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USA forces OT, but eventually falls to Canada in gold medal finals

An impressive run for the USA hockey team fell short at this year’s Winter Olympics, as the Americans lost to Canada 3-2 in overtime in Sunday’s gold medal round. Sidney Crosby beat Ryan Miller 7:40 into overtime to allow the Canadians to become the first host nation in 30 years to win the gold medal in men’s hockey.

The win certainly didn’t come easy for Canada, however, which led 2-1 for most of the game.

After pulling goalie Ryan Miller late in the third period, Jamie Langenbrunner redirected a Patrick Kane wrister off Roberto Luongo’s body and Zach Parise gathered up the rebound and snuck it past Luongo to tie the game with just 24.4 seconds remaining. But after seizing the momentum thanks to the thrilling goal, USA couldn’t get the job done in overtime and the heavily favored Canadians (who were 1/2 to win the tournament at the start of the Winter Games) seized the gold.

Even though they lost, USA’s push for the gold was arguably the most exciting part of the Winter Olympics. It would have been nice to see them go undefeated and complete the underdog story, but there’s no shame in beating Canada once and nearly knocking them off on their home ice in the finals. Gold would have been fine, but there’s a lot of pride for USA in taking home the silver.

Teams concerned about Bryant’s behavior?

Yahoo Sports’ Jason Cole writes that teams might be concerned about NFL draft prospect Dez Bryant given his behavior while at Oklahoma State.

Three sources with direct knowledge of Bryant from his days in college, where he missed the final 10 games last season because of lying to NCAA investigators, said Bryant’s antics were “consistently irresponsible.”

“I wouldn’t draft that kid unless I had someone to wake him up in the morning to get to meetings, someone to wake him up for practice and someone to wake him up for games,” one source said.

A second source said Bryant’s reputation was earned because he was consistently late to team activities. That included showing up late for games.

“We’re not just talking about being a little late for warmups, but like being late for the actual game,” a source said with a chuckle. “When you start to hear some of the stories of there, you go, ‘He did what?’ ”

If I were a NFL GM, coach or owner, I’d have a hard time paying a player millions of dollars when he couldn’t handle responsibility in college. I understand we’re talking about kids in their young 20s and a lot of players do mature when they get to the pros. But what makes anyone think that Bryant will act appropriately after he gets paid?

That said, he is a great talent and there are plenty of coaches in the NFL that know how to work with a player that needs a kick in the rear. Organizations like the Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Eagles and Packers have proven that with a good support system, most players can develop into responsible men off the field.

There was plenty of bad press about Michael Crabtree and his diva attitude last year and after his contract situation was settled, he turned out to be a solid rookie. I’m willing to bet that Mike Singletary had a lot to do with that and I’m sure Bryant will get the wake up call he apparently needs if he winds up with a good organization.


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Athletes to be subpoenaed in HGH investigation

SI.com reports that federal law enforcement officials have informed numerous athletes that they will be subpoenaed in the case against Canadian physician Anthony Galea.

Galea, who is based in Toronto, faces charges in his native Canada of conspiring to smuggle human growth hormone (HGH) and the drug Actovegin into the U.S., conspiracy to smuggle prohibited goods into Canada, unlawfully selling Actovegin, and smuggling goods into Canada in violation of the Customs Act. The doctor’s client list is elite; it includes Tiger Woods, U.S. Olympic swimmer Dara Torres, Broncos quarterback Chris Simms, former Browns running back Jamal Lewis, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes and Donovan Bailey of Canada, who won the 100 meters at the 1996 Olympics. These athletes have acknowledged being treated by Galea but deny receiving any performance-enhancing drugs from him. Known as a progressive if not unorthodox physician, Galea developed a loyal following among athletes for his use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, a legal procedure thought to potentially speed recovery from injury.

The federal investigation of Galea began Sept. 14, when border guards stopped Galea’s assistant, Mary Anne Catalano, for a vehicle inspection while she was crossing from Canada into Buffalo. Catalano told border officials she was carrying medical supplies. A search yielded vials of HGH, Actovegin-a substance extracted from calf’s blood and thought to have healing properties — a BlackBerry and a laptop with client information. Catalano has been cooperating with Canadian and U.S. law enforcement officials.

The sad part about this is that even if Galea goes down for this, new suppliers will continue to pop up. There will always be an outlet for athletes who are looking for a leg up on the competition.

In this case, cut the head off the snake and another snake will just take its place.


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Clausen expects to be healthy for pro day

Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen expects to be ready to work out for his pro day on April 9 after having surgery to repair a toe injury. This goes against what the NFL Network’s Charley Casserly reported yesterday when he said that Clausen is unlikely to get a full workout in before April’s draft.

From the Chicago Tribune:

“I went through (the medical) process yesterday,” Clausen said. “It took quite a bit of time. They said it looks really good and it’s healing. They told me to take my time and not push it too much.

“That is what I am shooting for (to do everything at his pro day) and that is what the doctor told me.”

Clausen says he injured the toe against Michigan State on September 19 and played the rest of the season taking painkillers.

It’s interesting that three of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft – Clausen, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy – are all dealing with injury concerns. While teams will definitely want to see him throw, Clausen is in good shape because his injury is foot-related and not arm-related like Bradford and McCoy’s. Clausen should be fine by OTAs.

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#1 Kansas falls to Oklahoma State

It must be “Upset Saturday.” A few hours after #2 Kentucky fell to Tennessee, the top-ranked Jayhawks lost to Oklahoma State, 85-77, in Stillwater. The Cowboys led by 16 at halftime, and while Kansas fought back to cut the lead to six, the Jayhawks squandered several opportunities to get even closer. Back-to-back threes by Kelton Page with about eight minutes to play kept Kansas at bay.

With the win, the Cowboys are ensured of an NCAA tournament bid.

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