SOCHI, Russia - According to head coach Mike Babcock, Team Canada came to Russia with a plan of how it would employ the goaltending duties at these Olympics, namely who, between Roberto Luongo and Carey Price, would be the guy. Jon Lester Jersey . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. Luongo bettered his efforts a day later, stopping all 23 shots versus the Austrians. But which of the two deserves to start against the Finns, the most challenging opponent of the tournament to date and an indicator of which direction the brass is leaning, is a matter of some debate. On purely NHL terms, for this season, Price has been the better goaltender. He owns a .925 save percentage after 48 starts - ninth-best in the NHL - keeping the Montreal Canadiens afloat through good times and bad. He also entered the Olympics on a sterling five-game run that saw him stop 167 of 174 shots - .960 save percentage - banking one shutout in the process. Luongo has been steady meanwhile, boasting a .917 save percentage in Vancouver this season, a number about in line with his career average. But unlike Price, he and the Canucks have stumbled into the break, losing five straight. And though his struggling team managed to score just eight goals during the five-game slide, Luongo himself wasnt much better, allowing 17 goals in the process (.880 save percentage). If not better than Price at the moment, Luongo does have history on his side. Initially the backup to Martin Brodeur at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Luongo grabbed the net against Germany in the pre-qualification round and didnt let go (albeit with a few hiccups) en route to the gold medal. Price last starred on the international stage at the 2007 World Junior Championships. Sparkling with a 1.14 goals against average, he was named the tournament MVP. But unlike American starter Jonathan Quick, who has a stranglehold on the no. 1 gig due in large part to an unbelievable recent playoff track record, the 26-year-old Price has been just so-so in the postseason for the Canadiens. He had an .894 save percentage in falling to the Ottawa Senators in the first round last spring. Price did, however, steer the Hamilton Bulldogs to a Calder Cup championship during that brilliant 07 run. Back in 2010, Babcock started the Olympic tournament with Luongo against the Norwegians - they won 8-0 - but apparently had his mind set on Brodeur all along. The future Hall of Fame netminder started games two and three against the Swiss and Americans, but lost his job to Luongo after four goals passed on 22 shots in a 5-3 loss to the U.S. All of which goes to show that whatever may seem certain for even a moment in a tournament that extends for just days can change in an instant or two. Asked of his process for determining who would be the guy, Babcock pointed to the NHL season and said that he and the Team Canada brass had been closely monitoring who was doing what. If he favours the present then Price would seem to be the obvious choice, but if he has a sentimental spot for what Luongo managed on this stage last time around then the embattled Canucks keeper may just be the guy. The two netminders were to be informed of the decision on Saturday evening. "We did the same thing last time," said Babcock of 2010. "We had a plan. We understand and I said this a number of times you get one change in this tournament and you can still win." Kris Bryant Jersey .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. John Lackey Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win. http://www.cubsteamproshop.com/customized/ . Sources tell TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger that the team is quietly gauging interest on the Senators captain, though Spezza has a limited no-trade clause and carries a large contract. TORONTO -- The Canadian Soccer Association released its 2014-18 strategic plan Thursday, with an eye on a huge prize further down the line. Hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "The process has to start now," CSA president Victor Montagliani said Thursday of a bid to stage "the grand-daddy of them all." Brazil is hosting the mens World Cup this summer, with Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022) in the wings. A 2026 bid would probably have to be filed around 2018. Canada is hosting the womens World Cup next year. Getting that right is key to being able to giving the mens tournament a shot. CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, has not hosted the mens World Cup since the U.S. in 1994. "Were the only G-8 nation to not host the World Cup," Montagliani added. "Weve hosted almost every other event .. I think its time for Canada to step up to the plate." By next year, Canada will have hosted every FIFA event except for the world futsal, beach and club championships and Confederations Cup. Montagliani says the World Cup bid is part of the new blueprints strategy to encourage growth in the game in Canada. Such a bid goes hand in hand with reviving a national mens team that currently ranks 111th in the world, sandwiched between Bahrain and Guatemala. While the Canadian women turned heads with a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics, the men have not won since being knocked out of World Cup qualifying in a 8-1 humiliation in Honduras in October 2012. A 2-0 loss in Slovenia last November stretched the Canadian mens winless streak to 14 games. Canada is 0-11-3 over the streak and hasnt scored in 10 games. The winless run has seen the Canadian men outscored 27-2. Canada has not won since a 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Cuba in Toronto four days before the Honduras debacle. In the national teams defence, Canada has played tough opposition in Australia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Slovenia and the U.S. And coach Benito Floro has looked to young talent since taking over the squad last summer. Montagliani pointed to the U.S. successful bid for the 94 World Cup. "When they bid for the World Cup, I wouldnt say the game was in a healthy state in the U.S. both professionally and domestically. Their leadership group decided to put a bid together and I think that was a bit of a lightning rod for people to come together." A World Cup bid would require eight to 12 stadiums with 10 the optimum, according to CSA general secretary Peter Montopoli. All would have to accommodate at least 40,000 with more for the venue for the final. The CFLs recent trend towards new stadiums and plans to revamp BMO Field in Toronto help the CSA cause although much work would remain, not to mention questions about artificial surfaces. "There are a lot of requirements from a hosting perspective for a mens World Cup," Montopoli acknowledged. "Its massive." FIFA, CONCACAF and the federal sport minister are aware of the CSAs intentions, he added. "We have been trying to get to the prime minister. Hes busy. But we will be getting to the prime minister on this file." CONCACAF seems on board, tweeting its congratulations on the CSAs "ambitious new strategic plan." A bid to co-host the World Cup was possible, with the subjectt already having been raised with U. Mark Grace Jersey. S. Soccer, Montopoli said. With FIFA yet to issue its 2026 hosting guidelines, Montopoli said talk of a co-hosted bid "might be a little premature but it certainly is possible." The CSAs 2014-18 blueprint is titled "Leading a Soccer Nation." It is a pithy document divided into four goals with 27 sub-points. The four major goals are: 1) Invest in technical leadership. 2) Ensure consistent world-class performances by our national teams. 3) Govern the game in Canada professionally. 4) Encourage and oversee the grown of the game. The CSA plan also calls for mandating technical development across the country and establishing a national player database. The strategic plan was 18 months in the making with input coming from town hall meetings and an online survey (which got 3,000 responses). It also involved looking at the strategic plans of other sports in Canada including hockey, figure skating, volleyball and golf, as well as foreign soccer organizations from the U.S. and England to Mexico and the Netherlands. "Because we believe there was no point in re-inventing the wheel here," said Nick Bontis, director and chair of the CSAs strategic committee. Changes in CSA governance have made the association better able to institute its policies. The makeup of the CSA board is no longer made up of regional interests, with the emphasis on skill set rather than geography. Bontis says the new strategic plan will pay immediate dividends. "Weve never historically necessitated a certain behaviour by our provincial associations," said Bontis. "This strat (strategic) plan is the opposite. It necessitates certain behaviours." That includes provincial governance reform, investment in technical leadership and mandating provincial strategic plans. "Historically it was 10 different countries writing their own strat plans, their own technical plans, moving forward and somehow -- in some sort of magical way, Abracadabra -- the CSA was supposed to co-ordinate 10 national plans. That is something that needs to go away in the short-term." Bontis will be front and centre in the CSAs plan to create a national player database, allowing it to better leverage its 850,000-plus registered players. "We are in the year 2014 and we are archaic," he said. "Its an embarrassment how we register players across the country." "Harvesting a million registrants will have fundamental changes in the way we do business in soccer in Canada," he added. Players currently register with their local club, with the information and accompanying fees eventually flowing to the district and then the province and then the CSA. Bontis goal is for players to register nationally online, establishing a connection directly with the national program. Canada Soccer previously prepared a hosting bid for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, which was originally awarded to Colombia but then went to Mexico. That tournament marks Canadas lone participation in the event. Canada hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1987 (then known as the FIFA U-16 World Tournament), the U-20 Womens World Cup in 2002 and the U-20 World Cup in 2007. This summer will see another edition of the U-20 Womens World Cup in Canada with the Womens World Cup to follow in 2015. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China China NFL Gear Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Stitched NFL Jerseys ' ' '