Sinn dieses Forums » And we smiled when youre supposed to smile

KREISCHBERG, Austria - When he saw the icy conditions for Fridays snowboardcross competition at the world championships, Kevin Hill knew he was in for a wild ride.It all ended well for the Vernon, B.C., resident, who earned his first major international medal.Hill overcame one of his least favourite courses to finish second to Italys Luca Matteotti in the big final of the mens snowboardcross event.Hill was runner-up in each of the elimination rounds, a rather dicey position as only the top two advance. In the big final he had to come from behind to assure himself the silver ahead of American riders Nick Baumgartner and Nate Holland.I started the day a little unsettled, very excited to race but with extra added pressure from myself, Hill said. The course was one of my least favourites in the past few years, more so because of the weather leading to the event with warm weather and then freezing weather.Those conditions made for high speeds and icy turns but Hill was in control.I worked hard to make it to the final. When the gate dropped I left it on the line and got some luck, he said. Im very excited, I cant thank the Canadian support team enough and now Im ready to go get a medal at X-Games.Christopher Robanske of Calgary was 27th and Baptiste Brochu of Saguenay, Que., 35th.In womens competition, Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States won her fourth world title.Nelly Moenne Loccoz of France was the fastest starter and led the womens final before being overtaken by Jacobellis, who also won the word title in 2005, 07 and 11.I am really happy, said Jacobellis, who won Olympic silver in 2006. It just all came together for me. I never won any of the starts. Every race I had to fight. Its incredible how much this sport has evolved, especially on the womens side. And I am happy to be a part of that history, and I am still with it.Moenne Loccoz took silver and Michela Moioli of Italy won the bronze medal. Olympic champion Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic lost in the semifinals and finished sixth.Two-time Olympic medallist Dominique Maltais of Petite-Riviere-St-Fran?ois, Que., won the small final for fifth place overall.Im not disappointed with the overall result at all I went for it, said Maltais, second to the Czech at the Games. At the level we are riding right now, many of us are in contention for the medals. There was a strong field for the small final and I really wanted to win it. It was a chance to bounce back from my race in Sochi.In the semifinal, Maltais was third behind Jacobellis and Moenne Loccoz.Tess Critchlow of Kelowna, B.C., was 14th, Carle Brenneman of Whistler 16th and Zoe Bergermann of Erin, Ont., 23rd.— With files from The Associated Press Discount MLB Jerseys . Claude Noel will be the man behind the bench when the team hits the ice of the MTS Centre to begin its inaugural season. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/. Best has been bothered by concussion problems and hasnt played since Oct. 16, when the Lions lost to San Francisco. After starting 5-0, Detroit has lost four of six, beginning with that game against the 49ers. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys . Former two-time Olympic gold medallist Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine in both her "A" and "B" samples, the German Olympic Committee said. Cheap MLB Jerseys Nike 2020 .com) - Nate Buss 3-pointer with 5.When you grew up in Ottawa, back in the days before the Sens, you really had just two choices when it came to NHL teams to cheer for: the Habs and the Leafs. If I could afford a therapist, I imagine the good doctor would tell be that my affection for the Leafs was part of an ongoing and pathological need to be alone and unhappy. Though, quite simply, its more likely that its because thats what was on local TV in Ottawa. I admit I could be wrong. I dont have a PhD. Thats right. I was a Leafs fan. I had a Leafs sweater that I slept in, that my dad bought me after some endless whining in the aisles of a Canadian Tire. An Allan Bester poster hung above my bed. I wore number 9 in Little League because of Russ Courtnall, and I may have cried when he was traded to the dreaded Habs for John Kordic. My parents werent sports fans, but they let me bring an old black and white TV into my room to watch Hockey Night in Canada, to fall asleep to the third period charms of Bob Cole and Harry Neale. I cant often remember my postal code, or where I lived in 2009, or the name of that girl, but I easily recall the names of Dale Degray, Peter Ing, Brad Smith, Ken Yaremchuk, and Dan Daoust, forgettable Leafs from a forgettable era.The arrival of the Ottawa Senators coincided with the arrival of my first love. Well, the first reciprocated love. Fittingly I used this sea change to shift my affections to the Sens, whose losing was familiar but who provided a new hope, a virginal slate upon which to build a new love. The Sens got better, but love did not. Like it tends to, it left, mostly my doing, as I had found affections for all sorts of other things one does as they enter their 20s.The Sens and I remained true to each other, even though I carried the relationship. I lived in Vancouver for a few years, but never felt any connection to the Canucks, nor for any West coast girl. Well, there was one girl, but she left me for my best friend. In that manner, she was not unlike the Sens. All kinds of promise, ending in sure disappointment; the better looking, more mature Leafs beating the Sens in the playoffs year after year.With both the Sens and the Leafs the pain was the same: expectations were crushed by reality. No matter what I did, season after season they hurt me. They left me alone in June, as other teams and their fans moved on to full playoff beards, Cup parades, and what I can only assume is happiness.Years passed. I moved back to Ottawa. I watched hockey less. I dated seldom. I grew a playoff beard in January. My mother worried. She had nightmares that I was floating through life without RRSPs, without a mortgage, without a wife, and without kids. My dad seemed to understand, even though he wasnt much for hockey. I moved to Costa Rica. My beard got longer. My tan was superb. Televised hockey was difficult to find. Beer was cheap. There was no fear of commitment, because everyone was transient, moving on, moving forward, or at least sideways.But the rains came and I returned to Canada, but this time to Montreal, a city that truly appreciates the lovelesss.dddddddddddd A city where the bars are open late, and life exists only in the present. And I found myself watching hockey again, with people who didnt know about my past, about the Leafs and the Sens, who didnt know of my failings in my mothers eyes. And I found myself cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, the longtime enemy of both the Leafs and the Sens. Outwardly I was a fan, but inside I was in turmoil. I felt like I was cheating on myself, as if I was committing hockey adultery, even though I was single and every team I ever loved sucked.And then came 2010. And a magical run through to the Conference Finals. And Halak signs. And PK Subban. And overtime wins. And there was a girl. A girl I loved. And for a brief moment I thought about breeding, about ceremony, pageantry, making my mum happy, a parade down Ste. Catherine, about my dad in a tuxedo, about rings.But, as hockey and love have taught me, all good things end in horrible, crushing, debilitating disappointment sometime in June. The Habs lost to the Flyers, and someone else won the Cup, and Halak was traded, and the girl left because I was afraid she might not, and summer arrived with condolence beers and late nights on terrasses and waiting for next year. Always next year. My mum didnt say anything, but I could see her deleting imaginary grandchildren in her mind, and transferring familial hope to my sister and her young family.And life went on. Seasons changed, both on the calendar and the NHL schedule. I still rocked a playoff beard, out of both laziness and hope, so Id be prepared in case of victory. The Habs sunk back to middle-of-the-pack mediocrity. The Leafs and the Sens lived in that same ether. My mum would send me promotional materials for post-graduate programs and ask how my married friends were doing. My dads tuxedo remained in the back of his closet, dry-cleaned and at the ready. I still watched Habs games, but my interest has waned, my commitment faltered.Then, two weekends ago, I was having a few adult beverages and watching the Sens and Habs battling each other in an important late-season game. It was like watching the past fight for your affections. With just under four minutes left, it looked like the Sens had the game won. But the Habs scored once, twice, and a third time with only .3 seconds left to tie it, before winning it in overtime.So buoyed by the victory, and spirited by the spirits, I headed out to the local to meet a friend and celebrate the victory. And in the back of the bar, a bar cheered by the win and the hour, was the girl from 2010. And we talked for a bit. And she asked about my folks. And we smiled when youre supposed to smile. And we spoke longingly about spring coming. And after a silence, and a pause, she had to leave, and as she did she looked back and said, "Maybe Ill see you soon." Maybe. And maybe the Habs will make a run, and my mum will stop worrying about matrimony, and my dads tuxedo will be content in its stasis, and maybe I will see her soon. That wouldnt be so bad. Better than being a Leafs fan. ' ' '