The figure skating contingent from Canada, at 17 strong the largest of any nation, intends to lead its country into the Winter Olympics next week in ways both literal and figurative.
FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, file photo, Tessa Virtue, front, and Scott Moir perform their free dance routine in the ice dancing competition at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
The literal: Two-time ice dance medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, one of the favorites to win gold, will carry the maple leaf flag into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony.
The figurative: With three ice dance couples, three pairs, three women and two men, the Canadians are podium threats in all four disciplines, not to mention heavy favorites in the team event.
"I'm so impressed by the depth of this team," said Isabelle Charest, the Canadian chef de mission and a three-time Olympic medalist in speed skating. "There are so many strong contenders and we have tremendous hope for them heading into the games."
The hope is grounded in some accomplished resumes.
FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, file photo, Kaetlyn Osmond performs her free skate program at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP,File)
Virtue and Moir, the reigning world champions, are a good place to start. The eight-time national champions were unbeaten all of last season and have put up huge marks to their Rolling Stones-inspired short program and their equally mesmerizing free dance set to music from "Moulin Rouge!"
They'll be joined in the ice dance competition by the teams of Piper Gilles-Paul Poirier and Kaitlyn Weaver-Andrew Poje, the latter two-time world championship medalists.
"We've grown up together," Moir said, "and it's going to be a special moment to take the ice with them and go for gold. We're looking forward to embracing the Olympic spirit."
Two-time world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, who took silver at last year's Four Continents on the same Olympic ice, give the Canadians a medal contender in the pairs event. The teams of Julianne Sequin-Charlie Bilodeau and Kirsten Moore-Towers-Michael Marino also will compete.
FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, file photo, Patrick Chan, of Canada, performs his free program during the senior men's competition at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
While all eyes in the women's event will be on Russian stars Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova, Canadians Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman are nearly as formidable. They finished second and third behind Medvedeva at last year's worlds in Finland.
And rising star Larkyn Austman will have her first Olympic experience.
"In 2014, Canada didn't have any medal contenders at the Olympics," Osmond said, "and you almost forget that Gabby and I finished second and third (at worlds) last year. "It's exciting that we're able to send three women to the Olympics, especially because we haven't done it in many years."
Olympic silver medalist Patrick Chan, a three-time world champion and two-time Grand Prix final champ, will be joined by Keegan Messing in a wide-open men's event.
FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018, file photo, Eric Radford, left, and Meagan Duhamel pause on the ice after performing their free program during the senior pairs competition at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
"I feel really good about my confidence for the whole team," Chan said. "After seeing how my teammates have done during the Grand Prix season, talking to Eric and Scott, it's been great. We have really great team energy."
Figure skating historically has been an individual sport, even with the inclusion of a team event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics — where the Canadians finished second to Russia. But there is a strong sense of camaraderie within Team Canada, a close-knit feeling where everyone roots for everyone else.
Even if they happen to be skating against them.
Perhaps their nation's somewhat puzzling Olympic pedigree plays into it. Canada has won 25 medals in figure skating, one behind Russia for second most (the U.S. has 49). But only four of those have been gold, including the pairs medal that Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were forced to share with the Russian team after a scoring controversy at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
Virtue and Moir have two of Canada's three ice dance medals, Barbara Ann Scott won its only ladies gold at the 1948 St. Moritz Games and the men have won five silver and four bronze but no gold.
Chan was the latest, finishing behind Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu in Sochi.
This could be Canada's big chance, though. Its sizeable stable, deep experience and the fact that it has contenders in every event could make "O Canada!" the soundtrack of the Olympics.
It could also make its flag quite popular — especially after Virtue and Moir carry it for the opening ceremony.
"The figure skating team is something else," Virtue said, "but Team Canada across the board is something fierce. It's great to be part of that."
DETROIT (AP) — The NFL draft has taken the show on the road for a decade, giving cities around the country a chance to be in the spotlight.
Detroit is on the clock.
The Motor City, which was once one of the nation's largest and most powerful cities, has bounced back from filing for bankruptcy in 2013.
Fans driving and flying into town from the league's other 31 cities will see signs of progress from the symbolic to the significant.
DETROIT is spelled out, each letter standing 10 feet off an embankment alongside a freeway between the airport and downtown, in an art installation that made its debut earlier this month.
A few miles away, the long-abandoned Michigan Central Station has undergone a renovation funded by Ford Motor Co. to transform the 18-story, 113-year-old train depot from an eyesore into a gem.
In the heart of downtown, where the NFL draft will begin Thursday night, a 685-foot-high tower represents the largest construction project in the city in more than a half-century as it rises from the site of the former Hudson’s department store.
With more than 50 million viewers and an expected 400,000 visitors over the three-day event, there will be a chance to change the conversation about the city.
Lions President Rod Wood pitched the city as a draft destination in 2016 and teamed up with the Detroit Sports Commission a year later to submit the formal bid to land the NFL's annual event that gives fans from each team a jolt of hope.
The Lions and the local sports commission also partnered with Visit Detroit, Dan Gilbert’s real-estate company, Bedrock, and the Detroit Police Department to make the most of the opportunity.
"The draft here in Detroit is going to make a big step for us in making that old image go away and people having the new image of the city," Gilbert told The Associated Press. “We’re going to be able to showcase Detroit like never before.”
That's part of the NFL's plan, and it has led to 20-plus cities vying for a future draft. Green Bay will host next year's draft.
After the league had its last draft in New York a decade ago, it envisioned giving cities — particularly those in colder climates that may not host a future Super Bowl — a chance to have a signature event that would have a lot of benefits, including an economic impact.
Chicago was the first tour stop in 2015 and it generated $81 million for the community. Kansas City had it last year, sparking $164 million in economic impact.
“Another opportunity for our franchise and our city and just for the world to kind of migrate to downtown Detroit,” said Lions general manager Brad Holmes, who has turned around a franchise that is coming off its best season since winning the 1957 NFL title. “I expect it to be pretty packed. I’m excited for all the businesses."
Detroit's draft is expected to bring in at least $160 million, giving small businesses a boost from fans flocking in and around Campus Martius Park.
One longtime business is looking forward to more than just an increase in foot traffic.
Lauren Stovall, the business lead at Hot Sam’s, and two others representing the 103-year-old men’s clothing store and tailor shop will be onstage during the draft’s final day Saturday.
“There’s a perception of Detroit that comes from people who actually have not been here,” Stovall said. "What’s so great is when people actually come to Detroit, they are blown away, because Detroit is not what they might have thought.”
There are new hotels, high-end and trendy restaurants and bars along with a skyscraper nearing completion. Challenges continue to exist in some neighborhoods as the city continues to demolish abandoned houses, including more than 25,000 over the past 10 years. Crime has been trending down and homicides are the lowest since 1966.
“We’re not going to lose our balance patting ourselves on the back,” Detroit Police Chief James White said.
Hundreds of uniformed and plainclothes officers from Detroit, county, state and federal agencies will patrol the greater downtown area. White said all the city’s police officers will work shifts during the draft, some downtown, others in neighborhoods.
Bomb-sniffing dogs and other K-9 teams will be flown into Detroit by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which also has pledged to have its tactical team on standby. Intelligence agents are monitoring social media for any threats.
Mayor Mike Duggan devoted some time during his annual State of the City address Wednesday to talk about the importance of the draft turning a lot of eyes on Detroit. Visitors for the draft are “going to see a very different city,” the mayor promised.
“We have a chance to reintroduce Detroit to America,” Duggan said.
Associated Press writers Corey Williams and Mike Householder contributed to this report.
Follow Larry Lage on X.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta shows off the NFL football team's home jersey during an unveiling at Ford Field, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
FILE - Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes speaks during a news conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, March 1, 2023. The Lions have the No. 29 pick overall in the NFL and if they do not make a move to pick sooner, it will mark the latest the franchise has made a first-round pick. Holmes has led one of the more impressive turnarounds in the league. He took over a laughingstock of a franchise three years ago and turned it into one of the NFL’s best last season. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
General Motors future headquarters is seen, Monday, April 15, 2024 in Detroit. GM plans to move its iconic Detroit headquarters to a new downtown office tower and redevelop its home office site. In addition, Bedrock, which owns multiple office buildings downtown, will join GM in studying redevelopment of the seven-building Renaissance Center now owned by GM. The new building is on the site of the old Hudson's department store in the heart of downtown. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
