After a bit of a slow start at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the United States is right up there in the overall medal standings. Cedric Ball Jersey Signed . Seven days into the competition, the U.S. began the day with four gold, two silver and six bronze medals. They are ranked fifth and have the second largest total amount of medals (12) behind Norway. Team USA has produced medals in alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, figure skating, luge and snowboarding. The glaring omission: long track speed skating. Coming into these Games, the U.S. was third in the all-time long track speed skating standings with 67 total medals and they lead in overall gold with 29. Its been 30 years since the U.S. didnt win at least one speed skating medal at the Olympics. In Sochi, Americans Brittany Bowe and Heather Richardson were the undisputed gold medal favourites in the womens 1,000 meters. Between the two, they won every World Cup race this season but in Russia they finished seventh and eighth. Shani Davis was expected to complete his historic three-peat in the 1000m and yet he finished eighth. No American has finished better than seventh place so far. In a sport where races are decided by hundredths of a second, the talk in Sochi has been about the new Under Armour suits U.S. skaters are wearing. Developed in secrecy in corporation with Lockheed Martin, the Mach 39 as it is known even looks uncomfortable to the untrained eye. A ventilation panel on the back is possibly to blame for taking in air, which hinders skaters from achieving the deep squatted stands required to deliver the ultimate stride. Then there is the U.S. training facility. American skaters have been preparing for Sochi in a building that hosts the fastest ice on the planet in Salt Lake City. The oval is on altitude which ensures fast conditions. However, the Adler Arena in Sochi is on sea level and its properties are completely different. The ice is considered slow where skaters need to rely less on technique and finesse and more on stamina and sheer determination. Team Canada trains on altitude in Calgary and perhaps it is not a coincidence that Denny Morrisons memorable silver moment is the only Canadian medal in Sochi so far. Time is running out for the U.S. long track team - and for Canadas - with only six medal events left at these Games. Both countries have slim medal hopes in the mens 10,000m and the womens 5,000m. The 1,500m - often considered the crown jewel of long track - is wide open but other than that, medaling at the team pursuit is needed to prevent historic lows. Korleone Young Jersey Signed . First-half goals by Will Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia sucked the life out of the Impact as the Houston Dynamo bounced them from Major League Soccers post-season with a 3-0 victory on Thursday. Kenny Anderson Jersey Signed .C. -- Panthers offensive tackle Jordan Gross is saying goodbye to the NFL after 11 seasons. https://www.cheapnbajerseysjustwholesale.com/jerry-grote-jersey-signed/ . Subway workers in Rio de Janeiro, meanwhile, were holding an assembly to vote on whether they would strike to demand higher wages, threatening to disrupt transportation. By late Tuesday night there was no announcement of their decision.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - PGA TOUR - WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN, TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona - The annual party in the desert is this week in Scottsdale as the PGA Tour heads to the TPC Scottsdale for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where the normally big crowds will be bigger than ever this week. Minus last years champion Kevin Stadler, the tournament gets a huge boost from the return of Tiger Woods. Returning to the tour for his first official event since the PGA Championship, Woods is teeing it up at this tournament for the first time since 2001. The par-3 16th is far and away the most raucous hole in golf, and it was never louder than when Woods aced the hole in 1997. Woods raised the roof as beers and debris showered down on the tee box. The 16th has never been the same since. Bleachers and corporate sky boxes surround the hole, housing 20,000 fans, or more, at any given time. Last year, Stadler closed with a 3-under 68 and rallied past Bubba Watson for the win. The victory was Stadlers first on the PGA Tour. However, he will not defend as he is battling a hand injury. Woods wont be the only star on site this week. Phil Mickelson, who won this tournament as an amateur while he attended Arizona State, will tee it up at this event for the 26th time. Also teeing it up this week will be Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and Bill Haas, who beat Kuchar and four other players by one stroke to win the Humana Challenge on Sunday. Golf Channel will have coverage all four days. Their coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be early, before they hand off to CBS for the first time this year. The PGA Tour returns to California next week for the Farmers Insurance Open, where Scott Stallings will defend his title against a field that includes Woods, Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, who returns to the tour for the first time since last years Canadian Open. EUROPEAN TOUR OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC, Emirates Golf Club (Majlis Course), Dubai, United Arab Emirates - While many of the top PGA Tour players will be in the Arizona desert this week, several top European Tour stalwarts will tee it up in Dubai. World No. 1 Rory McIlroy will headline the field at Emirates Golf Club this week. In his last 11 worldwide starts, McIlroy has been outside the top-8 just once. McIlroy has finished second or tied for second in each of his last four official starts. McIlroy trailed third-round leader Stephen Gallacher by two strokes entering the final round last year, but stumbled to a 2-over 74 and slid into a share of ninth place. Gallacher fired a 63 in round three to grab the lead, and he closed with an even-par 72, which was enough tto give him a 1-stroke win over Emiliano Grillo, who tied for fifth last week in Qatar. Forest Able Jersey Signed. The victory for Gallacher was his second straight at this event, and third on the European Tour. He was the first player to successfully defend a title in the 25-year history of the tournament. Among those in the field with McIlroy and Gallacher will be world No. 2 Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and last weeks winner, Branden Grace. Golf Channel has early morning coverage of all four rounds this week. The European Tour heads to Asia next week for the Maybank Malaysian Open, where Westwood cruised to a 7-stroke win over three players last April. LPGA TOUR COATES GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP, Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club, Ocala, Florida - The LPGA Tour kicks off its 2015 schedule in Florida this week with a new event. For a first-year event, the field is full of stars. Sixteen of the top-20 players in the world are in the field this week. That group includes Inbee Park, Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis, the top-3 players in the world, along with reigning U.S. Womens Open Champion Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson, who won the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship. Former major winners Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Karrie Webb are in the field as well. Tiger Woods niece, Cheyenne, was one of the two sponsor invites to the event. Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds of the event, that runs from Wednesday to Saturday. The tour heads to Atlantis next week for the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, where Jessica Korda closed with a 66 last year to hold off Lewis. WEB.COM TOUR PANAMA CLARO CHAMPIONSHIP, Panama Golf Club, Panama City, Panama - Like the LPGA, the Web.com Tour kicks off its season this week. The Web.com Tour starts with five straight events outside the United States. First up is the Panama Claro Championship, where Carlos Ortiz cruised to a 4- stroke win last year. The win for Ortiz was his first of three on the season, and that earned him a trip to the PGA Tour. Ortiz was just 2-under par after 36 holes, but he played the final 36 holes in 10-under par en route to a 4-shot win over Jason Gore. Thanks to his promotion to the PGA Tour, Ortiz will not be on hand, but there are some familiar names in the field like Carlos Franco, Tim Herron, Frank Lickliter, Jamie Lovemark, Ryuji Imada, Rod Pampling and Vaughn Taylor. There is no television coverage this week. The Web.com Tour heads to Bogota next week for the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship, where Alex Cejka carded a 63 in the third round and was awarded the victory after rain washed out play for the fourth straight day. ' ' '