peculiar, if not slightly peculiar, is t
peculiar, if not slightly peculiar, is t
TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun have the latest on the future of John Tortorella in Vancouver and Randy Carlyle in Toronto as well head as coaching candidates for Team Canada at the upcoming World Hockey Championship. John Tortorella admits the coaching swap - Tortorella for Vigneault - does not look good on him right now. Is he going to get a chance to redeem himself next year? LeBrun: I dont think so. Nothing has been officially decided but all indications lead to the fact the Canucks are likely headed for a separation with their head coach. Its going to be a costly one. He still has four years and $8 million left on the deal that he signed last summer. But hes never really been a great fit with this roster and I think hell pay the ultimate price for a very disappointing year in Vancouver. The more intriguing decision is with the GM, Mike Gillis. What will ownership do with him? Hes had a long run there and a lot of people think he deserves another year, at least, to redirect the ship but that decision has not been taken. What about the collapse in Toronto? Whos going to pay the price there? McKenzie: If the Maple Leafs miss the playoffs and theyre certainly trending in that direction, the expectation is that Randy Carlyle is the most vulnerable and the guy most likely to pay the price. General manager Dave Nonis has never fired a coach in his tenure in Toronto and he also never hired Carlyle. That was a Brian Burke hire. So the sense seems to be if the masses are crying for somebodys head, it would more likely be Carlyles than anybody elses. Dreger: Tim Leiweke, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment seems to be the wild card in all of this. Will he make a snap decision and try to force something? Well, Leiweke says there will be no knee-jerk decision between now and the end of the regular season, which obviously isnt that far away. Hes also well-schooled on the long term plans of Nonis and Leiweke is often around the players as well so if there are improvements that the players feel need to be made, hes going to know that and hell be heavily involved in the review process. For the players who will be available come playoff time, the World Hockey Championship is coming up with Canada trying to earn its first medal since 2009. We know Rob Blake is leading the team from the management standpoint, who is his leading candidate for head coach? Dreger: Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes. But that all depends on whether or not the Coyotes qualify for the post-season. If Tippett is not available, Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators, Peter DeBoer of the New Jersey Devils and Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets (if their teams dont make playoffs) could be other options that Blake and company would consider. One-Timers LeBrun: There hadnt been any contact between Sergei Berezin, the agent for pending unrestricted free agent Andrei Markov and the Montrel Canadiens since the trade deadline but there has been now. Berezin told me on Tuesday that he met with Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin in south Florida over the weekend and they had a very positive meeting. Berezin said they may not be as far apart as people think so theres some hope that before July 1, Markov may stay on. LeBrun: Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman met with Steven Bartlett, the agent for Ryan Callahan, who acquired from the New York Rangers, and said theyre not going to talk until the season is over but wanted to let Bartlett know that they want Callahan back. Theyre going to try and sign him. McKenzie: Look for the Calgary Flames to put a push on to sign Hobey Baker candidate Johnny Gaudreau, who plays at Boston College. Hes a diminutive but dynamic forward and one of the best players in college hockey. Hes playing in the Frozen Four right now but as soon as his season is over, Calgary will put the push on. If he goes back for his senior season, he could declare himself an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2015. The Flames would like to head that off by trying to get him signed to a contract this spring. Richie Ashburn Jersey . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal. Will Middlebrooks Jersey .C. United to a 4-1 victory over short-handed FC Dallas on Saturday night. http://www.philliesrookiestore.com/Phil ... ds-Jersey/. Starting from pole, the 26-year-old Vettel turned in a trademark clinical performance to win the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday and join F1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as just the third driver to win four consecutive championships. Carlos Santana Jersey . In the calls, Hernandez discussed the murder of Odin Lloyd, including his "belief about his criminal liability" and the "extent of his control over persons charged as accessories," according to the request filed Thursday in Fall River Superior Court. Juan Samuel Jersey . 25 against Miami. Hillis left Browns Stadium about two hours before kickoff, a decision that has led to speculation he was upset over ongoing negotiations with the club on a contract extension.There was nothing second-rate about their performance, but second place is where Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir find themselves following their short program in the ice dance event on Sunday. Following a pattern that has become all too familiar for the defending Olympic champions, the American team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White bested Virtue and Moir by a margin of 2.56 points at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi to take top spot. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov fed off the pro-Russian crowd and tallied a 73.04, putting them in bronze-medal position heading into Mondays free dance (10:00 a.m. ET, streaming live at cbc.ca/olympics). Virtue and Moir, skating to Ella Fitzgeralds Dream a Little Dream of Me, put their slip-up in the team event far in the rear view mirror with a seemingly flawless performance, carving perfect turns, nailing their rotational lifts and staying in sync during their twizzle sequences. As the music ended and they struck their final pose, Moir let out a triumphant "Yes!", knowing that the skate represented one of their best performances of the season. Their joy was short-lived though, as their score of 76.33 came in below their season best score of 77.59 at the Grand Prix Finals in December, leaving the door wide open for the reigning world champions Davis and White, who set a new short dance world record with a score of 78.89. Canadas other medal hopefuls, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, skated a strong routine that earned them a 65.93, good for seventh place. The third Canadian entry, featuring Toronto-born Alexandra Paul and Barries Mitchell Islam, skated a light, airy and up-tempo routine, marred only by a small bobble on the opening twizzle by Paul. The 2010 world junior silver medallists finished with a score of 55.91, putting them in 18th place. Virtue and Moir have some work to do to catch the leaders, but they were still happy with how the day unfolded. "It was a really fun performance," the 24-year-old Virtue told CBC Sports. "Obviously, you are here to defend your title. You also want to have fun. You still love what you do." Moir, 26, said that it was this type of performance that has kept them going for the last four years. "Its definitely the reason we keep going. To be on this stage representing Canada, its a huge thing forr Tessa and I to be part of a fantastic Olympic Canadian team.dddddddddddd" Moir added that they still get plenty of enjoyment out of competitions like these. "We love what we do. We love skating together. We have a lot of special moments, and that was one of them." Sundays short dance marked the third head-to-head battle between the Canadians and Americans at these Olympics. Davis and White beat Virtue and Moir by three points in the short dance portion of the team event early in the Games, and repeated the feat in the free dance portion with a seven-point victory. The two rivals bring contrasting styles to the sport. Virtue and Moir boast an elegant and flowing style, and a sense of unison that no other team can match, thanks to nearly 17 years as an on-ice tandem. Davis and White, on the other hand, typically display a faster and bolder technique than the Canadian duo, albeit one with arguably less precision. Virtue and Moir have laid claim to an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver, two world titles and six Canadian championships during their careers, but theyve consistently come up short against the American pair over the past two seasons, including at the 2013 world championship in Virtues hometown of London, Ont. What makes the rivalry even more peculiar, if not slightly peculiar, is the fact they share not only the same training facility in Canton, Mich., but also the same coach and choreographer, Russian-born Marina Zoueva. Zoueva has coached Davis and White for the past 14 years, and has been working with Virtue and Moir for 10 years. While they arent close friends with the Americans off the ice, Virtue and Moir have often said that they have a good relationship with them and that both sides enjoy the friendly rivalry. Another storyline that has surrounded the athletes since the team event, an alleged judging scandal, has fortunately faded into the background. During the opening weekend, the French sports publication LEquipe had reported that the American and Russian judges were conspiring against Canada in order to assure a gold medal for Russia in the team competition and gold for the U.S., in ice dancing. Despite being at the centre of the controversy, Virtue and Moir insist that the rumours havent affected their focus on or off the ice. ' ' '