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REGINA - Olympic gold-medal favourite Mark McMorris is in "great spirits," despite a fall that fractured a rib and nearly derailed his dream. Don McMorris, the snowboarders father, says Mark is moving around quite well after the incident during Saturdays slopestyle event at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo. "When we left him (Sunday), he could bend over and touch his toes because of where (the injury) is at," Don McMorris told The Canadian Press on Monday. "You know a cracked rib in the front, you couldnt do that, but where its at (around the back), he could bend to his toes and could raise his knees up to kind of his chest. "He was really doing better than we all thought. Hes got five or six days before he has to worry about riding and hes got the best people around him." Mark McMorris caught his snowboard on the lip of a rail and went sliding down the bar on his right side before landing hard on the snow during the final. He stayed on the ground for a few minutes before riding down the hill under his own power. It seems the 20-year-old Regina native lost focus. "He probably hit that rail through the week, I dont know 50 times, and never had a problem with it or any of the rails because thats, I think, one of the strongest parts of his riding," said Don McMorris, who was in Aspen when his son fell. "But obviously he was focused on what he was going to do on the jump line because he was going to try something pretty major." Don McMorris says his son didnt hurt much at first, but the pain got worse as the afternoon wore on. Mark McMorris finished with a silver medal at the event, but was "pretty down," said his father. Mark McMorris had said being an Olympian is a dream come true. He was the two-time defending Winter X Games champion in slopestyle. When he was named to the Olympic team earlier this month, McMorris said hes been "preparing like a mad man." The fall raised questions as to whether he could compete in Sochi. "He was really scared, not necessarily about his own well-being, I dont think, but that he wouldnt get to go to the Olympics," said Don McMorris. "That was really playing on his mind and when he does that, he just gets really quiet and doesnt really talk or say much to anybody. "And you could just tell that he was really scared and worried about not getting to fulfil his dream." The elder McMorris says the tough part was waiting to hear what the team doctors had to say. He describes it as an agonizing wait of about three hours. They eventually decided Mark would go to Sochi, as planned. "I cant tell you what he said because that would not be printable," joked Don McMorris. "He was really relieved." A fractured rib usually takes six weeks to heal, so Mark McMorris wont have time to fully recover before the Games start Feb. 7. But his father is cautiously optimistic. "Yes, Im optimistic, (I) have to be," he said. "I mean maybe too optimistic because theres going to be a lot of pain and . . . you dont know how the body will react, but compared to what it could have been, were pretty happy." Rollie Fingers Brewers Jersey .com) - Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies withstood 18 Dallas 3-pointers, as Memphis took control in the third quarter and fended off a Mavericks rally en route to a 114-105 win in a Southwest Division showdown. Corbin Burnes Jersey .com) - Semyon Varlamov more than earned his third shutout of the season as he made a career-high 54 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/669y-junior-guerra-jersey-brewers.html . The Arena das Dunas in the northeastern city of Natal sustained minor damage during the protests, but demonstrators stayed away on Sunday and officials said the stadium passed its first test, with only minor adjustments needed going forward. Josh Hader Jersey . -- Manchester United thrilled a record crowd with a brilliant opening goal -- and even Cristiano Ronaldos unexpected entrance proved futile for Real Madrid. Jordan Lyles Brewers Jersey . Hamelin overcame a weak start to win bronze in the 500-metre race behind winner Wu Dajing of China and American J.R. Celski on Saturday at the world short track speed skating championship.LONDON - Liverpools rapid downfall continued with a fourth successive loss on Sunday, with Crystal Palace adding to Brendan Rodgers woes with a 3-1 victory.The pressure, though, eased on Mauricio Pochettino after his Tottenham team came from behind to beat Hull 2-1 in the Premier League.As Liverpool manager, Rodgers had pledged not to make the same mistakes as Tottenham when it attempted to rebuild after losing Gareth Bale in 2013. But, without Luis Suarez this season, the new-look Liverpool has failed to recapture the form that saw the team finish second in May.Liverpool is now 12th after 12 matches — closer to the relegation zone than the top four.Although Rickie Lambert finally scored his first goal for Liverpool, Dwight Gayle levelled from close range before Joe Ledley netted and Mile Jedinak scored directly from a free kick to secure Palaces first win since September.Youve seen a team low on confidence today, Rodgers said at Selhurst Park. Not quite together as a team. We need to find a solution very quickly because it was very disappointing.I put the team out there, the best team to win us the game. We made a good start. You could see our passing was a wee bit tentative and then we make mistakes. Mistakes you wouldnt expect to see at a team thats supposed to be challenging.It seems unlikely Liverpool will be challenging for anything of note this season. The teams return to thhe Champions League after five years could end in the group stage unless its fortunes turn around on Wednesday against Ludogorets.ddddddddddddOverall, that intensity and togetherness in our game isnt there, Rodgers said. When you dont get the results, that affects you. That leads to (damaged) confidence. The loss leaves Liverpool 18 points behind leader Chelsea and just two in front of Palace, and Rodgers knows his own future could soon come under scrutiny.Im not arrogant enough to think that I will be in a job through anything, he said.Pochettino has also been feeling the heat in his debut season at Tottenham, which had lost three of its last four league games before travelling to Hull.When former Tottenham player Jake Livermore put Hull ahead with an early 25-meter drive, it looked like being another miserable day for Pochettino.But Tottenham had a man advantage from the 50th minute when Gaston Ramirez was sent off for needlessly wrestling Jan Vertonghen to the floor.And striker Harry Kane then levelled with his 10th goal of the season in the 61st, meeting the rebound after Christian Eriksens free kick came off the post. And the Denmark midfielder grabbed the winner in stoppage time from the edge of the penalty area after being setup by Aaron Lennon.Hull is now just a point from the relegation zone, while Tottenham is up to 10th, only two points from fourth place. ' ' '