LAKE LOUISE, Alta. -- With the Winter Olympics coming over the horizon, its tempting to want to wrap Canadas top athletes in bubble wrap so they stay in one piece over the next few weeks. Sorry, cant happen, says snowboarder Maelle Ricker, the reigning Olympic champion in womens snowboard cross. The start of Rickers season was delayed by a concussion, but she vows she wont back off between now and February, when the Winter Games will be held in Sochi, Russia. "You cant be hesitating or hanging back or holding things back," she said Friday at Lake Louise. "It doesnt work that way. Thats just not the way to look at it. Youve got to keep your level of riding, keep progressing and hopefully you peak in February." Ricker became the first Canadian woman to win a gold medal in a home Games when she won in 2010 in Vancouver. She says a training crash "sent me on my head" earlier this month in Austria. The 34-year-old from Squamish, B.C., returned to Canada with a mild concussion instead of racing the first World Cup of the season in Montafon, Austria. The cobwebs cleared in time for Ricker to compete at the Sportcheck Snowboard World Cup in Lake Louise, which is the closest boardercross race to home shes had since winning gold on Cypress Mountain. Ricker and Dominique Maltais of Petite-Riviere-St Francois, Que., qualified Friday for the womens quarter-finals, semifinals and finals Saturday. Calgarys Chris Robanske was first in mens qualifying. Hell be joined in Saturdays main event by teammates Rob Fagan of Squamish and Kevin Hill of Vernon, B.C. Robanske, Ricker and Maltais have already qualified for Sochi. Ricker is also the reigning world champion after winning this years title in Stoneham, Que. Maltais, 33, won the overall World Cup snowboardcross title each of the last three years and was a bronze medallist at the 2006 Winter Games. Robanskes World Cup win at Blue Mountain in Collingwood, Ont., last season was the first by a Canadian male since 2007. Maltais opened this season finishing second in Montafon. Shes been a model of consistency and her reward has been the crystal globe that goes to World Cup champions. "You have to be on it pretty much every race," Maltais said. "I love what Im doing. Im always looking to improve myself. "Everything Im eating, everything Im touching is to make me a faster, better athlete and a better person too." Maltais and Ricker make Canada a double medal threat in womens boardercross in Sochi. The two women are supportive of each other and will high-five each other even before going head-to-head in a final. "I have so much respect for Dom when were on course," Ricker said. "Shes really pushed the level the last few years. Its really made our whole girls team rise up. "When were on course, were definitely not trying to take each other out. Thats not the idea. The idea is we both get to stand on the podium." Instead of racing each other in four-boarder heats as they do Saturday, the snowboarders race alone against the clock in qualifying. The top 32 men and 16 women advance. Maltais was second and Ricker fifth among women. Robanske was the fastest man with Fagan third and Hill 16th. Lake Louise is a rare race close to home for Robanske, who learned to snowboard at Calgarys Canada Olympic Park at the age of nine. He crashed in Montafon and is racing with injured soft tissue in his right elbow. "What we do is extreme and injuries happen," Robanske said. "If anything, its kind of an advantage for me. I put less pressure on myself when I have something wrong or somethings not working. I think Im going to have a good day tomorrow." Ricker has achieved the pinnacle of her sport, but she doesnt see Sochi as a place where she cant do better than she did in Vancouver. "I dont think about that at all," she said. "If youre thinking about that then maybe youre kicking yourself in the butt. "The big thing that most of us are looking for is that feeling of the perfect run where everything comes together. I really hope its going to produce a good result, but one thing I definitely realized in Vancouver was it was the whole journey leading up to that day and thats sort of where Im at right now." Custom Minnesota Wild Jerseys .com) - The collective hearts of Chicago Bulls fans sank on Friday night when Derrick Rose went down with a leg injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Custom Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys . The pair ended pointless droughts when they each scored two goals in a 6-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets that halted a two-game losing skid for the Stars (15-11-5). https://www.cheapcustomjerseysonline.com/. McCutchen hit his first home run in over a month, doubled twice and scored two runs to help the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Sunday and take three of four from the defending NL West champions. Custom Jerseys Nike .com) - A pair of programs shooting for their 10th win of the season get together at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as the NC State Wolfpack tangle with 22nd-ranked West Virginia during the challenge round of the Gotham Classic. Custom Buffalo Bills Jerseys . Less than 24 hours after the Wolves lost at home to the Mavericks, 100-98, NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn announced Tuesday that Kevin Love was fouled on his right arm by Shawn Marion in the closing seconds and should have been awarded two free throws. BOSTON -- Michael Wacha and his Cardinals bullpen provided the power pitching. Carlos Beltran, injected with a painkiller, came through with a huge hit. And this time, it was the Red Sox who were tripped up by fielding failures. Wacha bested John Lackey in a matchup of present and past rookie sensations, and St. Louis beat Boston 4-2 Thursday night to even the World Series at a game apiece. "Somebody would have to kill me in order for me to get out of the lineup," said Beltran, undeterred by bruised ribs that landed him in the hospital a night earlier. Matt Holliday tripled and scored on Yadier Molinas fourth-inning grounder, but David Ortiz put Boston ahead 2-1 in the sixth when he pounced on an 85 mph changeup for a two-run homer just over the Green Monster in left field. That ended Wachas scoreless streak at 18 2-3 innings -- a rookie record for a single post-season -- but it was all he gave up. Selected by St. Louis last year with the first-round draft pick received as compensation when Albert Pujols signed with the Los Angeles Angels, Wacha has been so good lately that a St. Louis restaurant he walked into had named a milkshake after him, the "Wacha Wacha." The 22-year-old right-hander, the NL championship series MVP after beating Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw twice, threw a career-high 114 pitches and allowed two runs, three hits and four walks in six innings with six strikeouts. He improved to 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in four outings this post-season, matching the amount of regular-season wins he has in his brief career. "They dont swing at bad pitches, really," Wacha said. "They did a good job tonight grinding out at-bats with me and got the pitch count up." Wachas parents and sister made the trip from Texarkana, Texas, and sat bundled in cold-weather clothes in the stands to watch the 19th pick in last years amateur draft. "He pitched outstanding," Molina said. "Just one pitch, to a great hitter like Big Papi." But then Lackey, who in 2002 with the Angels became the first rookie in 93 years to win a World Series seventh game, faltered in a three-run seventh. St. Louis went ahead when Matt Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly that led to a pair of runs, with the second scoring on errors by catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and reliever Craig Breslow -- both making their Series debuts. Beltran, an eight-time All-Star making his first Series appearance at age 36, followed with an RBI single. He had been sent to a hospital for scans Wednesday night after bruising ribs while banging into the right-field fence to rob Ortiz of a grand slam. Beltran appeared to be wearing protective padding under his jersey. "When I left the ballpark yesterday, I had very little hope that I was going to be in the lineup with the way I felt," he said. "When I woke up, I woke up feeling a little better. And I came to the ballpark, talked to the trainer. I was able to get treatment and talk to the doctors, and find a way to try anything I could try just to go out there and feel no pain." He said he took an injection of Toradol to block the pain for five or six hours. "The good thing is tomorrow I have the day off," he said. When the Series resumes Saturday night in St. Louis, Jake Peavy starts for the Red Sox and Joe Kelly for the Cardinals. Twenty-nine of the previous 55 teams that won Game 2 to tie the Seriess went on to take the title.dddddddddddd "Excited to get home. I know everybody is," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. St. Louis hard-throwing bullpen combined for one-hit relief. Carlos Martinez got six outs, retiring Mike Napoli on an inning-ending popup with two on in the eighth. Trevor Rosenthal struck out the side on 11 pitches in the ninth for a save, whiffing Daniel Nava with a 99 mph fastball to end it. All three St. Louis pitchers were 23 or younger. "It doesnt surprise me. Those guys got talent," Molina said. "Like I said before many times, theyre not afraid to pitch." Seeking its second championship in three seasons, St. Louis improved to 7-0 this post-season when scoring first and stopped Bostons World Series winning streak at nine. That run began with a sweep of the Cardinals in 2004, when St. Louis never led the entire Series. This years opener was more of the same, when the Cardinals made three errors and the Red Sox romped 8-1. Lackey, pitching a day after his 35th birthday, returned this year after missing all of 2012 due to elbow surgery and beat Cy Young Award winners David Price and Justin Verlander in the AL playoffs. In his first Series appearance since his Game 7 win 11 years earlier, he couldnt hold the lead Ortiz gave him with his 17th post-season homer, his fifth this year. David Freese walked with one out in the seventh and Jon Jay singled. Breslow relieved, and the Cardinals pulled off a double steal as pinch-runner Pete Kozma swiped third -- an uncharacteristically aggressive move for the Cardinals, who ranked last in the NL with 45 stolen bases this year. Daniel Descalso, who started at shortstop after Kozma made two errors in the opener, loaded the bases with a walk. Carpenter followed with a fly to medium left, and Jonny Gomes throw home was slightly to the first-base side of the plate as Kozma scored the tying run. The ball glanced off Saltalamacchias mitt as Jay took off for third. Breslow smartly backed up the plate -- hes likely the first major leaguer holding a degree from Yale with a major in molecular biophysics and biochemistry -- but he was slow to throw to third. And when he did let loose, the ball sailed over shortstop Stephen Drew covering the base and bounced into the stands. "It just kind of sailed on me," Breslow said. "Ive made a throw of that distance before." Jay came home with the go-ahead run, and Descalso raced to third. "Were human. It happens," Saltalamacchia said. "We saw them do the same thing last night. They shook it off and came out tonight and played well. Thats what were going to do." Beltran singled to right for a two-run lead. With a bullpen thats held opponents to a .169 average in the post-season, that was enough. "Weve got to go out there and play better than we did tonight," Ortiz said. "Nobody can dictate that youre going to win four straight games every time you go out there for the World Series." NOTES: The Red Sox had not lost in the Series since Game 7 in 1986 against the New York Mets. ... With no DH allowed in the NL ballpark, Boston manager John Farrell said Ortiz will likely play first base in Game 3. Napoli would sit. ... Victims of the Boston Marathon bombings were honoured during the seventh-inning stretch as singer James Taylor led the crowd in "America the Beautiful." ' ' '