Mark McMorris fractured rib is steadily improving, so much so that the gold-medal favourite in Sochi plans to snowboard in a few days to "see how it goes.Stefano Sturaro Juventus Maglia ." McMorris responded in an email to The Associated Press on Friday that he feels "pretty good" nearly a week after his crash during the Winter X Games slopestyle final. He has a few more days to heal with slopestyle qualifying at the Sochi Games not beginning until Feb. 6. Last weekend, the 20-year-old from Regina caught his snowboard on the lip of a rail and landed hard on the bar, then slid down on his right side before hitting the snow. "I was in a lot of pain and I couldnt breathe," he said in the email. "I just had to get up. I couldnt lay there. I was so disappointed." He made it down the hill that afternoon under his own power and headed to the hospital, where X-rays revealed he had a fractured rib but no other damage. And now McMorris refuses to let the fall derail his Olympic aspirations. "I am really blessed and lucky I get a second chance to try and give it a shot," he said. Asked if his rib might hamper him during competition, McMorris responded: "I cant predict it until I get out there and try." McMorris arrived in Europe early so he could get accustomed to the time difference. He said hes pretty much been "in a stationary place trying to get better. Feeling Ok but my rib is still broken so its not 100 per cent. ... Every day (the rib) gets better and I still have 4 or 5 days before I compete." Sore rib and all, McMorris will still be one of the favourites as slopestyle makes its Olympic debut. He could be the biggest challenger to Shaun White, who will also try to defend his title in the halfpipe. Pressure being the front-runner? "For sure," McMorris said in an interview at Winter X, a few days before his crash. "Whenever youre at the top of the sport, people look to you to keep going. Ive proven time and time again, that I can get the result. "Now, when were talking on an even bigger level, the Olympics, its really put on my shoulders. But everybody feels pressure. You can either take it in a positive or negative way. I try to feed off of it." McMorris doesnt view White so much with a sense of awe, but rather as simply another competitor in a talent-rich field that includes fellow Canadian rider Max Parrot, who won at Winter X with back-to-back triple-cork jumps. In fact, its White whos been doing most of the chasing in this event, because McMorris has been the snowboarder with the innovative tricks. "(White) is another guy youve got to beat," McMorris said in the interview before his crash. "I go to a contest to ride the best I can. Its in the judges hands after that. Thats what everybody does. I dont think its a sport where youre trying to take down any certain person. Youre trying to win a contest and do the best you can do." Simone Zaza Maglia .com) - Kevin Durant had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Orlando Magic 127-99 on Sunday. Giorgio Chiellini Juventus Maglia . Machado tore his medial patellofemoral ligament on Sept. 23. He decided to have surgery after consulting with several doctors.OTTAWA -- Craig Anderson credited a couple bounces among his 40 saves in the Ottawa Senators latest win. His play was the bright spot in a drab 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. "When called upon youve got to be there for them," said Anderson, who earned his ninth win of the season. "(Thursday) was one of those nights where everything kind of went my way. I got the bounces. We did the little things that pay off and end up winning you the game as opposed to looking good on the scoresheet." Like the Senators, Anderson has had his share of struggles this season, but has looked better as of late. "Our goaltender obviously made a conscious decision that he was going to be competitive and gave us a chance to win," said Senators coach Paul MacLean. MacLean has been looking for a more consistent effort from his team and with points in their last four games the Senators are finally showing signs of it. "Weve had a good week, but we cant be satisfied with that," said Anderson. "This week means nothing if we dont continue with the progress for the next game." Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith scored for the Senators (13-14-6), who will look to extend their point streak Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings. Tyler Ennis scored the lone goal for the Sabres (7-23-2). Ryan Miller faced 32 shots. This was the second of back-to-back games between the two teams with the Sabres winning Tuesday 2-1 in a shootout. Anderson was solid in the third with the Senators holding a 2-1 lead. He made a big save on Mark Pysyk early in the period and another on Drew Stafford late in the period to preserve the lead. He was called upon yet again in the final two minutes as Milan Michalek took a holding penalty. "I think Anderson played well," said Ennis. "Scoring goals is hard." These two teams have a history of playing a less than exciting style of hockey against one another, which could be the reason for the second smallest crowd of the season with just 15,578 on hand. Smith realized that Thursdays game may not have been the most exciting from a fans standpoint, but hoped that the win more than makes up for it. "Weve struggled to put wins together so when you get four games andd points in all of them its pretty huge," said Smith. Daniele Rugani Juventus Maglia. "Its good to get going and get the confidence up." The second period was a struggle for both teams. Ottawa continued to have trouble in their own end, but were fortunate as the Buffalo offence had its own problems. Anderson was also able to make up for any glaring mistakes. Smiths second-period goal at the six-minute mark held up as the winner. Kyle Turris made a nice pass and Smith was the benefactor as the puck bounced off a skate to his stick and he swept it past Miller. Ottawa nearly gave up the first goal -- yet again -- but caught a break when John Scott was called for goaltender interference early in the game. The Senators managed to make the most of the opportunity and scored first as Ryan picked up his 15th of the season midway through the period. Turris made a cross-ice pass to Ryan, who was left all alone in front. Sabres head coach Ted Nolan admitted both goals were just a matter of players breaking down for a couple of seconds. "If you dont turn for one split second its in the net, and thats what happened." The Sabres made it 1-1 on a power-play wraparound goal by Ennis late in the first. "They gave me a lot of time to walk it and take it in front," said Ennis. "I just tried to throw it in and I got a good bounce." It was a special night for Ottawa native Cody Ceci, who was an emergency recall, and made his NHL debut Thursday. Ceci ended up plus-2, played 20:40 and was on the ice in the final minutes as the Senators killed a penalty. "It was definitely a special experience," said Ceci. "Its always nice when the coach shows confidence in you and puts you out in the last minute. For him to pick me was pretty special so I tried to make the most of it and do my best not to let them score." Notes: D Joe Corvo played in his 700th NHL game and D Jared Cowen sat out the first of his two-game suspension. The Senators also recalled C Jean-Gabriel Pageau. D Marc Methot was out with the flu and LW Matt Kassian was a healthy scratch for the Senators. a The Sabres were without top-scoring C Cody Hodgson, who has an undisclosed injury. D Brayden McNabb was a healthy scratch. 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