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compete in his first event of the London
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2014/04/07 05:54AM
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Latest post: 2014/04/07 05:54AM, Views: 300, Posts: 1
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LONDON -- Arsenals hopes of automatic Champions League qualification were hit Saturday when Norwich clinched a thrilling 3-3 draw in the Premier League to spoil Arsene Wengers 900th match in charge of the north London club. Steve Morison struck an 85th-minute equalizer for Norwich to leave third-place Arsenal with just a two-point advantage over Tottenham and Newcastle, who both play on Sunday. Robin van Persie looked to have sealed a valuable comeback win for Arsenal when he equaled Thierry Henrys Arsenal record of 30 goals in a Premier League season with a late double inside eight minutes before Morisons leveler. Yossi Benayoun had put Arsenal ahead after just two minutes, but goals from Wes Hoolahan and Grant Holt put Norwich in front at halftime. The point lifted Norwich to 13th in the standings. Arsenal looked to be on course for a win when Benayoun marked his 32nd birthday with the opening goal. The Israel international picked the ball up on the left side of the Norwich penalty area, cut inside and curled a shot over goalkeeper John Ruddy into the far corner. That should have settled any nerves for Arsenal, but instead, the visitors were galvanized. The equalizer came in the 12th minute after Kyle Naughton raced forward down the left flank and played the ball through to Hoolahan on the penalty spot. The Ireland midfielder did not connect properly with his shot but it was enough to squirm past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and across the line. Norwich went ahead in the 27th after a quick break saw Hoolahan release Holt at the edge of the Arsenal area. As Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs backed off, Holts shot caught the defenders boot and looped over Szczesny and into the net. Arsenals afternoon took another turn for the worse in the 33rd when defender Bacary Sagna pulled up with a calf injury and had to be replaced by Francis Coquelin. The visitors felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Coquelin upended Hoolahan following another quick break down the right flank. It could have been 3-1 in first-half stoppage time but for a perfectly timed sliding challenge by Koscielny to block Holts close-range effort. There was more purpose about Arsenal in the second half, but as the hour mark passed, Van Persie failed to beat Ruddy with a tame strike from 12 metres (yards) before Aaron Ramsey dragged his shot wide. The Wales midfielder was replaced in the 63rd minute by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as Wenger looked to inject some much-needed impetus into his side. It was Van Persie who made the breakthrough, though, in the 72nd when he perfectly timed his run to meet Alex Songs clever pass and sidefoot a volley across Ruddy. And Van Persie looked to have won it when he smashed in his 30th league goal. The captains 80th-minute strike needed some luck as the ball deflected into his path, but he finished with accuracy. But Arsenal was caught out five minutes later by a ball over the top and Morison ran on to slot past Szczesny. There was still time for Ruddy to deny Van Persie with a fine close-range block before a clear push by Naughton in the back of the striker as he looked to tap in at the far post went unpunished. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale . Magloire, 34, appeared in 34 games for the Raptors last season. He averaged 1.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 11 minutes a game. nfl jerseys china . Fabio Quagliarella and Arturo Vidal -- who were both on target for Juventus in the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge -- again scored against Chelsea. Substitute Sebastian Giovinco sealed the result in the final minute. Juventus is second in Group E, two points above Chelsea and one behind Shakhtar Donetsk, which it faces in the last group match. http://www.chinawholesalenflj... . Six minutes later they walked off the court more relieved than happy after withstanding a desperate rally by Toronto. Corey Brewer scored 19 points, JaVale McGee had 17 points and five blocks, and the Nuggets held on to beat the Raptors 113-110 Monday night. [url=http://www.chinawholesalenfljerseyscheap.com/]cheap jerseys . Diving Canada Plongeon reiterated Friday that the two-time Olympic silver medallist has not suffered from any concussion-like symptoms, but will remain under doctor observation. wholesale jerseys from china . 1 draft pick Anthony Davis suffered a mild one. Williams unloaded before Saturdays game against the Chicago Bulls, saying, "Now, they treat everybody like they have white gloves and pink drawers and its getting old.Almost 14 years ago, Alexandre Despatie stood at the top of the 10-metre platform at his first Commonwealth Games. The 10m diving event is nicknamed "the tower" for a reason, and Despatie, then 13, looked a tiny figure in a black, patterned bathing suit as he perched, arms spread, high above the pool. He made history that day, leaping into six perfect dives to capture the gold medal and the hearts of viewers around the world. With the win Despatie became the youngest champion in the history of the Commonwealth Games. Today, the diver from Laval, Que., is a two-time Olympic silver medallist and three-time World champion competing at his fourth Olympic Games. At age 27 he is much closer to the end of his diving career than to its beginning, but he has spent the past 14 years building a legacy that Diving Canada hopes will continue long after its golden boy retires. "When I first got into coaching in 1986, we were really looking to make the finals. Top-12. That was the real target for us. It was a big deal -- we didnt really think otherwise. Then, Alex came through."Mitch Geller, now the chief technical officer for Diving Canada, has seen the Despatie Effect first-hand. He was the head coach of Canadas national diving team when the young diver first came onto the scene. "We said, Whoa. We can achieve some great things." Geller can easily remember a time when all of Canadas Olympic diving medals came from the womens side of the sport. From 1964 to Despaties Olympic debut at Sydney 2000, Canadas top mens diving finish at a non-boycotted Games was 11th -- only marginally good enough to make the final.In his first Olympic appearance, Despatie finished fourth. "It takes a major breakthrough to change an attitude, to change a belief in what were capable of and where we can go. There are books written on how that whole dynamic occurs. But [for diving in Canada], Alex was really the catalyst of that," Geller said. Shortly after Despaties beginning in the national program, Diving Canada introduced a new standard that offered its athletes financial rewards based solely on international results -- and insisted that Canadian divers meet a national standard before they could enter any event.The goal is no longer top-12 on the world stage. Now, its top-six. "Its a shift in attitude. We drill it in em," Geller said. "We have guys who are now starting to knock on the door." The results have been tangible. On the international Grand Prix circuit this year, male Canadian divers (excluding Despatie) posted eight top-six finishes and added a top-10 result at the 2012 World Cup. At the most recent World Championships -- where Despatie sat out with an injury -- another Canadian man, Riley McCormick, finished ninth.Blythe Hartley is the CTVOlympics diving analyst for London 2012, and an Olympic bronze medallist in her own right. A former teammate of Despatie, she believes the Quebec diver did not just smash Canadas glass ceiling in mens diving, but that he contributed to recent successes on the womens side as well."What hes really done is elevated all of Canadian diving to a whole new level," she said. "I think the best environment for somebody to be in is to be surrounded by divers who are better than you. Its naturally and inherently motivating. "But I think whats remarkable about Alex is how much of a team player he is and how much of a contributing team member he is. So we looked up to him but he was also somebody we felt we could build a strong friendship with."Canadian Olympian Arturo Miranda also forged a close bond with Canadas top male diver. Once Despaties synchronized diving partner -- the duo finished fifth in 3m synchro at Beijing 2008 -- he retired after those Games and began work as Despaties coach.To Miranda, Despatie is not just an athlete. He is an artist."When he is in his best shape, he can do incredible things," he said.Incredible things, like inspiring generations of divers behind him. Miranda can vividly remember the change that came over his own Canadian diving club when Despatie made his first Olympic appearance at the age of 15 in 2000."After [the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games], in my club in Toronto when I was there, about 240 divers signed up. Regulaar is like, 60," he said.dddddddddddd"On the mens side, [Alex] didnt change Canadian diving. He just became it. No one can even come close to his results, but he gets a lot of kids involved in diving. A lot of kids like him. He is an icon for a lot of young kids in Canada."Geller agrees -- the increase has been a boon for Diving Canada, he says. More bodies, after all, bring with them a chance at finding greater talent."After the Olympics virtually every program across the country fills up, goes to capacity," he said. "The value of the Olympics to us, if you take the diving economy as a whole, its worth hundreds of thousands of dollars just coming in through registration, but then its tangible as far as some of the gems that you might pick out. [Diving is] a very scarce sort of talent to have."Despatie himself began diving just before he turned five years old. He can remember watching several local diving competitions -- and aspiring to compete among Canadas top athletes -- but when he lists his childhood idols, the first names out of his mouth are four-time Olympic champion Greg Louganis and eight-time Olympic medallist Dmitry Sautin. An American and a Russian.Not so, for kids today. Now, when school trips take them to the Olympic Pool in Montreal, Despatie is among the top divers they strain to catch a glimpse of in practice. "Hes the guy," Miranda said. "The kids are a little intimidated by him, but hes great."But will any of these children be the next Alexandre Despatie? Mirandas answer is plain: Dont bet on it."Ask the Americans when they are going to have the next Louganis. They dont have one. Its been a long time. When is Russia going to have the next Dmitry Sautin? The only country that can say that is China, because they are producing [so many] divers.""He is the best male Canadian diver that weve ever seen," added Hartley. "His legacy, I think it would be even hard to describe because weve never seen a Canadian mens diver like Alex and weve never had an individual like Alex. Hes capable of things beyond our understanding."Despatie has not announced a date for his retirement -- when pressed on the issue, he merely smiles and says he will take some time after London to see how he feels. "It would really change the whole mindset to the Games if I told myself, Well, this will be my last event, you know? And right now Im in a really good place," he said earlier this year. But recently, Diving Canada was forced to imagine the diving landscape without its star.In 2011, the three-time world champion suffered from tendinitis in his left knee that kept him sidelined from the pool for the better part of a year. He returned in force, capturing bronze at the World Cup event in February, but suffered a setback on June 12 when he sustained a concussion after hitting his head on the diving board in training.Despatie recently announced that he was fit for London, but the question presented itself: How long will Diving Canada be able to rely on its peerless prodigy to keep bringing in the medals?"Do we rely on him? I think already, its not about relying on him," Geller said. "Hes the one thats challenging most for medals, but I think that weve already kind of ignited things. I think that this is the direction the program is going. He started to steer it in a direction and I think thats the path that we will maintain. He was out for a year and a bit [in 2011 with tendinitis] and we still saw people continuing to improve and compete hard for their spots."And Canadas male divers might be in the top-six for now, but Geller does not believe that the mens program will regress -- or even remain stagnant for long."Weve got some kids coming up that, their pathway is not exploding onto the scene like Alex did in the Commonwealth Games, but theyll gradually make headway," he said."You sort of have to line up all the shots, you know? You put your balls all in front of the holes on the pool table. When youre all set up, you can start pocketing them." Watch Alexandre Despatie compete in his first event of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the mens synchronized 3m springboard, on Day 5. The 27-year-old will dive with Reuben Ross. ' ' '
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