~~**SCHWANGERSCHAFTSECKE**~~ » ne and didnt cross it before it was covered

FUKUOKA, Japan -- Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan brushed off a fall and merely increased his lead in beating three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada at the Grand Prix Final on Friday. Hanyu, who had a 12-point lead after Thursdays short program, fell on his opening quad salchow but completed all of his other jumps, including seven triple jumps plus a quad toe loop in the free skate to eclipse Chan by 13 points. "I wasnt completely satisfied with the long program," Hanyu said. "But after falling on the quad I was able to pull myself together and complete all my jumps and that was huge." Chan also hit all his jumps, but he was unable to erase the deficit and finished with 280.08 points to Hanyus 293.25. Nobunari Oda of Japan, a late substitute for defending GP Final champion Daisuke Takahashi, was third with 255.96. "It was a good day and Im happy with how I skated," Chan said. "I felt nervous going into the long program. It was a mental battle even before I got on the ice." Beating Chan was a huge boost for Hanyus chances of being selected to represent Japan at the Sochi Olympics. "This is a huge step for Sochi," said Hanyu, who will turn 19 on Saturday. "I feel I am meeting all the requirements. We still have the national championships but obviously, I am feeling pretty confident." Chan said he wasnt disappointed with the result. "I finished the event strong," the Toronto skater said. "There was a lot of good things I did here, and that was regaining my composure and regaining my concentration after a bad short program and putting out a great long that I dont usually do. Its not very Patrick Chan of me. "Most of the time, I think people know me well that the short program has always saved me ... but I think today was proof that Im getting better and really becoming a more well-rounded competitor." He said his long skate was even more satisfying given his previous track record skating in Japan. "Honestly, I started thinking about my previous performances here in Japan, and I dont really have the best track record," he said. "The last two times I competed here has for the World Team Trophy, and I really havent skated well at every single one of those in Japan, just because its at the end of the season. "Every time I come back to Japan I feel like I relive those moments where I didnt skate my best and those were really tough times. Thats why I think I learned a lot today." In ice dancing, world champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States led after the short dance with 77.66 points, seven-tenths of a point ahead of Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont. "Overall it was strong," said Virtue. "Technically we got all the points we wanted which was our objective. We just have to go out and perform the same way in the free dance." Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia stand third at 68.90 just ahead of Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., at 67.68. "We captured the essence of the program," said Poje. "We didnt lose that uniqueness. We wanted to utilize the taps and the back and forth between the two of us." Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia were first after the pairs short program with 82.65. World silver medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany were second with 79.46 while Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China were third on 75.40. Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., totalled 73.07 and are fourth less than three points behind third spot. Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto are sixth. "This is the type of skate weve been waiting for," said Radford. "After some rough short programs this season, this one gives us a lot of confidence." Moore-Towers and Moscovitch also came off the ice satisfied. "We cant do much better than a clean short," said Moore-Towers. "The best part was our energy. We felt comfortable and at home out there. It was fun and when we get to feel it that way, its enjoyable." The GP Final is the first and only event where most of the worlds top skaters will meet before the Sochi Olympics. The womens free skate and the ice dance and pairs free programs are scheduled for Saturday. Wholesale China Jerseys . Catch all the action on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto won at Denver and Utah, but lost in Portland and Sacramento. The Kings loss was the most recent game for the Raptors. Cheap NHL Jerseys . - Buffalo Bills running back C. http://www.cheapcnjerseystousa.com/. -- LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers lineup, happy to know that things didnt go awry without him. Cheap Jerseys USA . - The Mavericks built a 12-point lead with 2:50 to play, gave away all but two points of it, and still managed to hang on. MLB Jerseys China . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Beleskey scored the game-winning goal with 9:05 remaining to lift the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday. Andrew Cogliano, Ryan Getzlaf and Kyle Palmieri each scored and Sami Vatanen tallied two assists for the Ducks, who bounced back from a 3-0 loss to San Jose on Wednesday. We find a way. Sometimes it doesnt look like we deserve it, but we find a way to win, Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau said. We know what we have to do in the third period. We played with a lot more structure. Frederik Andersen made 39 saves in the win. Alexander Steen and Kevin Shattenkirk both finished with a goal and an assist. T.J. Oshie also lit the lamp and Martin Brodeur stopped 29 shots for the Blues, who are 0-4-1 in their past five road games. On the defensive side of the puck, we made a few mistakes that they capitalized on, said Brodeur. Theyre a good hockey team. You just cant give up anything for free and we did. St. Louis has now lost nine straight games to the Ducks at Honda Center, a streak which began on Jan. 7, 2010. After Blues defenseman Barret Jackman fell in the neutral zone, Beleskey took a stretch pass from Vatanen, deked several times and finished the play with a quick wrister for a 4-3 lead with 9:05 to go. With under five minutes remaining, Andersen snagged David Backes low wrister for a slick glove save to keep the Ducks in front. The Blues pulled Brodeur in favor of an extra attackker, but were penalized for having too many men on the ice with 1:15 to play.dddddddddddd Brodeur skated to the bench again, but St. Louis was unable to convert. The Ducks struck first after Jori Lehtera went off for interference as Getzlaf backhanded the rebound of Vatanens point blast 6:29 into the contest. Dmitrij Jaskin beat Andersen with a wraparound, but the puck coasted across the goal line and didnt cross it before it was covered up midway through the first period. Steen threw a backhander on net from the bottom of the left circle and Oshie was there to deposit the rebound for a tied game nearly three minutes into the second. The two teams traded goals within a 63-second span. Palmieri tipped in Ryan Keslers shot from the left circle at 5:20, but Paul Stastny tracked down a loose puck in the right corner and sent it to Shattenkirk, who deked around a few defenders and wristed the puck past Andersen at 6:23. Cogliano beat Brodeur with a rising wrister for a 3-2 Ducks lead midway through the frame. Steen, however, tied the game after one-timing Vladimir Tarasenkos feed from the right circle on a 5-on-3 tied the game. Game Notes Palmieri returned to the lineup after missing six games with a shoulder injury ... The Blues also got back a player as defenseman Carl Gunnarsson played after being sidelined for nine games with a concussion ... The Ducks improved to 18-0-5 when scoring first this season. ' ' '