KRASNAYA POLAYNA, Russia - Two hundred metres into the race, Brian McKeever was suddenly on his backside and it appeared his ninth career Paralympic gold medal was slipping away. Randall Cobb Super Bowl Jersey . But he wasnt letting it go without a fight and the Canmore, Alta., cross-country skier, led by guide Graham Nishikawa of Whitehorse, caught up to the pack to win the mens visually impaired sprint at the Sochi Paralympics on Wednesday. Its McKeevers second gold of the 2014 Games and the 12th medal of his illustrious Paralympic career. The 34-year-old also won gold in the 20-kilometre event on Monday. The two Canadians easily advanced to the final where a Russian skier stepped on McKeevers pole, causing him to crash around the 200-metre mark of the one-kilometre race. But McKeever scrambled to his feet and, with the help of Nishikawa, caught up to the rest of the pack. "It wouldnt be right for me to tell you what I said in my head, but once the cuss words were out, the only thing you can do is get back up and race," said McKeever. "I thought we were clear, but that is normal and it happens in sprinting when you are all fighting and tight. Everyone is going flat out. It is intense and everyone is at their limit. We are just fortunate it happened in the first 200 metres and not at the end so we had time to catch up." Meanwhile, alpine sit-skier Kimberly Joines of Rossland, B.C., finished second in the womens slalom although the results are still unofficial after a German skier appealed her disqualification from the first run. A decision is expected Thursday morning. Not including a medal for Joines, Canada has eight medals (two gold, two silver, four bronze) and sits third in the overall tally. Russia has a wide lead with 47 total medals while Ukraine is second with 14. Canadas goal is to finish in the top three in gold medals but is currently in fourth with McKeevers two. Ukraine is third with three while Germany is second with five and Russia leads with 16. Nishikawa admitted he felt a rush of panic when he saw McKeever go down. "It wasnt until we got back up around the Russians and had the Swedes in sight that I felt a huge relief," he said. McKeever credited Nishikawa with getting him the gold. "The snow was so heavy today," he said. "He basically towed me up that hill and ... and gave us a chance. It is not how we planned things, but that was a pretty awesome day." Swedens Zebastian Modin hung on for the silver medal, while Russias Oleg Ponomarev won bronze. Earlier this week, Nishikawa shared guiding duties with Erik Carleton to lead McKeever to his first gold of the 2014 Games. But Carletons name was on the start list so he was the only one to receive a gold medal. Nishikawas performance Wednesday has earned him a gold of his own. "It feels absolutely awesome," said Nishikawa, who races on the able-bodied World Cup circuit. "I said earlier this is a whole new world for me. Im so impressed by everything. This whole experience has been amazing and I just wanted to do whatever I could to be here and help Brian. We have been friends for a long time so this is very special." A handful of other Canadians also competed in the sprint races. Chris Klebl of Canmore qualified for the mens sit-skiing heats but did not advance to the final. Robbi Weldon of Thunder Bay, Ont., along with her guide Phil Wood of Canmore had their day come to an end in the semifinals of the womens visually impaired category, while Paralympic rookie Brittany Hudak of Prince Albert, Sask., did not advance past the womens standing semifinals. In curling, Canada improved to 6-1 and clinched a spot in the semifinals with a 10-4 victory over South Korea. Darnell Savage Jr. Super Bowl Jersey . - Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson sat on the scorers table at Oracle Arena on Wednesday morning. Bryan Bulaga Super Bowl Jersey . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit. http://www.packersonlineteamstore.com/jimmy-graham-youth-jersey.html . -- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft wanted to keep Logan Mankins with the team for a long time.DALLAS - The Raptors begin a brutal trek on Friday with a visit to Dallas to take on former Raptor Vince Carter and the Mavericks. After Fridays game, the teams road trip continues with stops in Oklahoma City, San Antonio and New York. Listen to the game live on TSN 1050 at 8:30pm et. Toronto was 3-1 since Rudy Gay was agreed to be traded, but lost a heartbreaker on Wednesday. The Raptors fell 104-102 in overtime, at home, to the Charlotte Bobcats. Charlottes Kemba Walker buried a 15-foot jumper at the horn to get the victory. DeMar DeRozan was the high-scorer in the game with 30 points, while Kyle Lowry added 17. John Salmons chipped in 11 off the bench and Jonas Valanciunas and Amir Johnson both finished with 10 points. Johnson added 13 rebounds. It was another tough loss for a young team with new parts. "I love the challenge of coaching young players, I enjoy that," head coach Dwane Casey said after practice on Thursday. "I enjoy winning more, but I understand where we are." The Mavs, who are 11-2 in American Airlines Center, have won 12 of their last 13 against the Raps at home. The Mavericks have played good basketball of late and will try to continue the surge Friday when they finish off a homestand. The Mavs are 2-0 on this little stay in Big D with wins over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday and a 105-91 victory Wednesday versus the slumping Memphis Grizzlies. Clay Matthews Super Bowl Jersey. Dallas has taken five of its last seven and during that stretch, allowed opponents 100 points or more just twice. During these seven games in the month of December, the Mavs are holding teams to an average of 96.6 points per game. "In the month of December weve been better defensively, and our goal is to stay on that track," head coach Rick Carlisle said Thursday after practice. "Weve spent the majority of our practice time on defense. We know how important it is, and were just going to be vigilant about it. Its not something that you can take days off from. You cant take days off from the mental edge aspect of it, and we know that." The Mavericks held the Grizzlies to just a shade under 40 percent shooting from the field on Wednesday. Dallas lost the rebounding battle by one, but shot almost 55 percent. Dirk Nowitzki paced five Dallas players in double figures with 20. Monta Ellis finished with 18, followed by 14 from Carter, 12 from another former Raptor in Jose Calderon and 10 out of yet another former Rap in Shawn Marion. The Mavs play five of their next six on the road. ' ' '