both St-Pierre and Hendricks. A

What is the Olympic readiness of Canadas champions after their first Grand Prix event? Are they on track or in trouble early in this Olympic season? The results from Skate Canada International in Saint John, New Brunswick, though mixed, bode well and while we are still over three months out, there are some encouraging signs and lots of reasons for optimism heading to Sochi. The one thing we know for sure is that Tessa Virtue and Scott Moirs new free dance has Olympics written all over it. Their music is by Russian composer Alexander Glazunov, who is described as a Romantic Classicist. It is an emotionally poignant and uplifting piece that plays to Tessa and Scotts strengths and is bound to captivate the Sochi audience. Last year, the reviews for their provocative Carmen free dance were mixed. The daring darkness of the dance brought either "love it or hate it" kind of reactions. The reviews of the new Olympic free dance have been universal in their praise. Artistically and creatively, it is a winner and a crowd pleaser that is vintage Virtue and Moir. The gold will demand endless hours now of drilling and refining in preparation for challenging U.S. rivals Meryl Davis and Charlie White. The stage is set for an intriguing showdown. In an Olympic year, one cannot underestimate the value of a stable and supportive training environment and Patrick Chan has found that place in Detroit with coach Kathy Johnson. In his words, he is "happy" and it shows. He is patient and confident in practice, not perfect by any stretch but unfazed by any stumbles or jumping errors. In a warmup at Skate Canada, he had a jarring fall on a quad, shrugged, circled and did it again as it was intended. It was a decisive win at Skate Canada. His demeanour spoke of confidence, preparedness and experience, qualities that were missing heading into Vancouver. As he builds to Sochi and expectations rise and demands on him increase, it is the balance he has built in his life outside the rink and the foundation he has built in it that will, he hopes, make the difference. For Canadian pairs champions Meagan Duhammel and Eric Radford, it was a bit of a case of, youd better "dance with the one who brung you". In the past, it was their feisty ability to maximize technical risk and capitalize on it that got them to the world podium and it is the technical mark that let them down at Skate Canada International. In what Meagan called their lowest technical score ever, they dropped to third in their long program. Their focus in Saint John was on artistry and character development and, while they delivered emotionally charged performances, their new focus distracted them from what they do best and their challenge over the next few weeks will be to bring the old and new together. The one thing I know about these two is that they are fighters and, with the less than stellar start and their backs to the wall, they will come out swinging. Dont drop your hands, dont count them out. Just when Kaetlyn Osmond thought she could begin her Olympic quest in earnest, she suffered another setback. Having missed a number of weeks due to an injured foot heading into Skate Canada, Kaetlyn woke up after the short program with a sore hamstring and was unable to compete in the free skate. The word is, she has tears in two tendons in her hamstring and will see limited ice and training time for the next 7-10 days, at which time it is expected to have healed. It adds up to a lot of training missed and can set up the cycle of overtraining to catch up and then reinjuring. She is young and has a bubbly personality so it will be tough to contain her. Kaetlyn has three weeks until her next Grand Prix and it is their plan that she will compete. Other Canadian honorable mentions and notable performances were those of Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje who finished second in the Ice Dance event, Amelie Lacostes short program and Eladje Baldes quad in the short. One of the most compelling performances for me at Skate Canada International was that of 28-year-old Akiko Suzuki from Japan, who critics often dismiss as being too old and past her prime. Her performances were captivating and her joy was palpable every time she took the ice. Watching her compete, I was reminded of a conversation I had with Elvis Stojko before one of his Olympic Games. When discussing dealing with Olympic pressure, he said, "I just want to remember why it is I love to skate and, if I can think of that, I will have the right frame of mind to compete." Canadas skaters would do well to take that phrase to heart. 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Elite Bears Jerseys . -- Orleans Darkwa ran in from 1 yard with 1:45 left, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from two scores down in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 on Saturday night. Cheap Bears Jerseys China . Its not intended to be some magical formula and doesnt apply any context, like, for example, taking injuries into account. This remedial statistical method has gone 9-5 in picks through the first three rounds.Hang a 75-pound weight from his waist and Georges St-Pierre will happily do one chin-up after another. The mixed martial arts star never takes a step back, always looking for an edge, be it working with elite gymnasts or sprinters. But St-Pierres biggest strength is also his biggest weakness. "Im completely obsessed," he said of the way he approaches each fight. When a grain of doubt enters his mind, the beast in the gym becomes brittle. And on Friday, a shopping list of distractions finally took their toll on one of Canadas most famous athletes. Citing the pressures of being champion and of being in a constant limelight, St-Pierre said his life has become "completely insane" and a "freaking zoo." Admitting he was no longer up for the rigours of fighting in a cage, the UFCs pay-per-view king vacated his welterweight title and announced a hiatus from the sport. St-Pierre (25-2) also cited personal issues, which he declined to detail. But clearly they have obscured his obsessive focus in a sport whose athletes spend months preparing for fights. "Physically Im 100 per cent, Im still young, Im on top of the world," the 32-year-old from Montreal told a media conference call. "But mentally I just feel like I cannot go through another training camp right now and I dont know when I will be able to." UFC president Dana White said No. 1 contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks will fight No. 3 (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler for the title on March 15 in Dallas. "I think this is the right move for Georges St-Pierre," said White. "You can hear by listening to him hes got a lot of issues personally that he needs to deal with." St-Pierre had cast doubt about his future last month following UFC 167, a controversial split decision win over Hendricks, when he said he needed time away from the sport to sort out some personal issues. That enraged White, who did not like the idea of one of his biggest assets walking away -- especially in the aftermath of a controversial decision. But White calmed down after talking to St-Pierre later that night. And on Friday, he continued to downplay the drama. "At the end of the day, its really not that big of a deal. The guys got some things that he needs to deal with. He was classy enough to say Im not going to jam up the 170-pound division while I deal with these things, Im going to step aside and handle myself and then Ill be back." In the wake of the Hendricks fight, a TMZ report said the champion was dealing with a family illness and a personal issue. White later told The Canadian Press that St-Pierre had told him the report was not true. St-Pierre loosened up during Fridays call, joking with reporters that they were not going to get anything personal from him. "Im going to take a break. I need this," he said Friday. "I need to have a normal life for a bit. Ill feel better and come back stronger." Having a normal life was a theme repeated throughout the conference call. Asked what he wants to get away from, St-Pierre said he loves his sport. "As much as I choose to do it, now I choose to not do it." He said he expects to be back, although he sounded far from certain. "I dont know when, I dont know if, I think I will (be back) I cant say 100 per cent. But right now I just dont want people thinking about me." Press tours, cameras and trash-talking were some of the things he said he needed to avoid. St-Pierre was somewhat vague about a comeback. "I believe one day I will come back. The problem is I dont know how long (I will be away)." He said he has already conquered Everest three times before, when he lost to Matt Hughes (in 2004) and Matt (The Terror) Serra (in 2007) and when he came back (in 2012) from knee surgery. "And if I have to do a fourth time, believe me, I feel like Im, going to do it." White, who explained GSPs UFC contract was considered frozen, said he believed St-Pierre will be back. St-Pierre exits ranked second to light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones in the UFCs pound-for-pound rankings. White called St-Pierre "the greatest welterweight ever" and "the gold standard in everything." "And as far as working with us, theres nobody better. If I had 475 guys like Georges St-Pierre, my life would be a lot easier." A gentleman outside the cage who shares little of his personal life, St-Pierre has always taken his responsibilities seriously. In 2008, he missed an interview session with a visiting reporter who was left standing outside a Montreal gym. His manager at the time advised that St-Pierre haad suffered a minor injury earlier in the day and had forgotten about his interview with the reporter.dddddddddddd The journalist told the manager not to worry, given they had already had a previously scheduled appointment for the next day. St-Pierre, however, had a different idea. He drove to the gym to collect the reporter and took him out for dinner to do the interview. Then he drove the reporter to his hotel, apologizing again for having been late. While other fighters wore T-shirts and sweats, St-Pierre -- taking a page from some champion boxers -- always wore a suit for his post-fight news conferences. St-Pierre, who said he will keep training, has no need to fight again. He has made millions and made a point of looking after his family when the cheques started coming in. One of his first duties as champion was to pay off the mortgages of his parents and sisters. The UFC is wasting no time getting round to the post-GSP era. Carlos Condit is currently ranked No. 2 among welterweight contenders but he has lost to both St-Pierre and Hendricks. And White noted that Lawler just beat Canadian contender and GSP training partner Rory (Ares) MacDonald. "Not to mention the fact that theres not doubt that the Robbie Lawler-Johny Hendricks fight is going to be an absolute gunfight." White said Condit may also be on the Dallas card. Condit was previously due to fight Matt (The Immortal) Brown until Brown was sidelined by a back injury. As champion, St-Pierre has worn a target on his back since he first won the title in 2006. "The situation Im at, its a lot of pressure," he said. "Its like every fight Im carrying weight on my shoulder. Every fight, its like you add weight on your shoulder. Every fight. "At one point it comes so heavy that I have a hard time carrying it myself." St-Pierre has survived turmoil throughout his career. He lost his championship belt in his first title defence before winning it back. And he has endured a string of injuries, including knee reconstruction surgery in December 2011. That prompted the UFC to pit Condit against Nick Diaz for the interim title. Condit won but was beaten by St-Pierre when the champion returned to action at UFC 154 in November 2012. St-Pierre was the first Canadian to hold a UFC title since Carlos (Ronin) Newton, who held the welterweight crown for seven months in 2001 before losing it to Matt Hughes. St-Pierre lost to Hughes, now a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, in a title bout at UFC 50 in 2004 but won the rematch at UFC 65 in November 2006 to claim the championship belt. His initial reign at champion was short-lived. Beset by family illness and lacking focus, GSP was upset by Matt (The Terror) Serra in his first title defence at UFC 69 in April 2007. GSP fights as he prepares. A good camp equals a good performance. He paid a heavy price for a bad one. St-Pierre retooled, changing his management and revamping his coaching staff. "I truly believe that this loss is probably the best thing that ever happened to me," he said at the time. At the suggestion of a sports psychologist, he carried a brick around with Serras name inscribed on it. Then he threw it in the chilly waters of Montreals South Shore to bury the memory of the Serra loss. St-Pierre has not lost since. He won his title back from Serra three fights later in commanding fashion, at UFC 83 in Montreal in April 2008. The decision over Hendricks was a record 19th win in the UFC for St-Pierre, moving him past Hughes at 18. It also extended his string of victories to 12, the longest current run in the UFC. The Hendricks victory also moved GSP past former middleweight champion Anderson Silva for most wins in UFC title bouts at 12. St-Pierre holds the record for career fight time in the UFC at five hours 28 minutes 12 seconds. He also owns the UFC mark for most championship rounds fought (52). UFC 167 was St-Pierres 14th championship fight, one behind Randy Couture. St-Pierre also leads the UFC records in total strikes landed, significant strikes landed, takedowns landed and takedown accuracy rate, according to FightMetric. "Im content," he said of his legacy. St-Pierre is not the first UFC champion to give up their title. Tim Sylvia voluntarily gave up the heavyweight championship belt in 2003 when he tested positive for steroids, which was a pre-emptive strike to being stripped. Bas Rutten gave up his heavyweight title in 1999 to campaign as a light-heavyweight. Injuries forced him to retire soon after. Frank Shamrock voluntarily vacated his title in 1999 and retired, although he later returned to action outside the UFC. 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