Mike Yeo knows his team needs to play a more comp

HARROGATE, England -- Marcel Kittel of Germany won the first stage of the Tour de France for a second straight year after a late crash brought down British rival Mark Cavendish in the presence of royals on Saturday. Kittel, who earned four Tour stages last year, won the 190.5-kilometre (118-mile) run in mainly bucolic Yorkshire countryside from Leeds to Harrogate. The German raised his arms skyward and cried after he edged Peter Sagan of Slovakia in second, and Ramunas Navardauskas of Lithuania in third. "I am incredibly proud of this victory," Kittel, a Team Giant-Shimano rider who also won two Giro dItalia stages in May, said through a translator. "It happened pretty easily. It was like coming out of a tunnel. I was able to accelerate like never before. "Its really awesome. Deja vu, yeah." Christian Meier of Langley, B.C., was the top Canadian, finishing 141st in 4:44:07, while Svein Tuft, also from Langley, placed 163rd in the same peloton. The two favourites for victory in the three-week race, Alberto Contador and Chris Froome, finished safely in the trailing pack that clocked the same time as Kittel. With fewer than 400 metres to go, and the speedsters rushing ahead, Cavendish veered slightly to his left, tilted his head and bumped into Australias Simon Gerrans. The two crashed alone, with Cavendish landing hard on his right shoulder. Cavendish got up gingerly and cruised over the finish line -- cradling his right arm. X-rays revealed he separated his right shoulder, a Tour statement said. Omega Pharma QuickStep said in a separate statement that a decision about whether he will continue the race will be made on Sunday morning. "Im gutted about the crash today," Cavendish said in the statement. "It was my fault. Ill personally apologize to Simon Gerrans as soon as I get the chance. In reality, I tried to find a gap that wasnt really there. I wanted to win today." Many British fans were hoping for a win by Cavendish, a native of the Isle of Man, whose mother is from Harrogate. Prime Minister David Cameron, Princes William and Harry, and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, were on hand among throngs of British fans who lined the route -- a testament to the cycling craze in the U.K. England hosts the first three stages of this 101st Tour before riders enter France on Tuesday. In all, the 198 riders are to cover 3,664 kilometres (2,277 miles) of road before the July 27 finish in Paris. Stage 2 on Sunday covers 201 kilometres from York to Sheffield, in southern Yorkshire. Cavendish previously said that winning the first Tour stage was his main goal this year. He was hoping to capture his first yellow jersey and his 26th Tour stage win. "Its sad because he (Cavendish) was racing in front of the home country," Sagan said. Added Kittel: "I hope he gets well soon. Im looking forward to seeing him on the race tomorrow ... its not nice to have Mark crash. Nobody wants that." A second German excelled on the English roads: Veteran Jens Voigt took the polka-dot jersey as the races best climber, after getting out early on a three-man breakaway that first cleared three low-grade hills including Buttertubs pass. At 42, the Trek Factory Racing rider is the oldest competitor this year: This is his 17th Tour, equaling the record. The nervous first day included more mishaps. Untold tens of thousands of fans turned out in such big numbers that a train service shuttle between the start and finish towns was crammed, and some had to wait for 90 minutes or even longer to get aboard -- or gave up altogether. Yorkshire, the largest county in England, has paid richly for the right to host the Tour. The peloton sped by abbeys in ruins and sights like 14th century Bolton Castle, near Leyburn, before finishing in Harrogate, known for its spas. Nearly three dozen countries are represented at this Tour, led by France with 44 riders. Its the second time cyclings greatest race has begun in Britain, though the Tour also crossed the English Channel for stages in 1974 and 1994. Ryan Kesler Ducks Jersey .J. - Trying to learn and absorb the new West Coast offence being installed by new offensive co-ordinator Ben McAdoo, the New York Giants wrapped their final organized team activity Thursday before a three-day mini-camp next week. Ryan Kesler Jersey . The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second. http://www.authenticduckspro.com/Teemu-selanne-ducks-jersey/ . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. Ondrej Kase Jersey .C. -- The Bobcats announced theyve signed centre Justin Hamilton to a 10-day contract. Cam Fowler Ducks Jersey . Garcia had eight birdies overall to go with a lone bogey on the fourth to move to an 18-under total of 198 at the Asian Tour event. "I was able to hit some really nice shots and then was able to roll two or three really good putts in and it was nice to be able to finish birdie, birdie on this difficult finishing stretch," Garcia said.(SportsNetwork.com) - Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks will take aim at a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference second round series when they host the Minnesota Wild in Sundays clash at United Center. You can watch all the action LIVE on TSN and online with TSN GO beginning at 3pm et/Noon pt. The defending Stanley Cup champions recorded a 5-2 win in Game 1 on Friday to grab an early lead in the best-of-seven series. Despite the final margin, the game was deadlocked early in the third period before Kane and his teammates took control of the contest for good. Chicago carried a 2-0 lead into the third, but Clayton Stoner and Kyle Brodziak scored under five minutes apart early in the frame to even the score for Minnesota. Thats when Kane kicked his quest for a second straight Conn Smythe Trophy into high gear. Kane scored the first two of Chicagos three unanswered goals in the third period to help the Blackhawks win going away. The 25-year-old American now has five goals in this postseason, tying him for the most in the NHL during the 2014 playoffs. Los Angeles Kings forward Marian Gaborik also has five goals as does Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche, who were eliminated in the first round by Minnesota. Kanes first goal on Friday was of the highlight variety. The Chicago winger carried the disc down the left side and into the Minnesota zone before cutting through the high slot, where he faked a drop pass. Given room to work, Kane held off his defender and worked into the low right circle before lifting a filthy backhand over the short-side shoulder of Wild goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. "It was one of those plays where I was about to drop it to (Patrick Sharp) but I saw both defencemen kind of go to him," Kane said of his tie-breaking goal. "I just tried to get in on the backhand and made a good shot." Kane doubled Chicagos lead at 16:47 when Sharps shot from the right point deflected off Ben Smiths stick in the circle and ricocheted to the low left side, where Kane was waiting to send the puck home for a 4-2 lead. Bryan Bickell added an empty-netter with 2:41 remaining to arrive at the ffinal margin.dddddddddddd Bickell had opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first. Corey Crawford registered 30 saves for the Blackhawks and Marian Hossa also scored. Bryzgalov started in net for the Wild in place of an injured Darcy Kuemper, who was forced to exit Minnesotas Game 7 victory over Colorado after sustaining an undisclosed injury late in the contest. Bryzgalov stopped the only shot he faced in relief against the Avalanche, but turned aside just 17-of-21 shots in Fridays setback. With Kuemper expected to miss another tilt, the situation in net will likely remain unchanged on Sunday. John Curry, a 30-year-old journeyman, suited up as Bryzgalovs backup on Friday and could do so again in Game 2. Curry has seen action in six career NHL games and none in the playoffs. The Wild, holders of the first of the Wests two wild card spots, are trying to avoid being eliminated by Chicago for the second time in as many years. Minnesota, which is in the second round of the postseason for the first time since 2003, lost to the Blackhawks in five games during the opening round last spring. Although the Wild appeared to be the better team at times in Game 1, Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo knows his team needs to play a more complete game to pull off an upset of the reigning champs. "There wasnt enough urgency in the details and the little things that add up to make the difference at this time of year," Yeo said. "We slipped a little bit from last game. We didnt bring the same level and so well rectify that." Minnesota was playing Game 1 in Chicago on the heels of winning a road Game 7 in Colorado on Wednesday. On Friday, tHe Wild fell to 1-7 all-time in the first contest of a series and havent won a Game 1 since their first-ever playoff game, a 4-2 win against Colorado on April 10, 2003. On the injury front for Chicago, forward Andrew Shaw left the game in the first period after absorbing a hit from Stoner and did not return. He is day- to-day with a lower-body injury and will not play Sunday. Game 3 of this series is scheduled for Tuesday in Minnesota, with the Wild also set to host the fourth meeting on Friday. ' ' '