Why Is Canada Beating Us At Our Own Game?

But the Lambrick Park Secondary and Victoria Mariners junior product still comes away from the 2015 Pan American Games with a gold medal around his neck. “Emotion. Hard work pays off and honestly that’s what happened tonight”.

An official “lucky loonie” was given to every Canadian athlete at the 2004 and 2012 Olympics, two were buried under the curling rink at the 2006 Olympics where Canada won gold, and loonies were buried at various venues before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, according to the Royal Canadian Mint.

Notre Dame had an additional representative on Team USA’s Pan Am Games staff this weekend, as athletic trainer Anne Marquez completed her second tour with USA Basketball.

Nurse, whose name was trending on Twitter in Toronto, poured in 33 points, while Natalie Achonwa of Guelph, Ont., playing her first tournament with Canada since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in the spring of 2014, added 13. However, she was a major force off the bench in the remaining four games for the host country, averaging 9.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, including team highs of 15 points and seven rebounds in Saturday’s preliminary-round win over Cuba.

“I’ve got to watch my brother do all these insane things for himself, so when you get one up him it’s a great feeling”, Kia Nurse said with a giant grin. “I’m more a true point guard”. And when she went down in a massive collision with just under four minutes left, and was helped off the court, the crowd saluted her rock-solid performance with a standing ovation. With Canada risking collapse, it was Nurse who drove into traffic and connected on a tough layup, plus a foul, to steady her team. “I think this is huge stepping stone, I think teams are going to be a little more intimidated to play us now and that’s an advantage”.

“I thought our women came out ready to play tonight”, said US head coach Lisa Bluder (Iowa).

“I said to Kia, because she’s one of the youngest on the team: ‘You know I started playing for Canada Basketball when I was 14, ‘” added Thorburn, a Hamilton native. “I can’t even describe the feeling”. Those were coupled by two fencing medals, a silver in men’s sabre and a bronze in women’s sabre.

They had earned their magic moment. It was Canadian Senior National Team’s second gold medal, and first since the 1995 FIBA Americas Championship (also that year’s Olympic qualifier) played in nearby Hamilton, Ontario. Another win there and Canada will book its place in Rio for 2016. “We couldn’t ask for anything more as preparation heading into Edmonton”.

Yet, as the Canadian women hollered O Canada, there was reason to believe that this is a team that, should everything break right, could capture the country’s heart in a year’s time. She scored 12 second-quarter points helping Canada tie the game at 36 by halftime.

“I’m super proud of her and so happy to see her perform”, said Vallee, who provided colour commentary of Monday’s game and the tournament for CBC television.

However, not everything about the Pan Am Games is pleasing the usually jovial Canadians, and the cause of their outrage can be pinpointed on one man; Kanye West.