There was nothing second-rate about their performance, but second place is where Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir find themselves following their short program in the ice dance event on Sunday. Following a pattern that has become all too familiar for the defending Olympic champions, the American team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White bested Virtue and Moir by a margin of 2.56 points at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi to take top spot. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov fed off the pro-Russian crowd and tallied a 73.04, putting them in bronze-medal position heading into Mondays free dance (10:00 a.m. ET, streaming live at cbc.ca/olympics). Virtue and Moir, skating to Ella Fitzgeralds Dream a Little Dream of Me, put their slip-up in the team event far in the rear view mirror with a seemingly flawless performance, carving perfect turns, nailing their rotational lifts and staying in sync during their twizzle sequences. As the music ended and they struck their final pose, Moir let out a triumphant "Yes!", knowing that the skate represented one of their best performances of the season. Their joy was short-lived though, as their score of 76.33 came in below their season best score of 77.59 at the Grand Prix Finals in December, leaving the door wide open for the reigning world champions Davis and White, who set a new short dance world record with a score of 78.89. Canadas other medal hopefuls, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, skated a strong routine that earned them a 65.93, good for seventh place. The third Canadian entry, featuring Toronto-born Alexandra Paul and Barries Mitchell Islam, skated a light, airy and up-tempo routine, marred only by a small bobble on the opening twizzle by Paul. The 2010 world junior silver medallists finished with a score of 55.91, putting them in 18th place. Virtue and Moir have some work to do to catch the leaders, but they were still happy with how the day unfolded. "It was a really fun performance," the 24-year-old Virtue told CBC Sports. "Obviously, you are here to defend your title. You also want to have fun. You still love what you do." Moir, 26, said that it was this type of performance that has kept them going for the last four years. "Its definitely the reason we keep going. To be on this stage representing Canada, its a huge thing for Tessa and I to be part of a fantastic Olympic Canadian team." Moir added that they still get plenty of enjoyment out of competitions like these. "We love what we do. We love skating together. We have a lot of special moments, and that was one of them." Sundays short dance marked the third head-to-head battle between the Canadians and Americans at these Olympics. Davis and White beat Virtue and Moir by three points in the short dance portion of the team event early in the Games, and repeated the feat in the free dance portion with a seven-point victory. The two rivals bring contrasting styles to the sport. Virtue and Moir boast an elegant and flowing style, and a sense of unison that no other team can match, thanks to nearly 17 years as an on-ice tandem. Davis and White, on the other hand, typically display a faster and bolder technique than the Canadian duo, albeit one with arguably less precision. Virtue and Moir have laid claim to an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver, two world titles and six Canadian championships during their careers, but theyve consistently come up short against the American pair over the past two seasons, including at the 2013 world championship in Virtues hometown of London, Ont. What makes the rivalry even more peculiar, if not slightly peculiar, is the fact they share not only the same training facility in Canton, Mich., but also the same coach and choreographer, Russian-born Marina Zoueva. Zoueva has coached Davis and White for the past 14 years, and has been working with Virtue and Moir for 10 years. While they arent close friends with the Americans off the ice, Virtue and Moir have often said that they have a good relationship with them and that both sides enjoy the friendly rivalry. Another storyline that has surrounded the athletes since the team event, an alleged judging scandal, has fortunately faded into the background. During the opening weekend, the French sports publication LEquipe had reported that the American and Russian judges were conspiring against Canada in order to assure a gold medal for Russia in the team competition and gold for the U.S., in ice dancing. Despite being at the centre of the controversy, Virtue and Moir insist that the rumours havent affected their focus on or off the ice. Chris Lindstrom Falcons Jersey . The second-ranked Jayhawks will play the Miners of Texas-El Paso at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas. The game can be seen live on TSN2 starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Takkarist McKinley Jersey . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson. http://www.thefaclonsshoponline.com/Chris-lindstrom-falcons-jersey/ . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen. Kaleb McGary Jersey . Judging by his performance Saturday night, Cotto has plenty left in the tank. Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world championships in four weight divisions, stopping Sergio Martinez in their WBC world middleweight title fight Saturday night. Kendall Sheffield Youth Jersey . The 90-plus minutes of play are about trends and approach.The most unlikely match of the second round will take place at the Arena Pernambuco today, as Greece squares off with Costa Rica. Listen to the match live on TSN Radio TSN 1050 Toronto, TSN 690 Montreal, TSN 1200 Ottawa and TEAM 1410 Vancouver at 4pm et/1pm pt. The Ticos have been one of the surprise packages in Brazil, topping Group D by pulling off upset wins over Uruguay and Italy before a 0-0 draw with England clinched the top spot in a group that Greece head coach Fernando Santos labeled the "Group of Death." Most observers felt that Costa Rica was the clear outsider in a group that contained three former World Cup winners. But the CONCACAF representatives used a high-pressure style to unsettle both Uruguay and Italy, and Greek boss Santos knows his side must be ready for a tough task. "I am delighted first of all that we bring joy to the Greek people," said Santos after his team secured a place in the knockout round for the first time in the nations history. "We have time to think about the match with Costa Rica. We will go back to our base, think about it and study our opponents. We have to pay a lot of attention to this game, they came out top in the Group of Death. As a result we cannot allow ourselves to underestimate them." The path Greece took to get to the last 16 was much different than the one the Ticos traveled as the Greeks lost their opening match 3-0 to Colombia. A 0-0 draw with Japan that saw Greece play the final 52 minutes with 10 men kept the team aliive, but Santos and his side saved their best performance for last, notching a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast as Georgios Samaras converted a stoppage-time penalty kick to send his side through.dddddddddddd The result was certainly a surprise to many, including Costa Rica midfielder Yeltsin Tejeda. "They are in the World Cup and they beat an excellent team, Ivory Coast," Tejeda said of Greece. "If they are there (in the Round of 16), it is because they were better." "We were thinking more about Colombia and the Ivory Coast and in the end came the least expected team. Now we have to change the video cassette." Costa Rica will certainly have to prepare much differently for Greece than for either Colombia or Ivory Coast if the team is going to reach the quarterfinals at a World Cup for the first time. Greece is known for a being a defense-first side that looks to steal a goal or two in order to win ugly. But Costa Ricas defense has been one of the best at the tournament, giving up just one goal in three games, which came on a penalty kick against Uruguay in its opening match. The winner of this contest will be in uncharted territory, while a Greece victory would bring about an interesting situation involving Santos. With his contract set to expire the day after the Costa Rica match, the 59- year-old may need to negotiate a quick extension if his side reaches the last eight, which is yet another indication of how unlikely a matchup this is at this stage of the tournament. ' ' '