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There was nothing second-rate about their performance, but second place is where Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir find themselves following their short program in the ice dance event on Sunday. Following a pattern that has become all too familiar for the defending Olympic champions, the American team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White bested Virtue and Moir by a margin of 2.56 points at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi to take top spot. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov fed off the pro-Russian crowd and tallied a 73.04, putting them in bronze-medal position heading into Mondays free dance (10:00 a.m. ET, streaming live at cbc.ca/olympics). Virtue and Moir, skating to Ella Fitzgeralds Dream a Little Dream of Me, put their slip-up in the team event far in the rear view mirror with a seemingly flawless performance, carving perfect turns, nailing their rotational lifts and staying in sync during their twizzle sequences. As the music ended and they struck their final pose, Moir let out a triumphant "Yes!", knowing that the skate represented one of their best performances of the season. Their joy was short-lived though, as their score of 76.33 came in below their season best score of 77.59 at the Grand Prix Finals in December, leaving the door wide open for the reigning world champions Davis and White, who set a new short dance world record with a score of 78.89. Canadas other medal hopefuls, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, skated a strong routine that earned them a 65.93, good for seventh place. The third Canadian entry, featuring Toronto-born Alexandra Paul and Barries Mitchell Islam, skated a light, airy and up-tempo routine, marred only by a small bobble on the opening twizzle by Paul. The 2010 world junior silver medallists finished with a score of 55.91, putting them in 18th place. Virtue and Moir have some work to do to catch the leaders, but they were still happy with how the day unfolded. "It was a really fun performance," the 24-year-old Virtue told CBC Sports. "Obviously, you are here to defend your title. You also want to have fun. You still love what you do." Moir, 26, said that it was this type of performance that has kept them going for the last four years. "Its definitely the reason we keep going. To be on this stage representing Canada, its a huge thing for Tessa and I to be part of a fantastic Olympic Canadian team." Moir added that they still get plenty of enjoyment out of competitions like these. "We love what we do. We love skating together. We have a lot of special moments, and that was one of them." Sundays short dance marked the third head-to-head battle between the Canadians and Americans at these Olympics. Davis and White beat Virtue and Moir by three points in the short dance portion of the team event early in the Games, and repeated the feat in the free dance portion with a seven-point victory. The two rivals bring contrasting styles to the sport. Virtue and Moir boast an elegant and flowing style, and a sense of unison that no other team can match, thanks to nearly 17 years as an on-ice tandem. Davis and White, on the other hand, typically display a faster and bolder technique than the Canadian duo, albeit one with arguably less precision. Virtue and Moir have laid claim to an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver, two world titles and six Canadian championships during their careers, but theyve consistently come up short against the American pair over the past two seasons, including at the 2013 world championship in Virtues hometown of London, Ont. What makes the rivalry even more peculiar, if not slightly peculiar, is the fact they share not only the same training facility in Canton, Mich., but also the same coach and choreographer, Russian-born Marina Zoueva. Zoueva has coached Davis and White for the past 14 years, and has been working with Virtue and Moir for 10 years. While they arent close friends with the Americans off the ice, Virtue and Moir have often said that they have a good relationship with them and that both sides enjoy the friendly rivalry. Another storyline that has surrounded the athletes since the team event, an alleged judging scandal, has fortunately faded into the background. During the opening weekend, the French sports publication LEquipe had reported that the American and Russian judges were conspiring against Canada in order to assure a gold medal for Russia in the team competition and gold for the U.S., in ice dancing. Despite being at the centre of the controversy, Virtue and Moir insist that the rumours havent affected their focus on or off the ice. Wholesale Jerseys . Selected by the Titans in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson rejoined the club last season after a five-year stint with Indianapolis. Cheap NHL Jerseys China . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. http://www.jerseysnhlfromchina.us/. -- Arizona coach Sean Miller rose from his seat every time Roberto Nelson touched the ball and yelled "Shooter!" He could have been talking about his own team, too. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Authentic . -- The Orlando Magic have made no secret that the future of their franchise will depend on how well they can develop their young players. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish.HAMILTON - The Toronto Marlies scored three goals in the second period en route to a 4-1 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League on Friday. Spencer Abbott had a goal and two assists, and Kory Nagy, T.J. Brennan and Brad Ross also scored for the Marlies (13-9-1). Drew MacIntyre made 28 saves. Louis Leblanc had the lone goal for the Bulldogs (12-11-3), while Robert Mayer stopped 20 shots in a losing effort. The Marlies enjoyed offensive pressure from the opening whistle Friday, but the Bulldogs were able to effectively limit their scoring chances early in the first period. That luck ran out at 11:08 of the period, when Andrew MacWilliams point shot bounced off the end boards and straight to Abbott to the right of Mayers net. Abbott easily slotted the puck into the empty net with the goaltender well out of position. Hamilton pushed back immediately, and nearly found an equalizing goal when winger Patrick Holland drove the net and one-timed a centring pass toward MacIntyre. The goaltender was up to the challenge, and dropped low to kick aside the slap shot. The Bulldogs began the second period with pace, and saw two quality scoring chances pass them by when Holland and Nick Tarnasky were both denied by MacIntyre from close range. After weathering the early pressure, the Marlies struck to double their lead at 7:24 of the second period. David Broll collected the puck in the left corner, and centred for the strreaking Nagy, who tipped the puck through the legs of Mayer.dddddddddddd The lead swelled to 3-0 with Toronto on the power play, after Hamiltons Gabriel Dumont was whistled for kneeing. Stuart Percy shifted the puck across the blue-line to Brennan, whose low wrist shot moved through a screen and the pads of Mayer at 9:03 of the second period. Momentum was clearly with the Marlies, who continued to threaten in the offensive end against a disheartened Bulldogs team. That pressure paved the way for a fourth goal, as Tyler Biggs carried along the left wing unguarded, and threaded a cross-ice pass to Ross at the far post. With Mayer sprawling to his left, Ross waited and lifted a wrist shot over the goaltenders outstretched glove at 10:35 of the second period. Friday marked the Bulldogs annual Toy Toss game, and Louis Leblanc gave the fans in attendance reason to throw their plush toys when he scored to break Drew MacIntyres shutout bid at 11:01 of the second period. The puck took a radical bounce off the foot of Martin St. Pierre behind the net, and rolled to Leblanc in front, who turned and fired a low wrist shot through the legs of MacIntyre. Leblanc had the Bulldogs best chance for a goal in the third period, stickhandling into the high slot on the power play and sna