Technischer Bereich » in Genoa, as Sampdoria defender Paolo Castellini was

GLASGOW -- Kirsten Sweetland pumped her arms, grit her teeth and ran hard through the finish line -- and in that moment put six years of pain and frustration behind her. Keith Moreland Cubs Jersey . The 25-year-old from Victoria captured Canadas first medal of the Commonwealth Games on Thursday, a silver in the womens triathlon. "Totally pain free. It feels so good," Sweetland said with a tired smile. "It feels unbelievable to get a medal." Sweetland raced Englands Jodie Stimpson neck-and-neck through the 10-kilometre run before Stimpson pulled away down the stretch to win gold in one hour 58 minutes 56 seconds. Sweetland took the silver in 1:59.01, while Englands Vicky Holland crossed in 1:59.11 for bronze. Calgarys Ellen Pennock crashed on her bike and has a broken collarbone. Sarah-Anne Brault of Winnipeg was instructed to drop out during the run to focus on Saturdays relay race. Andrew Yorke of Caledon, Ont., finished fourth in the mens race. Sweetlands race to the podium closed the book -- finally -- on a dizzying bad-luck story that began when she missed out on qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and included suffering seven stress fractures and a torn plantar fascia. "Were talking about a redeveloping Kirsten here, so awesome. Awesome for Kirsten," said Canadian coach Jaime Turner. "She ran really tough today, I thought she was quite clinical and ruthless out there. "Let the players play and she followed and came up with an awesome result." Sweetland was a rising star in the triathlon world when she became the youngest Canadian to win a World Cup race at the age of 18. She was on pace for a spot on the Beijing Olympic team, standing third in a qualifying race in which she needed only to finish top-eight. But she fainted 400 metres from the finish line. From that point on, its been years of one stress fracture after another, first in her tibia and then her pelvis -- shed later discover the trouble stemmed from one of her legs being longer than the other. The most severe injury was the torn plantar fascia -- the connective tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot. "I would get the whole winter of training done, nobody knew that I was working hard, and then right about race season Id be out again. And again. And again," she said. Last season was the first in years that she managed to put some races together, only to suffer a stomach ailment last summer that was diagnosed as a severe allergy to eggs and milk. "So this is the first year that Im making it through a whole season," she said. Still, her confidence had seeped away with the long months and years of being out and wasnt restored until 10 days before Glasgow, when she raced to bronze in a World Triathlon Series event in Hamburg, Germany. "Thats huge," she said of the mental component of racing. "Until that race I wouldnt have believed I could get a medal today. "I still put these girls on a pedestal. You start to lose a bit of confidence in your running because running is something you need to consistently do. Doesnt matter how talented you are and how much speed you have, to have to consistently train in order to be up with the best. And it had been so long since I had that so I started to lose that (confidence)." She wasnt lacking for any Thursday. The five-foot-four Canadian was 11th in the 1,500-metre swim but laid down the fastest time in the 40-kilometre bike to put her second going into the 10-kilometre run. And then it was a foot race between the top six athletes, with Sweetland and Stimpson barely giving an inch to the other until the home stretch. "I just tried to stick on Jodies shoulder for the run and hang on for as long as I could," she said. Sweetland was asked if she feels sympathy for Canadian teammate Paula Findlay, who finished last at the 2012 London Olympics amid a series of soul-crushing injuries and ailments of her own. Findlay wasnt on the team for Glasgow. Sweetland nodded yes, she understands. The two, in fact, have been each others cheerleader in their attempts to return to top health. "Its really just your approach to it and how your roll with it," Sweetland said. "Its about putting in the work and not expecting the results. "When athletes are younger and dont have injuries to deal with, they think of the work as a means to an end. But if you enjoy the work and put it in without expectations, it just sort of comes up. It feels like I didnt even work for this, its been so fun." The 25-year-old Yorke was 17th out of the water, then 13th after the bike, but made up ground in the run portion. English brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee already had more than a minutes lead on the field by that point, Alistair going on to win gold and Jonathan taking silver. Richard Murray of South Africa won the bronze. Yorke outsprinted Australias Ryan Bailie to nab fourth by three seconds. "I thought that if everything went absolutely perfectly, and some people kind of tanked, I could have come third, but its always a dream," Yorke said. "But to find myself running in fourth, I told myself this morning I had nothing to lose, and that was my motto the whole day. I was out there thinking Youre hurting, but just kick. Whats the worth thing thats going to happen?" The Canadian crossed the finish line then wobbled on his feet for a few steps before dropping to the ground. An official leaned over him to dump water on his face. "I think that was just more indicative of my effort with the kick (than the heat)," he said. A huge crowd turned out for the first medal event of the Games, packing the grandstand at the finish line. They stood a dozen deep at some spots along the picturesque course at Strathclyde Country Park on the southeastern edge of Glasgow, enjoying the cloudless sky and temperatures that soared to 26 C. Sweetlands medal and Yorkes fourth-place finish were the bright spots on an up and down day for Canada. Pennock and Sweetland had come out of the water virtually even before Pennock crashed twice in the bike portion. The first came when she appeared to clip the back wheel of South Africas Kate Roberts, sending the two crashing to the road. The second incident saw her go down when she clipped her wheel on a barrier. She was taken from the course by ambulance to the Games medical centre. "Oh no, Ellens my good friend and my little buddy," Sweetland said, when informed of the crash. "Thats terrible to hear." Turner made the decision then to pull Brault from the race early on in her run. "We need Sarah-Anne in two days time with fresh legs," Turner said. "Theres no point Sarah marching on in the individual race without being in a dominant position." Brault, 24, struggled on the swimming portion, coming out of the water in 16th place. "Today wasnt there," Brault said. "Its really disappointing because I thought I was ready to have a good one, and I think it would have been a lot fun to race up at the front with the girls but when you come out of the swim that far back (its difficult to make up much ground)." Kyle Jones of Oakville, Ont., was 11th in the mens race, while Matthew Sharpe of Campbell River, B.C., was 21st. Derek Holland Jersey . - The New York Rangers have momentum, a unified locker room and Henrik Lundqvist. John Lackey Jersey . Dragic was a game-time decision because of a sore right ankle that had kept him out of Wednesdays loss at Utah, but played all but the last 10 seconds of the second half in the first 40-point game for a Phoenix player since Amare Stoudemires 44 on March 19, 2010. https://www.cheapcubs.com/1500t-kendall-graveman-jersey-cubs.html . -- Kael Mouillierat scored three times and set up one more as the St. ROME -- Luca Toni scored twice as Hellas Verona beat AC Milan 2-1 Saturday to celebrate its return to Serie A after an 11-year absence as the Italian league opened with a shock. It was more to form, meanwhile, as Juventus kicked off its bid for a third consecutive title with Carlos Tevez scoring in the 58th minute of a 1-0 win at Sampdoria, which beat the Bianconeri in both league meetings last season. Juve didnt quite dominate like in its 4-0 rout of Lazio in last weekends Super Cup but Antonio Contes men showed the same poise and discipline of the past two seasons. Tevez, Juves big off-season acquisition from Manchester City, only had to tap in after taking a pass from Paul Pogba at the edge of the box on a rainy night at the Juventus Stadium. At the other end, Juves corp of quality defenders -- Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini -- cleared any danger. It was a different story in Verona, where Andrea Poli put Milan ahead in the 14th minute following a pass from Mario Balotelli before the 1.96-meter (6-foot-5) Toni struck back with headers in the 30th and 53rd. "Theres no better way to start the season," Verona midfielder Massimo Donati said. It was a disturbing result for Milan ahead of Wednesdays return-leg match with PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League playoffs. Milan also gave up a lead in the opening leg, drawing 1-1. Last season, Milan never lost in Serie A after establishing a lead, winning 21 matches and drawing four. "The explanation is simple: we played bad football and we played poorly as a squad," Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said. "We needed to control the ball better. We played poorly and they deserved the victory. "We need to play with more nastiness and more attentively," Allegri added. "After we scored we stopped playing. Even though hes 36, Toni fought like a lion." The other eight matches of the opening weekend will be played Sunday, with last years runner-up Napoli hosting Bologna and Inter Milan facing Genoa at the San Siro. Also, Lazio opens against Udinese with one end of its stadium closed as punishment for fan racism in the Super Cup. There were concerns that Verona fans might direct racist chants at Balotelli but, with the issue discussed widely before the match, supporters responded by applauding him instead whenever he touched the ball -- albeit likely in an ironic manner. "The fans offered a great response," Donnati said. Custom Chicago Cubs Jerseys. After the final whistle, Milan fans grew unruly and began launching seats over a barrier at Verona supporters. Verona won its only Serie A title in 1985 and has had the dishonour of watching neighbour Chievo Verona play in the top division for much of the last decade while it toiled in Serie B. But a second-place result in Serie B last season earned Verona promotion and the signing of Toni in July to a one-year contract has already proved wise even though Daniele Cacia led the second division with 24 goals in 2012-13. The 36-year-old Toni also scored on his debut when Verona beat Palermo 1-0 in the Italian Cup last weekend. "Hes decisive on dead balls and hes a decisive player for us," Verona coach Andrea Mandorlini said of Toni, who formerly played for Palermo, Fiorentina and Bayern Munich and was a member of the Italy squad that won the 2006 World Cup. Balotelli had Milans first chance nine minutes in with a shot from beyond the area that was blocked by goalkeeper Rafael. Balotelli might have done better by passing the ball to one of two teammates striding toward the goal and he was wise to pass to Poli five minutes later to set up a goal. After collecting the pass, Poli dribbled in between two defenders and slotted the ball past Rafael. After struggling in the opening 20 minutes, Verona began to assert itself more as the half wore on and Toni took advantage when Milans defence lost track of him during a corner kick as the hosts equalized. Toni also had a chance in the 36th with a bouncing shot that Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati couldnt control but a defender cleared the danger. Still, it was Verona that came out in attack mode to start the second half and Abbiati had to leap high to tip over the bar a header from Bosko Jankovic in the 51st. Two minutes later, Toni put Verona ahead with a header from the edge of the box as he leaped over defender Cristian Zapata for his 111th career goal in Serie A. And in the 62nd, Abbiati had to punch away a dangerous cross to prevent Toni from doing any more damage. Toni exited to a standing ovation when he was replaced by Cacia in the 85th. Cacia nearly made it 3-1 in the 89th but Abbiati was able to stop the attempt. Balotelli grew frustrated and drew a yellow card for protests in the 90th. There was also a last-minute card in Genoa, as Sampdoria defender Paolo Castellini was shown red for a hard foul on Stephan Lichtsteiner. ' ' '