ourt and in the community." Snyder succeeds Corbin, w

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KRASNAYA POLAYNA, Russia - Two hundred metres into the race, Brian McKeever was suddenly on his backside and it appeared his ninth career Paralympic gold medal was slipping away. . But he wasnt letting it go without a fight and the Canmore, Alta., cross-country skier, led by guide Graham Nishikawa of Whitehorse, caught up to the pack to win the mens visually impaired sprint at the Sochi Paralympics on Wednesday. Its McKeevers second gold of the 2014 Games and the 12th medal of his illustrious Paralympic career. The 34-year-old also won gold in the 20-kilometre event on Monday. The two Canadians easily advanced to the final where a Russian skier stepped on McKeevers pole, causing him to crash around the 200-metre mark of the one-kilometre race. But McKeever scrambled to his feet and, with the help of Nishikawa, caught up to the rest of the pack. "It wouldnt be right for me to tell you what I said in my head, but once the cuss words were out, the only thing you can do is get back up and race," said McKeever. "I thought we were clear, but that is normal and it happens in sprinting when you are all fighting and tight. Everyone is going flat out. It is intense and everyone is at their limit. We are just fortunate it happened in the first 200 metres and not at the end so we had time to catch up." Meanwhile, alpine sit-skier Kimberly Joines of Rossland, B.C., finished second in the womens slalom although the results are still unofficial after a German skier appealed her disqualification from the first run. A decision is expected Thursday morning. Not including a medal for Joines, Canada has eight medals (two gold, two silver, four bronze) and sits third in the overall tally. Russia has a wide lead with 47 total medals while Ukraine is second with 14. Canadas goal is to finish in the top three in gold medals but is currently in fourth with McKeevers two. Ukraine is third with three while Germany is second with five and Russia leads with 16. Nishikawa admitted he felt a rush of panic when he saw McKeever go down. "It wasnt until we got back up around the Russians and had the Swedes in sight that I felt a huge relief," he said. McKeever credited Nishikawa with getting him the gold. "The snow was so heavy today," he said. "He basically towed me up that hill and ... and gave us a chance. It is not how we planned things, but that was a pretty awesome day." Swedens Zebastian Modin hung on for the silver medal, while Russias Oleg Ponomarev won bronze. Earlier this week, Nishikawa shared guiding duties with Erik Carleton to lead McKeever to his first gold of the 2014 Games. But Carletons name was on the start list so he was the only one to receive a gold medal. Nishikawas performance Wednesday has earned him a gold of his own. "It feels absolutely awesome," said Nishikawa, who races on the able-bodied World Cup circuit. "I said earlier this is a whole new world for me. Im so impressed by everything. This whole experience has been amazing and I just wanted to do whatever I could to be here and help Brian. We have been friends for a long time so this is very special." A handful of other Canadians also competed in the sprint races. Chris Klebl of Canmore qualified for the mens sit-skiing heats but did not advance to the final. Robbi Weldon of Thunder Bay, Ont., along with her guide Phil Wood of Canmore had their day come to an end in the semifinals of the womens visually impaired category, while Paralympic rookie Brittany Hudak of Prince Albert, Sask., did not advance past the womens standing semifinals. In curling, Canada improved to 6-1 and clinched a spot in the semifinals with a 10-4 victory over South Korea. .com) - The Chicago Cubs reportedly signed recently-acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration. .A. Dickey earned an American League Gold Glove on Tuesday to become the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to win the award. . Charlottetown scored four times in the third period en route to a 5-2 win over the defending champion Halifax Mooseheads on Friday.SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Jazz announced Friday that they have hired Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Quin Snyder to replace Tyrone Corbin, who was let go earlier this year after three-plus seasons as the head coach in Salt Lake City. Snyder most recently completed his first season as an assistant with Atlanta. He has also been an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers. He was the head coach at Missouri for seven seasons, from 1999 to 2006, leading the Tigers to four NCAA tournaments. That included an Elite Eight appearance in 2002. "He has an impressive basketball pedigree, including more than a decade of head coaching experience that positions him well to succeed in the Jazz organization," Jazz CEO Greg Miller said in a statement. "We look forward to Quins contributions both on the court and in the community." Snyder succeeds Corbin, who was not offered a new contract. Corbin went 112-146 in Salt Lake City after taking over on Feb. 10, 2011, following the resignation of Jerry Sloan, for whom he played three seasons and served as a longtime assistant. Corbin reached the pllayoffs in the strike-shortened 2011-12 season, but his team was swept by San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs. . The Jazz went 43-39 the next season and dumped a number of veterans. This season, they went 25-57, the worst record for the Jazz since 1979-80, when Utah was 24-58 following the franchises relocation from New Orleans. Other candidates for the job included Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry and Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin. "The opportunity to join the Utah Jazz and to be part of such a highly respected franchise with an incredibly bright future is a great honour," Snyder said in a statement. "I approach this opportunity with gratitude and humility and am committed to doing everything I can to help the Jazz become a championship-calibre team." Former Jazz forward Paul Millsap, who went to Atlanta last season, posted to Twitter: "Congratulations to Quin Snyder for being named head coach of the (at)utahjazz!!! The Jazz are getting a great coach and person." Snyder is the eighth head coach in Jazz history. The team planned a news conference on Saturday. ' ' '

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