News » Paralympic medals to his name

PORTLAND, Ore. - With a potential playoff spot in the balance, as well as a chance to climb to the top of the Cascadia Cup standings, the Vancouver Whitecaps travelled to Portland on Saturday looking to make amends for the drubbing suffered at the the hands of the Timbers less than a month ago. It was not to be. In a near-replica of that August 20th matchup at B.C. Place Stadium, Vancouver got off to a lively start before giving up a goal and then fading down the stretch. Portland dominated for long stretches en route to another 3-0 trouncing of the Whitecaps in front of 20,814 at Providence Park. Fanendo Adi scored twice, Diego Valeri added a goal and an assist, and Donovan Ricketts had his fourth shutout as the Whitecaps ceded the fifth and final Western Conference playoff spot to their Pacific Northwest rivals with just five games remaining. "Were chasing them now," said Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson. "Its a different scenario when youre chasing a team rather than them chasing you." The game started with the visitors creating some good chances in the opening 15 minutes, including a Sebastian Fernandez shot in the games first minute that went just wide of the post. "For the first 20-odd minutes we were excellent but werent able to capitalize on that," said Robinson. "And goals change games, as we all know." Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, it was the Timbers that changed the game to their benefit. Following an end-to-end first twenty minutes, momentum started to shift in Portlands favour, culminating in the opening goal from Valeri at the 28-minute mark. The sequence started with Steven Beitashour getting caught in a two-on-one situation on the right wing. With Beitashour unable to commit, Portlands Jorge Villafana had time and space to neatly pick out Valeri running unmarked through Vancouvers penalty area. "My initial reaction was to go out, but I saw I had guy," said Beitashour. "I didnt want to go out and have them just play in behind, so I sat in and he whipped in a good ball. Great finish." Beitashour, a question to start prior to the match, had words with Mauro Rosales about the defending mixup, but the damage was already done. "The goal took the wind out of our sails," said centre back Andy OBrien. Robinson agreed that there was a bit of a drop-off in Vancouvers performance once the home side took the lead. "When we go a goal down, were probably not playing with the same energy, desire or confidence we should," Robinson said. "But weve got to learn, because were not always going to score the first goal." The Timbers put a choke-hold on the remainder of the first half and Vancouver took a one-goal deficit into halftime. The visitors regrouped to start the second half, but a costly mistake in the 66th minute by Matias Laba gave Portland a chance to double the lead, and Adi capitalized on the chance for the first of his two goals on the night. Laba tried to cut the ball back near midfield with his teammates mostly in the attacking third. Valeri took it cleanly off Laba and easily found Adi breaking towards David Ousteds net all alone. "Ninety-nine times out of 100 (Laba) makes that play," said Robinson. "Valeris a good player, hes knicked the ball." Adi put the finishing touches on just four minutes later, slipping a ball between Ousteds legs for the final goal of the game. The additions of Kekuta Manneh, Darren Mattocks and Nicolas Mezquida created a flurry of half-chances in the waning moments of the game, but Portland saw out the match to keep the visitors scoreless for the the sixth time in nine games. Vancouver is winless on the road in that stretch as well. "Its not a fun way to lose," said Ousted. "Its not a fun place to lose, especially with the fan support we had out today. There are five games left and we cant feel sorry for ourselves, we cant get down. We need to continue to work." The Whitecaps face three playoff-bound teams in their remaining five games, starting next Saturday at home against Real Salt lake. Despite the recent form and a tough outlook for upcoming games, Robinson doesnt feel his team is wilting. "People can say whatever they want," he said. "Its a good challenge for us. If we want to play in big games, important games, weve got to cope with this pressure. Theres a little bit of pressure on next week." Michael Kopech Jersey . -- LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers lineup, happy to know that things didnt go awry without him. Clark Griffith White Sox Jersey . Patton was placed on the restricted list testing positive for a banned amphetamine. Patton took Adderall, a drug commonly used to combat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, late in the 2013 season and then was given a random drug test. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/3594e-tim-...-white-sox.html. In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Michael Jordan White Sox Jersey .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. Kodi Medeiros White Sox Jersey . You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal or on TSN.ca/Montreal. Also, TSN.ca features live streaming of the post-game news conferences from the Bell Centre. The Rangers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final after Sundays 3-2 overtime victory against the visiting Habs.KRASNAYA POLAYNA, Russia -- Canadian cross-country ski star Brian McKeever says hes feeling under the weather with the start of the Sochi Paralympics just days away. The triple gold medallist from the 2010 Paralympics tweeted on Tuesday: "Woke up with a virus yesterday. Timing couldnt be much worse. Not the ideal prep for the .Paralympics. Its been a bumpy .RoadToSochi." A Canadian official said in an email that McKeever has a cold but is expected to participate in Fridays opening ceremony. McKeever -- who is legally blind -- has 10 Paralympic medals to his name, including seven gold.dddddddddddd The 34-year-old from Canmore, Alta., became the first athlete named to a countrys Olympic and Paralympic teams when he qualified for the Vancouver Games four years ago. But McKeever didnt get a chance to race at those Olympics after Canadian coaches decided to dress another skier in his place. The opening ceremony for the Paralympics goes Friday, with competition set to get underway on Saturday. ' ' '