Die Allianz T-D-P » p-and-down performance against Was

TORONTO -- Contestants on "The Amazing Race Canada" were unanimously excited when informed that the show would be hosted by Olympic gold medallist Jon Montgomery -- once they realized who he was, that is. "Were they like who? Who? The beer guy?" Montgomery asks. Well, actually, yes. But the flame-haired 34-year-old has no issue with the fact that hes still best-known to Canadians not for hurtling to a surprise gold medal in mens skeleton at the 2010 Vancouver Games, but for how he celebrated afterward: gleefully marching through a crowd of elated Canucks while chugging a pitcher of beer. "If I could pick between being known as an Olympic gold medallist or the beer guy, I would pick the beer guy," Montgomery said in a recent interview -- his words tumbling out at Olympic speed -- before again revisiting the circumstances of his golden day. "That lady that was kind enough to hand me a pitcher of beer, it was like she was angelic, there was this aura about her and ... I was so thirsty at that moment in time," he recalled. "As a good old Manitoba boy, you show your appreciation for someone buying you a drink by taking a good hearty swill of it. "I think Canadians cant necessarily see themselves flying down a frozen toilet chute on a cafeteria tray with rails head-first at 140 km/h, but Canadians can see themselves celebrating a goal accomplished ... in a uniquely Canadian style with a pitcher of suds. And I think that leant them some access to the moment." It was a marquee moment for Games broadcaster CTV too, so its not surprising that the network decided upon Montgomery as host of its new flagship, race-around-Canada reality show, which will launch with considerable fanfare on July 15. "How he behaved after he won his gold medal was just like a unifying moment where all Canadians said: that dude is Canadian and hes a Canadian hero," said executive producer John Brunton, chairman and CEO of Insight Productions. "The way he behaved, it was like he had a Canadian flag tattooed on his forehead. He was Mr. Canada -- he sort of represented a Molson beer commercial in many ways. "I dont think he was an obvious choice in any way," Brunton continued. "(But) how can you not love Jon Montgomery? Hes a seasoned traveller, hes got balls the size of grapefruits. One of the things thats going to make our show different than the American show is that I think you will find our host more ... physically active and relating to the challenges in a different way." Still, Montgomery is the first to admit he has scant experience in front of the camera, aside from the flurry of interviews and speaking engagements that followed his moment of Olympic glory. So he shies away from comparing himself favourably to Phil Keoghan -- the New Zealander who has hosted the American version of "The Amazing Race" for 22 seasons -- demurring when told of Bruntons praise: "I think it would be a big mistake for me to try and be Phil, because hes so good at what he does that I think I should maybe try to find my own voice. ... Hes the master, and maybe, one day, I can get close to being like Phil." In fact, Montgomery says hes not drawing upon his on-camera experiences post-Olympics, but the decade he spent prior to that as a motor-mouthed auto auctioneer. "(That) lent itself to being comfortable in front of an audience and being the guy with the microphone, the centre of attention -- and that was probably why I got into auctioneering," he added with a laugh. "I liked being the centre of attention growing up. I was the guy in class who was repeatedly told to sit down, to not talk. Jon needs to focus more, hes not getting his work done -- that kind of deal. "But it seems to have worked out OK." One of his other duties as "Amazing Race Canada" host will be to zero in upon the team conflicts that frequently erupt between pairs of stressed-out contestants desperately trying to quickly navigate the myriad obstacles strewn in their way. Sometimes he might simply poke at those fires, sometimes he might have to pour figurative gasoline on them -- anything in service of the viewer, he says. "I dont think that Im going to get in there and try and be a total disturber -- as maybe my role was on the ice when I played hockey growing up," he said. "But (will I be) a little bit of an agitator? Maybe. Just asking some appropriate questions to pull some responses out that you might be looking for -- that might make for good television viewing -- I think that thats definitely the role of the host and Ill have to walk that delicate line between being somebody who isnt perceived very well by the public and someone who is perceived as doing a good job in their role of facilitating reactions." Speaking of his on-ice role, Montgomery is still hoping to qualify and represent Canada at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. His hosting duties constitute a challenge for the training-focused Montgomery, who planned on a makeshift workout regimen while on the road -- "Find a parking lot, do some track spring warmups, find a gym where I can find a few free weights, throw them around, get my workout done, get going," he said. While he hopes "The Amazing Race Canada" leads to more opportunities in broadcasting, hes still maintaining focus on the skeleton track. And he knows he has plenty of work ahead if he plans to swig some celebratory suds next winter in Russia. "Ive got a huge road to hoe to be able to repeat," he said, pointing to 2010 runners-up Martins Dukurs of Latvia and Alexander Tretiakov of Russia as "the two guys everyones chasing, including myself." "Ive got a lot of work to do to narrow that margin between where I am right now and where theyre at," he added, noting that he was comfortable playing catch-up for now. "I dont want to go in being the front-runner. Thats not something Ive ever been before. So its always easier being the underdog. "So yeah, I would definitely welcome going into the 2014 Olympic Games being not the front-runner. And Im not, so Im cool with that." Derek Roy Jersey . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. Custom Buffalo Sabres Jerseys .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. http://www.sabresteamstoreonline.com/authentic-conor-sheary-sabres-jersey/ . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Zach Bogosian Sabres Jersey . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. Thomas Vanek Sabres Jersey . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- For most Big Ten Conference football teams, a step-down game is one to put in the win column.After being blown out by now No. 8 Washington in Chris Ashs coaching debut at Rutgers, its hard to know what to expect when the Scarlet Knights face Howard on Saturday.Rutgers did not play well in dropping a 48-13 decision to the Huskies. They trailed 24-0 after the first quarter, 34-3 at the half and 48-3 after three quarters.Howard will be playing its second straight Big Ten foe. It opened with a 52-13 loss to Maryland in a game it trailed 42-0 after three quarters.Howard gives us as a program another opportunity to go out and show that were improving, and weve got to go out and compete to show that we came back from last Saturday, Ash said.Since taking the Rutgers job, Ash has insisted that rebuilding the program isnt solely about wins and losses.What drives me is to get a team of individuals, coaches and players to go out and try to perform to our potential, he said. Did that happen Saturday? No, it did not, and thats what Im really disappointed about. Do I hope we win every game? Absolutely, and thats what we want and thats what everybody wants, but at the end of the day -- at the start of it, I want us to be a program that goes out and performs to our full potential every chance that we get.Howard coach Gary Harrell said his team had chances against Maryland early and did not make the plays.You have to play better and you limit the mistakes if you want to get the results that you ultimately want, Harrell said of playing teams in a higher category.LAVIANO IN CHARGEChris Laviano won the starting job as Rutgers quarterback and thats not changing after an up-and-down performance against Washington.dddddddddddd.Ash stressed that Laviano has to protect the ball better. He put it in jeopardy while running and again when he was under a pass rush.He put the ball in harms way, and he needs to get that fixed, Ash said. Thats a big deal. We talked a lot about that in the decision making process to name Chris the starter. Chris has earned the right to be the starter here based on what hes done from spring and summer and through training camp, but he needs to protect the football.GOOD STARTHoward receiver Kyle Anthony was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rookie of the week. The 6-foot-3 freshman from Miramar, Fla. caught a game-high 7 passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to Maryland. Two of his other receptions went for first downs.LAST DANCEThis will be the final game between Rutgers and Howard for the foreseeable future. The Big Ten Conference frowns on its football teams playing against FCS opponents, and Rutgers will no longer play the Bison. Its last game against an FCS team will be next season versus Morgan State.Rutgers has won each of the previous four games against Howard by a combined 165-39 margin. All games have been played in Piscataway, with the last one ending in a 38-25 win.PRESIDENTIAL MEETINGPresident Barack Obama spoke at three college commencements last spring: Air Force, Rutgers and Howard.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '