TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Japanese figure skater Kanako Murakami led the womens short program on Thursday at the Four Continents, a tournament she was initially reluctant to attend. Murakami gracefully executed a double triple toe jump and a triple flip jump that put her at the top of a tightly contested race with 64.73 points, just ahead of Li Zijun of China on 62.84 and fellow Japanese Haruka Imai at 62.72. Murakami was on her way to her first Winter Olympics and said the Four Continents was building her confidence and refining her program. "I didnt want to come to the Four Continents but now Im glad I came here," she said. "Of course there are things that can be improved." In ice dance, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the United States overwhelmed the competition in the free dance to win the gold medal by almost five points. They scored 97.20 in the free, nearly six points better than second-place Piper Gilles and Paul Poirer, and left the Canadians with the silver. Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton of the United States retained third place. "Weve learned a tremendous amount about our partnership this season," Hubble said. "I feel that we finally have proven ourselves as a strong consistent team that deserves to be at the top." Garry Unger Jersey . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into. Pierre Turgeon Jersey . Cleveland released the troubled wide receiver on Wednesday, an expected ending after Bess was arrested in January for assaulting a law enforcement officer at an airport and other bizarre behaviour. http://www.wholesalebluesjerseys.com/?ta...ester-jersey.35 million. The right-hander had agreed last February to a deal that pays him $3.775 million this year and allows him to earn an additional $225,000 in bonuses based on games finished. Brayden Schenn Jersey . 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. Ivan Barbashev Jersey .com) - Manu Ginobili capped off a 26-point night with a go-ahead layup with 24 seconds left in overtime, with the basket giving the San Antonio Spurs a much-needed 95-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will have to wait until after the Olympic break to get star centerman Steven Stamkos back, but the club hopes to avoid a fourth loss in five games when it hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs without him on Thursday night. Stamkoss teammate, Lightning captain Martin St. Louis, was named as his replacement for Sochi earlier on Thursday. You can listen to all of the action live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7:30pm. There was talk earlier this week that Stamkos would return for Saturdays home game against Detroit, the Lightnings final tilt before the NHL goes on hiatus for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, but on Wednesday it was announced that the sniper has not been cleared for game action by Dr. Ira Gutentag. The decision not only postpones Stamkos return to the Lightning, but also will prevent him from representing Team Canada at the Winter Games. The 23-year-old suffered a fractured tibia in a game against Boston on Nov. 11 and has missed the last 39 games while recovering. Stamkos was tied for the NHL lead in goals (14) and points (23) before the setback. "After reviewing the CT scan this afternoon, Dr. Gutentag made it clear to me and to Steven that the tibia is not completely healed and therefore he should not be participating in game action at any time in the near future," said Steve Yzerman, who is the general manager of the Lightning and the executive director of Team Canada. "Although the doctor was very pleased to this point with the healing process, he explained that the callus surrounding the fracture site is not 100 percent consolidated, and Steven will not be cleared to play in a game until that happens. It was a pretty clear cut decision, no gray areas at all." Stamkos will continue to rehabilitate and is expected to be re-evaluated in 2- to-3 weeks. The Lightning will resume play after the Olympic break on Feb. 27 at Nashville. "Today is obviously very disappointing for me," Stamkos said. "I honestly believe that we did everything possible in order to have my injured leg ready in time for the Olympics, but I realize you cant force healing." St. Louis will be participating at his second Olympics and first since the 2006 Turin Games. The 38-year-old winger has 25 goals and 54 points to lead Tampa this seasson.dddddddddddd The Lightning have performed extremely well without Stamkos in the lineup over the last few months and they enter Thursday in second place in the Atlantic Division. However, Tampas 1-3-0 record over a recent four-game road trip has helped the Leafs and Montreal Canadiens move within three points of the Lightning for the divisions second spot. The top-three teams in each division receive automatic bids to the playoffs. The Lightning downed the Canadiens 2-1 in overtime Saturday in Montreal before losing in regulation Tuesday night at Minnesota. Darcy Kuemper stopped 34 Tampa Bay shots in the Wilds close victory in St. Paul. Valtteri Filppula scored in the loss and Ben Bishop made 24 saves for the Lightning. "We worked harder (than the last game) we just didnt work smarter," Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said. "That was a big problem." The Lightning fell to 16-13-2 as the guest after its recent trip, but will play their final two games before the break at Tampa Bay Times Forum, where they are 16-6-3 this season. The Maple Leafs will try to rebound on Thursday after having a three-game winning streak halted with Tuesdays 4-1 loss at Florida. David Clarkson provided the lone goal for Toronto, while Jonathan Bernier allowed three goals on 47 shots in the setback. "The word to describe it is, we didnt have anything going except one person in the lineup is outstanding for our hockey club and that was our goaltender," Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle. "We didnt seem to have any jump or passion to play the game, and its kind of mind-boggling right now." After completing its two-game tour of the Sunshine State tonight, the Leafs will complete their pre-Olympic schedule on home ice when they host Vancouver on Saturday. Toronto is 20-10-1 as the home team this season compared to a sub-par 10-12-5 mark as the guest. The Leafs recorded a 3-2 regulation win over the visiting Lightning on Jan. 28, as Bernier stopped 40-of-42 shots and Nazem Kadri provided two goals for Toronto. It was the first of four scheduled meetings between the clubs this season and it was Torontos sixth win in the last eight meetings against the Bolts. The Lightning have won two straight and five of the last seven meetings in Central Florida. Cheap Buffalo Sabres GearWholesale Calgary Flames JerseysCheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche JerseysMontreal Canadiens Outlet StoreWholesale New Jersey Devils JerseysAdidas Arizona Coyotes JerseysCheap Adidas Boston Bruins JerseysCheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes JerseysChicago Blackhawks Shop Free ShippingWholesale Columbus Blue Jackets JerseysDallas Stars Shop Free ShippingCheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings JerseysAnaheim Ducks Jerseys ChinaWholesale Edmonton Oilers JerseysFlorida Panthers Shop Free ShippingWholesale Los Angeles Kings JerseysMinnesota Wild Outlet StoreCheap Adidas Nashville Predators JerseysCheap Adidas New York Islanders JerseysNew York Rangers Winter Classic JerseysCheap Adidas Ottawa Senators JerseysCheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers JerseysWholesale Pittsburgh Penguins JerseysCheap Adidas San Jose Sharks JerseysSt. Louis Blues Winter Classic JerseysWholesale Tampa Bay Lightning JerseysToronto Maple Leafs Outlet StoreVancouver Canucks Outlet StoreCheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights JerseysCheap Adidas Washington Capitals JerseysCheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '