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Just 23, Tyler Ardron has big shoes to fill as Canadian rugby captain. Hans de Goede, Gareth Rees and Al Charron are just some of the rugby icons to lead Canada to battle. Other Canadian skippers of note include Mark Wyatt, Spence McTavish, John Graf and Mike James. More recently, Morgan Williams, Pat Riordan and Aaron Carpenter have captained Canada. Ardron, who has got congratulatory emails offering advice and support from many of those captains, really is the new kid on the block. "I know it is a great honour and its great to be able to follow up in those guys footsteps," said Ardron, who turned 23 on Monday. It speaks volumes that after being named captain, Ardrons thoughts were not about himself but of those who helped him along his rugby road. "Theres so many things that if they hadnt happened right, I wouldnt be here now," said the willowy back-row forward from Lakefield, Ont. With Carpenter transitioning to a new position -- from No. 8 to hooker -- Canadian coach Kieran Crowley opted for a new leader ahead of the June internationals. His choice was Ardron, who is coming off his first pro season in Wales with Ospreys. While young, with just 15 caps going into Saturdays Pacific Nations Cup match against the U.S. Eagles in Sacramento, Ardron is no stranger to leadership. He captained the McMaster University team, as well as Canada at the IRB Junior World Trophy. Ardron, who made his national team debut in June 2012, also led Canada twice in 2013 before Crowley made it permanent this year. "Hes a good player, he knows the game," said Crowley. "His year at Ospreys has really helped him. Hes even being brought into the leadership group in the Ospreys camp. So that just shows you what their opinion of him is. "I see him as a leader who could be a leader for Canada for a long time to come. Hes grounded, he has good character. Hes still obviously learning the whole leadership role of it but Ive been very impressed with him." The six-foot-four 242-pounder showed his commitment to the team last November in Tbilisi when Georgian flanker Vito Kolelishvili clotheslined Canadian fly half Liam Underwood. Ardron, who was captain on the day, confronted the Georgian and a brawl began, with several Canadians engulfed in packs of Georgia players. Almost every player on the field got involved, with several mini-clashes breaking out as Canadian trainers tended to the prone Underwood. Kolelishvili and Ardron were both red-carded when peace was restored. The Canadian forward escaped further sanctions because he did not throw a punch. Rees, currently manager of the national mens program, says Ardrons rugby story is one of a "meteoric rise." "For me one of the most important things with a captain is his name is one of the first on the team sheet, from the selection point, and it is in his case," said Rees, a member of the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame. "By no means a finished product in terms of captaincy but a really good head on his shoulders. Hes very open to using and engaging the other senior players which is something that I learned over my course (as captain) is really important." "A guy who cares about the jersey," said Charron, who like Rees played in four Rugby World Cups. Charron, no stranger to leading by example, likes what he sees on the field with Ardron. "Ive been impressed with his play," added Charron, Rugby Canadas manager of player advancement and alumni relations. Ardron grew up playing hockey, adding rugby in Grade 9. A centre in hockey, he played at the triple-A level and had dreams of playing in the OHL before focusing on university and rugby. He moved to Victoria during his third year at McMaster to take his rugby to the next level. He had already won sevens gold at the 2011 Pan American Games, a squad whose members continues to excel for Rugby Canada. This was the first season he hasnt played a sevens, due to his pro commitments with his Welsh club team. Ardron, who rooms with fellow Canadian Jeff Hassler in Wales, played 22 games for Ospreys in his debut season. "It went really well," he said. "Jeff made the dream (all-star) team of the league and played a ton. As a forward we had a lot more rotation but I still played well over 20 games and had a ton of game time." Nicknames are key on a team that includes five Jones, two Smiths and two named Thomas. There is more to life than rugby, however. Ardron continues his university studies in finance and economics online. An avid reader, he can see a future in real estate. With his growing club and international demands, it makes for a busy schedule but Ardron has no regrets. "Any time you take a step back and think if I had just done the normal thing and finished my degree, Id be sitting behind a desk probably now and wishing I was doing this. So Ive got plenty of time to do that when Im done. I think I just need to always keep that in mind and take a step back and look at it that way." Canada is ranked 16th in the world by the IRB while the U.S. is No. 18. Both teams are coming off earlier losses to Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 Free Shipping . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj. Air Jordan 1 Outlet Store . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug. http://www.airjordan1clearance.com/ . - Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Wholesale Air Jordan 1 . - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. Cheap Air Jordan 1 Authentic . Bale has had a successful debut season in Spain, and Ancelotti appears ready to reward him with a starting role on Saturday. Ancelotti says "Gareth had some problems at the beginning (of the season) but when he found good physical condition he scored a lot of goals, he had a good impact on the team. OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Portland Trail Blazers braced themselves for a late onslaught from Kevin Durant. They still failed to stop him. The 6-foot-9 forward scored 11 of his 46 points in the final 3:23 to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Trail Blazers 105-97 on Tuesday night. "When the basket is an ocean, you cant really do much about it," Portland guard Wesley Matthews said. "Hes been on a roll." Durant has scored at least 30 points for eight consecutive games, the longest such streak of his career. He made 17 of 25 field goals, including 6 of 7 3-pointers. "He did what hes been doing the last two weeks," Portland guard Damian Lillard said. "You look up, hes hitting 50 and 45 and 50 again and 40 and up. We knew coming in that hes been shooting the ball well." Reggie Jackson added 15 points for Oklahoma City (32-10), which took a one-game lead over Portland in the Northwest Division. Oklahoma City improved to 9-5 since point guard Russell Westbrook was taken out of the lineup after having surgery on his right knee. LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points and 16 rebounds, but he went 1-for-8 from the field in the fourth quarter. Durant said Aldridges late struggles might have been a combination good defence by Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka and the Trail Blazers being worn out from their loss to Houston the night before. "Perk and Serge did a great job early on contesting LaMarcus jump shot, but hes a great player and he was knocking them down," Durant said. "In the fourth quarter, of course, after playing last night, hes a little tired. We forced him all the way out close to the 3-point line and made him shoot some tough ones and we were able to rebound and hit shots on the other end." Matthews added 21 points for Portland (31-11), which lost its last two games of a four-game road trip. "Pissed," Matthews said. "Were not happy. Last year we were happy coming off a road trip at .500. Were not that team any more. We didnt come out with the right energy and the right mentality against Houston and they were ready for us. We came out with the right mentality early in this game and KD had a hell of a fourth quarter, so its bitter." Oklahoma City held Lillard to 14 points, well below his average of 21.4 points per game. Portland led 93-90 when Durant was called for an offensive foul. Durant was unhappy after the call, and after Perkins was called for a foul, Durant, still frustrated, hit the scorers table and was issued a technical foul. Portland made two of the three free throws to go up by five. A fired-up Durant responded with a layyup, then a 3-pointer to tie the score with 2:52 remaining.dddddddddddd "It was really a stupid, stupid reaction by me," Durant said. "I could have hurt my team really badly. I was just more frustrated with myself, turning the ball over. I cant hurt my team like that. This time, it went in our direction. Next time, Ive got to be smarter." Durant seemed to reach another gear after the technical, though. He hit a 3 with 48 seconds left to give the Thunder a 102-95 lead, then another with 26.8 seconds remaining to ice the game. Portland led 48-40 late in the second quarter before Durant sparked a rally with a 3-pointer. The Thunder took the lead with 8.3 seconds left in the first half on a jumper by Thabo Sefolosha, but Lillard responded with a layup with 0.2 seconds left to give the Trail Blazers a 52-51 lead at the break. Portland shot 57 per cent in the first half. Durant scored 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting in the first half, but his teammates shot 13 for 38. Durants jumper early in the second half finally gave the Thunder the lead, but the Trail Blazers handled the surge. A 3-pointer by Nicolas Batum and a bucket from Aldridge gave Portland a 67-62 lead and caused Oklahoma City to call a timeout. The Trail Blazers extended their lead to 75-66, but again, the Thunder closed out a quarter strong. Oklahoma City held Portland scoreless for the last 2:35 of the period. Durant hit a 3-pointer to close the quarter and give the Thunder a 77-75 lead. Portland made just one field goal in the final 3:45. "Total team effort," Durant said. "We didnt get discouraged after they hit tough shots and we missed shots, and we got a good win." The Thunder play at San Antonio on Wednesday night with the top record in the Western Conference on the line. "We know how tough it is to win there," Durant said. "We know how tough that team is. Youve just got to come prepared and with a lot of energy. I think our group is ready to come out there and play our game, and well see what happens." NOTES: Thunder coach Scott Brooks said he plans to vote for Lillard as an All-Star. ... Batum had been playing with a broken left middle finger. He aggravated the injury to his non-shooting hand on Monday night against Houston, but played through it. ... Portland scored the first seven points of the game. ... Durant scored 15 in the first quarter. ... Portland shot 59 per cent in the first quarter to take a 27-21 lead. ... Aldridge became the first NBA player with at least 11 field goals and 12 rebounds in five straight games Antonio McDyess did it from Jan. 3-10, 2001. 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