Sensational skates at the Grand Prix Final are boding well for Sochi, as the fields close in and rivalries heat up. As the season progresses, the gaps are narrowing and the fields are closing in on the leaders. A week ago, there wasnt an obvious challenger in the mens or pairs event. In fact, heading into the Grand Prix Final in Japan, it was difficult to imagine that the defending champions could be beaten. Patrick Chan had an enormous 30-point lead over the rest of the men in this seasons scores and so did the defending world pair champions from Russia - Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov - who had the same 30-point margin over the rest of the teams. Patrick faltered in the short program in Japan and Tatiana and Max in the free program to open the door, but what was intriguing in both cases was the way that the challengers stepped up and that the underdogs won. Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan hit one out of the park in the short program breaking Patricks world record that he set just two weeks ago. It all came together for Yuzuru in that performance, as he aggressively attacked the jumps and played with the music to sell his program to his hometown audience. It was an easy sell and they ate it up to help lift Yuzuru to a record-breaking skate where he missed the 100-point mark by a slim .16. As Coach Brian Orser said when the marks were posted, "Sooooo close!" Patrick and Yuzuru both delivered strong free programs each with one mistake, but the edge went to Hanyu and Patrick had his first loss of the season. Patrick, of course - barring injury - has his Olympic spot locked up. Theres no doubt he will go as this countrys No. 1 guy. Thats not the case for Yuzuru, whos fighting for his Olympic life. Hes up against five other guys who are all capable and who are all fighting for three spots. With the new world record in the short program, the second best freeskate and total scores ever and with the win over Chan, one would think Yuzuru might be awarded one of those coveted spots to Sochi. But no such spot has been given and the Japanese team will be named after their nationals - which take place just before Christmas. Patrick can find new motivation in the fact that hell be pushed and he will indeed need two great skates like he had two weeks ago in Paris to win Olympic Gold. The Russian pairs take the same knowledge into the holiday season with the loss to the German team of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy. It is the kind of knowledge one needs at this time of year, lest one sits back and gets too comfortable. It was expected that the Ice Dance would be a close contest in Japan. While defending world champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White received better scores all season than Olympic Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, one could sense that Tessa and Scott were working out the kinks early in the series. And in Japan they put the technical glitches behind them and had stunning performances in both the Short and Free Dance. Meryl and Charlie brought their A game as well and came away with the win. And once again we were reminded how lucky we are to have two teams of their calibre at the same time. It was a terrific event and a moment that stood out for me was the look on the faces of Tessa and Scott after the free dance. Total satisfaction - a look thats been missing of late. When youre competing there are always the little things that youve done better in practice or things you had to fight through, that werent quite right and when you finish your skate those things immediately flash through your mind and the instant self evaluation is briefly written on your face. Tessas appraisal was immediate. Her eyes flashed in delight and she said yes. Totally satisfied. That was the performance they had been reaching for. They now have the momentum and as their rivalry demands, will have to build on it. They have to dig deep and soul search in order to answer the questions. "What more can we do?" "Whats next to fine tune?" The same questions that Meryl and Charlie are now asking in light of their narrow win. This is why were so fortunate to have these two great teams. As they drive each other to strategically find the edge, they find new levels of excellence and we the audience are ultimately the winners. In the ladies event the clear winner in Japan was indeed the favourite going in, hometown heroine Olympic Silver medalist Mao Asada. While it was no surprise to me that Mao won gold what was surprising, actually I was quite shocked, was her captivating short program. In fact, it ranks as one of my all time favourite skates. In a word, she was brilliant and when I rack my brain for comparisons, it would be Olympic champion and the defending world champion Yuna Kim. Yuna missed the Grand Prix season due to injury and competed in a B international to gain some competition mileage for her new material, while the Final was taking place. She received some impressive scores and so the stage is set for a showdown in the ladies event in Sochi. Mao and Yuna - a rematch from 2010. Yuna by all accounts is on track to be as good as ever, while Mao is new and improved. Her jumping arsenal is bigger and better and artistically she is skating, with more joy, heartfelt emotion and conviction than ever before. Let the games begin! Dexter Manley Jersey . The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday. DaRon Payne Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. https://www.redskinssportsgoods.com/Womens-Montez-Sweat-Inverted-Jersey/ . Marie rink got back in the win column at the Olympic mens curling tournament with a 7-4 win over the host Russian squad on Wednesday. Earnest Byner Womens Jersey . And once again, Team Homan emerged as the victor with the reigning national champions defeating Team Sweeting at the Pintys All-Star Curling Skins Game Friday night in the tournaments opening draw at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in beautiful Banff National Park. Landon Collins Youth Jersey . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle.QUEBEC -- Former Green Beret Tim Kennedy outmuscled English middleweight Michael Bisping en route to a unanimous decision win in the main event of the UFCs "Ultimate Fighter Nations" finale card Wednesday night. The judges scored it 49-46, 49-46, 50-45 for Kennedy. Wrestling proved to be the difference with Kennedy taking Bisping down in the first, third and fifth rounds and keeping him there. The crowd at the Colisee Pepsi didnt like it and neither did Bisping, whose game is built on movement and technical striking. It was the 20th UFC fight for the 35-year-old Bisping but his first since April 2013 because of a detached retina that required several surgeries. The 34-year-old Kennedy had won his two previous UFC fights after coming over from Strikeforce. Bisping (25-6) came into the fight ranked fifth among middleweight contenders while Kennedy (18-4) was No. 8. "I dominated Michael Bisping," said Kennedy. "A guy thats been in the top five for ever." Still Kennedy, who said he may have broken his hand, was unhappy he had not finished Bisping. There were harsh words from both fighters in the buildup, but it was hard to tell whether it was anything more than gamesmanship. Bisping cant pass a pot without stirring it. But the two did touch gloves before the fight. And they said they respected each other after the fight. Kennedy, a Texan who still serves in the Army National Guard, walked out to "Rooster" by Alice in Chains. Bisping followed to his trademark "Song 2" by Blur. Kennedy went straight for the takedown and spent much of the first round grappling on top of Bisping. He got briefly into mount but could not take advantage. Bisping caught a right hand and an uppercut in the second but fought off a takedown. As the round wore on, Kennedy seemed to move less -- allowing Bisping to find his striking range. Some wild swinging by Bisping led to another prolonged Kennedy takedown in the third. The Brit is known for getting back to his feet when taken down, but those skills deserted him here. Kennedy outmuscled Bisping early in the fourth before the two began trading punches. Kennedy, an ungainly striker, was cut during one exchange. In the fifth, Kennedy landed another takedown one minute in. The referee stood them up with two minutes remaining but Bisping was unable to take advantage. The card also crowned the first Canadian winners of the UFCs "Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show. There was little drama in that other than which Canadian would carry home a trophy. The welterweight and middleweight finals of "The Ultimate Fighter Nations," a show which pitted Canada against Australia, were all-Canadian affairs after the Aussies were eliminated earlier. Chad (The Disciple) Laprise, a native of Windsor who fights out of London, Ont., won a split decision over Montreals Olivier Aubin-Mercier to take the welterweight crown before Torontos Elias (The Spartan) Theodorou stopped Edmontons Sheldon Westcott via second-round TKO in the middleweight final. In the co-main event, Montreals Patrick (The Predator) Cote won a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 decision over Australian Kyle Noke in an entertaining, back-and-forth matchup of TUF Nations coaches. After Noke (20-7-1) came out to Men at Works "Down Under," Cote came out to wild cheers and the Beastie Boys "No Sleep Till Brooklyn." The chant of "Cote, Cote" started before the action did, followed by "Ole, Ole, Ole" within the first minute of the first round. Cote (21-8) caught a kick and took Noke down, landing some elbows and cutting the Australian as the crowd chanted "Lets Go Cote." Noke caught Cote with a big knee in the second, stunning him. Cote somehow hung on, a bloody mark by his eye, but he had been damaged. The 34-year-old Canadian was also favouring his left leg, but he still managed to take Noke down later in the round. A Cote takedown in the third got the crowd back into it and may have convinced the judges. "He hurt me with that knee," said Cote, who actually ducked into it as he looked to grab Noke. "I didnt see it coming, but I think I did the most damage overall." There was a frantic opening to the TUF Nations middleweight final as Westcott (9-2-1) looked to take the fight to the ground quickly, hoping to bring his submission game into play. But the bigger Theodorou (10-0) fought him off and started punnishing him with knees.dddddddddddd Theodorous size and wrestling skills took their toll. He dumped Westcott midway through the second round and hammered him. The referee eventually stepped in to stop the beating at 4:41. "This proves I kick ass," said the 25-year-old Theodorou, whose resume includes modelling for Harlequin romance covers. The welterweight final was much closer. The judges scored it 28-29, 29-28, 30-27 for Laprise, who finished strongly. Aubin-Mercier stalked Laprise, looking for openings to get the fight to the ground. But Laprise resisted the takedown and countered effectively from the outside. Laprise (9-0) got on his knees in the middle of the cage after the fight. Aubin-Mercier (5-1), seemingly favouring his right foot, hung on to his cornermen. It started as a sparse crowd but it grew as the night wore on. It was a long day, after all. The first bout of the 13-fight card started at 3:15 p.m., with the main card running from 7 to 10 p.m. Dustin (The Diamond) Poirier, ranked sixth among featherweight contenders, scored a second-round TKO over Akira Corassani (14-5) for his eighth UFC win at 145 pounds. The American-based Swede, who exited with a broken nose, started well but succumbed to a flurry of blows from Poirier (16-3) after 42 seconds of the round. Poirier and Carassani got US$50,000 each for fight of the night. Canadians went 5-1 on the undercard led by light-heavyweight Ryan (The Big Deal) Jimmo, who knocked out UFC newcomer Sean (The Real OC) OConnell in the first round. Jimmo (19-3) felled OConnell (15-5) with a crunching counter straight right and then added three blows for good measure before the referee stepped in at 4:27. A native of Saint John, N.B., who fights out of Edmonton, Jimmo opened his UFC account in 2012 with a seven-second KO of Anthony (The Hippo) Perosh. He is now 2-2 in the UFC and has nine first-round finishes in his career. Former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman of Victoria registered her first UFC win, earning a unanimous 30-27 decision over Leslie (The Peacemaker) Smith in a high-octane slugfest that saw the Canadian land 202 significant strikes to 79 for Smith, according to FightMetric. Kaufman (17-2 with one no contest), ranked No. 5 among UFC bantamweight contenders, won a split decision when the two met in April 2013 on an Invicta FC card. Smith (6-5-1) took this fight on 10 days notice, as two other opponents withdrew through injury. "The three changes of opponent were stressful, I admit," said Kaufman, who hopes to fight on the UFCs June card in Vancouver. K.J. Noons needed just 30 seconds to knock out Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout of London, Ont., with a huge overhand right to the chin. And Noons (12-6) did more damage before the referee could get to him to stop the action. Stout (21-10-1) was so dazed that he tried to grapple with the referee after being knocked out and then fell backwards. But he was smiling soon after. The fight was scheduled for lightweight (155 pounds) but was switched to welterweight at the request of both fighters. They weighed in at 168-169 pounds. Jimmo and Noons got US$50,000 performance of the night bonuses. Veteran lightweight Mark Bocek (12-5) of Woodbridge, Ont., returning to the cage for the first time since November 2012 after injury, won a slender 28-29, 30-27, 29-28 split decision over newcomer Mike (El Cucuy) de la Torre (12-4). Bantamweight Mitch Gagnon of Sudbury, Ont., opened the card with a unanimous 30-27 decision over Tim (The Psycho) Gorman (9-3). Gagnon (11-2) won his third straight in the UFC. In a battle of bearded Australia TUF Nations teammates, welterweight (Filthy) Rich Walsh (8-2) showed a better all-round game in earning a unanimous 30-27 decision over Chris (The Savage) Indich. The durable Indich (5-2) becomes the first indigenous Australian to fight in the UFC. Montreal middleweight Nordine Taleb (9-2) used his superior grappling skills to score a one-sided 30-27 decision over Australian Vik (The Spartan) Grujic (6-4) in another matchup of TUF Nations cast members. Lanky bantamweight George Roop (15-11-1) won a 29-28, 30-27, 29-26 decision over Dustin (The Diamond) Kimura (12-2). The card marked the UFCs first in Quebec City, which became the sixth Canadian city to host an event after Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg. Halifax is scheduled to join the UFC club in October with a televised card. Attendance was 5,029. ' ' '