Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is down to Russias national mens hockey program, which is still making reverberations a week after Sochi. After falling in the quarter-finals for the second straight Olympics, Russias NHL stars came back angry. As Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin were unhappy for many reasons, but most of all resented the programs bias towards KHL players, which greatly distorted playing time, pairings, strategy, and felt like a punishment to Russian stars who dont play at home. Russia was one of the worlds great hockey powers, and a worthy rival to Canada; now its a mess, riven by petty rivalries. Its a shame, really. The Russians havent won a best-on-best tournament since the 1981 Canada Cup, and somehow they feel further away than ever. Steve Simmons, SUN Media My thumb is down to the International Olympic Committee for the mess it made of the Nicklas Backstrom gold medal game allergy pill fiasco. As a member of Swedens hockey delegation said, the IOC destroyed one of the greatest days in Olympic hockey history for the country. Backstrom, who did test positive for pseudo-ephedrine, didnt disagree with that assessment. The IOC first tested Backstrom last Wednesday. In the three days that followed, they never did do a second test. The Swedish team was not informed of Backstroms status until two hours before game time. Now dont get me wrong, the Swedes could have had Nicklas Backstrom, Ralph Backstrom, and all the Backstroms you can name available for the gold medal game and the result wouldnt have been different. What they didnt need was an unnecessary disruption, born of IOC ineptitude. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is down to John Tortorella, not for his most recent apology but for the continual need to apologize. This time, the Canucks coach launched into a mea culpa after saying he favored Sweden in the Sochi final because he wanted his Swedish Olympians - Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler - to return with smiles on their faces. Tortorella wears blinders. Professionally, he sees the small picture, nothing beyond his team. Belatedly, of course, he grasped context - Vancouver … Canada. So four weeks after apologizing for losing his mind between periods against Calgary, he again was at a microphone wearing a hair shirt and a tight expression. Thats Tortorella, the never-ending sorry. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to the excellence shown by Canadas Gold-medalists in curling - Jennifer Jones and her rink from Winnipeg and Brad Jacobs and his rink from Sault Ste. Marie. We used to take for granted Canadas worldwide dominance in curling, and then we didnt, because as good as the Canadians continued to be, several other countries showed they were capable of winning world titles. Not that Jones and Jacobs allow Canada to rest on its laurels, but the Sochi results were very impressive, and hows this for proof of Canadas wealth of curling talent - the Brier is underway in Kamloops and the field is strong with Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Koe, John Morris, and Brad Gushue. And imagine talking about a strong field that doesnt include Jacobs, Glenn Howard and Kevin Martin. Cheap Authentic NFL Jerseys . -- The anointed starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders is strengthening his hold on the position this training camp instead of losing it. Cheap NFL Jerseys . Formula One Teams Association secretary general Oliver Weingarten says the organization collapsed over unpaid subscription fees and a failure to strike an agreement for 2014 with all 11 teams. http://www.cheapauthenticnfljerseys.net/.500. The Jets have now won nine of their last 11, and five of their last six road games. With the win they moved to within two points of Vancouver in the west, the Canucks holding down the eighth spot. Vancouver lost in Boston, while the other big game saw Dallas win in Phoenix. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping .com) - James Harden had 32 points, including a tying layup late in regulation, and the Houston Rockets scored eight of their 13 points in overtime at the foul line to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 on Friday night. China NFL Jerseys .Bekker was added Wednesday in exchange for allocation money after two seasons with Toronto. The native of Canada had 29 MLS appearances, including 16 starts. Hes also played in 13 games for the Canadian national team.The Colorado Avalanche have one loss in their first 13 games and have taken over top spot in the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings. What sets the Avalanche apart right now, and cant possibly last at this level of performance, is goaltending. Semyon Varlamov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere have combined to stop 95.5% of the shots theyve faced, an incredible number over 13 games, let alone a full season. Until that regression hits the crease, however, the Avalanche have earned their place at the top of the Power Rankings. Movign up this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won four straight and climb from 11 to seven, while the Anaheim Ducks are 4-0-1 in their last five and have jumped from 15 to 10 as a result. The Detroit Red Wings have one regulation loss in the last six, and moved from 20 to 12, while the New York Rangers are starting to see some positives and were bumped from 28 to 24. Secondary scoring has been an issue for the Boston Bruins, enough that they have only one shootout win in their last four games. resulting in a fall from four to 11. Goalltending has, not surprisingly, been an issue for the Calgary Flames and while they got good results from Reto Berra in his first start, it remains a concern.dddddddddddd In any case, the Flames have slipped from 12 to 17. Goaltending is an issue for the Carolina Hurricanes too, with third-stringer Justin Peters forced to start, but the Hurricanes arent scoring either, with five goals in five straight losses. Theyve dropped from 24 to 29. Among Canadian teams, the Vancouver Canucks are up to four, after five wins in the last six games, including Saturdays win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, who fall from six to nine. Getting healthier, the Montreal Canadiens are up one spot, from 14 to 13, while the Winnipeg Jets hold steady at 22, five spots ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, who cant get healthy, which is hardly the recipe to turn around their disappointing start. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen