ASPEN, Colo. Michael Jordan Jersey . - About a dozen Winter X Games stars — more than a few of them owners of Olympic gold medals — were milling about the tent before the action began.Only one drew a crowd.Shaun White.Now 28 and coming back after the most humbling year of his life, White will be a multimillionaire megastar regardless of whether he wins or loses Thursday night, when he drops into the halfpipe for his first competitive trip since the disappointments of 2014.But behind the clothing lines, the guitar, the new life as an event promoter and those 1.46 million Twitter followers is one, simple fact: White wouldnt have any of that if he wasnt great on that snowboard.He doesnt want that to change — one reason he finds no use dwelling on his less-than-successful year.I guess, going forward, yeah, why look back? White said. I definitely learned some lessons and definitely feel better off than before, in a way. I think that, for me, it was a learning experience and Im pumped to be riding still.The inevitability that White brought to almost every contest he entered was washed away last year, with a series of injuries, falls, withdrawals and, finally, that fourth-place finish on the halfpipe that pushed the snowboarding world off its axis at the Sochi Olympics.He wasnt happy about it, said his coach, Bud Keene. Such is the risk you take when you put on a bib and lay it on the line. His career is far from over, athletically. Hes still, hands down, the best halfpipe rider in the world, and not by a small margin.For the first time since he won his first Winter X gold in 2003, there are some people who would argue that.Whites chance to end — or at least stall — that discussion comes at the event where he brandished his reputation with eight gold medals on the halfpipe, five more in slopestyle. (He has another two golds in X Games skateboarding.)But for the first time in a while, it matters who else is in the field.—Theres the Olympic champion, Iouri Podladtchikov — the iPod — whose invention of the 1440-degree Yolo spin, along with his ability land it in Russia when White could not, rewrote the book on 2014.—There are high-flying and technically precise Ayumu Hirano and Taku Hiraoka of Japan, who took silver and bronze in Russia last year, proving, if nothing else, that they could outscore White on any given day.—And theres the defending champion here, Danny Davis, who conceded after his win last year that it took a little of the thrill away because White had chosen not to attend while he prepared for the Olympics.Davis also struggled on that mushy halfpipe in Russia last year, falling on both his runs in the finals and finishing 10th.Some guys landed and rode well. Others didnt. Thats just the way it goes, Davis said.But the stakes, especially away from the halfpipe, are nowhere near as high for Davis, or iPod, or anyone, as they are for White.Such is the nature of celebrity.Before Wednesdays news conference, White posed for the most pictures and signed the most autographs, frequently handing his cup of hot tea off to a friend so he could grab a pen. When the questions started, he drew the most interest, fielding queries on topics that ranged from Russia, to fashion, to music, to his hair, to his pre-competition rituals.Currently, I dont have too many, he said of the rituals. Yeah, when theres a lot of contests, thats when it happens.But between business, music and, yes, practice, there havent been a lot of contests lately — or any — which makes Thursdays runs down the halfpipe that much more intriguing.He may have wiped away the past. A win might help his millions of fans do it, too.I guess in my mind, in some way or another, Ive kind of scratched it off, he said. It was a frustrating circumstance for me. In hindsight, you can always look back and question what you did. That was the beauty of being in the hunt of it.___Follow Eddie Pells on Twitter: http://twitter.com/epells Adam Engel Jersey . Both had to wait out a rain interruption lasting nearly five hours before taking comprehensive third-round victories to join Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983, 1986), Patricia Hy-Boulais (1996-97) and Daniel Nestor (1999) as Canadians who made it into the second week of a major. Bo Jackson Jersey .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. http://www.whitesoxteamshop.com/Customized/ . At quarterback, all agree that Andy Dalton has been a wonderful surprise, but to truly progress he has to play his best in the playoffs. The two losses in the wildcard rounds keep the evaluation on Dalton open -- just like it did for Peyton Manning many years ago and Matt Ryan until last year.MANAUS, Brazil -- Mario Mandzukic scored two goals Wednesday to keep Croatia in the mix at the World Cup with a 4-0 win over 10-man Cameroon, which will be going home after the group stage. Mandzukic, who returned to the team at the Arena da Amazonia after sitting out the opening loss to Brazil through suspension, headed in a corner from Danijel Pranjic in the 61st minute and then knocked in a rebound in the 73rd of the Group A game. Ivan Perisic also scored one goal and made another for Ivica Olic. Cameroon was reduced to 10 men after midfielder Alex Song was given a red card for elbowing Mandzukic in the back in an off-the-ball incident in the 40th minute. Cameroon started without the injured Samuel Etoo, the teams best player. And the frustration within the team boiled over in injury time when Benoit Assou-Ekotto head-butted teammate Benjamin Moukandjo in front of their goal. "Its unimaginable. I saw this happen and I need to find out exactly what happened, why exactly these two players exploded," Cameroon coach Volker Finke said. "I really hate to see that. Its not the image of Cameroon I want to project." Croatia now has its future in its own hands. If the 1998 World Cup semifinalists beat Mexico on Monday, they will guarantee themselves a spot in the second round. The Mexicans will advance with only a draw. Cameroon is out, however, and can only play spoiler in its final match against five-time champion Brazil, also on Monday. If the 1990 World Cup quarterfinalists beat Brazil, the host country could still advance or be forced out of the tournament on goal difference. Darijo Srna started the move for the first goal, whipping a cross into the area from the right in the 11th minute. Mandzukic and Nicolas Nkoulou then collided while going for it, but the ball popped loose to Perisic. James Shields Jersey. The Croatia midfielder stepped up and coolly slid the ball into the path of Olic to tap in. Perisic did it all himself early in the second half, beating Cameroon defender Dany Nounkeu to a long pass from goalkeeper Charles Itandje and taking it all the way back to where it came from. Perisic, with Nounkeu chasing him, ran into the area down the left and gave himself a tough angle before slipping his shot between Itandje and the near post in the 48th. Mandzukic was left unmarked to head home Croatias third goal and followed up with the simplest of tap-ins when Itandje spilled a shot from Eduardo. Cameroon knew it needed points against Croatia, and the team came out fast in an effort to take the early lead. Several dangerous attacks down the right flank caused concern to the Croatia defence early, but none of them materialized into any real danger. A few late chances came close, but nothing got past Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa. "The team tried with only 10 players, but the second goal arrived very early in the second half, unfortunately," Finke said. "After that it was an uphill battle." The loss of Etoo, who came to Brazil with a right knee injury, was a blow to the team, however. Although Cameroon still went on the attack even without their best attacker, the finishing class of the former Chelsea and Barcelona striker was missing. The loss of Song didnt help, either. The midfielder, well away from the ball, was running back from the Croatia end when he lashed out and elbowed Mandzukic in the back. Referee Pedro Proenca of Portugal immediately pulled out his red card and sent Song off. Song is the cousin of Cameroon great Rigobert Song, one of only two players to be sent off at two different World Cups. The other is Zinedine Zidane. Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys Cheap Mets Jerseys Cheap Phillies Jerseys Cheap Nationals Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Brewers Jerseys Cheap Pirates Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Padres Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys ' ' '