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CALGARY -- Canadas cross-country ski team is poised to make Olympic history next month. While Canadian women have stood on the Olympic podium in the sport, a Canadian man never has. Led by Alex Harvey of St-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., and Devon Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont., that drought could end on the Psekhako Ridge in Sochi, Russia. The hard goal of Canadas cross-country team is to claim at least two medals in Sochi. Its the men who have the best chance at winning them this time. "I really feel if this team doesnt get two medals Ill feel a bit of disappointment or maybe we did something wrong," Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth said. "That doesnt mean were incapable of four or five medals. "This is an amazing team. We could do better than two medals. We could blow other teams out of the water if everything comes together." The 11 skiers wholl represent Canada in Sochi were introduced Tuesday at an elementary school with six being present for the announcement. Harvey, Kershaw, Ivan Babikov of Canmore, Alta., Daria Gaiazova of Banff, Alta., and Perianne Jones of Almonte, Ont., were in Europe and en route to a World Cup event in Poland. Chandra Crawford and Jesse Cockney of Canmore, Torontos Lenny Valjas, Graeme Killick of Fort McMurray, Alta., Heidi Widmer of Banff and Emily Nishikawa of Whitehorse will join their teammates in Italy next week for pre-Games training. Cockney, Killick, Widmer and Nishikawa claimed their Olympic berths at last weeks trials in Canmore. They, along with Valjas, will make their Olympic debuts while the rest of the team has previous Games experience. Harvey won two races and finished in the medals four times in this seasons Tour de Ski, which is a gruelling series of 10 races spread over 16 days and three countries. Harvey and Kershaw finished first and second, respectively, in the series opening race. "I feel like our team is in a really good place," Wadsworth said. "We started out slowly this year. The results werent good early and weve built and built. I feel like were in a place where were building still in confidence. We havent peaked out in any way shape or form. "I feel like the whole team is starting to rise and its how we wanted to time it." Wadsworth is married to Canadas Beckie Scott, whose bronze at the 2002 Winter Games was eventually upgraded to gold when two Russians ahead of her were disqualified for doping. Scott was the first North American woman to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. Scott and Sara Renner combined for team sprint silver in 2006 before Scott retired. Canadas cross-country skiers were shut out of the medals at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., although the men posted seven top-10 finishes. Harvey and Kershaw were fourth in the team sprint and Babikov fifth in the 30-kilometre event. Kershaw was fifth and an agonizing half a second from the podium in the 50-kilometre event. Harvey and Kershaw won world championship gold in 2011 in the team sprint. The mens sprints are fertile ground for Canada, but Babikov is also a contender in distance events. Those three and Valjas also give the Canadian squad a strong mens relay team. Medal prospects are thinner on the womens side, although Gaiazova and Jones won World Cup bronze in a team sprint in Sochi last year. Crawford, the 2006 Olympic womens sprint champion, is a wildcard. The womens sprint Feb. 11 will be a skate-ski race again as it was in 2006. The womens sprint in 2010 was a classic race and not Crawfords forte. The 30-year-old is more in her element in skating races than in classic, the striding technique requiring more finesse and less power. But Crawford has struggled first with injuries and then burnout since 2006, to the point where she cut her 2012-13 European racing season short and returned to Canmore. She trained on her own last summer instead of joining the national team at training camps. The 30-year-old isnt shouldering the same weight of expectation she did prior to 2010. "Its so different than Vancouver. Its not our Games. We have to . . . there was more of a have-to feeling," Crawford said. "Just the amount of interest was hard to process as well. "This feels like a real gift and I really appreciate the opportunity." Cockney is the first athlete of Inuit descent on the Olympic cross-country team since sisters Sharon and Shirley Firth raced in their fourth Winter Games in 1984. Cockneys father, Angus, is Inuit. Cockney was born in Yellowknife and learned to ski there before his family moved to Canmore. "Its great to have a strong connection to distinct people," the 26-year-old said. "You kind of feel a little bit more unique and for sure a different experience growing up. "My dad was a cross-country skier at a high level when he was younger and he got my sister and I involved when we were quite young. We had ski trails behind our house when we lived in Yellowknife all the way to the nordic centre. "A lot of dark, cold days in Yellowknife, cross-country skiing in the middle of winter, but that hardened us up and made us stronger." Killick beat decorated Paralympian Brian McKeever out for a spot on the Olympic squad by winning the 30-kilometre event and finishing second to McKeever in the 15k at trials. McKeever was eighth in the 30k. McKeever, from Canmore, is a legally blind skier and winner of 10 Paralympic medals who qualified for Canadas 2010 Olympic team. He was poised to become the first Paralympian to compete in a Winter Olympics, but the teams coaches decided to enter four other skiers in the 50k and not McKeever. The 2014 Olympic cross-country ski competition opens Feb. 8 with the womens 15k race. Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey .com) - Bradley Beals 22 points and seven rebounds helped the Washington Wizards erase a halftime deficit and top the Utah Jazz, 93-84, on Sunday. Dallas Cowboys Jerseys .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. http://www.cowboysproshopauthentic.com/W...thentic-Jersey/. -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge. Michael Gallup Cowboys Jersey . The Stampeders announced the move on Wednesday. Bell spent his first two CFL seasons with the B. Connor Williams Cowboys Jersey . In mens doubles, Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Croatian Mate Pavic and Andre Sa of Brazil.NEW YORK -- The New York Mets traded slumping first baseman Ike Davis to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night, parting ways with a power hitter who proved to be too inconsistent at the plate. Pittsburgh sent minor league right-hander Zack Thornton and a player to be named to New York for the 27-year-old Davis. The Mets announced the deal just minutes before a 6-0 loss to Atlanta. Davis was on the field during batting practice earlier in the day. The Pirates had searched all winter for a first baseman, without success in the trade and free-agent markets. "Ultimately, we found the right fit," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "Hopefully this is a move that solves our first base needs for years to come," he said. The lefty-swinging Davis hit 32 homers for the Mets in 2012, but fell off sharply last year. "Obviously, I didnt play as well as I should have," he said. Davis was hitting .208 with one home run and five RBIs in 24 at-bats. He lost his starting job to Lucas Duda and was relegated to a part-time role with the Mets, who also have Josh Satin at first base. "You cant play a major league season with three first basemen, so one of us had to go," Davis said outside the Mets clubhouse after the game started. "Obviously its an emotional time, but we arent there bawling our eyes out," he said. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said the team decided several months ago to trade Davis. "We are happy for Ike and it was a situation we needed to resolve," Alderson said. "I would not say that we lost patience with Ike. At some point you have to make a decision about players on the roster, so we simply had to make a choice." Said Mets star David Wright: "It happened late so I dont think a lot of guys knew, but Ike will be missed. Through thick and thin, Ike was the best teammate Ive ever had." The Mets filled Davis roster spot by activating outfielder Chris Young from the 15-day disabled list. He started in centre field. "Happy to be back," Young said before the game. "Seems like its been forever, for some reason." Young had been out with an injured right quadriceps. He played one inning in the field for the Mets during the opening week and was pulled before he came to bat. Davis, the son of formmer big league pitcher Ron Davis, was a promising prospect when he hit 19 homers with 71 RBIs while batting .dddddddddddd64 as a rookie in 2010. He got off to a strong start the following year, hitting .302 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 36 games, but missed most of the season with an ankle injury. Still, he seemed primed for a fine career. Davis power numbers peaked in 2012 -- he was tied for fifth in the NL homer race -- even while he hit just .227. But he got off to a second consecutive miserable start last year and was demoted to the minors for nearly a month. He batted .205 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs, missing the final month with a side strain. "Obviously, its a little weird. Ive been with the Mets for a long time. Ive got really good friends here," Davis said. "Ive had a blast in New York. Its where I made my childhood dreams come true." As for joining the Pirates a year after they ended a long playoff drought, "in different scenery it will be better," Davis said. Since no cash was involved, the Mets save $3,117,486 of Davis $3.5 million salary. The Pirates didnt bring back first baseman Garrett Jones after the season and went searching for a lefty-hitting complement to Gaby Sanchez. But no major moves developed and the Pirates went into spring training with only prospect Andrew Lambo and non-roster invitee Travis Ishikawa at the position. Lambo didnt hit much in exhibition play and Ishikawa got off to a quick start during the regular season before dipping. Manager Clint Hurdle has reverted back to playing Sanchez -- a player who has drastic right/left splits -- against righties. "Ikes done a really nice job against right-handed pitchers in his career. Hes had two big seasons and two injury-plagued seasons and were betting that our guys can get him back on the right track. Were betting that he was a better fit in this ballpark than he was in what used to be spacious Citi Field," Huntington said. Young went 8 for 12 with two homers in a three-game rehabilitation stint at Triple-A Las Vegas. Young hit 27 homers with 91 RBIs and 28 steals for Arizona in 2010. He hasnt been able to duplicate those numbers since then. The 25-year-old Thornton was 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four relief appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis. He will report to Las Vegas. 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