Now that another Olympic Games is over, many across Canada know the stories of our athletes and the various roads they took to

Now that another Olympic Games is over, many across Canada know the stories of our athletes and the various roads they took to get to their ultimate goal. Fake Basketball Jerseys . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Well, meet Derek Amell, 17-year NHL linesman and now an Olympian. When I turned on the mens hockey gold medal game between Canada and Sweden, I was happy to see that an old acquaintance would be working the lines for the biggest game on the worlds biggest stage. You see, over 25 years ago, Derek and I worked together at a drug store chain in Whitby, Ontario. I was a university student taking a year off school and he was a high school student looking to improve on his first job working the night shift at Burger King for $2.85/hr. There were two things I remembered about Derek back then: he was a lot bigger than me, and he had a very calm personality. Looking back, those are two good attributes for an NHL linesman. For Derek, the dream took off at the age of 24 when he worked his first Ontario Hockey League game. Three years later, he started working American Hockey League games and this is where our paths would cross again. I was an off-ice official with the Hamilton Canucks and Hamilton Bulldogs in the 1990s and we would touch base now and again at Copps Coliseum. I could see then that he was on his way to the NHL. "I felt the NHL was an attainable goal after working the AHLs Calder Cup Final in my first year," said Amell. He wouldnt have to wait long for the big moment. The following year, he found out he would be working NHL games in the upcoming season. In his first NHL season, the league made the decision to return to the Olympics in Nagano, meaning there was now another rung on the ladder of success for NHL players and officials. There would be some career highlights along the way, such as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2009 and 2012 Stanley Cup Finals as well as the 2012 NHL All-Star Game. Could the Olympics be next? And then he got the news. Unlike the athletes who are introduced at news conferences, Amell was contacted through e-mail by Stephen Walkom, the NHLs director of officiating. The message was sent on December 1, naming the 13 NHL officials who were chosen to work in Sochi. Of course, when athletes go to the Olympics, they stay in the Athletes Village and invite family and friends to share in the experience. Is it the same for the officials? "The officials stayed together in a hotel right inside the Olympic area. It was great to be together with all the amateur officials," said Amell, who is a married father of two children but did not have any family join him in Sochi. To work the gold medal game, he had to prove himself again. "The gold medal officials were chosen by a panel of supervisors from various countries and it was based on performance during the tournament. We were told by e-mail after the semifinal games," said Amell. When the officials for the gold medal game were announced, former NHL player and Swedish international Peter Forsberg was incensed that Canadians would be working the game but some current Swedish players defended the decision, saying their nationality wouldnt affect their decision-making. "We knew there would be extreme scrutiny on the officiating when it was announced that the officials were Canadian," said Amell. "We knew the players would be comfortable with us since we are all in the NHL. It was more an issue with the media than with the players. "At the end of the game, the entire Swedish team came over and shook our hands and told us we did a great job. That was very satisfying for us." So which was more nerve-racking: the first NHL game or the gold medal game? "Working the gold medal game was the most nerve-racking game I have ever officiated," he admitted. Its been a long road from collecting shopping carts in Whitby to officiating at the gold medal game in Sochi. And while Amells appearance at the Olympics may not have been as celebrated as many of the athletes, or even noticed by most viewers, the accomplishment is no less significant. And just like the athletes, family plays an integral role in the success of officials, offering support and enduring hardships over the years. "Since we only work 6-8 games a year at home, the family sacrifices are large," said Amell. "I miss most of my childrens sports activities and birthdays. They understand the life of an NHL official, but it still can be very difficult on my wife and children," said Amell. As for the hundreds of people who show up at the airport for our returning athletes, how does the return of an official compare? "No one met me at the airport," Amell laughed. "It was like coming home from any other road trip!" The Olympics is a place where dreams can come true. Most people dream of winning a gold medal but dont tell Derek Amell that his accomplishment is anything less. He just achieved his Olympic goal with a lot less fanfare. And, like a linesman who goes unnoticed when he does a good job, thats the way he likes it. Fake Nike Jerseys . - The Oakland Athletics have finalized an agreement on a 10-year extension to play at the Coliseum through the 2024 season. Fake Baseball Jerseys . Louis Blues are reportedly taking restricted free agent forward Vladimir Sobotka to arbitration. http://www.fakejersey.com/fake-soccer-jerseys/ . -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are tightening the race for second place in the Atlantic Division.MELBOURNE, Australia -- Montreals Eugenie Bouchard needed seven match points to secure a tough win over Virginie Razzano of France, 6-2, 7-6 (10) on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Australian Open. Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver, seeded 28th, played through severe back pain to claim a 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (9), 6-1 victory over Australian Matthew Ebden. You can watch Day 3 coverage today at 1pm et/ 10am pt. Watch Day 4 action live at 7pm et/4pm pt on TSN.ca and on TSN at 10pm et/7pm pt. The Canadian needed treatment three times in the second set and at times looked finished, but the 23-year-old fought on and managed to earn the improbable victory. The back pain has bothered him since the start of the year, forcing him to quit a semifinal in India and pull out of a tournament in Sydney. "Its been lingering, I had to hang tough. Im super-thrilled to get through," said Pospisil, who depended on painkillers to get him to the finish after being told by a physiotherapist that he could go on if he wished. "Midway through the third I was not feeling very good, I took some tablets and 30 minutes later I didnt feel so much." The Canadian next plays eighth seed Stanislas Wawrinka after the Swiss beat Alejandro Falla 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4. It will be Pospisils first career appearance in the third round of a Grand Slam. Bouchard will play in the third round of a Grand Slam for just the second time after reaching that plateau at Wimbledon last summer. Shes the first Canadian woman to reach the third round at Melbourne since Sonya Jeyaseelan in 2000. The 30th-seeded Bouchard faced a stiff battle against Razzano, whos ranked No. 100 in the world. The Canadian won the first set in 35 minutes but took nearly 90 minutes to win the second. "It was kind of crazy," Bouchard said of the second set. "It became just mental and I just had to fight. Im happy I pulled through in the end. We had some crazy points."t; "She played some really good points, too, on my match points," Bouchard continued. Fake Jerseys Website. "It was a battle back and forth. I felt overall I didnt play as well as I know I can. But even if its a bit ugly, still fight and try." Bouchard, 19, is making her main draw debut in Australia after failing to qualify in 2013. She had an early break in the opening set against the Frenchwoman and pulled ahead 5-1. But she lost a break in the seventh game before eventually taking the set on a Razzano double-fault. In the second set, the French player fought off match points and took the set to a tiebreaker. Bouchard finally closed it out with a cross-court winner. Bouchard, who was named The Canadian Press female athlete of the year last month, won with four aces, 25 winners and the same number of unforced errors. "I came into this Slam seeded now for the first time," Bouchard said. "So, of course, my first few rounds Im expected to win. I always expect myself to do well. "I just try to ignore the outside expectations and pressure and really just focus on what I need to do. At the end of the day, I really need to perform. I cant really worry about what people say on the outside." Bouchard had a handful of Aussie fans in matching singlets spelling out "Eugenie" cheering her on. She threw them her towel after the match and had a koala bear doll tossed back as a memento of the evening. She next plays Lauren Davis of the U.S., who beat Germanys Julia Goerges 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. In mens doubles, Torontos Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia opened with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Germans Benjamin Becker and Daniel Brands. The eighth-seeded duo needed just 65 minutes to win with eight aces. In womens doubles, Sharon Fichman of Toronto and Monica Puig of Puerto Rico dropped a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 decision in their opening match to Spaniards Garbine Muguruza and Arantxa Parra Santonja. ' ' '