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Im writing this having just returned from the International Broadcast Centre in Sochi after watching and broadcasting a portion of the mens final in figure skating. It would be an understatement to say that I am still stunned by what has transpired here in Russia. Yuzuru Hanyu, a 19-year-old, has just become the Olympic gold medallist, the first for his country, in this individual discipline. Meanwhile, the three-time and reigning world champion, Patrick Chan of Canada, has taken the silver medal. Neither skated perfectly, far from it, but the drama of it all was breathtaking. And although I might have forecast a different result, I find myself unable to quibble with the bottom line. Someone came first and someone came second. The only call I took when I got back here to the hotel was from an old acquaintance and colleague named Dave Campbell at CHED radio in Edmonton. I had run into him during my Hockey Night in Canada days covering the Oilers. But tonight Dave didnt even mention the score of the Canadian mens hockey game versus Austria, a 6-0 shellacking by the maple leaf men. He wanted to talk figure skating. “You know, we were discussing Chan and the result in the office, and we were disappointed,” he said. “But then again we thought that figure skating must surely be the most difficult of the Olympic sports.” I would have to agree. Personally speaking, I cannot fathom what it must be like to go onto a sheet of ice in front of 12,000 people and to perform what appears to be a series of impossible acts without an overwhelming fear of failure. There is nowhere for these young people to hide. There is no mulligan for a bad jump, or second chance to eliminate the sting of a fall on ones ass. You cannot skip a shift and survive in figure skating. It is what it is. These athletes accept that they are required to stand and deliver and when the dust settles they must live with the result. In the end, they must go it alone. The thing is, I felt completely helpless for Patrick Chan as he skated with a chance to be the Olympic champion. I have followed his career since the time he first won the national title seven years ago. Ive been there for each of his three world championships. He has never dodged a question and never given an excuse for something less than a perfect performance. He is, in my experience, a conscientious and hard-working young man who is supremely talented. Tonight, he came up short, and I know he wishes he could do it all over again … but he cant. Dave Campbell may have been right when he suggested that figure skating is the most difficult of the sports. Im convinced it is simultaneously the most beautiful and brutal. The judges reward you lavishly when you succeed, and they punish you ruthlessly when you dont. And they make you sit by yourself to await your fate on a giant-sized television screen so that everyone in the arena and around the globe knows what they think of you. Those are the facts when it comes to figure skating. And while Im disappointed for Patrick Chan and happy for Yuzuru Hanyu, Im astonished that the result has affected me the way it has. Its not like I havent witnessed something like this before. “Its just so thrilling,” Dave Campbell said. “And its causing me to lose sleep, but I cant get enough of it.” I feel the same way. Its the savage beauty of sport and the incredible attraction that the brave hearts who dare to venture onto the Olympic field of play hold for me. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bucks Jersey .C. -- Clemson celebrated a senior class Saturday that brought the program back as a national contender. Cameron Reynolds Bucks Jersey . - The Florida Panthers are getting some Army training to finish off their preparations for the season. https://www.bucksrookiesshop.com/Thon-Maker-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Down 2-1 after Rick Nash scored on a penalty shot, the Oilers ran off four unanswered goals in the remainder of the second period on the way to a 6-3 victory on Sunday. Giannis Antetokounmpo Bucks Jersey .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova. Frank Mason Jersey . The teams all-time leading scorer, DeRo has won everything there is to win in MLS.RENTON, Wash. - During one of the most successful coaching careers in football, Pete Carroll rarely has committed errors. He did at Southern California with Clay Matthews, and Carroll still shakes his head about it.A defensive mastermind throughout his years in pro and college football, Carroll always has had an eye for talented linebackers. Somehow, he didnt immediately see the skill in Matthews, a third-generation player who wasnt much more than a special teams guy early on with the Trojans.On Sunday, Carrolls Seahawks (13-4) will face Matthews Packers (13-4) in the NFC championship game. Carroll loves what he sees out of Matthews, a five-time Pro Bowler — even though the coach didnt recognize that playmaking ability back at USC.Thats a really interesting story, Carroll began. Clay comes from a great family, an SC family: dad, uncle and all of that had been All-Americans and All-Pros. ... His older brother was a walk-on player before him.When Clay came in he was 208 pounds and he didnt run really well. He wasnt really strong, but he loved playing and he tried really hard.Carroll paused, looking as if he wanted to smack himself upside the head before he continued with the SC saga.Unfortunately, this is one of the great mistakes that I missed in my coaching at SC was how good of a player he was, Carroll added. I had said going in I think maybe his junior year, somebody asked me about Clay Matthews, and I said, I think he might be one of the best special teamers to ever play at USC. He was a great player on (special) teams.I knew I couldnt really validate that, but I was blowing him up because he was a great kid.Fast-forward to Matthews final season with the Trojans. He was not a starter when top-ranked Southern Cal was losing at Oregon State. Searching for some answers, Carroll turned to Matthews.The Trojans still lost, but Carroll realized hed missed the mark earlier with Matthews.We put him in the game, and we said, We know Clay will do the right thing, Carroll said. He started playing there, and hes bbeen a great player since the time he was given the opportunity to show it.dddddddddddd He was always there banging away, always there fighting, clawing and scratching.Maybe because of the way he came up, it took him a long time to develop, and (we) didnt recognize the great heart that he had, and unbelievable competitiveness and the great savvy that he demonstrates now. Its really one of my big misses. I should have figured that out a lot sooner than I did. He made the rest of it history and been an extraordinary player ever since.Matthews consistently has performed in the NFL better than many of Carrolls other USC linebackers: Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, Keith Rivers, et al. This season, Packers co-ordinator Dom Capers has moved Matthews from outside to inside and back, and Green Bays defence stepped up in the second half of the schedule.The Southern Cal days are far behind for Matthews, who went 26th overall to Green Bay in the 2009 draft and was runner-up to Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu for NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010. He seemed to pay little attention to the fact Carroll will be on the other sideline Sunday, other than praising Carrolls achievements.Uh, you know he had a successful program at SC in my tenure there and years prior, and after me leaving, Matthews said. So its always interesting how coaches will deal with the next level, and hes obviously doing a fantastic job. Hes got the right athletes in place to help his scheme out, and hes doing a great job. Youve got to tip your hat to him.Carroll admitted he observes the work of Matthews and every other Trojan in the NFL, even though he only occasionally reaches out to Matthews.Not too much, he said of communicating with his former player. But because its the SC family, everybody is always kind of keeping track of everybody else. We always have an eye on each other, I think.___AP Sports Writers Tim Booth and Genaro C. Armas contributed to this report.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '