terms of wins and losses the Rangers never fell too far off

Sensational skates at the Grand Prix Final are boding well for Sochi, as the fields close in and rivalries heat up. As the season progresses, the gaps are narrowing and the fields are closing in on the leaders. A week ago, there wasnt an obvious challenger in the mens or pairs event. In fact, heading into the Grand Prix Final in Japan, it was difficult to imagine that the defending champions could be beaten. Patrick Chan had an enormous 30-point lead over the rest of the men in this seasons scores and so did the defending world pair champions from Russia - Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov - who had the same 30-point margin over the rest of the teams. Patrick faltered in the short program in Japan and Tatiana and Max in the free program to open the door, but what was intriguing in both cases was the way that the challengers stepped up and that the underdogs won. Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan hit one out of the park in the short program breaking Patricks world record that he set just two weeks ago. It all came together for Yuzuru in that performance, as he aggressively attacked the jumps and played with the music to sell his program to his hometown audience. It was an easy sell and they ate it up to help lift Yuzuru to a record-breaking skate where he missed the 100-point mark by a slim .16. As Coach Brian Orser said when the marks were posted, "Sooooo close!" Patrick and Yuzuru both delivered strong free programs each with one mistake, but the edge went to Hanyu and Patrick had his first loss of the season. Patrick, of course - barring injury - has his Olympic spot locked up. Theres no doubt he will go as this countrys No. 1 guy. Thats not the case for Yuzuru, whos fighting for his Olympic life. Hes up against five other guys who are all capable and who are all fighting for three spots. With the new world record in the short program, the second best freeskate and total scores ever and with the win over Chan, one would think Yuzuru might be awarded one of those coveted spots to Sochi. But no such spot has been given and the Japanese team will be named after their nationals - which take place just before Christmas. Patrick can find new motivation in the fact that hell be pushed and he will indeed need two great skates like he had two weeks ago in Paris to win Olympic Gold. The Russian pairs take the same knowledge into the holiday season with the loss to the German team of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy. It is the kind of knowledge one needs at this time of year, lest one sits back and gets too comfortable. It was expected that the Ice Dance would be a close contest in Japan. While defending world champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White received better scores all season than Olympic Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, one could sense that Tessa and Scott were working out the kinks early in the series. And in Japan they put the technical glitches behind them and had stunning performances in both the Short and Free Dance. Meryl and Charlie brought their A game as well and came away with the win. And once again we were reminded how lucky we are to have two teams of their calibre at the same time. It was a terrific event and a moment that stood out for me was the look on the faces of Tessa and Scott after the free dance. Total satisfaction - a look thats been missing of late. When youre competing there are always the little things that youve done better in practice or things you had to fight through, that werent quite right and when you finish your skate those things immediately flash through your mind and the instant self evaluation is briefly written on your face. Tessas appraisal was immediate. Her eyes flashed in delight and she said yes. Totally satisfied. That was the performance they had been reaching for. They now have the momentum and as their rivalry demands, will have to build on it. They have to dig deep and soul search in order to answer the questions. "What more can we do?" "Whats next to fine tune?" The same questions that Meryl and Charlie are now asking in light of their narrow win. This is why were so fortunate to have these two great teams. As they drive each other to strategically find the edge, they find new levels of excellence and we the audience are ultimately the winners. In the ladies event the clear winner in Japan was indeed the favourite going in, hometown heroine Olympic Silver medalist Mao Asada. While it was no surprise to me that Mao won gold what was surprising, actually I was quite shocked, was her captivating short program. In fact, it ranks as one of my all time favourite skates. In a word, she was brilliant and when I rack my brain for comparisons, it would be Olympic champion and the defending world champion Yuna Kim. Yuna missed the Grand Prix season due to injury and competed in a B international to gain some competition mileage for her new material, while the Final was taking place. She received some impressive scores and so the stage is set for a showdown in the ladies event in Sochi. Mao and Yuna - a rematch from 2010. Yuna by all accounts is on track to be as good as ever, while Mao is new and improved. Her jumping arsenal is bigger and better and artistically she is skating, with more joy, heartfelt emotion and conviction than ever before. Let the games begin! Yeezy Myydään . The thinking at the time was Clowney could have already been promised he would be selected first overall by the Houston Texans, therefore negating any need to meet with any other teams. The plot took another twist this week. Ultra Boost Tarjous . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here. http://www.yeezysuomi.com/ .C. -- Cam Newton wasnt flawless on Sunday. Ultra Boost Kengät . -- Byron Scott is taking over the Los Angeles Lakers with the vocal support of his fellow Showtime greats. Yeezy Powerphase Suomi . -- The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Cuban shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena to a $25 million, five-year contract Saturday.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - A few weeks ago it seemed like the New York Rangers were more likely to have a Mumpy Christmas than a merry one. Although the reigning Eastern Conference champions are not yet rid of the illness that has plagued several NHL teams this season, New York is beginning to awaken from its sluggish start to 2014-15. With one game remaining before the NHLs brief Christmas break, the Rangers have worked themselves within striking distance of the Metropolitan Divisions third and final automatic playoff spot. In fact, if the Blueshirts beat the visiting Washington Capitals in regulation on Tuesday, New York would tie the Caps in points and take over third place in the division by way of tiebreaker. You may not have even noticed the Rangers were struggling this season before they rattled off victories in six straight games heading into Tuesday. New York was 11-10-4 prior to the current run of victories. Sure, that was a disappointing start for a team that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals only several months ago, but it wasnt the type of awful start that garners headlines. It also wasnt particularly notable considering the Rangers got off to a slow start in 2013-14 under Alain Vigneault before coming together later in the regular season and, obviously, in the playoffs. While the NHLs mumps scare has touched the club in the last month or so, infecting forwards Derick Brassard, Tanner Glass and most recently Lee Stempniak, the Rangers were dealing with roster issues well before the disease struck the roster. After losing several pieces from their conference championship team in the offseason, including forwards Brian Boyle, Brad Richards and Benoit Pouliot and defenseman Anton Stralman, the Rangers were then forced to play the first month of the season without top centerman Derek Stepan. Team captain and star defenseman Ryan McDonagh then missed almost all of November with a shoulder injury before returning to his minutes-eating role on the blue line. While New York survived without McDonagh and Stepan, who made his season debut on Nov. 8 and has since recorded a point in 14 of his 19 games, the club is still getting used to life without Boyle, Stralman and Co. But the Rangers needed to let some of those guys go in order to keep their young core intact while keeping the salary cap situation in check. Now, with wins in six straight games it seems like this current crop of Blueshirts is forging an identity of its own. If New York manages to repeat last seasons playoff success and make another deep run in the postseason, the club could point to a recent 4-0 road trip as the period when things started to jell. Althouugh familiar faces have left and new ones have taken their place, many things have stayed the same in New York.dddddddddddd The club is still anchored by franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and the deep defensive corps that plays in front of him and Cam Talbot, who is becoming an increasingly reliable backup between the pipes. However, one major improvement has come from within, as Rick Nash has regained his superstar form for the club after a down year. Nash led the Rangers with 26 goals during the 2013-14 regular season, but also tied the lowest point total of his career with 39 points over 65 games, matching his output as a rookie with Columbus in 2002-03. Even more troubling, however, was Nashs three goals over 25 playoff games. When you carry an annual cap hit of $7.8 million through the 2017-18 season like Nash does, that type of postseason drought is troubling, to say the least. Nash also happened to turn 30 years old over the summer, so another down season in 2014-15 would hasten talk of the wingers downfall. Instead, Nash has kept the detractors at bay by being the deadliest and most consistent offensive weapon for the Rangers this season. He leads the club in both goals (20) and points (33) and also is topping the club with a plus-14 rating. Until going pointless over the last two games against Carolina, Nash hadnt been kept off the scoresheet in two consecutive outings at all this season. Although the early part of the season was marked by inconsistency in terms of wins and losses the Rangers never fell too far off the pace, only losing more than two games in a row on two occasions. The up-and-down start to the season wasnt impressive for a defending conference champion, but it at least kept Vigneaults one hot streak from getting back in the middle of the playoff conversation. As a result of sticking together, the Blueshirts have a chance to match the Capitals on Tuesday, the final night of play before the league goes on a three-day hiatus for Christmas. Seeing as its the first of four meetings this season between New York and Washington, the game could set the tone for the rest of the 2014-15 series, which could ultimately determine a playoff spot. The Rangers of all teams know its a long season and tonights test versus the Capitals is just one part of an 82-game set. But, with the way theyre playing right now, New York isnt keen on seeing the hot streak end either. Its our first look at them this season so we want to go out there and put our best foot forward, defenseman Matt Hunwick said of the showdown with the Caps. Weve been on a good streak, so wed like to go into the holiday break with another win. ' ' '