going to be looking to be at his peak because theres a Grand Slam (Australian Open) the week before," Laurendeau said. "This guy plays for those big moments so hes going to be doing everything he can to be as fit as he can and continue his contribution. "He only has one shot at winning a point and he always makes every effort possible to be able to give himself the best chance to do that and I dont see anything different for 2014." No. 12 Japan holds a 5-0 record against seventh-ranked Canada, though the two teams have not faced each other in Davis Cup since 1938. Japan is making its return to the World Group in 2014 after a one-year absence. The host city for the Canada-Japan tie will be determined at a later date. Pospisil turned his ankle on the final point of the Serbia tie but it doesnt appear to be a serious injury. "Its not the first time hes gone over on an ankle," Laurendeau said. "It seems like the swelling and the injury is under control. Now its just a matter of the (doctors) figuring out when exactly he can step back on the court. At this stage its day to day from what I hear." Expect Canadas 2014 roster to look much the same as the last few seasons. Its a squad that appears to be positioned for even bigger things in the future. "We went from being qualifiers to being seeded in the main draw in the World Group," Laurendeau said. "Thats big progress, huge progress in just a couple years and Im very proud of the way the guys have done that." www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com[/... . Higuain was greeted by about 100 jubilant Napoli fans waving club scarves and Argentina flags when he arrived for the medical exam, and club president Aurelio De Laurentiis said on Twitter later that both players had passed. [url=http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/nike-nfl-jerseys-china_seattle-seah... . Wade, who did not play in Wednesdays 90-85 loss to Milwaukee because of the injury, went through a workout Thursday. He got hurt in the first half of Sundays win against New Jersey, though returned for the second half of that game. [url=http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/]http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.u... . Sinclair, Evans and Sean Duke all had to go through the IRB concussion protocol after blows to the head in an ill-tempered win over Tonga last weekend that resulted in three suspensions for the Pacific Islanders. [url=http://www.cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com/]Cheap Jerseys China . -- Canada was minutes away from advancing at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, until a last-gasp equalizer from Panama dashed its hopes. cheapauthenticjerseys.us.com . GTA Sports & Entertainmnent is the group looking to build an NHL-sized arena north of Toronto. In September, they proposed a new funding formula that would see no public money used towards the construction of the building.MONTREAL -- Almost lost in the circus-like atmosphere surrounding Nick Diaz and UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre this week is the fact that the two actually have to climb into a cage together. "All the things that happen leading up to this fight, theres going to be a fight on Saturday night," said UFC president Dana White. "Were almost there, this is almost over," he added of the pre-fight hype, which will no doubt help fill the UFC coffers. The matchup pits the well-rounded St-Pierre (23-2) against the scrappy Diaz (27-8-0 with one no contest). St-Pierre is hard to hit, avoiding 75.6 per cent of his opponent strikes (best among welterweights and third best in UFC history). And he has landed more significant strikes (1,048) and total strikes (2,188) than any UFC fighter. The 31-year-old from Montreal also leads the UFC in takedowns with a 78.1 per cent accuracy rate. And when he gets you down, he keeps you there and punishes you. His 409 significant ground strikes are the most in UFC history. And in his last 15 fights, only one opponent has managed a reversal of a GSP dominant position. The champions takedown defence (88 per cent) is fourth best in UFC history. St-Pierre has spent 45.3 per cent of his fights on top of his opponent and only 3.2 per cent on the bottom. The same numbers for Diaz are 11.3 and 15.3 per cent. Put it together and you have a champion who can choose where the fight goes. Diaz, 29, is a dangerous boxer who can score from distance -- his 912 strikes landed at distance are the most in UFC/Strikeforce combined history. The California fighter throws lots of punches, landing 8.28 significant strikes a minute in his last nine fights. No UFC fighter has matched that over the same time span. And Diaz, like GSP a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, is a threat off his back. He has tried 20 serious submission attempts in his last 25 bouts, half of which from the bottom position. Four of those off his back earned tapouts. At 60 per cent, Diazs striking defence is slightly above the UFC average. But Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit connected often in his win over Diaz last year, landing a UFC record 68 leg kicks and 151 significant strikes (fourth most by a welterweight in a single fight). Both fighters are tough mentally. The prickly Diaz is a pit bull, the kind of man youd want at your back if you were backed into an alley facing a wave of attackers. St-Pierre sticks to his game plan, taking the fight to where his opponent doesnt want to go. Conventional wisdom has St-Pierre taking Diaz down, holding him there and beating him up. A grinding five-round decision that leaves both fighters marked, but Diaz worse for wear, could be in the cards. "Control and the ground game is the way to win this fight," said former Canadian featherweight Mark (The Machine) Hominick. "Diaz is a great boxer. He has a very sspecific style," added welterweight Nate (The Great) Marquardt, a longtime St-Pierre training partner.dddddddddddd "Georges can change his styles a lot better than Diaz so I think Georges game plan is going to be able to negate any kind of offence that Diaz has. Georges is going to be able to find the takedowns pretty easily and on the ground his defence is really good. "So that will be where the fight happens, I believe, on the ground, inside Diazs guard. So its really going to depend on how aggressive Diaz is at going for the submission. Hes very good at the armbar and theres a couple of positions Georges puts himself in where he could be susceptible to the armbar." St-Pierre, while clearly antagonized by Diazs often weird verbal assaults this week, rarely fights with emotion. He is all business in the cage. The champion has been unstoppable in seven straight title defences since winning back the 170-pound title from Matt Serra in Montreal at UFC 83 in April 2008. He made Josh Koscheck pay for his pre-fight taunts at UFC 124 with a stinging jab that sent Koscheck to hospital after in need of facial surgery. He took Jon Fitch down seven times at UFC 87, Thiago Alves 10 times at UFC 100, Dan Hardy 11 times at UFC 111 and Condit seven times at UFC 154. Against Jake Shields, a dangerous jiu-jitsu fighter, he landed just two takedowns at UFC 129 in what the champion admitted was an off night. Fighters at GSPs Tristar gym, not surprisingly, are in the champions corner. "Georges is an animal, man," said lightweight Mike Ricci. "He is what he is. He doesnt stop. Hes consistently winning, winning, winning. Hes consistently working and preparing properly which is why hes winning. This time is no different. I dont expect this fight to be any different. "Its a tough fight. You know Nick will score some points, thats for sure ... but he wont be able to get the upper hand on Georges for more than 10 seconds or 30 seconds out of a round." "Georges is a beast at 170 pounds," added lightweight John (The Bull) Makdessi. Calgary middleweight Nick (The Promise) Ring also picks a St-Pierre win. "Georges has proven over and over and over hes too crafty for the competition. I think this will be no different." Condit, who beat Diaz, also sees a GSP win but leaves Diaz some wiggle room. "I think that he can (win)," he said of Diaz. "Im not sure that he will." St-Pierres somewhat distant attitude -- when not antagonized by Diaz -- prior to this fight have led some to wonder how long the champion will continue. The champion has not looked happy this week, although some of that could be down to the weight cut. A fight with No. 1 contender Jonny Hendricks, providing he beats Condit on Saturday, is next. And a lucrative super-fight with middleweight champion Anderson Silva looms in the distance. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '