TORONTO -- Canadian skier Manuel Osborne-Paradis learned how it felt to compete on the sports biggest stage during his Olympic debut in Turin eight years ago. He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. "In Vancouver there was a lot of prep but not very directed prep," he said Wednesday. "I think this year weve really fixed all the bugs and the kinks that we felt in Vancouver. Obviously theres not as much pressure, not being in Canada and being as far away (from) Canada as pretty much possible. "I think the nerves are a lot more settled and hopefully were able to direct the energy down the hill and not towards the media." The veteran skier will anchor the mens alpine team at the Games along with Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., and Calgarys Jan Hudec. The three "Canadian Cowboys" were officially nominated to the Sochi 2014 Olympic team Wednesday. Some of their teammates still have a chance to join them in Sochi. The qualification window is open until Jan. 26 and the roster is expected to be finalized the next day. Guay had the top Canadian result at the Vancouver Games, finishing fifth in the downhill and the super-G. Osborne-Paradis was 17th in the downhill and didnt finish the super-G while Hudec didnt crack the top 20 in either discipline. "Weve learned from it and obviously you figure out how you felt there and how youre going to feel in Sochi," Osborne-Paradis said. "You try to make a plan around that. But I cant foresee the pressure being at that peak as it was in Vancouver before the downhill." The trio has recorded some impressive results on the World Cup circuit last month. Osborne-Paradis was fourth in the downhill at Beaver Creek, Hudec won silver in Italy and Guay took gold and bronze. Hudec and Guay were unable to attend Wednesdays news conference at Casa Loma due to travel issues, so Osborne-Paradis was the lone skier to be presented with his Olympic jacket. Jeffrey Frisch of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was also on hand along with national teammates Morgan and Conrad Pridy of Whistler, B.C. The Canadian mens team traditionally does well at the January stops on the World Cup circuit. That bodes well for peak performance at the Feb. 7-23 Winter Games. "To have momentum coming now really shows that our summer plan was done properly and that were really ready to compete in Sochi," Osborne-Paradis said. "Obviously we have a month, we have four more races out of the 16 races that we have in a year to keep building momentum to the Olympics. "It has been a good break, we just had a week at home and to be able to go into this next group of World Cups prior to the Olympics with a good attitude and a really good feeling on snow, you really cant ask for much more." Osborne-Paradis has three career World Cup victories on his resume and has reached the podium on nine occasions overall. He was out of action for nearly two years after he tore a knee ligament and broke his leg in a January 2011 crash. His confidence returned last season and he feels ready for big things as his 30th birthday approaches. "The experience on courses, the experience with the pressure, its really something that I think youre able to grasp and to use to your advantage more," he said. "When youre younger, its harder. There are guys for sure that get medals when theyre 20, 21 years old. But in ski racing, especially in speed, its so much about knowing yourself and adapting as you go down. "Just the experience that we have from Olympics to world championships to World Cups, time on snow is time when youre learning." Guay won the world downhill title in 2011 and recently picked up his 21st career World Cup medal to break Steve Podborskis Canadian record. Hudec won world silver in 2007 and has two career World Cup victories and five podiums over his career. It has been two decades since Canada last won an Olympic mens alpine ski medal. Ed Podivinsky was the last to do so, taking downhill bronze at the 1994 Games in Lillehammer. cheap nfl jerseys Free Shipping . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. cheap nfl jerseys china wholesale . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. 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LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals gave manager Mike Matheny a three-year contract extension through 2017 on Wednesday, rewarding him for deep post-season runs in his first two seasons in the job. The team also said that 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter is retiring after missing this season with a recurring nerve issue in his shoulder. Matheny led the Cardinals to the World Series this year, losing in six games to Boston. In 2012, his first season managing at any level, St. Louis fell one game shy of reaching the Fall Classic. The 43-year-old Matheny was a four-time Gold Glove catcher with St. Louis and had one year left on his deal. "We didnt want any distractions, we knew we wanted Mike to be a part of this organization for a long time," general manager John Mozeliak said Wednesday. "So we might as well deal with it and get it behind us. "Obviously, with the success hes had he deserves this contract," Mozeliak added. Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. characterized Mathenys first two seasons as "pretty historic." Matheny called it an "amazing ride." Mathenys managed 30 post-season games the last two seasons and is among eight managers in major league history to lead a team to the post-season his first two full seasons. The Cardinals picked up Mathenys option for 2014 in February. "You look at how everythings kind of unfolded and you just never know," the manager added. "Opportunities come up and fortunately Ive been surrounded by some very, very good people." Mozeliak said the team hoped to "identify a future role" in the organization for the 38-year-old Carpenter. "When you think back to everything this organization has been through in regard to his ups and downs, he will still go down as one of the greatest weve ever had," Mozeliak said. Carpenter went 95-44 with a 3.07 ERA in nine seasons in St. Loouis despite making only seven starts combined between 2007-08 and 2012.dddddddddddd His began his career in 1997 with Toronto, signing with the Cardinals after the 2002 season. He missed all of 2003 with an injury and was 144-94 overall. "We think back to his career and what an amazing one it was," Mozeliak said. "He was part of so many highlights and I think he really created a culture of higher expectations." Carpenter won 21 games in 2005 and led the league in ERA in 2009, the same year he was named the NL comeback player of the year -- after having Tommy John surgery. Hes the franchise career leader with 10 postseason victories, the most memorable is his 1-0 win over the Phillies and Roy Halladay in Game 5 of the NL division series in 2011. "Chris will always be remembered as the leader of the pitching staff during one of the great eras of Cardinals baseball," DeWitt said. The Cardinals also purchased the contract of outfielders Oscar Taveras and Mike ONeill, and infielder Greg Garcia. St. Louis has 36 players on the 40-man roster. Taveras is the franchises top prospect and is coming off right ankle surgery after batting .306 in just 46 games at Triple-A Memphis. ONeill hit .320 in 98 games at Double-A Springfield and finished the year at Memphis where he batted .295, and the versatile Garcia batted .271 at Memphis and played second base, third base and shortstop. The Cardinals took left-hander John Gast, outfielder Jermaine Curtis and shortstop Ryan Jackson off the 40-man roster. Gast and Curtis were outrighted to Memphis and Jackson was claimed by the Houston Astros. Mozeliak called it a roster "clean up" prior to the winter Rule 5 draft. 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