TORONTO -- There were several similarities between football and bobsled that drew former CFL running back Jesse Lumsden to the ice from the gridiron. Air Max 270 Cheap Wholesale . For one, he still gets to crank the intensity to the max. "I push pretty angry. I ran pretty angry too though, but I have fun doing it," Lumsden said. "Its kind of an oxymoron but I dont know, it makes sense to me. Im grinding teeth and snorting and foaming at the mouth when Im pushing. "Like when I had the opportunity to hit somebody in front of me, I loved it. I loved that feeling of catching somebody on their heels and just going straight through them." Lumsden spent parts of six seasons in the Canadian Football League before retiring in 2011 after a few injury-plagued campaigns. His transition to the winter sports scene has been a smooth one. The six-foot-two, 223-pound brakeman from Burlington, Ont., first gave bobsled a try in 2009. He had aspirations of becoming a pilot but coaches told him his skills were best suited for the back of the sled. He took the news in stride and soon became one of the sports elite pushers. Lumsden qualified for the 2010 Olympic team in the two-man and four-man sleds, finishing fifth in both events. The 31-year-old Calgary resident has blossomed over the last few seasons, winning silver at the world championship last year and taking the World Cup title last season with pilot Lyndon Rush of Humboldt, Sask. The strong Canadian team tinkered with its lineup this season, with Lumsden now in the two-man sled with Calgarys Chris Spring. They won bronze at the season opener last month in Calgary and nearly reached the podium in the four-man event as well with a fourth-place result. With the season approaching the halfway point, Lumsden and Spring are third overall in the standings. "Were on the right path of where we need to be going," Lumsden said Thursday at a promotional event at a downtown mall. "Obviously the end of the road is Sochi and things are progressing nicely." The camaraderie that Lumsden experienced during his football days is much the same on the bobsled team. There is a great chemistry on the squad and a real sense of unity. Lumsden and Spring have been teaming with Ottawas Cody Sorensen and Saskatoons Ben Coakwell in the four-man sled. The other two-man sleds include Rush with Calgarys Lascelles Brown and the duo of Edmontons Bryan Barnett and Justin Kripps of Summerland, B.C. The womens team is led by the powerhouse pairing of reigning Olympic champions Heather Moyse of Summerside, P.E.I., and Kaillie Humphries of Calgary, who won gold at the season opener. Spring was born in Australia and became a Canadian citizen earlier this year. The third-place result at Canada Olympic Park was significant because it was his first World Cup medal with Lumsden. "Hes athletic so he contributes on the push as well," Lumsden said of his teammate. "He just has a presence about him thats very positive. Its confidence. Its not a cockiness but its a solid confidence that makes you feel good." Lumsden spent seven hours a day training in the off-season and has the chiselled physique to prove it. He generates his explosiveness from a rock-solid lower body and blasts out of the start area with a vengeance. He showed off that power last month in Calgary when he won the WinSport World Push Challenge to kick off the new season. Lumsden was formally named to the Olympic team this week. He learned a lot from the Vancouver experience but didnt feel a lot of pressure because he was so green. Things will be different when the Sochi Games begin Feb. 7. Lumsden is confident that hell be ready. "Theres more on the line this time around because I have invested my four years into it," he said. "This is my passion. This is what I love to do." Air Max 270 Discount Uk . Wawrinka, who is seeded fourth, is in the top half of the draw with Serbian Novak Djokovic. The Swiss star outlasted Djokovic in a five-set quarterfinal thriller last year and stunned Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the final to capture his first-ever Grand Slam title. Nike Air Max 270 Cheap Uk . Rosbergs time of 1 minute, 33.185 seconds at the Bahrain International Circuit was a quarter of a second faster than Hamilton, who had to abandon his final flying lap after running wide at the first corner. http://www.airmax270cheapuk.com/ .Y. -- Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff had an opportunity to experience an entire range of emotions in his first trip back to Buffalo to face his former team. SEATTLE -- George Springer hit the first pitch he saw in three days for a home run. The Houston rookie right fielder wasnt done, hitting another later in the game to help power the Astros past the Seattle Mariners 9-4 on Saturday night. "Thats pretty impressive, to sit out a couple games then the first pitch you see, you take it out the opposite way," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "Thats definitely good to see." Springer injured his right hip flexor on a ninth-inning pickoff play Wednesday in Anaheim. He then sat out the first two games of this series, both Seattle victories. But after Jose Altuve walked to open the game, Springer hit a 90-mph fastball from Brandon Maurer (1-3) into the right-field seats. He also connected on a 1-1 cutter from Maurer for another two-run homer in the Astros five-run sixth. He added an RBI in the sixth for a career-high five, in his 33rd big league game. Oberholtzer (1-6), recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City before the game, allowed two runs in the first, and then settled in, retiring 10 straight during one stretch. He finished with three runs allowed -- two earned -- with one walk and a career-high eight strikeouts. "He did a great job of attacking the strike zone," Porter said. "He did a good job pitching in. When he pitched his first stint here, he had gotten away from his effectiveness, on the inner-third of the plate. He got that back today and really attacked both sides." In his only other start against Seattle on Sept. 1 last season, Oberholtzer threw a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits, walking one and striking out five. He is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings against Seattle. "I felt I pitched good," Oberholtzer said. "Before the game, I told myself, whatever happens, happens. Throw strikes and have fun. Its been a while since Ive had fun." Maurer went 4 1-3 innings for the Mariners, allowing six runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out two. The Mariners rallied for two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Stefen Romero walked, then Robinson Cano singled to right. Cano has reached base safely in 31 consecutive games, hitting .372 with 11 extra-base hits and 20 RBI during the streak. It is the longest streak of his career, and longest active in the majors. Justin Smoak followed with a single, loading the bases for Kyle Seager, who bounced a potential double-play grounder to first. But first baseman Marc Krauss threw wildly to second, allowing Romero and Cano to score. After Springers first homer, Maurer then retired the next 11 straight, nine on flyballs. But the Astros rocked him in the fifth. Chris Carter opened with a double to left and Alex Presley singled to right, with Carterr holding at third. Air Max 270 Wholesale Uk. Jonathan Villar bounced a grounder to Cano, who tried to start 4-6-3 double play but bobbled the ball and settled for a Presley tagout as Carter scored. Altuve singled to right and Villar, running on the pitch, scored from first to make it 4-2. Springer followed with his sixth home run on a 1-1 fastball from Maurer into the left-field bullpen. "Hes unbelievable," Springer said of Altuve. "When he goes, our offence goes. Hes always on base. Hes a big guy for us. Im happy to hit behind him and happy to play with him. He can run and with him on base, it makes it easier for me to be more selective and still aggressive. "The home runs were all on him. He got me in a good hitting count and we go from there." Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said Maurer has had "a few times where he is on a run and one thing or another goes wrong and he doesnt seem to get it back together." Asked about that, Maurer said: "I lost conviction. I wasnt throwing with confidence in my pitches. I dont know, it just went away, I guess." Tom Wilhelmsen entered and yielded an RBI single to Krauss as the Astros matched their season high for runs in an inning. It also was the most runs allowed in an inning by the Mariners this season. The Astros scored two more in the sixth, one on a wild pitch by Wilhelmsen and the other on Springers RBI groundout. Wilhelmsen had entered with a 13 2-3-inning consecutive scoreless streak. The Mariners added a run in the sixth on Michael Saunders bases-loaded groundout. In the eighth, John Bucks groundout sent Kyle Seager home from third. NOTES: RHP Taijuan Walker, sidelined since spring training with a sore shoulder, likely will be sent out on a rehab assignment Wednesday. He will start for Triple-A Tacoma and be limited to 75 pitches. "Im excited to get back there Wednesday, get into my regular five-day routine again," Walker said. Walker is the Mariners top pitching prospect. . Oberholtzer was recalled before the game with LHP Rudy Owens, who started Friday and optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Astros manager Bo Porter said the spot starts by Oberholtzer and Owens "allows all those guys (regular starters) to get an extra day rest. It just makes good sense to take care of the guys whove been so good for us all year." ... It was a "Turn Back the Clock" night for the Mariners, back to 1979. NBA great Lenny Wilkens, coach of the citys only major championship that year, tossed out the first pitch. Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon caught it. ... James Jones single in the second extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Its also a continuing club rookie record for his first 14 career starts. ' ' '