Heres what I have learned about Sarah Burke. She was a pioneer. She did things on skis that made the birds take notice. Sarah Burke was a crusader. For years she fought to get womens halfpipe recognized as a sport. She was a dreamer too. Her mom, Jan Phelan, told me that even as a little kid she wanted to ski in the Olympics. Jan still lives and makes art only a few blocks away from her daughters house in Squamish, B.C. A few weeks before the Sochi Olympics I went to meet her to talk about her daughters legacy. She told me about how when Sarah took up halfpipe as a teenager, as the only woman in the sport, she competed against men. “So she said , Okay, I will compete against the senior men. And so she came fourth, and landed the first 1080 in a competition. And so of all of these men, many of whom were on the world cup circuit, Sarah, this little kid came fourth. Isnt that something?" Thats how Sarah Burke first put womens halfpipe on the map. But she didnt stop there. Jan remembers proofreading the emails Sarah wrote when she was 14 to the X Games asking them why women couldnt compete. At events Sarah tracked down officials and demanded women be given a chance. For years she was turned down. “She would be crying in her goggles and venting her frustration and then she would say, Okay, I am going to go back and talk to them again. I could just imagine the tears filling up her goggles because she was so mad. And she had worked so hard at it.” Some super sad times I met Sarahs husband, Rory Bushfield, on his driveway. And in a matter of moments he had conviced me to put his bike in our little CBC rental car and shuttle him up a mountain so he could go for a ride. We obliged. “Its been two years since Sarah passed and I have gone through some super sad times but everything about Sarah is easy to smile about. She did it with grace, and she did it with class, pushed herself in the right places, skied half pipe like a champion, did so many first tricks for women that had never been done, you know, continued to push and continued to push.” Finally, in 2005, Sarah broke through. Her work paid off. Womens halfpipe got a spot in the world championships. Sarah won gold, and in her post-run interview she kept on pushing: “I am keeping my fingers crossed for the Olympics, we are only get better and I am hoping to get it in there.” But Sarah would never make it to the Olympics. On Jan. 19, 2012, Sarah Burke died after a crash while training in Utah. But in a way she won her fight. She got her sport into the Olympics. And so in Sochi, when the women drop into the halfpipe for the first time, Sarahs dream will have come true. Canadian slopestyle Spencer OBrien was a close friend of Burkes, and after her qualifying runs she showed me the little tape banner that still hangs on her board two years after Sarah died. Jan Phelan is making the long trip from Squamish to Sochi. She wants to stand near the halfpipe as the women compete and witness her daughters legacy. “If you had asked me, before this happened, what was the worst thing in my life would be, it would be to lose a child. To lose Sarah. I now know that there is one thing worse and that is to never have had her at all. Right. So what that tells me is to look at all these wonderful things she did accomplish and to enjoy them, let them bring you happiness.” Joe Blanton Jersey .Y. -- Nothing seems to phase No. Anthony Rendon Jersey . Anything less than gold for either nation is considered a disappointment. Yet for Switzerland, advancing to the semifinal might be a victory in itself. http://www.officialnationalsgearshop.com...on-Kids-Jersey/. With the Rangers already leading 2-0, Carey Price was taken down early in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 pounding of the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon. Matt Wieters Jersey . According to TSN Edmonton reporter Ryan Rishaug, agent Rick Valette met with Oilers senior VP of hockey operations Scott Howson and general manager Craig MacTavish on Monday to kick off the talks. Mark Reynolds Jersey . Its been a successful Games for Canada, which will finish near the top of the medal standings again. From repeat gold medal winners to multiple medal winners to undefeated teams to acts that define the Olympic spirit, there are many solid candidates who could be considered to receive the honour.CHICAGO - After the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 Wednesday night, Nelson Cruz said he was more focused on the team than any personal accomplishments. Thats not a bad way to be with the Orioles these days. Cruz took the major league lead with his 33rd home run and the surging Orioles completed a three-game sweep of the White Sox. Adam Jones and Steve Pearce also homered as the Orioles won their fourth straight and extended their AL East lead to nine games over second-place Toronto. Cruz matched his career high for homers and moved one ahead of White Sox rookie Jose Abreu and Miamis Giancarlo Stanton. "Its just personal stuff. Im happy because were winning," Cruz said. "Thats the main goal here." Its clear then that the Orioles are reaching plenty of their goals. Baltimore posted its first sweep in Chicago over the White Sox since July 1995. And it did so thanks to its power — the Orioles hit three homers off Hector Noesi (7-9) and lead baseball with 161. Baltimore also got plenty of pitching, with Wei-Yin Chen (13-4) going 7 1-3 innings and allowing three runs and six hits before Zach Britton picked up his 27th save in 30 tries. That was good news for the noisy, orange-clad Orioles fans who made up a decent portion of the crowd and saw their team improve to 39-26 on the road. "If you pitch well, you give yourself some opportunities," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Theres some things we werent perfect at tonight. When you pitch well, it can cover some things and when you catch the baseball." Chen fell behind early when he allowed a two-run homer in the first to Avisail Garcia and left in the eighth leading 4-3 after allowing one-out singles to Alexei&nbssp;Ramirez and Alejandro De Aza.dddddddddddd But Darren ODay struck out Abreu then Garcia to end the threat. "Thats a tough spot for them and (ODay) came through big," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "You get a guy, a sidewinder like that, its a tough at-bat for those guys." Noesi went seven innings as the White Sox fell a season-high nine games below .500. "You know, when you miss a pitch, you miss the location they go for it," Noesi said. TRAINERS ROOM Orioles: 3B Manny Machado reported his sprained right ankle had been slow to respond to treatment and exercises. White Sox: General manager Rick Hahn said OF Adam Eaton (strained right oblique) could be off the disabled list next week and will go on a rehab assignment soon. UP NEXT Orioles: RHP Kevin Gausman (7-4, 3.70) faces Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (6-4, 2.61) on Friday at Wrigley Field. Arrieta spent parts of four seasons with the Orioles before being traded last July to Chicago. White Sox: LHP John Danks (9-8, 4.94) faces Yankees RHP Shane Greene (3-1, 2.91) on Friday in New York. Danks is 2-2 with a 6.20 ERA since July 1. CLOSE TO HOME Curt Schillings revelation of oral cancer hit home to Showalter, who called the ex-pitcher "one of the favourite players I ever had (managed)." Schilling blamed his condition on smokeless tobacco, which Showalter said he used occasionally. "Its a very serious issue," Showalter said. COMING ATTRACTION There has been speculation that Carlos Rodon, the No. 3 overall pick in this years draft, could be called up by the White Sox before the end of the season. But Hahn said "there is nothing set in stone in terms of him coming here or not coming here." ' ' '