MINSK, Belarus -- Joel Ward knows who he is and who he isnt. Ross Dwelley Jersey . "Im not going to go out there and be Ovi," he said. "I know what Im doing. Its not complex." Its not complex: Ward is just Team Canadas leading scorer through three games at the world hockey championship. With three goals hes actually tied for the tournament lead and has the same amount as Russian star and Washington Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin. Ward doesnt have Ovechkins release or his accuracy, but the 33-year-old is no slouch, either. His 2013-14 NHL season included a career-high 24 goals, which was just the ticket to get him his first-ever international experience for Canada. Brad Pascall of Hockey Canada said assistant general manager Ron Hextall watched Ward play this past season and the group deciding on this team figured hed be a nice fit after the strong season he had. It was good for Ward to get noticed but even better for him to find some more self-appreciation of his offensive game. "Ive always believed in my abilities and never told myself I couldnt," the Toronto native said Tuesday. "My first year in Nashville I had 17 and I had some power-play time there, so I knew I could be a 20-goal scorer in the National Hockey League. It was just finding that spot and the right atmosphere and environment. This year I kind of got my spirits back up, my confidence back up to do so." Ward called it a season of "rejuvenation," crediting Capitals coach Adam Oates for changing the curve and length of his stick blade and teaching him more about how to play in front of the net. The reward was 24 goals and 25 assists, and those 49 points were third on Washington behind only Ovechkin and Swedish Olympian Nicklas Backstrom. Ward was never ever close to being considered for the star-studded Sochi team, but when he got the call to represent Canada at the world championships, he was thrilled just to have the chance. "When I first got the call, I said this was like my Olympics," he said. "First time to ever put a Canada jersey on. I grew up as a kid watching international hockey my whole life. When I got the call I was pretty excited to just be part of it. Im trying to make the most of it." So far, so good. Ward scored twice against Slovakia and then once against the Czech Republic. His three goals and four points lead Canada, which is 2-0-1 going into Thursdays game against Denmark. "Hes really come along as a player, and even in this tournament, too," Capitals and Team Canada teammate Troy Brouwer said. "Hes very opportunistic." What coach Dave Tippett likes about the six-foot-one, 221-pound right-winger is that he scores the kind of goals that are necessary in international play. "He scores hard goals -- hard goals in front of the net, good quick shots," Tippett said. "Hes a hard player. Everybody thinks this is the big ice and its all flow and away from (the net). You look where our goals are being scored right now: A lot of them are right in front of the net. Hes a player that can get in there and muck around a little bit. ... Go hard to the net and be willing to get into a battle to score. Thats what he does." Wards first goal of the tournament was a perfect tip of a point shot by Jason Garrison. His two others were sharp shots that Washington linemate Jason Chimera didnt think many goaltenders in the world could stop. But its not necessarily his shot but how he gets those opportunities that makes Ward fit for the big ice surface. Hes admittedly not the swiftest guy but takes pride in creating space and not making mistakes. "I just try to play good, two-way hockey, and if I get a chance on the offensive side, try to make plays for my linemates," Ward said. "Just keeping it simple is something key for me and try not to be no hero and be something Im not. I just want to get pucks down deep and puck possession is very key. Fortunate to get a couple good bounces and playing with some good linemates." Ward is likely to continue playing on Canadas fourth line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Sean Monahan moving forward, but he could get some better scoring chances on the power play. Even though only six of his 24 goals this past season came in that role, getting that extra ice time is why he thinks hes a better scorer than he was even two years ago when he had a 40-game drought. "You get more opportunity to play, right? So the more you play, the more opportunity you get," he said. "If you can kind of get that opportunity and capitalize a bit, then you get more positive results, obviously, and you get more ice time and you get rewarded." Being at the world championships is Wards reward for such a strong season in Washington. Its also his first trip to Europe. "Im usually just a beach guy," Ward said, smiling. "I like to sit in the sand a little bit and have a pina colada, so this is kind of a new experience, new territory for me. Thank God Im here, and Im thankful for being here and getting an opportunity to do this." Along the way, hes giving Canada the opportunity to win games and move past an opening shootout loss to France. Count at least Brouwer and Chimera among those not surprised and also pumped to see Ward playing and producing like this. "It couldnt happen to a better person," Chimera said. "Hes a great human being and everyone likes him. When he has success, the team has success, too, because the team just feeds off that kind of guy." Steve Spurrier Jersey .C. Lions 35-14, was named the CFLs offensive player of the week Tuesday. Sheets recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing performance of the season to tie the Riders club record. Dave Parks Jersey . Levante, which had lost five straight including a Copa del Rey game last weekend, fell behind at its Ciutat de Valencia stadium when Ionut Sapanura opened the scoring for Elche in the 26th minute. http://www.custom49ersjersey.com/custom-kyle-juszczyk-jersey-large-2188d.html . Its a blessing and a burden for nine sons of former NHL players who are all expected to be taken in the first four rounds of the draft this weekend.MADRID - France upset Spain 65-52 in front of its stunned fans in the quarter-finals of the Basketball World Cup on Wednesday. After dominating its first six games and blowing out France by 24 points in the group phase, Spain appeared to be the main candidate to dethrone the United States in a possible final that would have been a rematch of the past two Olympic gold-medal games. But France defended well and rebounded even better to ruin Spains quest for a title for a second straight summer. Last summer, Tony Parker helped France end Spains quest for a third consecutive European title. This time, Spain had several reasons to believe it would avenge that loss. Parker wasnt playing for France, and Spain had Pau Gasol back in its ranks, besides playing at home. "Its a painful and disappointing defeat," Pau said. "We had such high expectations and had played so well until now." Spain had averaged 88 points per game through its first six wins, all blowouts. But France cut off Spains passing lanes and forced it into solo efforts. Spains guards didnt adjust by looking for Pau and Marc Gasol in the post enough, and then compounded that by missing all but two of their 22 attempts from beyond the three-point arc. "Everyone thought we had won this before it started, but we didnt prepare well for the game and were trying to play catchup the entire way," Spain guard Juan Carlos Navarro said. "They prepared better than we did. We relied on doing what we always do, defend and get out on the break, but our shots didnt fall, and they played with a lot of poise." Boris Diaw scored 15 points and Thomas Heurtel added 13 for a France team which pulled in 50 rebounds to Spains 28. Pau had 17 for Spain, but his brother Marc and Serge Ibaka each went 1-of-7 from the field to combine for just five points. Serbia awaits France on Friday after it routed Brazil 84-56 in the other quarter-final. The U.S. plays Lithuania in the other semifinal in Barcelona on Thursday. Pau scored in the post to spark Spains 12-4 run to open the third period and edge ahead 40-39. Antone Exum Jersey. . A brief scuffle marred that span when Frances Florent Pietrus slapped Sergi Llull in the back of the head after an argument. Pietrus was awarded an unsporstmanlike technical foul. Spain entered the final period with a one-point lead but without any clear plan of attack. Diaw nailed a backbreaking three after France again beat Spain to the offensive boards to take a 51-45 lead and force Juan Orenga to call time-out with 6:41 left. A contested jumper by Pau brought Spain to within three points with under two to play, but Heurtel scored five points to quash the comeback and spark chants for Orengas resignation in a loss that hurt almost as much as the Spanish football teams early elimination from this summers World Cup. Pau left open the possibility that this was his last game for Spain, which he has led to one world championship in 2006, two Olympic silver medals, and two European titles. "You never know when your last game or tournament will be," the new Chicago Bull centre said. "I would like to play until I am 50, but I doubt it. We have great young players coming up and Im sure that we have a good team in the future." Whether or not Pau continues, Spain will likely not have such a chance to try and finally beat the U.S. with Pau now 34, and the Olympics two years away. Serbias result also reversed a group matchup, as Serbia lost to Brazil last Wednesday, when Spain also beat France. This time, Brazil and its trio of NBA centers in Varejao, Tiago Splitter and Nene were ineffective, as Serbia bettered the bigger Brazilians inside and out, and turned a five-point halftime advantage into a rout by outscoring Brazil 29-10 in the third period. Serbia was led by guard Milos Teodosic, who scored 23 points, hit three three-pointers, and made four assists. Shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 12 points, and centers Miroslav Raduljica and Nenad Krstic added 10 each. Varejao and Vieira had 12 points each for Brazil. ' ' '