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! Los Angeles Rams Jerseys China . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to terms with safety Brock Vereen and QB David Fales on four-year contracts. Cheap Los Angeles Rams Jerseys Online . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Steve Mason, Philadelphia (4) - Mason was brilliant all night long with save after big save on Benoit Pouliot, Carl Hagelin and Derick Brassard. http://www.ramscheap.com/ . Hall joined Bengals teammates for a voluntary workout on Monday. Hes got his mobility back and is on schedule to be ready for the season. CINCINNATI - Bengals cornerback Leon Hall is happy with his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon and expects to be ready for the start of training camp in July. Stitched Los Angeles Rams Jerseys .com) - Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called Joe Flacco the NFLs best quarterback last week. Cheap Los Angeles Rams Gear . Certainly not Monday night. George Hill took care of the early work, scoring a season-high 26 points, and Paul George closed it out by scoring 11 of his 26 points during a decisive second-half stretch that finally allowed Indiana to pull away from Minnesota 98-84 for yet another win.CAMPBELLVILLE, Ont. -- Tellitlikeitis heads into the $1-million Pepsi North America Cup on Saturday as the horse to beat. Tellitlikeitis was installed as the 3-1 early favourite for the worlds richest pacing event at Tuesdays draw. The son of 09 Cup winner Well Said will start from the third post in the 10-horse field at Mohawk Racetrack. Tellitlikeitis, bred and owned by Lothlorien of Cheltenham, Ont., won his elimination race in a career best 1:48.4, passing heavily-favoured Hes Watching for the 1 1/4-length win in just his second start of the year. Tellitlikeitis also won his season opener, a Pennsylvania Sires Stake, at Pocono Downs last month. Lothlorien has shared ownership of three previous Cup winners -- Well Said (2009), Rocknroll Hanover (2005) and Red River Hanover (2002). Trainer Jim Takter has only started two previous Cup entrants, both in 2012, and finished second with Time To Roll. Brett Miller has two previous Cup drives, finishing second in 2010 with We Will See. "He has wicked speed and hell take you to where you want to go in the mile," said Miller. "I definitely wanted to sit in with him this week (in the elim) and it worked out very well that the two horses I wanted to follow were in front of me." The three Cup elimination races were held Saturday to determine the field for the final. Takter will have to Cup entrants, the other being Lyonssomewhere, the 4-1 third choice who also was an elimination race winner. Lyonssomewhere, owned by Geoffrey LLyons Mound of Burford, Ont.dddddddddddd, will start from the No. 4 position and is undefeated in five starts. The son of 08 Cup winner and horse of the year Somebeachsomewhere took his elim comfortably in 1:50.1 by one and three-quarter lengths in his first stakes appearance. Hell be driven by Corey Callahan, making only his second Cup drive after finishing fourth with Mr Wiggles in 2009. "I like just about everything about him," said Takter. "Hes handy and hes the real deal. "Its a long year and I wanted to have him fresh for this event and not too many starts." Other elim winner, Mcwicked, selected the No. 2 post. Mcwicked, the American-owned son of 02 third-place Cup finisher Mcardle, posted the fastest elimination race victory, winning by two lengths in 1:48.3. Mcwicked is trained by Casie Campbell and is a five-time winner in 14 outings with career earnings of $248,457. "He was absolutely awesome (in his elim)," Coleman said. "It was the fourth time Ive raced him and every time he keeps getting better and better. "It looks like theres a lot of speed in the race. My horse can race either way. Id prefer him coming off a helmet but hes very versatile." The remainder of the field includes: Beat The Drum (post one, 20-1 odds); Lets Drink On It (post five, 6-1); Cowboy (post six, 15-1); Hes Watching (post seven, 5-1); Luck Be Withyou (post eight, 12-1); JK Endofanera (post nine, 10-1); and Sometimes Said (post 10, 20-1). 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