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Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is down to Russias national mens hockey program, which is still making reverberations a week after Sochi. After falling in the quarter-finals for the second straight Olympics, Russias NHL stars came back angry. As Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin were unhappy for many reasons, but most of all resented the programs bias towards KHL players, which greatly distorted playing time, pairings, strategy, and felt like a punishment to Russian stars who dont play at home. Russia was one of the worlds great hockey powers, and a worthy rival to Canada; now its a mess, riven by petty rivalries. Its a shame, really. The Russians havent won a best-on-best tournament since the 1981 Canada Cup, and somehow they feel further away than ever. Steve Simmons, SUN Media My thumb is down to the International Olympic Committee for the mess it made of the Nicklas Backstrom gold medal game allergy pill fiasco. As a member of Swedens hockey delegation said, the IOC destroyed one of the greatest days in Olympic hockey history for the country. Backstrom, who did test positive for pseudo-ephedrine, didnt disagree with that assessment. The IOC first tested Backstrom last Wednesday. In the three days that followed, they never did do a second test. The Swedish team was not informed of Backstroms status until two hours before game time. Now dont get me wrong, the Swedes could have had Nicklas Backstrom, Ralph Backstrom, and all the Backstroms you can name available for the gold medal game and the result wouldnt have been different. What they didnt need was an unnecessary disruption, born of IOC ineptitude. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is down to John Tortorella, not for his most recent apology but for the continual need to apologize. This time, the Canucks coach launched into a mea culpa after saying he favored Sweden in the Sochi final because he wanted his Swedish Olympians - Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler - to return with smiles on their faces. Tortorella wears blinders. Professionally, he sees the small picture, nothing beyond his team. Belatedly, of course, he grasped context - Vancouver … Canada. So four weeks after apologizing for losing his mind between periods against Calgary, he again was at a microphone wearing a hair shirt and a tight expression. Thats Tortorella, the never-ending sorry. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to the excellence shown by Canadas Gold-medalists in curling - Jennifer Jones and her rink from Winnipeg and Brad Jacobs and his rink from Sault Ste. Marie. We used to take for granted Canadas worldwide dominance in curling, and then we didnt, because as good as the Canadians continued to be, several other countries showed they were capable of winning world titles. Not that Jones and Jacobs allow Canada to rest on its laurels, but the Sochi results were very impressive, and hows this for proof of Canadas wealth of curling talent - the Brier is underway in Kamloops and the field is strong with Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Koe, John Morris, and Brad Gushue. And imagine talking about a strong field that doesnt include Jacobs, Glenn Howard and Kevin Martin. Nike Shoes Black Friday 2019 .com) - Markus Granlund scored the game-winning goal as the Calgary Flames used an early offensive flurry to defeat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1, on Monday. Wholesale Nike Shoes Black Friday . -- Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes Thursday for a 7-under 63 to take the lead after one round of the Honda Classic. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/ .Y. -- The New York Islanders were merely content with a lopsided victory. Nike Shoes Black Friday Online . Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . "All he says is, its crazy," DeMar DeRozan told reporters following Torontos win over the Pistons Wednesday. The Raptors longest-serving members, Johnson and DeRozan have had two coaches and 56 different teammates in five seasons with the club, all without appearing in a single playoff game.FORT WORTH, Texas - Adam Scott has a Texas slam to go with that No. 1 world ranking he will get to keep for now. Scott capped his first week as the top-ranked player with a comeback victory Sunday at Colonial. He made a 7-foot birdie putt on the third hole of a playoff to beat Jason Dufner and become the first player to win all four PGA Tour events played in the Lone Star State. "Thats a pretty good slam to start with," Scott said. "Ill see if I can find some kind of other slam eventually in my career." Only days after officially overtaking the injured Tiger Woods for No. 1, Scott bogeyed four of his first nine holes in the opening round at Hogans Alley. Then midway through the final round, the 2013 Masters champion had a double bogey that dropped him three strokes off the lead. "It was a great week, I mean, no matter what," he said. "Its another experience, learning experience on how golf is, to get off to such a poor start on Thursday, and kind of claw my way back day to day. ... Its so satisfying in so many ways to get it done." Scott looked like a No. 1 player with consecutive birdies in the playoff against Dufner, who won the PGA Championship last year. "Its a good feeling, and maybe some validation," Scott said. Scott and Dufner both parred No. 18 to start the playoff before matching birdies at the 17th hole. Dufner hit his approach pin high on 17 to 4 1/2 feet, but Scott drained a 14-foot birdie before he even putted. Dufner, who made a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 18 in regulation, slid a 40-footer past when he and Scott played the 18th hole for the second time during the playoff. Scott then made his 7-footer for his 11th PGA Tour victory, to go along with 13 international titles, only 5 1/2 weeks after the 33-year-old Australian got married. "Its tough to beat him. Hes a great player. Its tough to concentrate, hes so good looking, too," Dufner said. "I thought maybe I could sneak one in there on 17, but he topped me." Scott and Dufner both shot 4-under 66 to finish att 9 under, the highest winning score at Colonial since 1999.dddddddddddd They started the final round part of a seven-way tie for 11th place, but only two strokes behind a quartet of leaders. Along with $1,152,000 and the traditional plaid jacket for winning Colonial, Scott became the only player to win at Colonial, the Byron Nelson Championship, San Antonio and Houston. There are 13 other players with victories at three of those four, including Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and Nick Price. About 30 minutes after Dufner made his long birdie at No. 18 in regulation to get to 9 under, Scott made a closing par after just missing a 31-foot birdie chance. It was just less than an hour later when the two went back to No. 18 to start the playoff. The 11th playoff in Colonial history was the first since 2009, and the longest since Jim Colbert beat Fuzzy Zoeller on the sixth extra hole in 1983. Nicholas Thompson (66) and Freddie Jacobson (67) tied for third at 8 under. David Toms, in the final group, led at 9 under when he made his turn, but made three bogeys over the next five holes. Toms shot a closing 70 to finish at 7 under, a stroke ahead of Jimmy Walker, No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings. With four birdies and a three-putt bogey in his first six holes, Scott was already at 8 under. His only other three-putt at Colonial was from 17 feet at No. 9, dropping him to 6 under. Dufner, who was also second at Colonial two years ago, gave up a stroke when he missed a par putt from less than 3 feet at the 615-yard 11th hole. When his 12-foot birdie chance at the 440-yard 12th slid a half-foot past the cup, Dufner stood momentarily and stared at the ball before tapping in his par. Scott caught up with consecutive birdies on those same holes, pitching to 9 feet at No. 11 before hitting his approach at No. 12 to 4 feet. He got to 9 under with a 39-foot birdie putt at the 453-yard 14th. "I didnt want to let this one slip," Scott said. "So I played hard and I was really happy with where my game was at." ' ' '