Member » in its two previous games. Worl

Toronto Maple Leafs legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Mats Sundin joined TSN Radio 1050s Jim Tatti and Jeff ONeill on Friday to give his thoughts on the Olympic hockey tournament ahead of Sundays gold medal match-up between his native Sweden and Canada. While there is a lot that Sundin has liked in the tournament so far, the performance that Russia put forth against Finland in the quarterfinals left a bad taste in his mouth. "I was almost disgusted by their performance when they played Finland," said the 43-year-old who played 18 seasons in the NHL. "I look at the Finnish team and theyre missing key players. They dont have any of their big stars and now [Rask] is hurt and that Russian team is stacked with great players and to come out and have that performance they had in the quarterfinals. It was an absolutely heartless performance. "It was very disappointing and I dont think its very good for hockey either to have them out of their home tournament. You wonder when you have Putin in the stands on home ice and you cant get heart out of these guys? Whats going to bring it out? I dont know," he said. Sundin believes simply chalking up Russias crashing out of the tournament to the tremendous pressure the team was under is a bit of a cop-out. "Even though youre nervous or you have a lot of pressure built up, you can always still get into the motions and show that youre actually trying," said the former first-overall pick by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. "We didnt see anything of that in the quarterfinal." The captain of the gold medal-winning Swedish team in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Sundin believes that its impossible to compare trying to capture a Stanley Cup to winning Olympic gold. "You cant even compare it to me," said Sundin. "I mean, the Stanley Cup is the biggest thing you can win playing for a club team in the world. Its over a [full] season and you try to get that, but saying that, international hockey and the Olympic Games go to a little bit of a higher level. You have all the absolute best players in the world competing. Its a short tournament, but its the absolute best, biggest thing you can win as a hockey player today where you face every countrys best players on the ice. And also, for any athlete, women or men, winning an Olympic medal is a little bit beyond just the sport of hockey, as well. You cant compare them, but obviously, you want to be part of both for sure." Sundin thinks that an unfamiliarity with the larger ice surface is one of the main reasons why Canadas offence has yet to really click in Sochi, despite the team being undefeated. "The last time the Olympics were around, the tournament was held on a smaller ice surface, an edge to the North American teams, no doubt," said Sundin. "The US and Canada were more comfortable. You look at the tournament right now, you can tell [Canada] is not as comfortable on the big ice surface...with the bigger ice surface, it becomes a little bit of a different game." The all-time Leafs leader in points acknowledges that an adjustment needs to be made for North American teams playing on the big international ice. "Just one big difference is when you come into an end, whether its your own end or youre in the offensive zone, youre further away from your opponent," explained the nine-time NHL All-Star. "Theres a little bit more room for a forward to slip away or get out of the way, out of position, so when that happens, and I think a North American feels that, you get a little more tentative and if youre tentative in hockey or you wait a little bit, then youre a step behind. I think thats the biggest thing." With NHL participation up in the air for the 2018 Olympic Games to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Sundin believes it would be a mistake for the league to stop sending its best to the tournament as its a perfect opportunity to put a spotlight on the sport. "For me, its a no-brainer," said Sundin. "I think youve got to look at the broader picture. For the game of hockey, and if you want the game to continue to grow, theres no better window than the Olympic Games, where you can get new fans watching our great game, people from different parts of the world. I dont really see a reason why not. I know it affects the game short term. Some guys get hurt (and) when they get back they might not perform as well. But if you look at a long term picture, I think its just too big of a window to promote our sport to not be part of it." As for Sundays clash between his home country and the country he spent 18 years playing in, Sundin gives the edge to Canada. "Theres no doubt that the Swedish team...are not where you would think to call them a gold medal favourite at this point [without] Henrik Sedin and Henrik Zetterberg, two of the best centremen we have playing right now," said Sundin. "For them to get to the finals here, to get by Finland...Ill hold Canada as the favourites to win the gold medal, but if you have [Henrik] Lundqvist playing an enormous game in the final, theres a shot. But its a long shot for sure." Custom Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Vincent Lecavalier Jersey . Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and took command again to beat the 56th-ranked American 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on clay at the Magic Box tennis centre. The ninth-ranked Russian looked to be cruising before McHale broke late in the second set to tie the match and then took her commanding lead in the final set after breaking Sharapova. http://www.hockeylightning.com/authentic-steven-stamkos-lightning-jersey/ . TSN 1290s game day coverage begins on Monday, June 9 at 5:30pm ct as the Blue Bombers take on the Toronto Argonauts in pre-season action. Bombers game day broadcasts on TSN 1290 are hosted by Winnipeg Blue Bomber Hall of Famers Troy Westwood and new addition Chris Walby, alongside beat reporter Darrin Bauming, who delivers regular reports on the team for TSN 1290 all-season long. Nikita Kucherov Jersey .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. Martin St. Louis Jersey .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs.MILWAUKEE -- Mike Fiers held Pittsburgh to two hits in seven innings for his fourth straight win since coming up from Triple-A, and the Milwaukee Brewers avoided a three-game sweep at home by beating the Pirates 4-3 on Sunday. Fiers (4-1) fanned seven. He allowed Starling Martes two-run shot in the second before retiring 16 of the next 17 batters. Closer Francisco Rodriguez gave up a homer to Andrew McCutchen with one in the ninth. Rodriguez put the tying run aboard with two outs with a walk before striking out Pedro Alvarez for his 39th save. Milwaukee knocked around Vance Worley (5-4) for four runs over the first two innings, with each hit coming with two outs. Pittsburgh had its three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to five back in the NL Central. Jonathan Lucroy hit his National League-leading 43rd double for the Brewers, who snapped a three-game losing streak to increase their lead in the Central to 1 1/2 games over second-place St. Louis. Lucroy singled home a run in the second after Carlos Gomez reached on a two-out double to left-centre that glanced off McCutchens glove. Aramis Ramirez followed two batters later with his second single of the day to drive home Lucroy for a 4-2 lead. The Pirates had tied it at 2 in the top of the second after Marte homered on to the concourse above left-centre. But Fiers allowed just Russell Martins single in the fourth from there, getting out of that inning with a pretty over-the--shoulder catch with two outs by shortstop Elian Herrera in shallow centre to save a potential hit.dddddddddddd Fiers fastball tops only at about 90 mph. But he has succeeded since stepping into the rotation for the injured Matt Garza by mixing pitches and keeping the ball down in the zone. Fiers cooled off a Pirates offence that had at least 11 hits in its two previous games. Worley settled down after the first two innings, retiring 13 of 15 until leaving with one out in the seventh after allowing back-to-back singles. The right-hander allowed a season-high 12 hits, eight coming in the rough first two innings. TRAINERS ROOM PIRATES: INF Clint Barmes could rejoin the team during a three-game series against St. Louis, which starts Monday in Pittsburgh. Barmes has been on the disabled list since July 6 with strained left groin. BREWERS: Garza, who was supposed to throw a light bullpen session Sunday, is recovering from a strained rib cage muscle. Manager Ron Roenicke said Garza will throw again Tuesday if Sundays bullpen outing went well. Garza went on the disabled list Aug. 5. UP NEXT PIRATES: LHP Francisco Liriano (3-10) will try to rebound from a tough outing when he opens the Cardinals series. He gave up nine runs in four-plus innings in an 11-3 loss last week to Atlanta. BREWERS: RHP Kyle Lohse (11-7) returns to the rotation to open a three-game series in San Diego. Lohse hasnt started since Aug. 13 because of a right ankle injury. ' ' '