time in seven big league seasons

  NICE, France -- Patrick Chan will leave France a bit battered and bruised -- but still on top of the world. . And the fact that Canadas figure skating star triumphed over a competition he called the most difficult of his career is both a major victory and a huge lesson learned, he said, less than two years out from the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The 21-year-old from Toronto won the mens gold at the world figure skating championships Saturday, becoming the first Canadian to claim back-to-back titles in 16 years. Teammates Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir reclaimed the world ice dancing title, giving the Canadian team its first double-gold performance in 19 years. But this victory was far from easy for Chan, who had made it look so easy in winning every event hed entered the previous 16 months. Being the defending champion, he said, comes with a serious amount of pressure. "Dealing with the expectations, coming in as a favourite," Chan said of the lessons learned. "Of course if I keep skating well and keep getting the same results that I had this season, Im going to go into the Olympics with the same expectations, like I should live up to (the expectation of) winning the Olympics. "Now I have a little taste of it and know how to deal with it." Canadian officials headed home with high hopes for next years world championships in London, Ont. -- the final world championships before the Sochi Olympics. "We had a strong worlds this year," said Skate Canadas high performance director Mike Slipchuk. "For Tessa and Scott to regain their title, thats probably our highlight of this worlds -- their coming back, winning their title back and winning it convincingly. Theyre in good position leading into the next two years, and thats exciting for us moving back. "And Patrick came back and had to defend a title which is always tough." The Canadian team had strong performances in all but womens singles, sorely missing world silver medallist Joannie Rochette, who is taking a break from competition and hasnt announced whether shell return to skate in Sochi. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje were fourth in ice dance while rookies Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill were 14th. Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford were fifth in pairs, Kevin Reynolds was 12th in mens singles, while Amelie Lacoste was 16th in womens singles. These were the second world championships in Nice, an unlikely destination for an ice sport in the sun-soaked city at the heart of the Cote dAzur. Palm trees and orange trees lined the streets surrounding the arena, with the Pyrenees mountains as its backdrop. The seaside promenade was jam-packed all week with people soaking up the warm sun. Chan planned a day trip to Monaco on Monday before flying home Tuesday. "Maybe go to the casino in Monte Carlo, I dont know if Im dressed well enough for that though. Apparently you have to dress up for it. . .," he said with a laugh. "I want to at least play a round of blackjack in Monte Carlo." A day after winning gold, the five-time Canadian champion was still lamenting the perfect program that got away. Chan landed two huge quad jumps to open his program, but then fell on his double Axel toward the tail end, sapping much of the energy out of the final minute of his skate. His winning score was one clearly not all of the fans at Palais des Expositions agreed with, cheering and whistling the judges marks. "I regret falling on the double Axel, I just keep thinking of that in my mind, playing it over and over, because it would have been great, I think I would have been really exhilarated if I had done the double Axel and finished strong," Chan said. "But it was enough to win, save that (perfect skate) for another time." It wasnt just Chans pride that was stinging from his fall. "Its a little sore, Im glad I iced it right away," he said, of his bruised behind. Chan admitted to a lack of motivation the past couple of weeks, and he and his coaches Christy Krall and Kathy Johnson are devising a plan to battle that next season. Part of that will be to vary his training location. "What weve decided is that Ill have to space out time in Colorado and Toronto, or somewhere else that I can skate," Chan said. "It gets stale. The last year and a half has been great, because its brand new, great rink, great skaters, and I was so motivated. "But definitely Ill be going back home to Toronto a bit more, spreading my time out, so I can get my mind off certain things." The way Slipchuk sees it, these rocky final few weeks for Chan, and the way the week played out in Nice, are perfect preparations for Sochi, where if all goes well the Canadian should be one of the countrys top medal hopes. "You want to go through a lot of different scenarios leading into Sochi, so when you step on the ice, youve been there," Slipchuk said. "This week was a real learning curve for him, defending a title is not easy. Very few have done it. And as much as you prepare an athlete to do it, they need to go through it. "He hasnt lost in a year, and you have that dartboard on your back and people are gunning for you. Hes felt that all year. And when you can come out and not have your best performances and still be world champion -- which he deserved -- is a good learning curve for him." Chan was fifth at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and has his sights set squarely on making up for that disappointment in Sochi. "Everything going up to Sochi now is for the Olympics. Building up to the redemption (from Vancouver)," he said. "I kind of look forward more to going every day. Im just like a tiger waiting to get out of its cage." While Virtue and Moir havent officially committed to Sochi -- they prefer to take their careers one season at a time -- they sounded more positive than ever this week, that theyll indeed be gunning for a second Olympic title. Virtue and Moir reclaimed their world title this week to cap their first strong season of training since 1998. They were runners-up last year, missing most of the year while Virtue recovered from surgery on the legs that have troubled her for the past four years. "Every year we say were not going to make an emotional decision, because after worlds you kind of have this high and youre really excited," Moir said. "I felt even moreso this year. . . To be able to train like we were young teenagers again, it really has given us life and made it a lot easier to look forward to having a couple more years of really enjoying yourself." The last time Canada won two gold at world champions was 1993 when Kurt Browning won the mens singles and Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler won pairs. . The league says Friday that Griffin committed unnecessary roughness against a defenceless player. Fined $15,750 by the league were Green Bay linebacker Nick Perry, Seattle defensive end Chris Clemons, St. . The 40-year-old Hollywood actress tells the magazine that she feels more comfortable today than she did in her twenties or early thirties. Im healthier, Aniston is quoted as saying. Im more at peace in my mind and with my body. .C. -- Phil Mickelson wont have to spend the next three weeks wondering if hell be in the Ryder Cup. . Aokis team, the Yakult Swallows, said Sunday it had accepted the Brewers bid of US$2.5 million under the posting system. . Valerie Adams of New Zealand will now take gold and Evgeniia Kolodko of Russia will get silver. Fourth-place finisher Gong Lijiao of China moves up to bronze. The International Olympic Committee said Monday that Ostapchuk tested positive for the steroid metenolone.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Arizona Diamondbacks scored each of their runs in bases-loaded situations. The Los Angeles Dodgers kept putting runners on, and stranding them.That was the difference between Wade Miley and Chad Billingsley on Tuesday night.Miley wiggled out of a couple jams while pitching into the seventh inning and the Diamondbacks snapped the Dodgers five-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory.He just did a great job for us, and thats what we needed tonight, manager Kirk Gibson said. He had 72 strikes out of 102 pitches. He maybe started labouring a little bit later in the game, but it was big for him to get as far as he did for us. Thats how hes been pitching all year. Hes got a great tempo. He throws all of his pitches in any count and uses the whole plate.Miley (4-1) scattered eight hits and walked one in 6 2-3 innings, limiting Los Angeles to just one run on Mark Ellis homer. The 25-year-old left-hander is 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in five starts since being inserted into the rotation on April 23 to replace Daniel Hudson, who is out with a right shoulder impingement.A win anywhere is a big win right now, Miley said. Weve been scuffling a bit, but tonight we put some runs on the board and kept them at bay. I was just trying to stick with the plan.Miggy (catcher Miguel Montero) called a great game and we didnt get away from the plan. Everything he put down we went with, and I was fortunate that it worked out. He was telling me to keep challenging guys, throwing quality pitches and throwing strikes and let the defence play behind me. I was commanding the fastball early in the count and getting ahead.Ellis finished with three hits in the Dodgers first game since centre fielder Matt Kemp went on the 15-day disabled list because of a left hamstring strain. They still own the best record in baseball at 24-12 and lead San Francisco by six games in the NL West.Billingsley (2-3) threw 77 pitches in four-plus innings and was charged with four runs and eight hits in his 200th regular-season game. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 5.34 ERA in his last five starts, a stretch that began with a 12-0 loss at Houston in which he lasted only 3 1-3 innings.Arizona loaded the bases in the second when Miley reached on a strikeout-wild pitch after a two-out intentional walk to Aaron Hill. Billingsley then walked Gerardo Parra to force in a run, but he minimized the damage by retiring Willie Bloomquist to end the inning.The big reason we jumped out to the lead was Wade hustling after he struck out, Bloomquist said. Thats just a little thing that probably wont show up in the box score, but thats whaat kept that inning going. . The Diamondbacks opened the fifth with six consecutive singles, including run-scoring hits by Justin Upton and Montero against Billingsley and another RBI single by Jason Kubel against Javy Guerra. But Ryan Roberts grounded into a 5-2-3 double play and Aaron Hill grounded out with a chance to break the game open.We got six hits in a row, and we havent done that in a while, Gibson said. Guys have been loose, even though weve been going through tough times, and tonight we got rewarded with some results.Lyle Overbay drove in Arizonas fifth run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, again with the bags full. The Diamondbacks came in 6 for 30 in bases-loaded situations.The biggest thing was getting the bases loaded, and guys came through with big hits, Bloomquist said. We were threatening in virtually every inning to score. Not to look at the negative, but if you were trying to be picky, we left a lot of guys on base. The positive is, we had a lot of guys on base. So we were making things happen and we executed a lot better.Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier, who won his first Gold Glove last year, started in centre for the first time in seven big league seasons — and caught the games first two outs. He also made a diving catch to rob Upton of a hit in the sixth.I kind of laughed to myself after that first pop fly was hit to me, said Ethier, who also started the 2010 All-Star game in centre field and played 90 minor league games at that position between 2004 and 2005.Youve just got to be ready. You cant be saying: Dont hit the ball to me. I was out there wanting to track down stuff and just trying to be aggressive and knowing where my teammates were going to be on certain balls. More than anything, I just wanted to have fun with it out there.NOTES: Scott Van Slyke, the son of former major leaguer Andy Van Slyke, was in the starting lineup for the first time in the big leagues. He played RF and was 0 for 4 while batting third in front of Ethier. ... Dodgers 1988 Cy Young Award winner and World Series MVP Orel Hershiser threw out a ceremonial first pitch on a night when the club handed out Hershiser bobbleheads. His catcher was another Dodgers Cy Young Award winner, Clayton Kershaw. ... The Dodgers wore black caps with an interlocking LA during batting practice as a show of support for the NHLs Kings in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. The Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-0 to take a 2-0 series lead back to Staples Center. ... Miley helped fuel the fifth-inning rally with a single and has six hits in 16 at-bats this season. ' ' '