RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Americans invented beach volleyball.Brazil made it a passion.But theres another country making waves at the Copacabana venue during the Olympics, one with little tradition of beach volleyball -- or even a lot of sun-splashed beaches, for that matter.Canada.Yes, Canada.The ice hockey and curling power is one of only four countries to qualify the maximum four teams -- two mens and two womens -- for the Rio de Janeiro Games. Although Canada has won only one medal in the sport since it joined the Olympic program in 1996, this contingent is hoping it can change that.Canada is a competitive nation, said Ben Saxton, whose father was on the Canadian indoor volleyball team that ended up fourth at the 1984 Olympics -- its best finish ever. All of us want to win at every sport we play. Just because we cant play during the winter doesnt mean we arent resourceful enough to find a way.More often associated with ice and snow -- and sports played upon them -- than with the Summer Games, Canada has had its share of success in events like track and rowing and swimming. But the beach has been barren since John Child and Mark Heese took bronze in Atlanta.True, its hard to compete with countries where the athletes can train year-round. Yes, the lack of volleyball history itself makes it difficult to convince young Canadians to put down their hockey sticks and hit the beach. And Canadas population of about 35 million is smaller than Californias alone, not to mention Brazil.You take a couple of cities in Brazil and youve got more than the whole country, said Steve Anderson, Canadas head beach volleyball coach. You cant compete with the population. You cant compete with the history. People come to Brazil and the U.S. to immerse themselves in the culture because you cant get that anywhere else.But when Anderson took over the countrys beach volleyball program, he decided the problem was the mindset of Canadians who just didnt think they could compete with the sports powers.Anderson, an American who coached Australian Natalie Cook to the beach gold medal in 2000, called the Canadian players together and asked them: When was the last time you got off the plane expecting to win an event?The comment was, `Thats a bit arrogant. Thats not how Canadians think, Anderson said in an interview at the Copacabana venue on Tuesday.But I dont know any hockey player that gets off a plane just to show up, he said. How do we change that environment?Since London, Canada has seen enough success on the world professional tour to hit the country quota of two teams in each gender in Rio.Saxton and Chaim Schalk reached the podium five times on the FIVB tour; Josh Binstock, a 2012 Olympian, and Samuel Schachter have four top-three finishes since 2014. On the womens side, Heather Bansley and Sarah Pavan were No. 5 in the Olympic rankings and Jamie Broder and Kristina Valjas were 13th.Only three other countries hit the maximum: The United States and Brazil, which have combined to win 20 of the 30 total medals since the sport was added to the Olympic program in 1996, and the Netherlands.So far, the Canadians have had mixed success.Bansley and Pavan are 2-0 and atop their pool after beating Switzerland 21-18, 21-18 on Tuesday. Broder and Valjas, who lost to Germany, are 1-1 with one game remaining in group play. On the mens side, Schalk and Saxton are 1-1 and Binstock and Schachter are 0-2.Were going to find out at these Olympics: What is Canadian volleyball? Anderson said. Thats what were going to find out. Cheap Jerseys .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. China NFL Jerseys Authentic . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. http://www.cheapjerseysreal.com/ .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Perhaps it simply took a whirlwind trip to the White House for the Kansas City Royals to remember that theyre the reigning World Series champions.Danny Duffy scattered four hits while pitching into the seventh inning, the Royals scratched out three runs off the Rangers Yu Darvish, and Kansas City shrugged off a sluggish start to the second half to beat Texas 3-1 on Friday night in the opener of their three-game series.I think being around the guys on an off day was a positive, said Duffy, who along with the rest of the Royals slipped out of town to see President Barack Obama in the midst of a long homestand. We got to do something not a lot of people get to do.The Royals had dropped four of six since the All-Star break before Friday night, when Duffy (6-1) gave up only Rougned Odors homer in the fourth inning. The left-hander struck out four, walked two and gave his bullpen a breather on a steamy evening that began with a heat index of 108 degrees.Luke Hochevar wiggled out of Duffys jam to end the seventh, Kelvin Herrera pitched a perfect eighth and Wade Davis worked around a two-out single in the ninth for his 21st save.The victory kept the Royals (48-47) from dropping below .500 for the first time since May 17.Duffys got a big fastball with a quality changeup and breaking ball. He was really tough on us, Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. A quality start, a quality starter, hes been doing that all year.Darvish (2-2) nearly matched Duffy in his third start off the disabled list. He allowed single runs in each of the first three innings, struck out 11 and made only one big mistake -- Cheslor Cuthberts home run.I feel really good about where Yu is at and what he showed us tonight, Banister said.Still, it wasnt good enough to keep the AL West-leading Rangers from losing for the eighth time in nine games. The slide has been marked by poor pitching, inconsistent hitting and a series of devastating injuries -- sluggers Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo went on the DL earlier this week.Without them, the Rangers certainly sstruggled to create scoring chances Friday night.dddddddddddd.Duffy carved through the lineup without allowing a hit the first time through, the only baserunner a walk to Elvis Andrus. He went on to load the bases on a single and hit batter in the third inning, but Duffy calmly struck out Ian Desmond on three pitches to leave them stranded.His only other trouble came when he put runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh, forcing Hochevar in from the bullpen. He got pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland on a liner to preserve a 3-1 lead.They built it in typical Royals fashion: They scored a run in the first on a single, stolen base, error and groundout then scored again in the second on a walk, stolen base and consecutive singles.It wasnt until Cuthbert went deep leading off the third that they made Darvish look fallible.Darvish is a really good pitcher, Royals manager Ned Yost said. To scratch out two runs early is perfect situational baseball, to give us that lead early.ROSTER MOVESThe Rangers reinstated LHP Jake Diekman (cut left index finger) from the DL and designated LHP Cesar Ramos for assignment. Diekman last pitched July 5 at Boston.TRAINERS ROOMRangers: Fielder will see neck specialist Dr. Drew Dossett on Monday. The DH/1B is facing the prospect of season-ending neck surgery after an MRI earlier this week revealed a herniated disk near an area that was repaired two years ago. Dossett also performed that procedure.Royals: CF Lorenzo Cain (left hamstring strain) hoped to begin a rehab assignment his weekend, but it has been pushed back to early next week. Hes been on the DL since June 29. He was pushing it too hard two days ago and just kind of fatigued his leg, Yost said. Not a setback by any stretch.UP NEXTRangers LHP Cole Hamels, who tossed eight sharp innings in a win over the Cubs his last time out, makes his first career start at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday. He faces Royals RHP Yordano Ventura. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '