07-18-2019, 12:40 AM
CALGARY -- Canadas luge team is for sale again. The sliders slapped "For Sale" stickers on their helmets to attract a corporate sponsor just a few months before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The strategy worked, but that sponsorship money has run out with the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, on the horizon. Alex Gough, Sam Edney and the rest of the luge team got out their "For Sale" decals and signs again. They invited the media Tuesday for their first training runs of the season at Canada Olympic Park. "Countries like Germany have such a huge pool of athletes and the corporate backing we havent been able to secure," Gough said. "Our previous sponsor gave us that and gave us that edge. Now that partnership has ended, we really need someone else to step up. "It worked last time so we figured wed give the "For Sale" thing another try." The difference between Canadas luge team pre-2010 and pre-2014 is that it is capable of winning the countrys first Olympic medal in the sport in Sochi. Prior to 2010, luge was the weakest of Canadian sliding sports behind bobsled and skeleton. Gough, a 26-year-old Calgarian, has broken up German domination of womens singles with a pair of World Cup victories, nine other World Cup medals and two world championship bronze medals over the last four years. The team relay -- which will makes its Olympic debut in February -- is also fertile ground to produce a Canadian medal. Gough, Edney and the mens doubles team of Tristan Walker and Justin Snith, all from Calgary, won silver at this years world championship and bronze in 2012. "For the first time ever, were going to be poised to win a medal," said Tim Farstad, executive director of the Canadian Luge Association. "I think it would be great for a sponsor to come along for the ride." The luge team raced toboggans down a snowy Calgary hill wearing their "For Sale" stickers in February 2009. Gough now called that a "creative stunt." Within a day, the team was contacted by the investment company Fast Track Capital and a five-year deal worth just over $1 million was reached. However, the company was unable to fulfil the final year of its commitment. A former luger and president of an oil and gas company awarded cash bonuses to athletes for podium and top-10 finishes for two years after the 2010 Games, but those incentives no longer exist. The luge team will get $973,000 in funding in 2013-14 from Own The Podium, the organization that directs taxpayer dollars to national sports federations. In the four years between 2010 and 2014, OTP will have directed $3.2 million to the luge team. OTP money goes to athletes who have demonstrated Olympic and world championship medal potential. Top sliders like Gough and Edney have personal sponsorships, but the CLA needs a team sponsor to fund the next generation of sliders. "Sponsorship money filled the gaps and voids between the national team, junior national team and all the way down to grassroots programs," Edney explained. "We need that money to bring those athletes up and get them to the world level and get them to the podium." The lugers arent the only Canadian team to lose a title sponsor post-2010. Canada Post ended its relationship with the freestyle team this year. The bobsled and skeleton teams have been without a title sponsor since 2011 when its contract with credit card company Visa expired. General Motors left Alpine Canada, but the organization brought Audi on board in 2011. "I know its tough out there," Farstad said. "We dont expect to be treated any different than anybody else. I know the big sports have lost sponsors. For us, it was just bad luck, Id say. "Its not demoralizing. Were in the best situation weve ever been as a sport, so Im hopeful well find a partner out there." Canadas luge team is currently training in Calgary before heading to a training camp in Whistler. The World Cup season opens Nov. 16-17 in Lillehammer, Norway. The Canadian stop on the circuit is Dec. 6-7 in Whistler. The luge competition at the 2014 Games starts Feb. 8 with mens singles and concludes Feb. 13 with the team relay. Cheap Jerseys USA . Reyes, 26, was traded from Atlanta to Toronto in July 2010 and spent the remainder of the season in the minors. He began 2011 in the majors and made 20 starts with the Blue Jays, going 5-8 with a 5.40 earned run average before he was waived on Aug. Cheap NBA Jerseys China .com) - Thursday marks the official debut of a new dirt racing surface at Meydan Racecourse. http://www.wholesalechinajerseysforcheap.com/. The club announced Friday that Mauro Biello will be kept on as an assistant to coach Jesse Marsch when the Impact join the MLS in 2012. Cheap China Jerseys . The Thunder earned the Game 1 win with a 100-86 victory Saturday night. Oklahoma City dominated the first half and led by 22 at the break, but saw its lead shrink to just two points in the fourth quarter. Wholesale Authentic NBA Jerseys . Thats the feeling that eight Canadian Football League teams are experiencing right now in advance of the expansion draft to stock the Ottawa Redblacks.PARIS -- Andy Murray headed out on court with an opportunity to reach the French Open final for the first time. Rafael Nadal, however, didnt give him a chance. Murray, who missed the tournament at Roland Garros last year because of a back injury, reached the semifinals for the second time in four years. But for the second time in four years, he was beaten by Nadal in straight sets. "It was a tough day for me," said Murray, who lost 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 Friday. "It was a bad, bad day." Murrays serve was broken six times, the same number of break-point chances Nadal had. On the other end, Murray failed to even earn a break chance. "He missed hardly any balls," Murray said. "I mean, his forehand -- especially with the conditions the way they were today -- was incredibly hard to control the ball." Murray is now 7-7 in Grand Slam semifinals. He has won two major titles, including at Wimbledon last year where he became the first British man to win the grass-court tournament in southwest London since Fred Perry in 1936. But clay is a tougher surface for a player who likes the speedier courts. And playing on clay against Nadal, an eight-time French Open champion with a 65-1 record at Roland Garros, is tougher still. "Today, I was mis-hitting a lot of balls. It was incredibly fruustrating," Murray said.dddddddddddd "In some ways you start trying too hard, and it doesnt always appear that way. But you want to do stuff too badly, and you end up making more mistakes and things get worse." The weather didnt help. After nearly two weeks of overcast skies and cool weather, the sun was out and the temperature soared to 28 degrees C (82 degrees F). Perfect conditions for Nadal on his favourite court in the world. "He served well and I didnt return well. Simple," Murray said. "Ball was coming through the court quicker today." Murray won his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2012. That was after losing his first four major finals, and it was also after hiring Ivan Lendl as coach. The Czech great helped Murray finally become a major champion, and a Wimbledon champion a year later, but the pair split in March and Murray has been without a coach since. With another Wimbledon coming up, the defending champion said there was a 50-50 chance he would have a new coach in place by the time the tournament starts on June 23. But he wasnt even too sure about that. "I dont know. I dont know," Murray said, shaking off a reporters question as he tried to shake off the defeat. "I would hope to have someone in place. I dont know." ' ' '