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SOCHI — Hayley Wickenheiser not only will carry the Canadian flag in the opening ceremonies on Friday, the hockey legend also carries high hopes for a fourth-consecutive Olympic gold medal and for the womens game as a whole. But before her work on the ice begins, shes going to savour a special moment at Sochis Fisht Olympic stadium on Friday. "Just going to enjoy it and take it all in and, you know, honour the fact that I have this opportunity and that my family is going to be in the building," said Wickenheiser, who hails from Shaunavon, Sask. "So its going to be a fun night, said the Olympic veteran," who will have 11 family members in Sochi. The 35-year-old Wickenheiser is well aware that if the womens tournament evolves as presumed with a Canada-United States gold-medal final on Feb. 20, the scrutiny will continue as to whether womens hockey belongs in the Olympics. But shes been around the international game for two decades, when she cracked the Canadian roster as a 15 year old in 1994, and she sees progress. Womens game in good shape “I always worry about the future of womens hockey, mainly because of the fact that most of the world pays attention to womens hockey only for two weeks out of every four years,” Wickenheiser said. “I dont worry about the womens game when I look at every game and what goes on internationally. “I look at Team Japan and what [current coach and former Canadian player] Carla MacLeod has been able to do to get that team to an Olympic Games, which is a huge accomplishment for a country. You look at Finland and how they centralize their under-18 and national teams. You look at Sweden and you look at Russia what Alexei Yashin [the teams general manager] has been able to do with his team.” Still, the Russians, Swedes, Finns and Swiss need to exhibit that they have closed the gap. But that wont be easy because Canada and the U.S. continue to elevate its level of play. “This is a dilemma womens hockey is always going to face. But the reality is were so much further ahead in this time span than say where mens hockey was in [after the first five Olympics]. I think the [womens] game has really come a long way in five Olympics.” Will this be Wickenheisers final Olympics? She wont decide on whether to continue or conclude her decorated career, that includes three Olympic gold medals, seven world championships and playing pro mens hockey in Finland and Sweden, until after the final buzzer sounds in Sochi. So what keeps Wickenheisers competitive clock ticking? “The No. 1 thing is a love of sport,” said the six-time Olympian said, who also competed for Canada in softball at the 2000 Sydney Games. “Ive loved hockey since the day I first put on skates when I was five years old. I have had a passion to play all these years. “I love being part of Team Canada and having the opportunity to win, and thats the main driving force now.” Nagano loss still hurts She forgot to mention that shes never been a good loser. At a team gathering on Monday evening, Wickenheiser and Hefford and assistant coach Daniel Goyette described the emptiness and hurt they felt when they finished second in 1998. “The worst thing in the world is to stand on the blue line with a silver medal around your neck,” she said. “It stays with you for a while.” There was some speculation that Wickenheiser wouldnt be around for the Sochi Games. There was some thought her game had dropped off and she was dealing with some injuries. “You battle injuries and you go through a lot of things as an athlete, but I could picture in my mind what I needed to do to get ready to play in these Games,” she said. “I guess its always a fragile existence as an athlete. Any day something can happen and your games are over, like we saw yesterday with the snowboarder (Norway slopestyle gold-medal contender Torstein Horgmo broke his collarbone during a trail run). “Im very grateful to be sitting here … and to have had the longevity Ive had.” (With files from CBC Saskatchewan) Cheap Nike Air Max 95 Australia . Although the deal cannot be made official until the free agent moratorium period is lifted on July 10, Patterson has agreed to a three-year, $18 million extension to remain in Toronto, sources confirm to TSN. Cheap Air Max 95 Wholesale . - Henrik Samuelsson and Curtis Lazar each had two goals and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings secured top spot in the Eastern Conference by defeating the host Red Deer Rebels 7-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. http://www.cheapaustraliaairmax95.com/. Balotelli was out at dinner with his brother Enoch and came home to discover he had been burgled. The car was later found abandoned. Balotelli wrote Saturday on Twitter: "I feel empty! No emotions . Air Max 95 For Sale Australia . Williams withdrawal came less than 24 hours after losing in the final Auckland WTA tournament final. "I dont believe she has an injury," Hobart tournament director Mark Handley said. Cheap Air Max 95 Free Shipping . -- Gary Harris gave No.PARIS - So unbeatable for so long until the closing days of Grand Slam tournaments, Roger Federer is suddenly accumulating early exits. Federers streak of nine consecutive quarter-finals at the French Open ended Sunday with a 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 fourth-round loss to 18th-seeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. "A lot of regrets," Federer said. "I just couldnt kind of figure it out." The 17-time Grand Slam champion had not left Roland Garros so soon since 2004, when he was beaten in the third round by Gustavo Kuerten. After that decade-old setback, though, Federer made at least the quarter-finals at a record 36 consecutive major tournaments, a streak that ended with a second-round loss at Wimbledon last year. Federer also put together record Slam runs of 10 finals and 23 semifinals in a row when he was at his dominant best. Now the 32-year-old Federer has bowed out before the quarter-finals at three of the last four majors. "I think it was the biggest, probably, win of my career," said Gulbis, who most certainly could have dispensed with the word "probably." Addressing spectators who sang Federers first name between points, Gulbis said: "Im sorry I had to win. I know all of you like Roger." The result fit with the topsy-turvy nature of this tournament: Both reigning Australian Open champions, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka and No. 2 Li Na, lost in the first round; No. 1 Serena Williams left in the second round. Gulbis now plays No. 6 Tomas Berdych, who eliminated the last American man, No. 10 John Isner. In another quarter-final, No. 2 Novak Djokovic will face No. 8 Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont. Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and No. 24 Fernando Verdasco set up a fourth-round meeting by finishing off victories in matches suspended Saturday night because of fading light. In womens action, 2012 champion Maria Sharapova ran off the last nine games to come back and beat No. 19 Samantha Stosur 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 for a quarter-final berth against 35th-ranked Garbine Muguruza of Spain, the 20-year-old who stunned Williams last week. No. 18 Eugenie Bouchard, from Montreal, will face No. 14 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain in another quarter-final. The fourth-seeded Federers resume includes the 2009 French Open title, and he was a four-time runner-up in Paris to Rafael Nadal. But Federer was hardly in top form Sunday, making 59 unforced errors and getting broken twice while serving for a set. That iincluded at 5-3, 40-15 in the second, when Federer sent an overhead right to Gulbis, who whipped a backhand passing winner.dddddddddddd "I was lucky, I have to say," Gulbis said about that point. "I was really lucky." Said Federer: "Things got tough from then on for, like, a half-hour for me." He lost the last five points of the second-set tiebreaker, then dropped the third set, too. Another key moment came when Gulbis left the court with a trainer to take a medical timeout while trailing 5-2 in the fourth. As he walked out, Gulbis motioned to Federer, as if asking for permission to go. When Gulbis returned, some fans jeered and whistled at him, and he pointed to his lower back as if to say, "Hey, I was injured." At his news conference, Federer alternated between sounding a little perturbed about the lengthy intermission — and resigned to the idea that what Gulbis did was within the rules. "In the past, I guess, its been abused much more than today, but still, what can you tell?" Federer said. "He didnt look hurt in any way. But if you can use it, you know, might as well do it." Gulbis strokes had momentarily gone astray before that break, but afterward, the 25-year-old Gulbis once again displayed the big-hitting tennis that had many marking him as a future star when he was a teenager. He won 10 of the next 12 points, punctuating shots with exhales that sounded like growls. The fifth set was all Gulbis, who hadnt been to the quarter-finals at a major tournament since the 2008 French Open. Hes spoken openly about focusing more on enjoying the nightlife than perfecting his craft, and drew attention last week for saying he wouldnt encourage his younger sisters to pursue professional tennis because a woman "needs to think about family, needs to think about kids." In the concluding set, Gulbis raced to a 3-0 lead, thanks largely to Federer miscues. In the second game, Federer netted backhands and forehands to offer up break points, then pushed a forehand wide to give Gulbis a lead he never relinquished. After that miss, Federer grabbed a ball and swatted it in anger straight up in the air, a rare sign of exasperation from him. "Hes Roger Federer, but he also gets tight, you know," Gulbis said. "Hes probably going to make (that forehand) seven out of 10 (times). Other guys are going to make two out of 10. Mistakes happen." ' ' '