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HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- After all the quad talk and quad practice and quad obsession, if not by the skaters then certainly from those who watch them, Jason Brown admitted it was hard to keep it together during his free skate at Skate America.It was kind of one of those dazed moments, Brown said after landing his first quad, in the Oct. 23 mens final in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. I was so focused. I said, Im going to attack it, and suddenly Im on one foot and I didnt have to fight for the landing. I thought, Oh my God, this is happening. As the 2018 Winter Olympics comes into focus, it is that same attitude that seems to be gripping both the American men and women.You would be completely unrealistic if you werent thinking about [the Olympics] right now, because its going to be here in no time, Ashley Wagner said.Whether the Americans can land solidly in South Korea 15 months from now depends on what happens between now and then. The U.S. men are still working on earning three spots at the worlds, while U.S. women are jockeying for position among themselves.Wagner won the gold at Skate America, with American Mariah Bell capturing the silver and Japanese teen Mai Mihara taking the bronze. On the mens side, despite landing his quad toe loop, it was determined to be under-rotated, and Brown took the silver behind another Japanese teen, Shoma Uno, with American Adam Rippon showing off a new free skate and winning the bronze.For the U.S. women, Skate America was built as the anticipated showdown between Wagner and U.S. champion Gracie Gold after Golds disappointing fourth-place finish at the world championships in Boston last March. But Gold fell on her triple loop and triple salchow at Skate America and downgraded her other triple jumps to doubles, calling her fifth-place score of 184.22 overly generous.It turned out to be the continued coming-out party for for the 20-year-old Bell -- Wagners and Rippons training partner under new coach Rafael Arutunian -- who scored a personal best of 130.67 in her free program.Bell called an appearance at the Worlds this spring in Helsinki very realistic. Just going into nationals [in January] to be on the podium, I think is very realistic for me. But right now, I honestly am just focused on going home and training for whatevers next.Though Wagner, a three-time national champion and silver medalist at the worlds this year, admitted she felt the pressure of Wagner versus Gold, she is clearly demonstrating a newfound maturity at age 25 that is paying dividends on the ice.The amount of nerves that I felt going into this competition, I would not have been able to handle last year, Wagner said. The way it was built up to be the ultimate showdown between Gracie and I, that was something I felt the pressure of, but I dealt with it and didnt succumb to it. I pushed through, and thats how I got to the top of the podium.Wagner finished in seventh place in Sochi in 2014 and was best remembered for speaking out openly against Russias anti-gay laws and the countrys president Vladimir Putin. She said she was mentally exhausted and overwhelmed after the Olympics.I was 22 and super excited about everything, and I think going into the next [Olympics] I will be way calmer in the way that I deal with everything, she said. I mean, I regret nothing in Sochi. I think it was a great event for me. Im always true to who I am. But I think going into this next Olympics, I am much more of an adult and more poised. I think Im more thoughtful in my responses but still myself. I still say what I feel, but I have more polish to it.Polish will not be a problem on ice for Brown and Rippon, whose artistic gifts were on display at Skate America. But the question for the men continues to be the quad -- whos landing it? How many are they doing? -- and the seemingly age-old debate of athleticism versus artistry.Uno cleanly landed a quad flip and quad toe loop in the opening seconds of his long program, and the 5-foot-3, 18-year-old followed with another quad toe and four triple jumps, a personal-best 279.34 points, helping him finish 11 points ahead of Brown.With American Nathan Chen landing two quads in his short program and four in his free at nationals in January at age 16, the pressure has presumably become that much greater for Brown and Rippon.We have such an incredibly talented mens field, Wagner said. Its just really hard because our men are coming up at a time that weve never seen the likes of before. I think for our men, its the quad game for sure. But if you dont have the quads, then its the quality game and youve got to max out everything else and hope for the best. But for right now, in all honesty, if you dont have that quad, what are you doing? Or two or three or five.Sidelined from competition for much of the year with a back injury, Brown is acknowledged as one of the most gifted artistic skaters in the world. The question has been whether he could master the quad, the thought being that he could not reach the Olympic or world podium without it.Working this past summer on jumps with Frank Carroll in addition to working with his longtime coach Kori Ade, the always ebullient Brown comes as close as he ever will to bristling when discussing the hot-button topic.I found myself in many situations, Brown said. Youre not going to make the junior final. You dont have a triple axel. You know what? I went and won the junior final that year. I was told I couldnt make junior worlds without a triple axel. I got third.It was all about, I cant make the Olympic team without a quad. I made the Olympic team. I was told, You never have a chance of the podium at the Olympics. I was sixth after the short. I was less than a point from third, and I think I turned a lot of peoples heads when it happened, and so I think from that, its really about believing in yourself that you can do it.Brown knocked on the nearest wood as he pointed out hes not one to bomb. And when he does make a mistake, hes adept at recovering quickly.This is sport, he said. Crazy things happen all the time. Someone who does four quads may have an off-day that day and fall, and you seize the moment.Two-time Olympic team coach Audrey Weisiger, now a consultant for other coaches developing Olympic athletes like Brown, said since Sochi, Brown now has a mans physique and is very, very, very capable of landing quads consistently.In the meantime, though, I think hes one of most beautiful skaters we have in our competitive community, Weisiger said. People are drawn to him even if he doesnt do quads. People want to watch him. Youll see in competitions multiple standing ovations for him ... if he adds in a clean quad, he will be unbeatable.Brown said he has to guard against overtraining and reinjuring his back.My goal is to make the next Olympic team, he said. I want to be able to be on the podium, and I want to be able to be on the podium with doing three quads in my program and doing two quads in my short. Those are definitely big goals, but I cant do it injured. So for me, its just doing it the best that works for me and coming every day and constantly doing the best that I can and doing it right and right for me.Rippon fell on his opening quad toe at Skate America but was judged to have completed all four rotations. He said he would like to add another and land them cleanly before nationals. But the 2016 U.S. champion is with Brown: While he is working on quads, it is going to have to be done carefully.When I see somebody like Nathan, who is doing five quads, you know what, Im not going to do that tomorrow, Rippon said. Thats impossible. Im not 17, Im 26. So I have to take a different approach. My approach has to be a little bit more mindful. Hes already had a surgery. Ive never had hip surgery. Ive never had any surgery. Ive had a relatively healthy career, and mentally, Ive really focused on taking the whole thing rather than one thing dictating how its going to affect the program.Rippon also agrees with Brown that the power of a beautiful artistic performance should not be forgotten.When I go out there, I want to put on the best performance I can because thats what I remember growing up, Rippon said. I remember Michelle Kwan making me want to rip my heart out she was so good. I remember Tara Lipinski. I remember Alexei Yagudin and yes, they could have looked around and seen Timothy Goebel trying three quads, but they did what they knew was their best. And they pushed themselves to have those clean performances because thats what really gets people involved. And judges are people.Weisiger said both the American men and women have a chance at the Olympic podium in South Korea.Skating is one of those things where on the day of the Olympics, anything can happen, and sometimes when you get an Olympic champion, people are scratching their heads, Weisiger said. Whats brewing now is what happens in the Olympics. There is some skater out there getting ready to be an Olympic champion that we may not know at all. Jim McIlvaine Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Fake Supersonics Jerseys . 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Ovechkin and his Russian national team were eliminated from the mens hockey tournament in Sochi on Wednesday with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to Finland. RIO DE JANEIRO -- It shouldnt be that hard. The Americans make it look that way.The latest U.S. debacle in the Olympic relays reached its end point Saturday, when track officials rejected the protest from the American team and upheld their disqualification from the 4x100-meter mens relay race from the night before. The United States crossed the line third, but Canada keeps the bronze medal.At issue: The baton exchange between Mike Rodgers and Justin Gatlin between the first and second legs.According to rule 170.7 of the track and field handbook, its illegal for the baton to touch the second runners hand before it passes the yellow line that marks the start of the zone. Overhead shots of the exchange show Gatlin doing just that.The U.S. men now are medal-less in the last three Olympics in a race that was virtually made for the country with the deepest collection of sprint talent, even with Usain Bolt running against them. Tyson Gay and Darvis Doc Patton fumbled the baton in 2008. In 2012, the U.S. held on for silver, only to get that one stripped because of Gays subsequent doping positive.In all, this equals 10 finishes outside the medals since 1995 in either world championships or the Olympics.I couldnt even shed a tear I was so shocked, said Gay, who has been around for many of the most recent failures. I couldnt even cry. Damn, bad luck again. Its weird. I dont get it.It gets shoved in their face, time and time again. In a feature previewing the race, NBC had four of the U.S. sprinters look at some of the nightmares that have preceded them.Unfortunately, weve come to be defined by failure, said the coach, Dennis Mitchell.Mitchells naming to his post raised some eyebrows, not only because hes been part of the problems of the recent past, but because he has a doping history, too.Carl Lewis, who won two Olympic relay golds, has been a longtime critic of the way USA Track and Field does relays. Asked about the issue in March, he laid out the problems, saying the U.S. relay game is fraught with infighting among agents, volunteers and administration.USATF needs to stop the joking, stop the crap, Lewis said. What they need to do is get a retired college coach whos going to tell the agent to kiss off, whos going to tell thee athletes to get in line and who knows how to put together a relay.ddddddddddddSome say the pressure of holding off Bolt, year in and year out, takes its toll and takes people out of their comfort zone.True, but there was one little problem with that Friday.Take Bolt out of it, and we still wouldve been beaten by Japan, said Mike Tucci, a high school coach in Delaware, who has produced champion after champion, often by not even using his fastest runners.Not a single man on Japans second-place team made an individual sprint final at the Olympics. Japan focused on winning a medal in the relays, perfected the handoff and took it to the line. Legally.Not that all has gone wrong for the United States, either in the relays or the track meet itself. Even without the mens relay, the United States entered the weekend with 27 medals, on pace to surpass the 29 it took home from London four years ago.The womens team won the 4x100, but it overcame a lot along the way.First, there was a dropped baton in preliminaries that came because a Brazilian runner bumped Allyson Felix in the passing zone. That led to a protest, then a bizarre rerun of the heat, alone on the track.The U.S. made the final, and Tianna Bartoletta, Felix, English Gardner and Tori Bowie blew away Jamaica for gold. They recorded the second-fastest time in history (41.01 seconds) despite a less-than-perfect exchange between Gardner and Bowie, who had to reach back twice to get the baton.It helps being so much faster, and USATF was touting the success story with this fun anecdote: Shortly before the warm-up, Gardner opened her bag to discover there was only one shoe in there. As luck had it, Felix had an extra pair -- although a half-size bigger -- and loaned it to Gardner.Thats a great story, but only because they won.For the men, let the second-guessing begin.Some of my kids are coming up to me mad, saying `Why do we keep losing? said Tucci, the high school coach. When it happens once, its a mental thing or a goofy situation. When its twice, you cringe a little bit. When it happens three or four times, you start thinking its systematic. ' ' '