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SOCHI, Russia -- Canada was a second-half team at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Jacquizz Rodgers Jersey . The medal intake in Sochi is forecasted to happen at a more measured pace. Starting with Saturdays mens snowboard slopestyle and womens moguls, Canada has at least one legitimate medal shot, if not more, virtually every day until the closing ceremonies Feb. 23. Chef de mission Steve Podborski and his assistants Jean-Luc Brassard and France St. Louis intend to be present at events where a Canadian is a front-runner for a medal. "I would say were booked every day," Podborski said at a Canadian Olympic Committee news conference Thursday. The host country won 18 of its 26 medals in Vancouver during the back half of the Games. Ten of the 14 gold medals came in the second half, including four on the final weekend. Sports making their Olympic debut helped balance the schedule of Canadas medal prospects in Sochi. Mens and womens snowboard slopestyle, the figure skating team event and the luge relay are among the new events over the first eight days of competition in which Canada has solid medal prospects. Thats in addition to Canadas strength in the entrenched sports of alpine skiing, moguls, short-track speedskating and cross-country skiing. "Sure there are new sports and we happen to be very, very good in the new ones because we are a great sporting nation," Podborski said. "With the support were getting now from corporate Canada, Own The Podium and the Government of Canada, we have an opportunity to be good in the traditional sports as well and thats where well make our great gains in the areas where are athletes are getting better . . . cross-country, alpine skiing." Canadas athletes have been waging fierce foosball tournaments in their village lounge while they await Fridays opening ceremonies, according to Podborski. But Olympic competition started early for some Canadians with Thursdays preliminary rounds. Canada sat in second place, two points behind host Russia, after the first day of the new team figure skating event. Torontos Patrick Chan was third in the mens short program, then Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., were second in the pairs short to give Canada 17 of a possible 20 points after the first two events. Sebastien Toutant of LAssomption, Que., and Max Parrot of Bromont, Que., advanced to the mens snowboard slopestyle final Saturday, while Charles Reid of Mont-Tremblant, Que., and Reginas Mark McMorris will attempt to join them via the semifinal earlier in the day. The Dufour-Lapointe sisters from Montreal -- Justine, Chloe and Maxime -- all qualified for Saturdays womens moguls finals as did Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City. Reigning world champion Spencer OBrien of Courtney, B.C., qualified for the womens slopestyle final Sunday. Hockey Canada also made the decision to replace injured forward Steven Stamkos with Tampa Bay teammate Martin St. Louis. No competition is scheduled Friday because of the opening ceremonies. In addition to slopestyle and womens moguls on opening weekend, skiers Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., Calgarys Jan Hudec and Manny Osborne-Paradis of Invermere, B.C., are medal prospects in Sundays downhill. Canadas figure skaters are favoured to win a medal in the team event, which ends Sunday. Canadas objective in 2010 was to top the overall medal count and the target remains the same in Sochi. The host team was third in total medals, but won the gold-medal race four years ago. Because of the new sports, there are 36 more medals to be won in 2014 than in 2010. That will help fill Canadas coffers, but also those of top rivals Germany, Norway, the United States and host Russia. "Canada is here to compete and win," COC president Marcel Aubut said. "Our aim is to contend for the number one spot in medals won." "This is an ambitious goal, but we Canadians like it this way. Our athletes expect nothing less of themselves but the highest achievements." Added Podborski: "You dont try to come "somewhere up there." We expect great things in Canada now. Its an ideal approach. "We may not win the medal count this time. We may not win it the next time but one day we will because we are striving to be number one in the world in the medal count." While Canadas preparation for 2010 seems a successful model to copy for Sochi, the Canadian Olympic Committee took a different approach. The 2008 Summer Games in Beijing posed similar challenges to Sochi in terms of distance to travel, time-zone difference and unfamiliar language, food and culture. Virtually all of Canadas Olympians competed, trained or at least visited Beijing in the year prior to those Games to get comfortable with the place. The same practice was done for Sochi. There was less emphasis on pre-Games visits for the 2012 Summer Games in London. "If we look at the Beijing experience and we look at the Sochi experience, its actually very similar," COC chief sport officer Caroline Assalian says. "New and unfamiliar environment for most countries. "We ensured that the athletes and support teams as much as possible are familiar with this environment." The COC has conducted exit interviews with athletes, their coaches and support teams following Olympic Games since 2006 to better plan for the next. The athletes were asked "what made the difference in your performance?" "Their number one factor? Feeling part of a larger unified team, more than anything," Assalian said. "Thats what made the difference for them. Coaches and support team? Familiarity with the Olympic environment." And where Beijing was also a benchmark for Sochi was in Canadas conversion rate, which the number of athletes ranked in the top five at their most recent world championships make it onto the podium at the subsequent Olympic Games. The COC employs conversion rates to compare how Canadas athletes are performing compared to other countries. Even though Canada won just 18 medals in Beijing, the conversion rate there was 67 per cent compared to 59 per cent at the Winter Games of both 2010 and 2006, according to Assalian. The Canadian team needs at least match Beijings conversion rate to be in the hunt for the overall title in Sochi. "Our bar now is Beijing," Assalian says. "We know we need to convert better than we ever have at any Winter Olympic Games." The Canadian team will attempt this without the advantage it had in Vancouver and Whistler of home ice and home snow. Own The Podium chief executive officer Anne Merklinger says many winter sport teams have stronger leadership and better coaches since 2010. Both areas were priorities coming out of Vancouver and Whistler and she hopes improvements there compensate for the additional challenges of Sochi. "Weve come a long way in that regard," she says. "Without coaches, were behind the 8-ball. Its the most important success factor. "I think there are a number of examples where weve brought in great coaches, but weve lost some too. We need to find a way to continue to retain the good ones we have and attract new ones." "Were investing in that. Thats what it takes. Its a competitive industry." OTP oversees athletes competitive lives between Olympic Games and allocates about $62 million a year in federal government funding between summer and winter sports. The COC prepares athletes for the Games environment and looks after their needs and wants on the ground in Sochi. Devonta Freeman Falcons Jersey . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. Jonathan Massaquoi Jersey .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. http://www.footballfalconsjerseyfanatics.com/authentic-lamar-holmes-falcons-jersey/ . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in.SOCHI, Russia -- Canadian skip Jennifer Jones won Olympic gold Thursday, defeating Sweden 6-3 to complete her curling trophy case with an unbeaten run on the sports biggest stage. A steal of two in the ninth sealed the win over Swedish skip Margaretha Sigfridsson, who throws lead stones but calls the shots as skip. Jones has now added Olympic gold to the world championship she won in 2008 as well as four Canadian crowns. In the process, she has matched Canadian skip Kevin Martins feat of winning the Olympic crown with a perfect record. Its Canadas second womens curling gold. The late Sandra Schmirler won the first in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. Britains Eve Muirhead, the 2013 world champion, defeated Switzerlands Mirjam Ott 6-5 for the bronze medal earlier in the day. Team Canada coach Mike Babcock was in the stands to witness the Canadian win, as were several members of the Swedish hockey team. No Canada womens team has even won a world championship since Jones rink, without third Kaitlyn Lawes, claimed the crown in 2008. Jones beat Sigfridssons route in the round-robin en route to that title. Jones, Lawes, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn McEwen dispatched Muirhead in the semifinal after going 9-0 in the round-robin. Canada downed Sweden 9-3 on the second day of the Olympic curling competition, with the Swedes shaking hands with two ends left. It was a tough start for Officer and Lawes, who thumped her broom in disgust at one point. Jones, who opened with hammer, had to take one in the first end after some aggressive curling by the Swedes had the Canadian skip holding last rock with three Swedish stones in the house. Jones hit and stuck for thhe single. Dezmen Southward Falcons Jersey. The Swedes tied it up, escaping with a single from a crowded house in the second. Lawes doubled off two Swedish rocks as the third was blanked. Canada capitalized in the fourth when Swedens Maria Prytz -- throwing fourth -- jammed on a double attempt with last rock and Jones drew for a deuce and a 3-1 lead. With Lawes and Officer struggling and Sweden holding hammer, Jones faced a house with three Swedish rocks counting as she threw her last stone. She hit and stuck, but leaving Sweden shot rock. Prytz tried to remove Canadian rocks for a big score but had to settle for two and a 3-3 tie. The sixth and seventh were blanked as the Swedes put rocks in the house and Canada cleaned them out. In the eighth, there was more action in the house. After freezes by Canada and Sweden, each team had a rock around the same distance from the button. Jones tried to draw for a possible two, happy to nudge the Swedish rock out of the way, but was short and Canada had to settle for one after a measurement. The Swedes went down 4-3 but high-fived because they had hammer. Jones nailed a pressure draw with her last rock of the ninth. That piled the pressure on Prytz, given the plethora of Canadian rocks in the house. The Swede wrecked her shot and Canada stole two. Prytz looked to the skies, as if wondering what she had to deserve such a fate. The Swedes have a rich history in curling at the Olympics, winning gold in 2006 and 2010 (via Anette Norberg) and bronze in 1998 (Elisabet Gustafson). Sigfridsson has lost four world championship finals: as third in 2002, lead in 2009 and as skip with her current team in 2012 and 2013. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '