As an elite athlete and Olympic gold medallist, how did you make the transition to sports broadcaster?Well, the camera never scared me – I always enjoyed doing interviews and tried to have fun with them. Mike Remmers Vikings Jersey . And when an opportunity presents itself, I like to dive at it head-first. When I was competing on Battle of the Blades, [I was asked] to come in for a screen test with Leafs TV. It was something I was interested in, so I immediately decided to jump at it. I fell in love with the job the second they put that mic in my hand, and Ive worked hard every day trying to get better. Its my new passion.How does your experience in sports shape your perspective on what athletes go through?Being an athlete is a privilege, its not something I took for granted. And its something that allows me to connect with and relate to other athletes as theyre competing at the top level. Having been able to play at such a high level, Ive seen a lot of fantastic athletes and the way they prepare. You can relate with steps theyre walking through: going over shifts in their mind, or even calming their nerves [in the clutch]. And the quality that all competitive athletes have in common is the fact that we all want to be perfect. Thats what we strive for, even though its never really attainable. So I understand that feeling, and I empathize with them. Youre well known as an Olympic hockey player, but do you play any other sports?I was most focused on hockey and soccer up until I went to college, and I ended up having to choose one, because you cant play both. But in high school I played flag football, softball, basketball, cross country, track and field, soccer, and of course hockey. I just enjoy competing, and I think it was also a cheap excuse to get out of class sometimes!One other sport Im passionate about: I recently fell in love with my road bike. Ive got the need for speed. Oh, and I also play tennis with friends for fun. By no means am I Serena Williams, though in my head sometimes I do think I hit as hard as she does!You were a panelist for womens hockey broadcasts on TSN during the Sochi Olympics. What was it like covering a team you played for?Those are my best friends – theyre my sisters. I spent years training with them. Weve laughed together, cried together, won together, and learned together. So to step in and cover it was an emotional experience, having just been released from the team. It was also a great learning experience for me. I wanted to give not only the Canadian women but the sport of womens hockey the best possible coverage, because I think they deserve it. I put a lot of pressure on myself to come up with unique points to break down the game differently, not only to show how skilled these athletes are, but to teach the viewer about our sport, because its a little different from the mens game. Due to the no body contact rules, its a speed and finesse game. It made me proud to be able to talk about my friends, not only from Canada, but the USA, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, and more. To share their stories with the rest of Canada, and to let viewers know how much attention they deserve.Youre also part of the Champions network with the Special Olympics, how did you get involved with it?It was actually through Jamie Salé. I got to know her through Battle of the Blades, and she was so helpful and patient – I dont know if Id have been able to half the things on that show if it werent for her. She reached out to me and asked if Id be interested in helping out. Im an honourary chair with Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer, and this was another chance to give back and stay involved with the athletic community, so it was an easy decision. Weve got a really good team in place, and there are many events to come.Who were your sports heroes growing up?As a kid, you always look up to your parents. My mom played baseball. She was a rover, and she had a hot glove. And my dad played hockey at the collegiate level and junior level in Sudbury. My dad coached a college team, the Cambrian College Golden Shields, and I lived at the rink, watching them play. So my dads hockey players were my first true hockey idols. They were a big, tough team, and it helped shape my game. I wasnt the biggest, but I played mean.When womens hockey emerged with the Womens World Championship in 1990, there was one player who I played a lot like, and that was Geraldine Heaney. She came to Sudbury one year to my dads hockey school, so I actually got to play with my idol at the age of 12. She snapped a picture with me wearing her silver medal from Nagano, and I knew immediately that the Olympics was something I was prepared to do anything for. Whats your favourite sports team?I went to college at Ohio State University, so Im a Buckeye. I bleed scarlet and grey through and through. Aaron Ward tries to make fun of me about it, but his Michigan Wolverines have a hard time standing up to the Buckeyes. Ohio State-Michigan football games are the best: I remember one game at the end of the year we beat them 52-49, and I rushed the field with everyone and ripped out part of the 50-yard line. We planted it in our front yard at the house I lived in.Youre currently hosting TSNs French Open Primetime broadcasts, who are some players youre looking forward to covering at the tournament?Well, I think Roger Federer owns the title of most talented, but Novak Djokovic is the most entertaining tennis player out there. I always like watching him because he brings lightheartedness to the game. He pushes the envelope of traditional tennis etiquette. And of course the young Canadian players: Eugenie Bouchard is so young and so talented, and Milos Raonic is just waiting for his breakthrough moment. This is the first tennis tournament Ive covered, and if he does well, obviously I must have had something to do with it, right? Maybe that will be my claim to fame.Tessa Bonhomme hosts French Open Primetime, airing every evening of the tournament on TSN. Visit TSN.ca for full schedule info. Sheldon Richardson Vikings Jersey . Its the second straight year he has decided not to play as he cuts back his schedule. Stricker was replaced in the field by Ryo Ishikawa of Japan. Trevor Siemian Jersey . Zdeno Chara scored with 13 seconds left in regulation after David Krejci tied it late, lifting the Bruins to a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night in a game that saw Orpik taken from the ice on a stretcher. http://www.officialauthenticvikingsshop.com/authentic-jalyn-holmes-jersey.html . George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip. Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight.CORTINA DAMPEZZO, Italy -- Swiss skier Lara Gut mastered a windy super-G Sunday in the final World Cup speed race before the Sochi Olympics, rediscovering the form that helped her win three straight races to open the season. For her fifth victory of this campaign -- but the first since Lake Louise, Alberta, in early December -- Gut clocked 1 minute, 27.81 seconds down the Olympia delle Tofane course. Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein finished second, 0.12 seconds behind, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch was third, 0.61 back, to maintain her lead in the overall World Cup standings. "Its important to think about skiing and not the result," Gut said. "At the start of the season there was talk about the overall and all those things and I couldnt think about skiing. "I just have to ski the way I can, then I can have a good result," Gut added. "Today it was just me and the slope." This race concluded a run of four speed events in four days, and Weirather was a contender each day. Her results were fourth, second, third and second. "Im proud of my consistency and the ability to perform well in every race," said Weirather, the daughter of champion skiers Hanni Wenzel and Harti Weirather. "Thats something new for me." A combination of strong wind and a tough course, set by Tina Mazes coach, Mauro Pini, led to 19 racers failing to finish. Light was also a factor, as the sun ducked in and out of clouds. Olympic champion Andrea Fischbacher of Austria crashed and slammed into the safety netting but got right back up and skied down without major injury. Maze, who won Saturdays downhill, finished fifth. Randy Moss Jersey. The tailwind was so strong when Hoefl-Riesch came down that the German was nearly blown off course over the final jump. Hoefl-Riesch landed outside the blue lines painted onto the snow to help guide skiers and had to rapidly change direction to clear the last gate. "I was just happy when I went over the finish line because it was a hard fight for me on the bottom," Hoefl-Riesch said. Other skiers were slowed by a headwind as the conditions constantly shifted, at times making the banner hanging over the finish line billow in the wind. When the winds finally calmed down, it enabled Marusa Ferk of Slovenia to finish 11th with the No. 49 bib. Chemmy Alcott of Britain, the next skier down, placed 23rd for her first World Cup points since rejoining the circuit this week after leg surgery. The top Americans were Stacey Cook in 13th and Julia Mancuso in 16th. In the overall standings, Hoefl-Riesch holds a 128-point lead over Weirather. In the super-G ranks, Gut leads by 38 points over Weirather with only one more super-G remaining -- at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, in March. The womens circuit moves to Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, for a giant slalom and slalom next weekend -- the final events before the Sochi Games open Feb. 7. Gut will be a threat in multiple events in Sochi. She said shes most excited about giant slalom but shell also be a contender in downhill and super-combined. "Im going to try to be like Bode (Miller) in the super-combined at the Olympics," Gut said. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '