SAINT JOHN, N. Nick Markakis Orioles Jersey .B. -- Theyve long competed in the shadow of Canadas Olympic ice dance champions, but Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje dont mind flying under the radar into Sochi. Weaver and Poje were runners-up once again to Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir this past weekend at Skate Canada International, but the gap between scores was the closest its ever been -- giving Canada not one, but two ice dance teams that could reach the medal podium at the Sochi Olympics. "Being in the same sentence as Scott and Tessa is an extreme honour for us," Weaver said, after their lyrical free skate tango Saturday night to music by Argentine composer Astor Piazaolla. "Weve grown up with them, it feels like, for the past six years that weve been on the international circuit. Every time we get to share the ice with them I feel like we get stronger because theyre everything we strive to be." Virtue and Moir have wrestled American rivals Meryl Davis and Charlie White for the top step of the podium in every major international event for the past four years. The Canadians, of course, edged the Americans to win Olympic gold in Vancouver, and the two teams have split the last four world championship gold medals. A revolving door of skaters, meanwhile, have won bronze. Weaver and Poje -- second to Virtue and Moir in Saint John by less than six points -- say its an advantage to go into Sochi without the heavy expectations that sit squarely on their Canadian counterparts. "Thats a great spot for us to be in," Weaver said. "We love the attention for sure. But it helps us just focus on ourselves and makes us feel more normal, so were looking to peak at the right time and well definitely have all the pressure then, but its nice to maintain a bit of normalcy right now in the lead-up." "We dont have to be in the limelight as much," Poje added. "I think that adds a certain pressure to the situation thats already high stress. Its an extra distraction, so being able to sort of fly underneath the radar is something we definitely appreciate." Weaver and Poje were fourth at the 2012 world championships, then fifth at the worlds last March -- the most recent result coming after Weaver was sidelined for almost the entire season with a broken fibula. She was sidelined again this past summer after having the hardware removed from her ankle. "It was another month off the ice which was discouraging at first, that was the last thing I wanted to do," Weaver said. "But it was totally worth it, because everything is healthy and I dont have to worry about having five screws sticking into my skate and right now its not even a thought on either of our minds. So it was totally worth taking the extra time to heal it again." Weaver, a lover of old movies, watched her favourite -- the 1933 film "42nd Street" -- during her rehab, so the music was an obvious choice for their short dance this season. They turned to friend Geoffrey Tyler, who acted in the "42nd Street" musical at the Stratford Festival to help them choreograph the program. "(The movie) has always had a special place in my heart, because I skated to it when I was younger, and through my injury it was the one movie I could find solace in, it really helped me feel comfortable and it kind of took my mind off what was actually happening," she said. Weaver, 24, and the 26-year-old Poje teamed up in 2006 when both skaters found themselves without partners. Weaver, who was born in Houston, obtained her Canadian citizenship in 2009 to make her eligible to compete for Canada. The five-foot-six Weaver, and 6-3 Poje -- who might have been drawn by a Disney artist, theyre that wholesome/goodlooking -- teamed up in 2006 when both skaters found themselves without partners. Weaver, who was born in Houston, had been competing for the U.S., but obtained her Canadian citizenship in 2009. They narrowly missed qualifying for the 2010 Olympics, but it surely wont be the same story this time around. And with the expected retirement of Virtue and Moir following Sochi, ice dancing in Canada will certainly still be in good hands. J.J. Hardy Orioles Jersey .J. -- The New York Giants are not only back in the playoff hunt with a four-game winning streak, theyre calling the plays that get them those wins. Adam Jones Jersey . "Its huge," Casey said of Torontos matchup with the fifth-place Hawks, who sit 1.5 games behind the Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference. "Its not like in the past where games dont matter. In the past we were building, getting guys experience.NEW YORK -- Once Masahiro Tanaka overcame that early jolt from Jose Reyes, the Japanese rookie did just fine. Tanaka gave up a home run to Reyes on the first pitch of the game, then earned his major league-high 11th victory as the New York Yankees beat Toronto 3-1 Tuesday night for their 14th straight home win over the Blue Jays. That was the first time Tanaka could remember getting tagged so quickly and said it "threw me off my rhythm a little bit." "Overall, I think my stuff wasnt really there," he said through a translator. Even so, Tanaka (11-1) struck out 10 in six innings and left with an AL-best 1.99 ERA. The right-hander has made 14 starts this season -- hes gone at least six innings in every outing and never permitted more than three earned runs. "What hes done is remarkable," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He wins." Brett Gardner hit a two-run homer off the right-field foul pole and the Yankees sent the AL East leaders to their seventh loss in 10 games. Tanaka made his big league debut April 4 at Toronto and Melky Cabrera hit a leadoff home run on the third pitch. Reyes provided an even faster start with a drive into the lower deck in right, and slapped his hands as he rounded first. "I made up my mind before the game that I was going to swing at the first pitch," he said. "You dont want to face Tanaka with two strikes." Said Girardi: "He just threw a pitch right down the middle and up. Reyes knew what to do." "Reyes is familiar with this ballpark," he said. "He went to the short part of the park." Cabrera followed with a liner between Tanakas legs that knocked off the pitchers glove. But Tanaka scrambled to retrieve the ball behind the mound and threw out Cabrera, and never again allowed a runner past second. Tanaka gave up five hits and walked two in moving ahead of Torontos Mark Buehrle for the most wins in the majors. Buehrle starts Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium in the middle game of the three-game series. The Blue Jays were the second team to face Tanaka twice. He blanked the Chicago Cubs for eight innings in April before they handed him his onnly loss a month later. Manny Machado Jersey. Dellin Betances worked two innings and David Robertson closed for his 17th save in 19 tries. New York pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts and became the latest staff to slow down the Blue Jays, limited to 24 runs in their last 11 games. Pitching about 50 miles from his Long Island hometown, Blue Jays rookie Marcus Stroman (3-2) threw 98 pitches in 3 2-3 innings on a sticky night. Gardner gave him a workout right away, grounding out in a 12-pitch at-bat to lead off the first. Kelly Johnson doubled in the third for the Yankees first hit and Gardner pulled a go-ahead home run. Derek Jeter opened the fifth with his second hit of the game and scored his 1,900th run on a single by Mark Teixeira. Jeter is 10th on the career runs list, 19 behind longtime teammate Alex Rodriguez. NOTES: After the game, Toronto reinstated OF Colby Rasmus (hamstring) from the disabled list and optioned OF Anthony Gose to Triple-A Buffalo. ... The Blue Jays drought at Yankee Stadium started in August 2012, and theyve dropped 23 of their last 25 in the Bronx. The team cited the Elias Sports Bureau in saying it matched the Yankees longest such winning streak against one opponent since 1961 -- they also won 14 straight home game vs. Kansas City from 2002-06. ... Tanaka has fanned at least 10 in five starts. ... Girardi became the sixth manager to win 600 games with the Yankees. ... Reyes hit his 20th career leadoff homer, and second this year. ... Cabrera has a 17-game hitting streak vs. the Yankees, his former team. ... Toronto RHP R.A. Dickey is fine to make his next start Friday night in Cincinnati, manager John Gibbons said. The knuckleballer made an early exit Saturday in Baltimore because of groin tightness. ... Yankees 2B Brian Roberts started after missing two games with a bruised right knee. ... Yankees LHP CC Sabathia (knee) threw a bullpen session Sunday and is set for another one Tuesday. "No setbacks," he said. Sabathia had hoped to return by the All-Star break, but Girardi said theres no timeframe. ... There was a pregame moment of silence for Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who died Monday. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '
