Russias Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov are holding a convincing lead in pairs figure skating going into Wednesdays free skate, winning the short program handily with a final score of 84. Mark Gastineau Jersey For Sale .17. The clear favourite to win the gold medal in pairs on Wednesday, the duo skated a near-perfect routine in front of a wildly supportive hometown crowd. Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy from Germany, also looking strong in their short program, came in second with a score of 79.64. The duo performed a routine inspired by the Pink Panther. "We wanted to show that it was easy. We skated it for the fans," Savchenko says. "When youre having fun doing your routine and the audience goes with it, it just makes you feel good and less nervous." Szolkowy says that "we had a good feeling, indeed the most important thing was to skate clean. "Were glad that we did all our elements since we want to fight for the gold. The points dont matter for now. Lets see what comes out in the end." Third-place went to another Russian duo of Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, scoring 75.21. on their routine. All three Canadian pairs also advanced to Wednesdays free skate finale. Meagan Duhamel of St-Leonard, Que., and Eric Radford of Toronto finished their short program as the highest ranking Canadians of the night, scoring 72.21 and finishing in fifth place. The duo enjoyed a solid routine with only a minor mistake on a triple lutz spin. Duhamel says it wasnt easy for her and Radford to skate right after eventual third-place finishers Stolbova and Klimov. "It was very difficult to skate after the hometown team. It sounds like a hockey game out there," Duhamel says. "We made some minor mistakes, but Im proud of what we were able to do in that circumstance." "We want a medal really bad, but for us skating the free skate of a lifetime would be worth more than gold, Duhamel says. Radford, who composed the pairs short program song in tribute to his late coach Paul Wirtz, says he "enjoyed every minute" of his short program experience. "Being out there, every moment is an amazing and unforgettable memory." Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catherines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto placed sixth in their short program, scoring 70.92. The couple skated a solid routine as the final performers of the evening. Moore-Towers says that she wasnt nervous heading out onto the ice. "I think the real win tonight was how comfortable we were out there." Moscovitch says that before the couple performed their short program routine, he told Moore-Towers to "leave everything we have on the floor, lets just leave it all out on the ice." "We had a lot of fun out there," Moscovitch says. Paige Lawrence of Kennedy, Sask., and Rudi Swiegers of Virden, Man., in their first Olympics, skated to a score of 58.97. The couples training has been hampered all season by injuries, with Lawrence saying she is about "80 per cent good" in her recovery from a leg injury. Lawrence touched down twice during the couples routine, which led to their 13th place finish.DeMario Davis Elite Jersey . "There are a lot of kids out there in my situation, probably far worse situations," he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. Dennis Byrd Jersey For Sale . The 25-year-old rookie forward scored the winner on his first career shootout attempt as the Philadelphia Flyers overcame an early deficit to earn a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.SAO PAULO - World Cup organizers want to increase the number of workers at the delayed stadium in Curitiba which is at risk of being dropped. A FIFA consultant and a technical team from the local World Cup organizing committee made the assessment after a visit to Arena da Baixada on Thursday, an official in the southern city said. Reginaldo Cordeiro told The Associated Press the technical team was happy with the improvements made at the construction site, but advised local officials that the workforce must be increased soon to give the city a better chance of hosting its four scheduled matches in footballs showcase event that begins in less than five months. "It was a good visit because they saw that things progressed," Cordeiro, the citys urban planning secretary, said in a telephone interview. "But at the same time it wasnt that good because they asked for an increase in the workforce to speed up the construction." FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke visited Curitiba last month and told local officials they have until Feb. 18 to show the city will be able to finish the stadium in time for the World Cup. Charles Botta, who compiles regular reports to FIFAs top management after visiting the World Cup stadiums, was among those who said the addition of more workers would be ideal to make sure the venue can remain a host city, according to Cordeiro. State and city engineers also participated in Thursdays meeting and agreed. Jason Babin Jersey. Dropping Curitiba as a host city would be an embarrassment to Brazil and a major headache for FIFA, which has already sold more than one million tickets for the tournament. Brazilian club Atletico Paranaense, which is building the stadium, said it can add workers only if it gets a federal loan, according to Cordeiro. A meeting is scheduled for Friday to try to guarantee the needed financing. Brazils Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo visited Curitiba this week and said everything would be done to try to guarantee the loan. "There is a need for more workers so there is a need for the loan," Cordeiro said. There were nearly 900 workers at the construction site when Valcke visited, he said, and since then the number has increased to about 1,100. With the loan, it could be possible to have nearly 1,400 on site in the next two weeks. Since Valckes visit, the pitch installation has been finalized and nearly 15,000 seats have been installed, Cordeiro said. The roof is expected to be completed in the next few weeks. The Arena da Baixada is scheduled to host Iran-Nigeria on June 16, Australia-Spain on June 23, Algeria-Russia on June 26, and Honduras-Ecuador on June 30. Brazil promised to finish all 12 World Cup stadiums by the end of last year as wanted by FIFA, but five remain under construction. cheap jerseys ' ' '
