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On February 20, down 2-0 against the Americans with under four minutes to play, it looked as if the Canadian womens hockey teams dream of capturing their fourth straight Olympic gold medal had faded away. Team Canadas experience though allowed them to overcome the late 2-0 deficit and make history beating the Americans 3-2 in overtime. However, the comeback that happened in less than 15 minutes of playing time took years of experience and preparation. On the bench was Jayna Hefford. A member of every Canadian Olympic team since 1998, Hefford used all of that experience for the tense third period and overtime. "With six, seven minutes left in the third, I thought its not looking good, but that thought only lasted five seconds. Once we got that first one, I knew wed be fine." Hefford and Team Canada faced a big hurdle weeks before the historic gold medal game. Dan Church, their coach since 2012, unexpectedly resigned two months before the Olympics were to begin. Also, many veterans that were expected to carry a lot of the teams responsibilities were surprisingly not selected. "With Dan, we tried to ask some questions to get some answers, but we really didnt find anything. It got to the point where we realized the decision was out of our hands." Under new coach Kevin Dineen, the team spent ten days in Austria to regroup before they headed to Sochi. It was a time for rest and recuperation before the competition since every member of the team was exhausted both physically and mentally. Despite the challenges, the Canadians put together a string of wins that led them to the gold medal game. And the team didnt need any extra motivation when they saw who was at the other end of the ice. "There is no one youd rather beat then the Americans. Theyre the best team outside of us. Thats the team you want to play in any final," says Hefford. Although the Canadians were down a pair of goals, that first tally gave them a lifeline. The second goal tied the game, creating emotions for even the veteran players that thought they had seen it all. "When (Marie-Philip) Poulin got the tying goal, thats the most excited Ive ever been for any moment of a game in any moment of my career," Hefford says. "But in the third period and overtime, you try to contain your emotions a little bit." The team could let their emotions lose eight minutes into overtime when Poulin, who was the hero in Vancouver in 2010, scored again to give Canada yet another gold. "It still feels very surreal how that game dramatically turned. Its such a great feeling and its still hard to believe," says Hefford. Theres very little Hefford has not accomplished in her career but after a fourth gold medal, it would be tempting to go for a fifth in 2018. "After Vancouver I didnt know if I was going to keep playing. I felt really good and I thought I had four more years. But now its time for me to look at my options. 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Cheap Soccer Jerseys China .While Rosberg is coming off a strong victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton is dwelling on a mistake that ended his streak of five consecutive wins and kept him from increasing his advantage.TORONTO - Dwane Casey has cautioned all season that there would be a night when the Toronto Raptors sizzling offence wouldnt be enough to overcome its lagging defence.That night was Friday.LeBron James scored 24 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers exacted some revenge over a Raptors team missing DeMar DeRozan, beating Toronto 105-91.Tonight we couldnt buy a bucket. We couldnt hit the side of a barn with a bass fiddle, Casey said. Were better than that.Our bad offensive shooting night. . . made our defence even worse. It was a snowball effect. They whupped us, they spanked us.Amir Johnson had a season-high 27 points, and Kyle Lowry added 22 points and nine assists. But that wasnt enough to carry an East-leading Raptors team (15-5) that had only three players score in double figures — James Johnson finished with 11.Tristan Thompson of Brampton, Ont., finished with season highs for both points (21) and rebounds (14) for the Cavs (11-7), who stretched their winning streak to six games.The Raptors had topped the Cavaliers 110-93 on Nov. 22, battling back from a 19-point first-quarter deficit. The result worked as a wakeup call for Cleveland, who promptly went on a five-game winning streak.They made it six Friday night, leading from the opening whistle in front of a star-studded Air Canada Centre capacity crowd of 19,800 that included NBA legends Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Dikembe Mutombo, who gave his signature finger wag to the ACC crowd when shown on the Jumbotron.Just missing shots, Lowry said on the loss. I dont think it was anything we did differently, G (Greivis Vasquez) had a rough night (shooting 2-for-11), I had a rough night (7-for-18). Well come in to the gym on Sunday and get our shots up, and Im sure the shots we missed tonight will fall Monday (when the Raptors host Denver).Johnson, Barkley, Mutombo, and Tracy McGrady were in Toronto as part of the Raptors celebration of Nelson Mandela, who died a year ago to the day.It was a beautiful day, Casey said. To see (Johnson, Barkley and Mutombo), all the guys that were a big part of the NBAs history, and just the message that Nelson Mandela sent throughout the world was huge.Its bigger than basketball, and that was the theme of the night for our players. I lived it, I went through it, I understand it. And it meant a lot to our players and it was a magnificent night for our organization.On the court, however, the Raptors — now 2-2 without DeRozan, whos out with a torn groin tendon — were flat-footed all night. They trailed by as many as 14 points and went into the fourth down 76-64. The Raptors managed to pull within six points three times in the final 12 minutes, and a dunk by Amir Johnson pulled them to within 97-91 with 1:53 to play. But that was as close as they would get.I know this team tonight wasnt us, Casey said. First game back from a weest-coast trip, the worst team you want to see is a team as talented as Cleveland.ddddddddddddThe Raptors missed DeRozans defence as well as his scoring.He takes the challenge of guarding the best player out there on the other side coming down to the fourth quarter, Lowry said.The Cavs shot 49 per cent on the night to Torontos 41, and outrebounded them 48-40.Thompson was a huge spark off the bench for Cleveland.Every night coach challenges us, the bench, to come and bring life, Thompson said. We dont want our stars to play so heavy minutes and drain themselves out so we have to be able to come in and keep the energy high, and thats what we did tonight.The two teams meet again Tuesday in Cleveland.The one positive on the night for the Raptors was the presence of Johnson, Barkley and Mutombo, who all received standing ovations when they were introduced.It was great, man, said Amir Johnson. It was kind of like the Staples Center, you see guys left and right. We need some more of that.Amazing. Amazing, Lowry added. I wish we couldve won for them but thats a humbling experience. I grew up watching all those guys. Just the fact that I got to be around those guys and see them and them watching our game, here for a good cause is amazing.McGrady was honoured with a video tribute during a first-quarter timeout as part of the Raptors 20th anniversary celebrations, and received a standing ovation from the ACC crowd.McGrady said pre-game that he was looking forward to the video.Cool to see what I used to do a little bit, I mean, its been what . . .16 . . . 16 years, damn, McGrady said.McGrady was the Raptors ninth pick in the 1997 draft and played three seasons in Toronto.When I started playing at SkyDome, you do something exciting, its like crickets in the building, McGrady said. You just didnt get that great excitement, that warm reception that you need to get when youre playing in front of your home crowd. We built that my last year here when we made the playoffs, first team that made the playoffs in Raptors history.Its great to see the way it is today. I feel good knowing that what I went through and what I witnessed to what it is now. Im proud to say that I was a Raptor.The Cavaliers raced out to an early lead Friday, taking an eight-point advantage on a three-pointer by former Raptor Shawn Marion midway through the first quarter. The visitors took a 30-21 advantage into the second.Back-to-back threes from James Jones gave the Cavaliers a 14-point lead less than two minutes into the second quarter. The Raptors chipped away at the deficit, and went into the dressing room trailing 51-44.The Raptors carried their momentum into the third, and Lowrys three at midway through the quarter gave the Raptors a 58-57 lead. But the Cavs ended the quarter with a 19-6 run to go into the fourth quarter up by 12. ' ' '