GLASGOW -- When Catharine Pendrel bumped into Canadian cycling teammate Raphael Gagne at the Commonwealth Games, Gagne made a point of thanking her. It seems not only is Pendrel one of the worlds best mountain bikers, but one of the most generous as well. The 33-year-old from Kamloops, B.C., led Canada to a 1-2 finish in cross-country mountain biking at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday, taking the lead from the opening lap and never looking back. Pendrel absolutely crushed the field to cross in one hour 39 minutes 29 seconds, a minute and 10 seconds ahead of silver medallist Emily Batty of Brooklin, Ont. Australias Rebecca Henderson was third. Max Plaxton of Victoria was fourth in the mens race. "Everyone whos watched me race knows I just like to go hard from the start. . . When you get some space between you and other riders, you just go for it," Pendrel said. "It feels amazing to win the gold for Canada." The reigning world champion decided this year to decline Sport Canadas funding -- the $1,500 a month she would normally receive as part of the athlete carding system. The money was split into three development cards of $500 apiece. Gagne told Pendrel he thought he was one of the three recipients. "That was really cool to feel like I was helping one of those guys," Pendrel said. "I felt that it could make a bigger impact in one of the up-and-coming riders life," she added, pointing out that she is a semipro athlete -- she rides for Luna Pro Team. "I just knew just how big it was to receive that carding the first time, not just financially but emotionally, to know that youve reached that level where your country wants to invest in you. And thats really special. "I wanted another athlete to have that experience." Gagne finished seventh in the mens race Tuesday, and praised Pendrel for her gesture. "Catharine did that so thats really generous from her," he said. "That opens up other spots for younger athletes like me so obviously thats super cool from her." The last time many Canadians saw Pendrel was at the 2012 London Olympics where she went in as a favourite but faded to ninth, tearfully apologizing to fans back home. The two-time world champion said the disappointment of that performance stung for some time. "But what it comes down to: I didnt have a good day. Theres so much more to look forward to and opportunities to do well for Canada," she added -- particularly, next summers Pan American Games in Toronto and the 2016 Rio Olympics. "I got so much positive feedback that I realized, even a bad day for me can still be inspiring, and Ill just keep inspiring people to ride their bike and to reach for big goals, and not be afraid to risk failing to be incredible." On Tuesday, Pendrel, wearing earrings made from links of a bike chain -- a gift from a young girl from New Brunswick -- led from the outset. She was already more than a minute ahead after the first lap of the 31.95-kilometre course that twisted and turned around Cathkin Braes Country Park. A coach handed her a Canadian flag near the finish line, and she waved it as she crossed for gold, keeping intact a gold-medal streak for Canadian women. Canadas Chrissy Redden won the title in 2002 in Manchester, England, where the sport made its Commonwealth debut, and Marie-Helene Premont took the title in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. There was no mountain bike four years ago at the Games in New Delhi, India. "I was trying to ignore the fact that Canada has never not gotten gold in mountain bike at the Commonwealth Games," Pendrel said, laughing. "I really didnt want that pressure before coming into this, but I knew with how quick Emily was going as well, that we had a strong chance." The 26-year-old Batty battled Henderson for the entire race until the Canadian pulled away on the final lap. "I was feeling strong, I knew Catharine was up the road and I knew it as going to be hard to catch her," Batty said. "I came here for gold, but silver is the next best thing." Batty, who narrowly lost to Pendrel at the recent Canadian championships, said shes benefited from the tradition of strong female mountain bikers in Canada. "It really helps. Weve always been a top-ranked country for the womens cross-country mountain biking and it puts the bar really high for our development program and it is really inspiring," she said. "Not long ago I was looking up to the top Canadian women and now being one is really inspiring. "I just gave myself goosebumps saying that," she added, laughing. "We really feed off each other, and push each other." Hundreds of fans turned out to watch the mountain bike racing, despite dark clouds, periodic rain and blustery winds. The riders had to negotiate a tricky course that featured the Brig ODoom, Broken Biscuits, and Clyde Climb -- all named by local schoolchildren. Anton Cooper of New Zealand won the mens 37.15-kilometre race, followed by teammate Samuel Gaze. Daniel McConnell of Australia won the bronze. Trace McSorley Womens Jersey . The 33-year-old defender has spent his entire career at Chelsea, scoring 57 goals in 621 appearances. He regained his regular starting place under Jose Mourinho in the season that ended at the weekend without Chelsea winning a trophy. Miles Boykin Jersey . The Indians scored twice in the top of the ninth, getting the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by closer Matt Lindstrom. Axford (0-1) came in seeking his fifth save in as many chances. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/You...ens-jersey/.com) - The Vancouver Canucks hope an upcoming stretch of home games will be enough to get the club into the postseason. Mark Andrews Womens Jersey . Future Hall of Famer Ricky Ray is in his prime and back for a third season in double blue. The 34-year old was magnificent in 2013, throwing for just under 2,900 yards despite missing eight games, tossing an impressive 21 touchdowns against just two interceptions, completing 66 per cent of his passes in the process. Justin Tucker Womens Jersey . But the young forward is more than willing to shed a little blood if thats what it takes to make the team this season. "It caught me pretty good, dazed me for that shift, but I didnt want to be off the ice for too long," he said after practice, his lip still bleeding a little despite the plastic stitches holding it together.NEW ORLEANS - In what has become a highlight of the NBA calendar, All-Star Saturday festivities will commence from Smoothie King Center. The night starts off with the Shooting Stars competition, followed by the Skills Challenge, the 3-Point Shootout and the main event, a showcase of athleticism known as the Slam-Dunk Contest. You can catch all of the action live starting at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. Or, one could call All-Star Saturday, "Damian Lillard Day." The Portland All-Star, who competed in the Rising Stars game on Friday, is scheduled to participate in the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Shootout and Slam- Dunk Contest on Saturday. "Im happy that Im really a part of the weekend. I get to compete in all these events, and just to be in these guys company with all these stars," said Lillard. "It lets you know that the hard work is paying off." This year, much like last, Saturdays competitions are broken down into East vs. West. Paul George of the Indiana Pacers is the East captain, while Steph Curry guides the West. Both are starters in Sundays All-Star game. Saturdays happenings start at 8 p.m. ET. Up first will be the Shooting Stars, a simple enough competition where current NBAers join a legend and a WNBA star in a shooting contest from all over the floor. The first round will feature teams from the same conference against each other. The winning teams advance to the final round for the title. Each competitor will be stationed at one of the first three places, and the shot must be made before the next can be attempted. All three will chuck it up from near half-court and the team with the best time wins. Its a family affair for two of the teams as Curry will join his father Dell Curry and Becky Harmon of the San Antonio Silver Stars. On the East team, Tim Hardaway, Jr. of the New York Knicks will partner with his dad Tim and Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky. Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder will pair with Karl Malone and Skylar Diggins of the Tulsa Shock. The other East team is the defending champion trio of Miamis Chris Bosh, Dominique Wilkins and Swin Cash of the Sky. The Skills Challenge underwent some changes this year. Now, there will be two two-man teams from each conference competing against each other to reach the East vs. West final. It will now be a relay format. The Eastern teams will be rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and All-Star DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors as well as rookies Michael Carter-Williams of the 76ers and Orlandos Victor Oladipo.dddddddddddd The West will be represented by Lillard and Utah Jazz first-year player Trey Burke and the tandem of Goran Dragic of the Phoenix Suns and Reggie Jackson of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 3-Point Shootout remained largely untouched, although the East v. West format remains intact. The player from the Eastern Conference with the most points will meet the player from the Western Conference with the most points. However, there is one new wrinkle this year. Each player can make one of the five locations to a full rack of five money balls, each worth two points. Defending champion Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers anchors the East team of Orlandos Arron Afflalo, Washingtons Bradley Beal and Joe Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets. Curry and Lillard are on the West team alongside All-Star starter Kevin Love, who won the title in 2012, and San Antonio Spur Marco Belinelli. And now, its time for the main event. This years edition of the Slam-Dunk contest will see many changes, first of which is a Freestyle Round. Lets let the NBA explain: "In a significant first in the events history, the competition will tip off with a Freestyle Round where the dunkers for each conference will have 90 seconds to showcase as many dunks as they want. At the conclusion of the Freestyle Round, the panel of judges will then choose a winner by voting East or West. The winning conference will earn the advantage of deciding whether its dunkers will dunk first or second in the head-to-head battles that take place in the Battle Round." The Battle Round? "The Battle Round will feature head-to-head matchups pitting East dunkers vs. West dunkers, with the judges choosing a winner for each battle. Upon losing a head-to-head battle, that dunker is then eliminated from the competition. The first team to win three battles will win the competition and be crowned 2014 Sprite Slam Dunk champions." No individual champion? "At the conclusion of the team competition, fans will then have the opportunity to vote for the player of their choice as the Sprite Slam Dunker of the Night through SMS, Twitter, NBA.com and the NBA GameTime app." For the first time since 1988, there will be three All-Stars in the Slam-Dunk Contest. George and John Wall of the Washington Wizards team with defending champion Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors, and out West, Lillard, Golden States Harrison Barnes and Sacramentos Ben McLemore round out the team. ' ' '