battle with Aberdeen for the Premiership title, was again asked about the

SHANGHAI - Yuzuru Hanyus free skate at the Cup of China began with a scary crash with another skater in warm-ups that left him on his back on the ice, gasping for air and with blood streaming across his neck and face from a cut on his chin. Joe Smith Jersey .Visibly shaken and with gauze wrapped around his head, the reigning Olympic and world champion from Japan decided to stay in the competition and struggled through his program, falling five times.He nearly won the title anyway.Maxim Kovtun of Russia landed just enough jumps to take the gold with 243.34 points, less than six points ahead of Hanyu in second (237.55).Hanyu was skating backward at a high speed during the warm-ups when he collided with defending champion Yan Han of China and went down hard on the ice. He lay for several seconds on his back before being helped up and receiving treatment from doctors.Both skaters returned moments later to compete with matching bandages on their chins.Yan tumbled on his opening two jumps and popped his third, eventually finishing in sixth place.Hanyus program appeared even worse, with falls on his quad salchow and quad toeloop at the start and three more spills toward the end. He was showered with stuffed bears and flowers from the crowd and then broke down in sobs when his scores appeared, showing him in first place.Kovtun followed with his program next, skating just cleanly enough to knock him down to second.Hanyu received stiches on his head and chin and was checked for a concussion after the competition. His coach, Brian Orser, said he would fly back to Japan on Sunday to receive further treatment.I know that tomorrow hes going to feel like he was hit by a car, he said. Both of these boys are going to feel awful.Orser said he allowed Hanyu to compete because he wasnt exhibiting any physical signs of a concussion after the crash — his eyes were clear and he was speaking normally, even making jokes.He was immediately determined he wanted to compete, and for me, I wanted to make sure he was healthy enough, he said. I told him, This is not the time to be a hero. You have to take care of yourself.The crash even had an effect on Kovtun, who said he couldnt concentrate on his own preparations and put in a flawed performance.When they suspended the warm-up, my coach tried to calm me down, he said. It was hard for me to pull myself together.American Richard Dornbush finished third.In the ladies competition, Russian Elizaveta Tuktamysheva won her fourth event of the season, while her countrywoman Julia Lipnitskaia fell apart in her free skate and slipped to second after leading following the short program.Tuktamysheva is starting to fulfil the promise she showed at the age of 12, when she broke onto the scene with a runner-up finish at the senior Russian championships. Although shes had some success since then, her progress has been slowed by injuries, growth spurts and inconsistent results.Now nearly 18, Tuktamysheva is finding confidence on the ice again — something she credited to her coachs decision to skate a heavy schedule of events this season.I felt it had to be this way. I had a long break and I needed to polish my elements and my programs in competition, she said.Lipnitskaia, the world silver medallist , fell on a triple salchow and never recovered. She put her hands down on a triple flip, popped two other triples, and didnt complete a triple-double combination.The 16-year-old still finished second ahead of Japans Kanako Murakami, but that was hardly a consolation.I dont really know what happened, she said. That was the worst skate of my life.In the ice dancing, Frances Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron won the gold after the reigning world champions, Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy, had a rare fall during their routine. Lanottes boot collided with his partners and he lost his balance and fell to the ice.It was really unexpected, Cappellini said. It hasnt happened to us in a long time to make a mistake like that in competition.American siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani led after the short dance but lost points on their rotational lift and other elements, finishing second, just ahead of the Italians.Chinas Peng Cheng and Zhang Hao took the gold in the pairs event, leading a Chinese sweep of the podium. Yu Xiaoyu and Jin Yang were second, followed by Wang Xuehan and Wang Lei in third. George Springer Jersey . In this space, I will be writing new and unique pieces about the team that you wont be able to find anywhere else. So naturally, in an attempt to come up with a fresh topic about the Ottawa Senators, I am going to start with a piece about their goaltending. Martin Maldonado Astros Jersey . Some will say that Martin is too sensitive while others will say that it is part of the way football is in the locker room. But to have to absorb what was said to him for any rational and intelligent person is too much. https://www.cheapastros.com/1063o-ken-caminiti-jersey-astros.html . With Washington teammate Nene drawing double-teams coming off his big game against the Lakers, Gortat scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to a 100-92 win in overtime over Milwaukee on Wednesday night.Celtic manager Ronny Deila is confident striker Leigh Griffiths will not have long to wait to break his short scoring drought. Griffiths has netted 35 goals this season, but has not found the net in the last three games in which Celtic are undefeated.The striker missed the last match against Motherwell but did play in the teams 1-0 victory at Fir Park, which was decided by a Nadir Ciftci goal. Prior to Tuesdays stalemate against Dundee at Dens Park, Tom Rogic netted with a superb strike in the last minute to earn a 1-0 victory at Kilmarnock and the Hoops then came from behind to beat Hearts 3-1 with a Gary Mackay-Steven goal and a double from fellow winger Patrick Roberts at Celtic Park last Saturday.But Deila has been pleased with the work-rate of Griffths in those games, and is certain the Scotland international will continue to trouble defences. Leigh Griffiths celebrates after opening the scoring against Hearts at Tynecastle Hes not tired thats for sure. Hes ready. He gets good chances all the time so thats the most important thing, Deila said.If he had been going into games and not getting opportunities then I would be more concerned. He is so vital for us. We know how good a finisher he is and he will be back on track again.We have others who can score. A week ago we had a winger scoring two and the other one scored one so were scoring a lot of goals this season. Partick Roberts struck twice against Hearts as Griffiths drew a blank But I know Leigh will continue scoring goals if he is at it and he will create chances for others as well so Im not concerned. Ryan Pressly Astros Jersey. Its getting closer now but we are in a very good position. Were five points ahead with six games left so there are a lot of opportunities here.Speaking at the news briefing ahead of the Sky Live clash at Fir Park, Deila, who is locked in a head-to-head battle with Aberdeen for the Premiership title, was again asked about the prospects of facing newly-promoted Rangers next season. Gary Mackay-Steven on the mark against Morton in the Scottish Cup Celtic will play the Championship winners and Petrofac Training Cup finalists at Hampden in the Scottish Cup a week on Sunday - live on Sky Sports - and the Norwegian was canvassed for his opinions on their prospects after they booked their place in the top flight with a 1-0 win over Dumbarton on Tuesday.Well see, he said. Its too early to say something about other teams. Ive got a lot of other things to think about. This is something you can keep on thinking about in the media and I will answer next season. Also See: Motherwell v Celtic preview Tierney: Its been a crazy year ' ' '