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TORONTO – Joe Hicketts cant wipe the smile off his face. Growing up you always watch this tournament and one day you dream of playing in it and now the dream has become a reality, the Victoria Royals defenceman said on Saturday morning just hours after his spot on Team Canada was officially confirmed. He spent a good chunk of Friday night and Saturday morning on the phone with loved ones. It was exciting, the Kamloops, B.C. native said. I talked to friends, grandparents, my mom, dad, brother and they were all happy for me. Obviously, they believed in me the whole time, but to finally make this step, well, its huge. As recently as this summer, Hicketts could never have imagined hed be spending the holidays at the World Junior Hockey Championship. There always was that question in my mind of whether this was possible, said Hicketts, who at 5-foot-8 is Canadas shortest defenceman. Obviously, size was the biggest factor earlier in my career, especially at age 16 and 17. With getting injured last year (in October) and missing that extended period of time and then getting passed over in the draft, I didnt think this year would be an option for world juniors. Thats right, every NHL team passed on Hicketts last June after he posted six goals and 18 assists in 36 games. A torn tendon in his arm had limited his production and sent his draft stock plummeting leading to a heart-to-heart conversation with Victoria head coach Dave Lowry in early June. I tried to explain to him that it might be in his best interest to not to get drafted this year, as hard as it is on draft day to be sitting there and not being a part of it, it might be the best thing career-wise, said Lowry, who is an assistant coach on Team Canada. Did Hicketts buy what his coach was selling? Not really, he said with a chuckle. It was probably the worst conversation, but the best one at the same time. From that point on, Hicketts resolved that the only way to get himself back on track was to work. And work. And work. The biggest thing was I had to get back in the gym right after the draft, the 18-year-old said. I wanted to be the hardest working player for the rest of the summer. The gym wasnt his second home, it was where he lived. He lost weight (around 15 pounds) and body fat. He wasnt invited by Hockey Canada to the summer camp for world-junior hopefuls, but he just kept working. And Lowry, by the way, turned out to be right about the draft. After getting passed over, Hicketts was invited to the Detroit Red Wings development camp in Traverse City in July and fared well. Then he got to go to the teams prospects tournament in September and once again stood out earning a three-year entry-level contract. Having the option to go to Detroit was exciting for me, Hicketts said. Theyre known for developing their players and not worrying too much about where theyre drafted or if they are drafted at all. The hard work continued to pay off at the start of the current season and when Hicketts departed for Team Canadas selection camp he led all CHL defencemen in scoring with 38 points in 31 games. He understands, said Lowry. I think hes a realist. He keeps everything in perspective. What stands out most about Hicketts? Just his determination and his understanding that you have to get better every day. I think, with him, hes a resilient player. Curtis Lazar agrees. The Ottawa Senators forward, recently loaned to the Canadian junior team, got to go up against Hicketts during his days with the Edmonton Oil Kings. Well, I mean, hes a small, little guy, but people underestimate him, said Lazar. Hes shifty out there. Hes crafty with the puck. Before he got hurt last season I thought he was one of the best defencemen in our league, Lowry added noting that Hicketts represented Canada at the under-18 level at both the Ivan Hlinka tournament and world championship. Hicketts is now a key piece of the Canadian defence as the country looks to snap a five year gold medal drought at the world juniors. The group only boasts one right-handed defenceman (Capitals prospect Madison Bowey), but Hicketts, a lefty, has played the right side for awhile in Victoria. But what Canada head coach Benoit Groulx likes the most about Hicketts is his never-say-die attitude. You need that in a tournament like this: guys who have confidence in themselves and know even though theyre not the biggest or the fastest, they know that they belong in the tournament and they believe in themselves, Groulx said. Hicketts has always been a smart player. Thats how he doesnt just survive, but thrives in spite of his diminutive stature. And it seems like he has a good idea of what he needs to do to be successful at the world-junior level. I want to play fast and physical, but I want to jump in the rush as well, he said. I think you saw in the game against Russia on Friday that a lot of offence comes from the back end at this tournament and for me its going to be about managing the neutral zone and the defensive zone so I can maximize my time in the offensive zone. Considering the comeback campaign hes waged, it would be easy for Hicketts to relax a bit now. He was asked on Saturday if he thinks hes finally silenced the talk about his size being an impediment to success. Maybe, Hicketts pauses for a moment before a smile spreads across his face and he starts to laugh. But, I cant stop now! Hicketts keeps laughing before adding, Gotta keep going. Devin Bush Steelers Jersey . Pistorius denied the allegation that he said to the close friend of the girlfriend he killed: "How can you sleep at night?" 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"Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys . With the team he supported as a child on the verge of reaching the Champions League semifinals for the first time in 19 years, Ba instead scored the goal that knocked them out.AUSTIN, Texas -- Charlie Strong left a Louisville program that needed to punch its way into the national spotlight for the Texas Longhorns, who live smack in the middle with their enormous wealth, swagger, political intrigue and championship expectations. And thats just the off-the-field stuff. On the field, he inherits a team mired in mediocrity with a 30-21 record over the last four years, but still talented enough to come within 30 minutes of winning a share of the 2013 Big 12 title. Strong will be introduced as the Texas football coach Monday. In a statement released by the school Sunday, Strong said he was excited to be taking over one of the "premier programs" in the country. "Texas is one of those places that is always on your radar and a program anyone would dream of being a part of because you have a chance to compete on a national level every year," Strong said. "Its special because it has such great history, pride, tradition and passion for football." In the 53-year-old Strong -- the first black head coach of a mens program at Texas -- new athletic director Steve Patterson landed a coach whose teams went 23-3 the last two years, including a BCS bowl win over Florida and a blowout of Miami to end the 2013 season in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, who has the No. 1 Seminoles in Monday nights national title game, praised the hire. Fisher was previously considered a possible target for Texas and would have faced Strong in the ACC when Louisville moves to that league next season. "I think hes done a tremendous job at Louisville, turning those guys around," Fisher said Sunday. "I think Charlies an excellent coach." Strong succeeded at a school that had to fight its way onto the national radar even in the good years. At Texas, the bad years draw just as much attention as the good ones, and college football will be watching to see how well he can unite a powerhouse program with a discontented fan base aching to return to the national elite. And how quickly he can win a lot of games. Strongs predecessor did that. Over 16 years, Mack Brown had 158 victories, and in 2005 he won Texas first undisputed national title in 36 years. From 2000-09, Texas averaged more than 10 wins a season and played in four BCS bowls, winning three. That success helped spur unprecedented financial growth. Texas ranks as the wealthiest athletic program in the country. A partnership with ESPN created the Longhorn Network, a 20-year deal worth att least $300 million to the university.dddddddddddd But for all its wealth, Texas has struggled to deliver a championship legacy that lives up its sense of grandeur. Brown won just two Big 12 titles, while his archrival across his northern border, Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, won eight. Texas lone national championship in 44 years pales in comparison to Alabamas three from 2009-12. And the recent drop-off that started with a 5-7 record in 2010 got ugly by the end. When Texas started last season 1-2, some Texas fans even booed a public service announcement from Brown encouraging donations to charities. The turmoil also exposed on a national level the political fighting that embroiled the university and attempts by some school officials and prominent supporters to push Brown out a year ago. For more than two years, university regents have been fighting over whether to fire school President Bill Powers, who had been a key ally of Brown. Some of the same regents also were involved in talks with Alabama coach Nick Sabans agent in January 2013 in efforts to coax Saban into coming to Austin. That Strong will be the first African-American head coach of a mens program at Texas is significant at a school that resisted integration in the 1950s and 60s and had college footballs last all-white national champion in 1969. "This is a historic day for The University of Texas and a historic hire for our football team," Powers said. Until 2010, Texas had a residence hall named after former law school professor William Stewart Simkins, a Confederate colonel who also was an early organizer of the Ku Klux Klan in Florida after the Civil War. Texas is still fighting legal battles over race. Only now the school wants to keep an affirmative action admissions policy that allows the school to consider race for some applicants. But former Texas womens track coach Bev Kearney, who was pressured to resign in 2013 after revelations of a relationship with one of her athletes, has filed a discrimination lawsuit against Texas, arguing race was a factor in her case. Kearney is black. In 2009, just before he was hired at Louisville, Strong complained that hed been passed over for another job in part because his wife is white. Strong said it was difficult to leave Louisville, the school that was willing to give him his first head coaching job. "They have been great to me and my family, and it was very hard to say goodbye," Strong said. "But they know this was an opportunity I couldnt pass up." 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