Canadian pairs and dance duos are at the top of their game early in the season at Skate Canada International. World bronze medalists and Canadian pairs champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford posted the highest total score of the season and won their first-ever Grand Prix gold at the recent Skate Canada International in Kelowna, B.C. Once again they challenged themselves this season by upping the ante technically, with the addition of a throw quadruple salchow. Only one team tried the risky throw in competition last year with no success and Meagan and Eric are one of only two teams that are likely to include it this year. Their strategy is unapologetically athletic and they are hoping that if they keep raising the technical bar higher and completing their elements well enough, the risk will produce big rewards and make them world title contenders along with the artistic Russian teams. Early in the season added technical risks tended to be their undoing as their dividends werent seemingly apparent until later on at Nationals and Worlds. This year, however, they have started out on fire and already look to be improving on last years World bronze win. In regard to their long program, I think this years routine is the perfect vehicle for them to showcase their athleticism while drawing in and engaging the audience in their performance. Canadian ice dancers were impressive in Kelowna, winning gold and silver. World silver medalists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje won gold by a comfortable margin and received instant standing ovations. While they delivered a convincing win, coupled with crowd pleasing performances on home ice, their real test will come in December at the Grand Prix Final where they will face off against the worlds best. It was an impressive first outing but what matters now is where they take the material from here. Past seasons have shown us that they are tenacious in their pursuit of improvement and refinement, so stay tuned. Silver medalists in the dance, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are off to a terrific start this season and made their eighth place finish at Worlds look like simply a stepping stone to bigger and better things this year. Their new material was well received and well rewarded, including that of their free dance, which I see as the best work they have done to date. Its inviting and easy to like while also showcases their innovative and superior skating quality. Results for Canadian skaters in the singles events were slightly subdued at Skate Canada due to the withdrawals of Kevin Reynolds, Elladge Balde and Kaetlyn Osmond due to injury. The big news for Canadians on the mens international stage is the emergence of 16-year-old Nam Nguyen on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. He shocked more seasoned competitors at Skate America, the season opener, with his bronze medal win. On his way to the bronze he defeated the current Olympic bronze medalist, Denis Ten and also finished ahead of U.S. Champion Jeremy Abbott with a flawless long program. What was most impressive was the fact that it was Nguyens senior Grand Prix debut and he managed to nail a quad salchow in the free skate. Coming into this season Nam was not a skater who the contenders would figure into the mix. Now hes got the top guys glancing sideways at him, knowing that with the newfound quad and the impressive technical scores he has put up in the free skate, he can surely be a fit to play spoiler at any upcoming event. Nguyen will compete at the Cup of China this weekend alongside his training mate, Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Japanese men have won the first two Grand Prix events and Yuzu has said hes hoping to ride the wave to gold at the Cup of China. As strong as the Japanese men are, its the Russian women who are dominating the ladies events this season. It is possible - in fact quite likely - that the Russian women could win all of the Grand Prixs and qualify four or five spots out of a total six spots at the final. Thats how deep their women are. With the National Champ on the sidelines, Canadian hopes in that event shift now to the national silver medalist Gabrielle Daleman who begins her quest this Grand Prix season in China. She is young, a capable jumper and a determined competitor who is looking to move from her 13th place finish at worlds. She will be up against a tough field so will need to be at the top of her game to be in contention. How to Buy Cheap Jerseys . On Tuesday, the star questioned whether that was still the case. Speaking to reporters at a charity event, Johnson said: "I just kind of wonder sometimes: Is this still the place for me?" Johnsons comments came after he was asked why he recently skipped a voluntary minicamp. 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Green scored a career-high 36 points, including eight in overtime, and the Phoenix Suns beat Denver 112-107 on Tuesday night to hand the Nuggets their fifth consecutive loss.MARSEILLE, France -- Victorias Ryder Hesjedal is continuing to race in the Tour de France despite the pain of a broken rib. His Garmin-Sharp team says he suffered the injury in a crash during the races first stage over the weekend. Hesjedal says he had been uncomfortable since the accident and an X-ray confirmed the fracture Wednesday. "A lot of times with rib injuries fractures dont show up right away so waiting until today we were able to confirm whats going on," Hesjedal said in a statement. "Theres not much you can do about a fractured rib except for deal with the discomfort so that is what Ive been doing and will keep doing." The broken rib comes after Hesjedal was forced to withdraw from the Tour de Suisse last month due to injuries suffered in a crash. In May, hee pulled out of the Giro dItalia -- a race he won in 2012 -- due to illness.dddddddddddd Hesjedals teammate Christian Vande Velde crashed in Stage 5 Wednesday. "Ryder and Tom are both OK, so were happy about that," said Garmin-Sharp director sportif Charly Wegelius. "Well need to see how Christian does tonight and well make the call in the morning on whether or not he can start." The team doctor said tests showed a blood clot in Vande Veldes neck muscle and a loosened screw -- from a previous injury -- in his clavicle plate. "From what we can tell, it is possible that the screw may have jabbed a muscle," said Prentice Steffen. "Preliminary X-rays do not show a fracture but it probably flexed a bit in the crash and disrupted a screw." ' ' '