LAKE LOUISE, Alta. -- Manuel Osborne-Paradis talks of learning more about himself and of taking care of his body to extend his career in ski racing. All very adult, but he hasnt completely outgrown the man who celebrated the Calgary Stampede two years ago by climbing on the back of a party bus and falling off. He sustained road rash on his bottom severe enough to put him in the hospital. Winning downhill races requires recklessness, so Osborne-Paradis isnt willing to let the foolhardy part of himself disappear completely. "You cant kill that," he says. "You can scrape a bit of him off, but you cant kill him." His Canadian teammate Jan Hudec doesnt want to see it disappear either because that devil-may-care ingredient is necessary when attempting speeds that are literally breakneck. "We all hope he has pre-road rash Manny left in him," Hudec said. "Besides the personality and the energy it brings to the team, I think its part of his winning attitude. "Im a little bit the same way. I live my life pretty loosey-goosey by the seat of my pants. I dont plan ahead, but it works for me for skiing. Thats how I race as well. I live in the moment. Manny is fairly similar that way." Erik Guay, Hudec and Osborne-Paradis are the Canadian downhill teams decorated elder statesmen at the season-opening World Cup in Lake Louise, Alta. John Kucera would also be included in that group if the Calgarian wasnt sidelined with an inner ear condition. The downhill is Saturday followed by Sundays super-G. Training was cancelled Thursday because of a power problem affecting the lift to the start hut. Repairs didnt leave enough time to get 91 racers from the top to the bottom, although the competitors were able to free ski the lower sections of the course. Guay had the fastest time in training Wednesday, with Osborne-Paradis and Hudec also in the top 10. Guay and Hudec, both 32, and Osborne-Paradis, 29, have stood on World Cup podiums multiple times during their careers. Theyve morphed from guys who just wanted to ski fast to men running their individual ski empires of businesses, sponsorships and charities. "Business, families, girlfriends, fiancees, wives, we didnt even know what those words were and how to use them five years ago," Osborne-Paradis says. "You know, young and dumb. Its a different time of your life. Theres guys who are 36 in the race and theres guys who are 20 and you can totally tell the difference." How to square their adult responsibilities with a certain disregard for their own safety on the mountain is a balancing act, says Hudec. "I think the older you get, the more cherished it becomes and you put it in your backpack in a safety deposit box and you carefully bring it to the hotel and youre like dont lose this. Its my recklessness. If I lose this, Im screwed," Hudec explains. "You have to leave it at home when you go to the store or your business and youre telling people to be responsible and be on time. They cant know youre that person on the hill. Its actually a really funny challenge." Vancouvers Osborne-Paradis returned last season from a catastrophic knee injury suffered in January, 2011. Hudec, from Calgary, has undergone seven knee surgeries, including six on the same knee. Injuries plant seeds of doubt that have to be overcome in the start hut. Bravado helps get past the mental barriers to 130 kilometres per hour. "I think theres a lot of fear, but you learn to adapt to that," Osborne-Paradis says. "Recklessness for sure, its the only way to win. "You can ski pretty and have a good run and come 20th your whole career if you wanted to. To win, you need to be taking chances and you need to risk the fact that you might end up in the (safety) nets. Thats the only way to win." The 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, are just weeks away and this could be the Olympic swan song for some of Canadas veteran downhillers. Osborne-Paradis says he has never worked so hard to prepare for a season of racing. "Ive taken the initiatives and worked better with my sports psych, better with my biofeedback, better with stretching and mobility," he says. "The stuff that, as you get older, makes more a difference than going out and grunting. "As you get older, you need to learn how to stay in the game and stay active in this sport. You take your knowledge and your history of running all the courses and use that to your advantage and build up a better mental capacity of what needs to be done at each event. To get to know yourself a little bit more makes you a better athlete." Similar to NHL goaltenders who donate money to a charity for each shootout they earn, Osborne-Paradis has come up with a strategy for Right To Play, the international organization that empowers children facing adversity through sport. Osborne-Paradis wears Right To Plays logo on his helmet instead of a corporate brand. Through his business contacts, hes raised an initial $25,000 for the organization. More will be donated for top-10 or podium performances he achieves this season. A win, for example, is worth another $15,000 contribution. If Osborne-Paradis attracts a headgear sponsor this season, he intends to wear Right To Plays logo on his suit. He would exponentially increase the bonus money to the organization, so a win would be worth $30,000. "Obviously theres the personal drive of achieving your goals, but when youre skiing for a cause bigger than yourself, the better you ski and the faster you ski and the more other people will benefit from that," he says. "Its a great feeling and on those off days it really helps you push through the cold weather and the fear of racing or whatever." Zack Steffen Jersey . -- Washingtons Bradley Beal seemed to make every shot he took in setting a career high with 37 points. DaMarcus Beasley Jersey .The ruling takes effect on Jan. 1 and stems from the debate surrounding Paralympic champion Markus Rehm, an amputee who won the national long jump title competing with a carbon-fiber prosthesis. http://www.usasoccerauthority.com/graham-zusi-usa-jersey/ .com) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos had an arthroscopic procedure performed on his right elbow last week, the teams official site reported Wednesday. Sebastian Lletget Jersey . LOUIS - The St. Paul Arriola Jersey . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing.NEW YORK -- Marcus Thornton has been around the Brooklyn Nets for only two weeks, so hes still trying to learn his new teams playbook. According to Nets first-year coach Jason Kidd, there are some plays his reserve guard understands pretty well. "Its called shoot it," Kidd said. Thornton did just that on his way to scoring 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter against his old team while Joe Johnson added 18 points to help Brooklyn overcame an injury to Paul Pierce in a 104-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. Alan Anderson had 11 points and Shaun Livingston and Deron Williams each scored 10 points as the Nets won for the fifth time in six games. Brooklyns win was its seventh straight at the Barclays Center, matching a season-high set Dec. 27, 2013 to Jan. 24, 2014. Thornton, acquired from the Kings in exchange for Reggie Evans and Jason Terry on Feb. 19, took it to his former teammates over a four-minute stretch that bridged the end of the third quarter and the opening minutes of the fourth. With 5.5 seconds remaining in the third, Thornton made a 3-pointer to extend Brooklyns lead to 77-65. Thornton then continued his streak of 13 straight points by opened up the final quarter with a drive to the basket to extend the lead. He then stripped the ball from Ray McCallum and finger-rolled it to make it 81-65. McCallum later would throw the ball out of bounds and Andray Blatche found Thornton for another 3 that made it 84-68. He then concluded his hot streak with another 3 right over former teammates Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins to make it 87-69 with 9:58 to go and the Nets never looked back leading by as many as 24 in the period. "Anytime you see the ball go through the net, you get confidence about yourself," said Thornton, who scored 15 straight against Memphis last week. "I credit my teammates for finding me in spots I can be effective in. And my shots were going down." So far, Thornton been able to show flashes of that scorer Brooklyn was looking to add when they swung the deal before the trade deadline. Hes averaged 11.8 points in six games despite his limited knowledge of the teams offensive scheme. "If Im open, Im ((going) to shoot it," he said.dddddddddddd Thorntons presence off the bench will be even more crucial if Pierce is out for an extended amount of time. After the game, Kidd said the team would re-evaluate Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko, who left the game in the third quarter after spraining his right ankle. "Well, I stepped on Derons foot in the first quarter and felt a little tweak," Kirilenko said. "I thought I could keep going but obviously it just stopped me. I dont think its a serious injury." Brooklyn will host the Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors on Monday night. The Raptors currently hold a four-game lead over the second-place Nets. Kings coach Michael Malone was criticial of the way the team mishandled the ball throughout the night while also singling out the way they shared the ball. "Once again we continue to beat ourselves on the road. Eleven assists in 48-minute game is absurd. More importantly is the 25 turnovers for 28 points," Malone said. "What I see now on both ends of the floor is a disease of me. Were becoming a selfish basketball team." Of the 25 turnovers forced by the Nets, 14 were steals. Cousins had 20 points and 28 rebounds to lead the Kings, and Gay added 20 points. "Turnovers killed us tonight," Cousins said. "Turnovers and Id say selfish basketball, thats what really hurt us tonight. We let Marcus Thornton get hot. We let one of those shooters hurt us and thats what kind of sealed the game." Brooklyn led by 16 points in the first half after losing Pierce to a right shoulder injury in the early minutes of the first quarter. However, Brooklyn outscored Sacramento 47-32 the rest of the way. Pierce got hurt with just under 11 minutes left in the first quarter when Sacramentos Jason Thompson backed him into the paint and as he kept looking to post Pierce in the paint, he quickly spun around for a layup. Pierce felt the force of Thompson banging into him and clutched his shoulder. Kevin Garnett has also missed the last five games with back spasms. NOTES: Brooklyn improved to 14-11 against the Western Conference this season but are 10-3 since Jan. 1. ... Brooklyns reserves outscored their counterparts 59-19. 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