Canada doesnt have the advantage of superior preparation heading into the 2011 world womens hockey championship. Edwardss Edwards Jersey . Unlike last years Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Canadian women havent spent months together facing boys midget triple-A teams twice a week in rehearsal of an expected final against the rival Americans. No other country matched the Canadian teams pre-Games investment. The home squad carried the edge in readiness. It dominated the preliminary round and semifinal before beating the U.S. 2-0 for gold. A non-Olympic year is the great equalizer, however, as the players scatter to their club and college teams. They get together for an occasional training camp and the annual Four Nations Cup in November. If a world championship is decided more on talent and less on preparation, then there are warning signs the U.S. is pulling ahead of Canada in its female skills development. The U.S. has won the last two world championships, beating Canada 4-1 in Hameenlinna, Finland, in 2009, and 4-3 in Harbin, China, in 2008. The global event isnt played in Olympic years. Also, the Americans have won three of the four world under-18 womens championships, defeating Canada in the final each time. Canadian captain Haley Wickenheiser isnt concerned her country is falling behind the Americans in developing talent. "Weve got what it takes to win," she said. "I think we have depth and talent on our team. Thats not a concern at all." It behoves the Canadian women, however, to beat the U.S. on a couple of weeks of cramming instead of months of study. "It is a totally different way of preparing," Wickenheiser acknowledged. "Youre not together full time. "We look at it like we are the ones who have something to prove even though we won the Olympic gold medal." Canada opens the world championship Saturday in Winterthur, Switzerland, against the host Swiss. Canada has won nine world titles and the Americans three in the dozen that have been played since 1990. The two countries are expected to meet again for gold April 25 in Zurich. Games between the two sides continue to be 50-50 propositions. At the 2010 Four Nations Cup in St. Johns N.L., the U.S. won 3-2 in a shootout in the preliminary round, but the Canadians prevailed 3-2 in overtime in the final. The two countries split a pair of exhibition games in Ann Arbour, Milch., last week with Canada winning 3-1 before falling 4-1 the next night. Canada retained 16 players from its Olympic squad, while the U.S. kept 15. "I feel like were almost a mere image of each other," Canadian coach Ryan Walter said. "They come hard. Theyre a tough team. They push hard up-ice. Theyre a good skating team. I think weve got to make some adjustments." The International Ice Hockey Federations four-year plan to improve parity in womens hockey for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, gets underway in Switzerland with a coaches symposium. Finland and Sweden are expected to duke it out for bronze again. The gap between the North Americans and Scandinavians, and between them and the rest of the world, will likely stay pronounced until the IIHFs plan gains traction. The Russians are worth watching, however, as the 2014 hosts may finally feel compelled to make their womens team more competitive. Olympic bronze medallist Finland, Kazakhstan and the Swiss join Canada in Pool B, while the U.S., Sweden, Russia and Slovakia make up Pool A. The top team in each earns a bye to the semifinals, while No. 2 faces No. 3 from the opposite pool in the quarter-finals. In the build-up to the Olympics, the Canadian team looked for, and incorporated, speedy defencemen with offensive skills to generate more scoring from the back end. Whether they have the personnel to continue to do that in Switzerland remains to be seen as three defenders retired after the Olympics. Bobbie Joe Slusar of Swift Current, Sask., Jocelyne Larocque of Ste. Anne, Man., and Tara Watchorn from Newcastle, Ont., are the newcomers on the blue-line. Up front, Jennifer Wakefield of Pickering, Ont., and Torontos Natalie Spooner will make their world championship debuts. Wickenheiser and forward Jayna Hefford of Kingston, Ont., will play in their 10th world championship for Canada. The U.S. will be led by four-time Olympians Angela Ruggiero and Jenny Potter. Another American to watch is Molly Engstrom, the Wisconsin defender who won the Patty Kazmaier award as the top player in U.S. womens college hockey. If Canada and the U.S. meeting in their 13th world championship final is predictable, the outcome of that game is not. "Its going to be a very narrow gap," U.S. coach Katey Stone said. "Its going to be the team that makes the least amount of mistakes, makes the simple plays and keeps their team on the positive side of things. You never know how these games are going to go." TSN is carrying Canadas game against Finland on April 19 (10 a.m. ET), their semifinal game April 23 (10 a.m. or 2 p.m. ET, check listings) and the championship game April 25 (2 p.m. ET). The Canadian team has been training in Switzerland since its arrival Sunday. Canada faces the Swedes on Thursday in an exhibition game. Atlanta Falcons Favre Jersey . Wang Xixin believes the home demolition regulation revision involves some of the most essential issues of Chinas reform: modernization, urbanization and industrialization. [China Daily] Related readings:Demolition rules under opionion solicitation Demolition rules Mystery over demolition death in Shanghai Demolition protesters may face charges After a year of waiting, a second draft revision has been published to solicit public opinions, but new, effective regulations still have yet to be released. Bears Walter Payton Jersey . The series pits the eighth-seeded Augsburg Panthers against the fourth-ranked Hannover Scorpions. Tuesday, the Scorpions took Game 1, 3-1, led by a 2-point effort from Chris Herperger. Neither team has previously reached the final since the 1994-95 inauguration of the DEL, although Hannover made it to the semis last year after a second-place finish in the regular season. Rams Jackson Jersey .[PhotoAgencies] ISLAMABAD -- Al-Qaida, a notorious terrorist group, has confirmed its leader Osama bin Ladens death, reported local English TV channel Express on Friday afternoon. Terrell Owens Jersey . The Giants formula for success this postseason -- terrific starting pitching and offense from an unlikely source -- has them leading the best-of-seven set two games to none, halfway to their first World Series title since 1954, four years before they moved to San Francisco. St.Louis Cardinals Vince Coleman Jersey . [PhotoAgencies] LONDON - England coach Fabio Capello who invited injured David Beckham to help the World Cup squad on Monday denied Beckhams coaching role. David will stay with us and he can help us during the World Cup, but no coaching.ORLANDO, Fla. -- Andre Iguodala waited for the clock to tick down, took a few dribbles to his right and let go a high-arching jumper. Swish! The Magic were stunned, their fans silenced. For the Philadelphia 76ers, it was the sweet sound of stealing home-court advantage. Iguodala made a 22-foot jumper with 2.2 seconds remaining, and the Sixers rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Orlando 100-98 in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series Sunday. He then stood at halfcourt waving his hands as teammates joined him to celebrate. "We won one more game than people thought we would win," Iguodala said. "I was pretty amped up." Iguodala had 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Louis Williams scored 18 to help the Sixers beat the Magic for the first time in four tries this season -- and when it mattered most. Hedo Turkoglus fadeaway three-pointer missed at the buzzer, and Magic fans stood in disbelief before filing out quietly. Iguodala had missed two free throws with about a minute left before more than redeeming himself with the game-winning shot. "He really made up for it, didnt he?" Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said, smiling. "Hes like our secret weapon." Dwight Howard had a career playoff-high 31 points and 16 rebounds, and rookie Courtney Lee scored 18 for the Magic. It was the biggest lead the Magic blew all season, topping the loss on Oct. 31 to Memphis when they were ahead by 15 points. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Orlando. "I was very surprised at the effort," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I was surprised not only for our lack of intensity defensively, but I was really surprised with our lack of focus." The Sixers came into the playoffs losing six of their last seven games but were able to put that skid in the past the same way they did last year, when they won Game 1 at Detroit. The Pistons eventually took the series in six games. Orlandos inside-out game seemed as if it would too much for Philadelphia. Lees shooting and Howards muscle highlighted a 15-3 run in the third quarter that built an 18-point lead. With Howard banging on the inside, the Sixers were forced to throw double-teams at him, allowing the Magics perimeter players to break free. When they did, Howard again took charge. Rim-rocking dunks, smooth hook shots and even some uncharacteristic crisp free throws by the Magics centre capped the spurt. The only time Philadelphia actually slowed Howard was when Samuel Dalembert inadvertently scratched both his eyes and was called for a foul. Howard said his eyes were pulsating after the game but shouldnt be a problem. "I got backslapped," Howard said. Maybe that was all Philadelphia needed. Howard made the pair of free throws tto put Orlando ahead 79-61 and then went to the locker room with a towel to his face. Yastrzemski Jersey. . He returned to the game after a few minutes. The Sixers rolled off eight straight points in the fourth and eventually tied the game at 91 with fewer than four minutes left on a layup by Andre Miller. After Howards dunk over Theo Ratliff put the Magic ahead 98-95 with 49.1 seconds remaining, Donyell Marshall answered with a 3-pointer -- and 11 points in the four -- for Philadelphia and Iguodala did the rest. "Youve got to understand, when I come into the game were usually down 15 points," Marshall joked. "So my job is just to come in and shoot." Starting Magic forwards Rashard Lewis and Turkoglu looked rusty in their first games in more than a week after being sidelined with injuries, part of the reason Orlando was pushed back to the Eastern Conferences No. 3 spot. Lewis said the injury didnt slow him and what hurt after the game was the loss, not the tendinitis in his right knee. "Its a loss on your home court and now home-court advantage is toward them," Lewis said. "But this is the playoffs. Its not the NCAA tournament. One game is not going to eliminate you." The Magic could never make up the difference. The sixth-seeded Sixers were able to withstand an early Magic run and a strong start from Howard, who finished 9-for-11 from the floor. Thaddeus Young had consecutive three-point plays to help Philadelphia rebound from five down to eventually take a 27-21 lead in the first quarter. Any momentum the Sixers built evaporated on the final play of the period. In a rare display of speed and power, 34-year-old Magic backup guard Anthony Johnson took it end-to-end and dunked over Ratliff. The throttling one-hand slam in the waning seconds of the quarter had the Magics bench so exhilarated that Van Gundy had to shove a few of his own players back who had made their way onto the court in celebration. It was premature. The Sixers hung tough and bumped back, with Iguodala going for a pair of reverse dunks in a back-and-forth second quarter. Philadelphia had an answer for everything Orlando threw its way. Everything, that is, except Howard. "This is a game that we should have won," Howard said. "But theres no need to panic. We just have to come our with a better effort." Notes: Howards previous playoff high was 29 points against the Raptors in the first round last year. It was Howards 15th career playoff game. ... Central Florida resident and the Magics most famous fan, Tiger Woods, was sitting at his courtside seat across from Philadelphias bench. ... Lewis had missed the last three games with right knee tendinitis. Turkoglu had been sidelined for the last two games with a sprained left ankle. ' ' '
