Pearce's tough fight, more notes

The snowboarding community and the sports world at large have rallied around Kevin Pearce, the 22-year-old Olympic hopeful from Norwich, Vt. who suffered a brain injury during a practice run on the halfpipe last week in Utah and remains in critical condition. As of Tuesday morning, more than 14,000 people signed on to the Facebook group Well Wishes to Our Friend Kevin Pearce. The site has received notes of support from fans and fellow snowboarders, but also from many survivors of traumatic brain injuries who have described the productive lives they now lead.

A recent posting from his brother, Adam, reads as follows: "Kev continues to maintain his condition with some positive signs. He is extremely determined and can definitely feel all of your love and support. Still can't thank all of you enough."

Pearce was practicing a Double Cork maneuver, two backflips with a twist, when his ski caught an edge and flipped him onto his forehead on Dec. 31.

In a sport renowned for staunch independence and, often, irreverence, Pearce has been a sportsman. He had a halfpipe built for his personal use in Mammoth, Calif. and has invited many of his teammates -- in effect his top challengers -- to train with him. The group was tabbed The Frends, with a missing letter "i" to suggest, in effect, that there was no self-interest among the group.

He worked hard to overcome dyslexia and he often speaks of looking to inspiration from his brother David, who was born with Down's Syndrome.

Though the hospital in Salt Lake City will not accept cards, gifts or packages, his family said he would welcome cards that are sent to:

Mosaic Sports Management c/o Kevin Pearce
829 Second St. (Suite B)
Encinitas, CA. 92024

General manager Brian Burke and head coach Ron Wilson have brought a new look to the 2010 men's Olympic hockey team. The squad averages 26.5 years of age and only three of the team's 23 members have previous Olympic experience: Jamie Langenbrunner, Chris Drury and Brian Rafalski. Gone are known commodities such as Mike Modano, Keith Tkachuk and Scott Gomez. (As a side note, the player with the most experience as a member of Team USA at all tournaments, (i.e. world championships, under-18 championships, world juniors) is defenseman Ryan Suter, with 56. Ryan is following in the skate steps of his father, Bob Suter, a gold medalist on the 1980 Miracle on Ice team.) Still, the squad is heavy with NHL experience as 16 teams are represented on the roster.

On paper, the team's greatest strength is in goal, where Buffalo's Ryan Miller is as good as anyone in the game when he's on, and Boston's Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy last season. (Kings netminder Jonathan Quick is the No. 3 goalie, who will likely not play in medal-round games, if at all.) That's good news in a tournament that becomes a single elimination run of three games once a team reaches the quarterfinals. For that reason, a hot goaltender can steal a gold medal, as Dominik Hasek did for the Czech Republic at the 1998 Nagano Games.

The U.S. women's hockey dropped two more games to Canada, the squad it is likely to meet in the Olympic final in Vancouver. The Canadian women have now bested their Southern neighbor in seven of 10 contests this season. Last Wednesday in St. Paul, the U.S. team dropped a 2-1 decision to the Canadians, despite holding a 41-27 edge in shots on goal, including 32-13 over the final two periods. Charline Labonte made 38 saves, further asserting herself in the competition for playing time with Kim St. Pierre and Shannon Szabados between the pipes for Canada. Karen Thatcher scored the lone goal for the U.S. team.