SOCHI, Russia – If not quite the underdog, Drew Doughty believes, at the very least, that the Canadians are being overlooked, doubted and probably even overly dissected heading into Fridays semifinal matchup with the Americans. "I think a lot of people are counting us out," said Doughty. "If everyone wants to count us out, were going to use that as motivation." Doughty wouldnt go quite so far as to label Team Canada as the underdog, but its clear that the overwhelming degree of scrutiny has some members of the squad feeling as though theyve been doubted just a little too much. "We dont see ourselves as the underdog," Doughty said, the defender leading the Canadians with four goals. "I think both teams are really evenly matched. I dont know who Id give the upper hand to at this point. Im obviously more confident in my team than I am in theirs..." Like the Americans, Canada has yet to lose in these Olympics, but unlike their rivals to the south, they failed to exactly dominate in victory, scratching out close wins over the Norwegians (3-1), Finns (2-1 overtime) and Latvians (2-1), the last of which saw the two teams tied for most of the first 53 minutes of regulation. Head coach Mike Babcock has stressed that his team simply improves each and every day of the two-week tournament, pointing to Wednesdays struggle with the Latvians as a needed bit of adversity. Its evident, however, that the best of this Canadian team has yet to emerge. Whether it will in time for the 2010 gold medal game rematch remains in question. "Yeah were close," said Jonathan Toews after the quarterfinal win over Latvia, "not quite there yet though. Next game." Scoring concerns up front remain the most pressing issue. The Canadian forward contingent has combined for just six goals - or one more than Phil Kessel has all by himself here in Sochi - despite an overwhelming level of offensive talent. Wednesdays quarterfinal could be construed as a step in the right direction. Though they snuck just two by Kristers Gudlevskis, they managed nearly 60 shots and had numerous opportunities. Sidney Crosby, who had a breakaway in the opening minute, remains the most notable Canadian forward yet to score, but hes joined by Jonathan Toews, Corey Perry, Rick Nash, Patrick Marleau, Chris Kunitz, Martin St. Louis, Matt Duchene, and Patrice Bergeron – essentially everyone but Jeff Carter, Jamie Benn, Ryan Getzlaf and Patrick Sharp. Symmetry appears to finally be forming though. Unlike the previous four games, which saw the lines differ just about every night, Babcock will keep his forward combinations intact for the tilt against the Americans – save for the injured John Tavares (leg) – hopeful that theyll translate into actual production with elimination on the line. "You can talk scoring chances till youre blue in the face, who cares? The score is on the board, and so weve just got to find a way to keep doing what were doing," said Babcock. "I think we like the fact that were getting a lot of chances in and around the net," said Crosby, who remains alongside Kunitz and Bergeron. "We trust theyre going to go in a little bit more if we keep getting those. I think we just try to stay the course and make sure that we focus on burying those." Theyll have to do so against the seemingly unflappable Jonathan Quick. A rock for the L.A. Kings in the postseason – he has a .940 save percentage combined in the past two springs – Quick has stopped 72 of 77 shots in three starts for Team USA, fronted by an offence thats managed 20 goals in four games. "When he gets hot, when he makes some big saves early, he seems to become unbeatable, said Doughty, who captured the Cup with Quick in 2012. "And thats why weve got to get one early on him. The only way were going to score on him is weve got to get pucks up high and weve got to get screens in front and tips." Countering Quick will be Carey Price – who has stopped 48 of 51 shots – and a stiff defensive Canadian unit thats yielded just two even-strength goals all tournament and average of fewer than 19 shots against. If theres been an obvious strength to Canadas game on the bigger Olympic ice, its been the ability to defend and defend by controlling the possession of the puck. Continuing that against an American attack fronted by Kessel, who leads the tournament with eight points, will be a new and far more difficult challenge. Crosby was among the group of Canadian players who took in the Americans classic tilt with Russia in the preliminary round and was struck, above all else, with just how fast they were as a group. He and his teammates believe theyre ready for such a fight though even if others arent quite so sure. "At this point whether we beat three favourites or zero, nobodys going to really think about that or talk about that if we get the result we want [Friday] and win the game," he said. "Our groups real confident," Babcock added. "We like what weve done. We like how our team is. We think were set up good right now. And that, to me, is the most important thing." Jordan Scarpe Sconti . - While he appreciates suggestions from Packers fans of remedies for his sore left calf, Aaron Rodgers is not necessarily going to listen to the advice. Scarpe Jordan Uomo Saldi .Y. - Alex Rodriguez paid $305,000 for evidence that could be used in the case involving the Biogenesis of America drug clinic, the Daily News reported Saturday. http://www.airjordanscontate.it/.com) - The disappointing Ottawa Senators hope to record consecutive wins for the first time since early November, as they visit the Boston Bruins on Friday for the opener of a home-and-home series. Air Jordan Scarpe Italia . Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves to backstop the Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Flames, handing Calgary its team record sixth consecutive home regulation loss. Scarpe Jordan a Poco Prezzo .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night.MIAMI -- It was arguably the signature moment of Alonzo Mournings career. He blocked a shot in the final minutes of Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals, then wriggled on the floor in what appeared to be celebration for a few seconds. Turns out, it was anger. Mourning was unimpressed by his chase-down block of Dallas Jason Terry with 8:55 left in the game where the Miami Heat would clinch their first NBA title. Instead, his memorable air-punching, arms-flailing reaction was borne from how Heat teammate Gary Payton had thrown the ball away seconds earlier and then argued with a referee at such a critical moment in the game. His fire was on full display in that moment. And it was that fire that led him to the Basketball Hall of Fame "So I had to sprint back to try to cover his butt for making that mistake, and I was mad," Mourning said. "Then I got up and I was like, Gary, what are you doing, man? Oh, I was mad. Maybe like two people really know why I was acting that way. The thing is, I was cursing Gary out. Thats what happened." After a career where he averaged 17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots, the 6-foot-10 Mourning will be part of the class enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts on Friday night, when the surest bet in sports will be that his speech will exceed the 10-minute recommendation he was given for his remarks. "I think I deserve it," Mourning said, laughing. Few would disagree. He was a seven-time All-Star, is one of only eight players to win the defensive player of the year award at least twice, an Olympic gold medallist and has already had his No. 33 jersey retired by the Heat in a star-studded ceremony that went way longer than planned, slightly raising the ire of an Orlando Magiic team that wasnt planning on a never-ending halftime that night in 2009.dddddddddddd "He had to be the first one to have his jersey retired by this franchise," Heat President Pat Riley said. "He earned that, many times over." But Mournings story is more about the journey than any statistic or award. He was raised by a foster mother who took him and 48 other kids into her home. From there, Mourning became a star at Georgetown, then an NBA icon who couldnt even be derailed by a kidney disease that necessitated a transplant while still in the prime of his career, and finally a champion with the Heat. "You dont think about going to the Hall of Fame. Its your reward," Mourning said. "This was the last thing on my mind. I had an amazing career. The journey was spectacular for me, personally. If no one else saw it that way, then so be it." Mourning, 44, will be presented by John Thompson, his coach at Georgetown, and Riley, his coach with the Heat. Thompson and Riley are two of the people who Mourning credits most for making him what he is. The other is Fannie Threet, the foster mother who died last year at the age of 98 and the person who Mourning speaks with more reverence for than anyone else. Thompson, Riley and the woman he still calls "Miss Threet" might seem like three wildly different people, but Mourning sees parallels in them all -- mainly discipline, devotion and a balance between toughness and compassion. Add them up, you get Mourning, who plans to spend his speech thanking just about everyone he can remember. "Its the pinnacle of the sport," Mourning said. "And outside of the birth of my children and winning a championship, its the pinnacle of it all." 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