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TORONTO -- The leadership core of this cool-as-they-come machine called Team Canada was born out of the most pressurized environment one could ever imagine for the sport of hockey.The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, was a must-win hockey tournament for the sports birth nation following Canadas tremendously disappointing flameout at the Torino Winter Games in Italy four years earlier.A silver medal in 2010 would have been deemed a disaster. It was akin to Brazil hosting soccers World Cup. It is beyond belief how much pressure there was in Vancouver.To have been able to come through with a gold medal in that environment six years ago spawned a whole new era for Team Canadas core stars -- led by Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Shea Weber, Drew Doughty and Ryan Getzlaf -- and produced the kind of belief and quiet confidence that has set this team apart on its way to the World Cup of Hockey finals.The best-of-three championship series against Team Europe begins Tuesday.Add in the same head coach since Vancouver in Mike Babcock and youve got the kind of continuity over three best-on-best tournaments that has led to a certain know-how you cant buy.Obviously, its important, Babcock said over the weekend. When we had the graybeards that year in 2010 with Nieds and Prongs and Iggy, I mean, they provided great stabilization for us in the room. And Boiler was on that team, and there was some good, good, good men who had been around a long time to help these kids. These kids now arent kids any more. ... I trust them, and I think they trust me.Babcock was referring to the veteran presence of Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Jarome Iginla and Dan Boyle, which in that frying pan of a tournament in 2010 helped ease the transition to Team Canadas current generation of leaders.It was a pretty jam-packed and pressure-packed moment, and you look at how all those guys performed, it was pretty remarkable, Pronger said Monday over the phone.Dont kid yourself though. The presence of Hall of Famers such as Pronger and Niedermayer helped those young stars handle the moment at hand in Vancouver.I especially remember Nieds, because I was so fortunate to play with him and sat beside him in the locker room, Weber said Monday after practice. He was just a calming influence. He was never a guy that was really that vocal. He said things, but he wasnt always chirping -- just that guy where there was never a doubt in his mind -- and I think that really calms a room. You can learn a lot from those guys in those situations.Reached Monday, Niedermayer, ever humble, downplayed his role.The way Toews and Crosby play, I mean, its impressive, he said. Obviously, extremely talented players, but neither feel theyre too good to do the little dirty jobs that need to be done. Throughout my career, that really impresses me when you see a guy like that thats willing to do that for his team.Those two guys were born leaders. If we happened to pass on a few things that we learned from other guys, great, but I think those two guys were going to figure it out on their own.Babcock is quick to remind people that Weber is just as important in that Crosby-Toews leadership group.Hes as good a human being as Ive ever been around, Babcock said of Weber. He doesnt have to say much. He just has to look at you, and you snap into shape. He cuts a big swath out there. ... What I like about him best is when he walks in the dressing room, you know its business. And so hes a culture-type person. He makes your franchise better when he walks in the door.The fact is, Team Canada has leaders all over the dressing room. Most of them wear a letter on their respective NHL teams, which is why nobody has to stand up and deliver a speech.Theres not one voice thats the most present in the room, I dont think, Doughty said. Everyones kind of got the things they want to say either to the team or just to your linemates or D partners. Everyone is chipping in on that, and we look for that from everyone.Its why when Canada somehow was in a tie game after 40 minutes in Saturdays semifinal despite massively outplaying Russia that you could hear a pin drop in the Canadian dressing room. Been there, done that; the back-to-back Olympic champs just stuck to the game plan and hammered the Russians in the third period.Leadership also is accepting your role. There are star players on Team Canada playing fewer minutes than theyre used to. Nobody is complaining.Its impressive, Niedermayer said. I think this run that this groups been on is amazing and should really be appreciated, obviously by them but also by Canadians and fans. ... I dont see anybody there thats worried about themselves.Theyre there for one reason, to help the team, and I think it really shows. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. China NFL Jerseys . Dallas hasnt ruled out the star quarterback for Sunday nights game against Philadelphia, but all signs point to Romos back injury pushing Kyle Orton into the starting role after two years of limited play as the backup. 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JOSEPH, Mo. -- Over the next few weeks, after long days of training camp on the practice fields of Missouri Western State University, Cairo Santos will return to his dorm room and hunker down in front of a TV.He will flip the channel to the Rio Olympics and get lost in the pageantry.You see, the only Brazilian playing in the NFL is as eager as anybody to see what kind of show his country puts on this August. The kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs knows better than most the many hurdles that have been overcome and the opportunity that Brazil has on the world stage.Unfortunately, Brazil has had that image of corruption for such a long time, Santos said in an interview with The Associated Press. But we are a country that has a lot of potential to be a great country, and were a country thats fighting to be on the right track.The run-up to the Rio Olympics has been dominated by negative news: organized doping by Russian athletes, fears over the Zika virus, polluted water, the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, venue and housing issues, a noticeable uptick in crime across the seaside city.Many of these issues, Santos said, have been part of Brazilian life long before Rio was awarded the first Olympics in South America. Its just that now the worlds attention is on the city, a glossy facade portrayed by tour operators has been pulled back to reveal a less savory underbelly.Unemployment is a problem. So is homelessness, organized crime and other social issues.Security is the main concern, said Santos, who spent time this past offseason in Rio and Sao Paulo, where his family lives and some of the Olympic soccer matches will take place.I wouldnt suggest being by yourself, at night especially, he said. The Olympic villages, near Copacabana and stuff, theres Olympic sites everywhere. Thats where the action is. Just being around there is the best place, where the police will be -- where the crowd will be.Like most Brazilians, Santos grew up playing soccer. He didnt start playing football until he moved to Florida as a foreign exchange student and his high school needed a kicker, and then he played the Maddeen video game so he could learn the rules.ddddddddddddHe was so good at kicking oblong balls through uprights that he earned a scholarship to Tulane.After winning the Lou Groza Award as the nations best college kicker, Santos was signed by Kansas City. The 24-year-old went to training camp in 2014 and competed against Ryan Succop, the most accurate kicker in Chiefs history, before eventually winning the starting job.In his first two seasons, he has made 55 of 67 field-goal attempts and missed just two extra points.Santoss success has quickly endeared him to Kansas City fans, but it also has made him a hero in Brazil. Very few people follow the NFL, but those who manage to catch games on satellite TV generally root for the Chiefs because of their kicker.Santos was mobbed everywhere he went during his trip home this offseason: his elementary school in Brasilia, the local TV stations where he was interviewed, his first Cairo Camp in Sao Paulo.He even hobnobbed with Brazilian mixed martial arts star Jose Aldo.Most of his trips took him to the glitzy areas of Brazil, but Santos knows well what the living conditions are like in the many slums -- called favelas -- that dot the countryside.He wonders how much of the Olympics will touch the people struggling to make ends meet.Those images probably wont show up when he flips on the TV at night at training camp. Instead, he will see the best of Rio -- Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain, the panoramic vistas.Asked what he is most interested in, Santos gave a predictable answer: Im always curious about the soccer team. Theyve never gotten gold. Hopefully redeem ourselves from the World Cup fiasco (where Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany in the semifinals, then lost the third-place match to the Netherlands).But Im also excited to see how theyll deal with having the entire worlds attention on us, Santos said, and how were going to organize such a beautiful event like that. Its a good opportunity for our country to grow and change our image. ' ' '