SAITAMA, Japan -- European champions Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte received 69.70 points to finish first in the short program. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., trailed by half a point. Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France were third on 68.20. "This is definitely where we want to be, in the attacking position of the top spot, because we feel that we put great work into this season especially and we want to end on a high note and put out two solid performances," said Poje. Torontos Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Unionville, Ont., were 10th with 59.42 points. Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., scored 57.68 points for 11th place heading into Saturdays free dance. Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev, the top-ranked Russians, were forced to withdraw after Soloviev injured his groin in the morning practice. Defending champions and Olympic gold medallists Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States were not taking part. The ice dance concludes on Saturday with the free dance. Japanese teenager Yuzuru Hanyu came back with a brilliant free skate to become the first man in 12 years on Friday to win the Olympic and world figure skating titles in the same year. The 19-year-old Hanyu, who trailed compatriot Tatsuki Machida by nearly seven points after the world championships short program, produced a near-flawless free skate to finish with 282.59 points, just three-tenths of a point ahead of Machida. Javier Fernandez of Spain was third with 275.93. "That was very close," Hanyu said. "I work hard to become a skater who can always end with strong performances. I felt the responsibility to win the event." Hanyu fell twice during the free skate at the Sochi Olympics but had no falls on Friday. Skating to "Romeo and Juliet," he opened with a quad salchow and followed with a quad toeloop. His only deduction came on the triple flip and he got extra points on five straight jumps. The mens Olympic-worlds double was last achieved by Alexei Yagudin in 2002. Machida captured his first major medal with a graceful performance to Stravinskis "Firebird." "I showed everything I have at this moment," Machida said. "I tried to perform without caring about the score or ranking but it got into my head and I had a really tough four minutes." Fernandez, who was fourth in Sochi, was deducted points when he singled a planned triple lutz. "I popped the triple lutz," Fernandez said. "And I didnt do my quad salchow triple toeloop combination, but still it was a good program even though Yuzuru did better than me." Maxim Kotvun of Russia was fourth followed by Jeremy Abbott of the United States. Canadian Patrick Chan, who had won the last three world titles, decided to skip this years competition. Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., was the top Canadian in 11th place. Its been a tough season for Reynolds, who struggled with ill-fitting skates for several months. "The whole season was a giant learning experience, and I can take from that knowing I can still skate my best even though Im not feeling even close to where Id like to be in terms of being comfortable and being ready, being prepared," said Reynolds. "What I can take away from this is that even if Im not feeling 100 per cent, I know that I can still do the job, and that should give me confidence when I do feel good." World junior champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto was 12th while Elladj Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., was 18th. "Skating in front of 20,000 plus people, its amazing," said the 15-year-old Nguyen. "Im not intimidated at all. Im very excited to skate for them. I love to hear them cheer for me. I just want them to skate with me." -- With files from The Canadian Press Felix Pena Jersey . -- Jane Kish stopped all 25 shots she faced as the Weyburn Gold Wings blanked the Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-0 on Friday to advance to the gold-medal game at the Esso Cup. Trevor Cahill Angels Jersey . -- Slugger Jose Abreu, All-Star left-hander Chris Sale and closer Matt Lindstrom are on the disabled list. https://www.cheapangels.com/2113j-chuck-...sey-angels.html. Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. Max Stassi Jersey . Fans can also watch the game on the newly launched TSN GO (currently available to Bell TV and Rogers customers), which gives TSN subscribers the freedom to live stream the networks programming from their smartphones, tablets, and computers at no additional charge – just as they would watch Canadas Sports Leader on TV at home. The following week, MLS ON TSN is at BMO Field in Toronto to deliver live coverage of TFCs home opener vs. D.C. United on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p. Kevan Smith Jersey .com) - The University of Montana named Bob Stitt as its new head football coach on Tuesday.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Philadelphia Flyers are eternally optimistic if nothing else. No matter how bad things appear to be going for the Flyers, the franchise always believes it can throw money at the problem and resurrect the teams Stanley Cup hopes. But with the way things are going in 2014-15, Philly may have no choice but to admit defeat and enter a long overdue rebuilding phase. The Flyers have tested the outer limits of the NHLs salary cap ceiling, but have little to show for their numerous bad investments. With the club about to enter a road-heavy part of the schedule its entirely possible that Philadelphia will find itself with little to play for by the time early January rolls around. Philadelphia enters Tuesdays game in San Jose having lost four straight and eight of its previous nine outings. The tilt is the second stop on a five-game road trip and part of a stretch that will see the Flyers play 13 out of 17 games as the guest. With a 2-8-1 record away from the City of Brotherly Love, things could easily get worse for the Flyers before they get better. Its still early, but even at this stage of the season its no good to be where Philadelphia is in the standings. The Flyers are already eight points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, and the situation seems even bleaker when you realize how little organizational depth Philadelphia has to combat its myriad issues. The Flyers are basically a one-line team on offense, with little scoring coming from guys not named Claude Giroux or Jakub Voracek. The defense is no better and the cap issues make it difficult for Philadelphia to fix the problems at either end of the ice. Short of firing the head coach Craig Berube, who was hired when Peter Laviolette got the axe three games into last season, the Flyers are running out of ways to shake their sleepwalking team out of its slumber. Previous attempts to rouse the club have fallen short of their intended goal, like when general manager Ron Hextall was overheard ripping his team with a profanity-laden tirade following a listless performance in a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Nov. 19. The GMs explosion seemed to have little effect, however, as the Flyers have fallen in five of six games since Hextall blasted his club. Since screaming and yelling didnt work, the Flyers now seem to be trying to motivate the club with shocking scratches. Defenseman Andrew MacDonald and forward Vincent Lecavalier were the recipients of this treatment, as Berube tries to shake up his team and possibly save his job. MacDonald was scratched before Phillys 5-2 loss against the Rangers on Saturday, and Lecavalier told the Philadelphia Daily News he is out for Tuesdays game against the Sharks. If both Lecavalier and MacDonald watch tonight from the San Jose press box, the Flyers will have $9.5 million in salary, or 13.7 percent of the teams total cap space, sitting as healthy scratches. For Lecavalier, it also will mark the first time hes been made a healthy scratch during a standout career which includes a Rocket Richard Trophy, a Stanley Cup title and several All-Star Game appearances. Being moved to the fourth line this season was enough of an indignity for the 34-year-old, but being told Sunday that his services wouldnt be needed at all was a shocking revelation for Lecavalier. Its very hard to take, Lecavalier said..ddddddddddddIt was a tough night, when youre told something like that. And its not just Lecavalier and MacDonald who arent pulling their weight for Philly -- the club is jam-packed with either overpaid veterans or young guys still trying to prove they belong on an NHL roster. Hextall isnt to blame for the clubs current woes, having only taken over the GM spot from Paul Holmgren in May. Holmgren, with Flyers owner Ed Snider likely prodding him along, kept doubling down on the notion Philadelphia was always a free agent signing away from becoming a Stanley Cup contender. Its now Hextalls job to convince the owner and Holmgren, who was promoted to team president, that getting healthy cap-wise is the best way back to respectability. Philadelphia has some toxic contracts on its books, but there will be contending teams with plenty of cap space who may be willing to rid the Flyers of some of those bad investments. Although the Flyers did turn around and make the playoffs after a terrible start in 2013-14, its going to be difficult to sell the public on this edition of the Orange and Black. Even Mr. Snider isnt liking the odds of this team turning into a winner, especially when the improvement will likely need to come from within the organization. Its not going to be an easy fix if we cant get more production out of our players, Snider recent told the Daily News in a phone interview. You cant be a one-line team and win in this league. BRODEUR A BLUE Martin Brodeur figured if he waited long enough, an injury would lead to him getting back between the pipes for an NHL team. The strategy worked, as the St. Louis Blues signed the free agent goaltender to a one-year contract on Tuesday following an injury to No. 1 netminder Brian Elliott. When the Devils opted to not re-sign Brodeur in the offseason and officially hand the keys over to goaltender Cory Schneider, the aging netminder had a difficult time finding a new home. But Brodeur and his agent were not discouraged by the lack of interest during the initial free agent frenzy and bided their time for a team in need to come calling. Just over five months after free agency began on July 1, Brodeur finally found a partner in the Blues following a brief tryout period. The 42-year-old Brodeur is a future Hall of Famer who leads the NHL in numerous all-time records, including wins (688) and shutouts (124). Also a three-time Stanley Cup winner, the former face of the New Jersey Devils franchise has little to play for other than the love of competition. Hockeys fun, Brodeur said. I just couldnt see myself stopping right now. Im glad I have the opportunity to continue it. With Elliott deemed week-to-week by the club with a lower-body injury, Brodeur will join youngster Jake Allen as St. Louis top goaltending options for now. Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock indicated Brodeur will be more than a glorified backup for Allen, saying if hes here, hes going to play. It will be odd for fans seeing Brodeur in a new uniform after he spent nearly 25 years with the Devils after being drafted by the team way back in 1990. The weirdness of the situation is not lost on the old goaltender. Its going to feel great, its going to definitely be different, said Brodeur said. Not just for me, but for the fans. Ive turned the page, and this is a new beginning that hopefully will come off with something great. ' ' '