Toronto Maple Leafs legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Mats Sundin joined TSN Radio 1050s Jim Tatti and Jeff ONeill on Friday to give his thoughts on the Olympic hockey tournament ahead of Sundays gold medal match-up between his native Sweden and Canada. While there is a lot that Sundin has liked in the tournament so far, the performance that Russia put forth against Finland in the quarterfinals left a bad taste in his mouth. "I was almost disgusted by their performance when they played Finland," said the 43-year-old who played 18 seasons in the NHL. "I look at the Finnish team and theyre missing key players. They dont have any of their big stars and now [Rask] is hurt and that Russian team is stacked with great players and to come out and have that performance they had in the quarterfinals. It was an absolutely heartless performance. "It was very disappointing and I dont think its very good for hockey either to have them out of their home tournament. You wonder when you have Putin in the stands on home ice and you cant get heart out of these guys? Whats going to bring it out? I dont know," he said. Sundin believes simply chalking up Russias crashing out of the tournament to the tremendous pressure the team was under is a bit of a cop-out. "Even though youre nervous or you have a lot of pressure built up, you can always still get into the motions and show that youre actually trying," said the former first-overall pick by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. "We didnt see anything of that in the quarterfinal." The captain of the gold medal-winning Swedish team in the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Sundin believes that its impossible to compare trying to capture a Stanley Cup to winning Olympic gold. "You cant even compare it to me," said Sundin. "I mean, the Stanley Cup is the biggest thing you can win playing for a club team in the world. Its over a [full] season and you try to get that, but saying that, international hockey and the Olympic Games go to a little bit of a higher level. You have all the absolute best players in the world competing. Its a short tournament, but its the absolute best, biggest thing you can win as a hockey player today where you face every countrys best players on the ice. And also, for any athlete, women or men, winning an Olympic medal is a little bit beyond just the sport of hockey, as well. You cant compare them, but obviously, you want to be part of both for sure." Sundin thinks that an unfamiliarity with the larger ice surface is one of the main reasons why Canadas offence has yet to really click in Sochi, despite the team being undefeated. "The last time the Olympics were around, the tournament was held on a smaller ice surface, an edge to the North American teams, no doubt," said Sundin. "The US and Canada were more comfortable. You look at the tournament right now, you can tell [Canada] is not as comfortable on the big ice surface...with the bigger ice surface, it becomes a little bit of a different game." The all-time Leafs leader in points acknowledges that an adjustment needs to be made for North American teams playing on the big international ice. "Just one big difference is when you come into an end, whether its your own end or youre in the offensive zone, youre further away from your opponent," explained the nine-time NHL All-Star. "Theres a little bit more room for a forward to slip away or get out of the way, out of position, so when that happens, and I think a North American feels that, you get a little more tentative and if youre tentative in hockey or you wait a little bit, then youre a step behind. I think thats the biggest thing." With NHL participation up in the air for the 2018 Olympic Games to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Sundin believes it would be a mistake for the league to stop sending its best to the tournament as its a perfect opportunity to put a spotlight on the sport. "For me, its a no-brainer," said Sundin. "I think youve got to look at the broader picture. For the game of hockey, and if you want the game to continue to grow, theres no better window than the Olympic Games, where you can get new fans watching our great game, people from different parts of the world. I dont really see a reason why not. I know it affects the game short term. Some guys get hurt (and) when they get back they might not perform as well. But if you look at a long term picture, I think its just too big of a window to promote our sport to not be part of it." As for Sundays clash between his home country and the country he spent 18 years playing in, Sundin gives the edge to Canada. "Theres no doubt that the Swedish team...are not where you would think to call them a gold medal favourite at this point [without] Henrik Sedin and Henrik Zetterberg, two of the best centremen we have playing right now," said Sundin. "For them to get to the finals here, to get by Finland...Ill hold Canada as the favourites to win the gold medal, but if you have [Henrik] Lundqvist playing an enormous game in the final, theres a shot. But its a long shot for sure." Christian Wilkins Dolphins Jersey .Mallais and his team out of Saint John defeated James Grattan 5-4 in Fredericton.The 2015 Tim Hortons Brier from Feb. Ryan Fitzpatrick Youth Jersey . Ribery terrorized the Schalke defence throughout and put the home side ahead in the 36th minute when he chipped the goalkeeper before stroking the ball into the empty net. The French winger struck again after the interval, combining with Thomas Mueller on the left before firing a deflected shot beyond the helpless Timo Hildebrand in the 55th, as Bayern bounced back from Wednesdays 1-0 loss at FC Basel in the Champions League. http://www.authenticdolphinspro.com/Christian-wilkins-dolphins-jersey/ . Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse will reunite at this weekends season-opening World Cup at Canada Olympic Park as they begin their buildup to the Winter Games in Sochi. Ryan Fitzpatrick Womens Jersey . -- The Denver Broncos are shuffling their offensive line this off-season and Orlando Franklin provided some insight into their plans Monday by tweeting that hes moving from right tackle to left guard. Durham Smythe Youth Jersey . - The Raiders have released guard Mike Brisiel after two disappointing seasons in Oakland.BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Twelve years after taking over an IOC recovering from its worst ethics scandal, Jacques Rogge is leaving with the Olympic body in much sturdier shape but facing serious challenges. The 71-year-old Belgian steps down as president next Tuesday after steering the International Olympic Committee through a period of relative stability that spanned three Summer Olympics and three Winter Games. Rogge, an orthopedic surgeon who competed in three Olympics in sailing, is completing his term with a reputation for bringing a calm, steady hand to the often turbulent world of Olympic politics. He took a hard line against doping and ethics violations, created the Youth Olympics, oversaw a growth in IOC finances during a time of global economic crisis and made peace with the U.S. Olympic Committee after years of bitter squabbling over revenues. Under Rogges watch, the IOC has also taken the Olympics to new places -- including awarding the 2016 event to Rio de Janeiro for the first games in South America. "I hope that people, with time, will consider that I did a good job for the IOC," Rogge, in an interview with The Associated Press, said with typical understatement. "Thats what you legitimately want to be remembered for." IOC members meeting in Buenos Aires over the next week will elect Rogges successor among six candidates by secret ballot Sept. 10. The new president will face tough issues, including the backlash over anti-gay legislation in Russia before Februarys Winter Games in Sochi and concern over construction delays in Rio. Rogge was elected the IOCs eighth president in Moscow in 2001, succeeding Juan Antonio Samaranch, a Spaniard who ran the committee with an authoritarian style for 21 years. Rogge took office following the Salt Lake City scandal, in which 10 IOC members resigned or were expelled for receiving scholarships, payments and gifts during its winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games. Rogge, who enjoyed a "Mr. Clean" reputation, broke with the tainted and elitist image of the IOC, choosing to stay in the athletes village as much as possible during the six games that he oversaw. "He was absolutely the right person at the right time," senior Norwegian IOC member Gerhard Heiberg said. "We had a lot of turmoil. We had to get out of that. We had to get another image. He has brought stability to the organization." Rogges measured leadership was in sharp contrast with that of Samaranch. While the former Spanish diplomat worked behind the scenes and twisted arms to get what he wanted, Rogge pursued a more democratic, collegial and management-oriented approach. Some critics called Rogge dull and wooden, but he liked to describe himself as a "sober" and level-headed leader in keeping with his medical background. After serving an initial eight-year term, Rogge was re-elected unopposed in 2009 to a second and final four-year term. He now reflects with quiet satisfaction on his time holding down the most powerful post in international sports. "I received an IOC in good shape from Samaranch," Rogge said. "And I believe I will leave an IOC in good shape to my successor." Rogge presided over Summer Olympics in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008) and London (2012), and Winter Games in Salt Lake City (2002), Turin (2006) and Vancouver (2010). Some were trickier than others: Salt Lake City came just months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks; Athens was dogged by chronic delays; Beijing was surrounded by controversy over Chinas record on Tibet and human rights. Rogge steered away from Samaranchs practice of calling an Olympics the "best ever," choosing other words to sum up the success of each games. "Im very glad of the quality of the games that were held under my watch, summer or winter," Rogge said. "I would say they were magnificent, exceptional, superb, truly unforgettable, and gracious and glorious for London." Rogge is leaving his successor with two potentially difficult games ahead. Apart from security worries and cost overruns, the buildup to the Feb. 7-23 Sochi Games has been dominated recently by an international outcry over a new Russian law banning gay "propaganda." Rogge and the IOC have been criticized for not doing enough to fight the legislation. Rogge said he is "comforted" that Russia has given the IOC "strong assurances" that there will be no discrimination against any athletes or spectators at the games. Construction delays and other organizational setbacks, meanwhile, are raising concerns that Rio could be another Athens. "Were working hard together with both organizers and any potential shortcoming has been addressed, so I expect both games to be good ones," Rogge said. "I think Sochi will be absolutely OK because the Russians love sport, they know sport, there is no limitation in their desire to perform well. "For Rio, I am quite sure and quite confident they will be very good games also. We will benefit from the experience of the (2014) World Cup." Human rights groups and other outside critics have accused Rogge and the IOC of failing to speak out against abuses in host countries like China, Russia and Brazil. Rogge espouses "quiet diplomacy" and says the IOC is a sports organization, not a government or political body. Looking back, Rogge cites the achievements of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps as Olympic highlights -- even though he criticized the Jamaican sprinter for showboating in Beijing and questioned whether he was a "living legend" in London. As for the low point of his presiddency, Rogge has no hesitation.dddddddddddd "On the dark side, it is the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili that I will never forget," he said. The Georgian luger died after a high-speed crash during a training run in Whistler just hours before the opening ceremony in Vancouver. Rogge recalls being notified that Kumaritashvili was in a hospital on life support. He gathered a crisis meeting of Olympic leaders at a hotel. "We wanted to get more news and unfortunately after five minutes we heard that the athlete had passed away," he said. One of Rogges biggest priorities was trying to control the size and scale of the Olympics. He instituted a cap of 10,500 athletes and 28 sports for the Summer Games. The cost of hosting the games has gained urgency at a time of global economic uncertainty, with cities spending tens of billions of dollars on construction projects. "On one hand we have to make sure we contain the size, on the other hand we have to help the organizing cities by lowering the demands and the service levels," Rogge said. Rogge struggled with the thorny issue of the Olympic sports program -- which sports to drop and which to bring in. While softball and baseball were kicked out after 2008 and golf and rugby were added starting in 2016, the system for 2020 has been messy. Wrestling was surprisingly dropped in February, but now looks set to be put back for 2020, meaning no new sport will be included as originally intended. While Samaranch and the IOC were criticized for what was seen as laxness on performance-enhancing drugs, Rogge pursued "zero tolerance" on doping. He doubled the number of tests at the Olympics to 5,000, implemented rigorous pre-games and out-of-competition checks, retested samples from previous games to catch cheaters retroactively and championed the biological passport for monitoring an athletes blood profile. In Turin, after a tipoff by the IOC, Italian police raided the lodgings of the Austrian cross-country and biathlon teams, seizing doping substances and equipment. "We really stepped up the fight," Rogge said. "I think it is far more difficult to get doped today than it used to be a couple of years ago. Today the Lance Armstrong case could not occur because the sensitivity for the EPO testing is far higher than it used to be back in 2005." Rogge also set up a system to monitor betting patterns during the Olympics, suspended or forced out members implicated in ethics violations and held firm to the post-Salt Lake City ban on member visits to bid cities. He also spoke out against the rise in youth obesity and staked his legacy on the creation of the Youth Games, an event for athletes 15 to 18 years old that debuted with the summer edition in Singapore in 2010. The IOCs coffers also strengthened under Rogges tenure, with revenues from top-tier global sponsors going from $663 million in 2001-04 to nearly $1 billion for the four-year cycle through London. Television rights deals raised billions, including a record $4.38 billion deal with NBC through 2020. The IOCs financial reserves, designed to allow the organization to continue operating for four years in the event of an Olympics being cancelled, have risen from $100 million to $900 million over the past 10 years. Perhaps Rogges most significant financial achievement was the signing of a long-term revenue-sharing deal with the USOC in 2012. Tensions had festered for years over a previous deal going back to 1996 that many Olympic officials felt gave the U.S. too big a share. The resentment contributed heavily to the IOC rejection of U.S. bids for the Olympics of 2012 (New York) and 2016 (Chicago). "The situation was a thorn that irritated a lot of people in the Olympic movement," Rogge said. "The USOC have a special place in the Olympic movement. However, the place had to be reviewed in modern circumstances with the modern economics and so forth. We found a very good agreement that respected both sides. Rogges health has declined in recent months. He had hip replacement surgery in September 2012 and has looked much older and slower, a far cry from the youthful, vigorous man who came to power 12 years ago. Yet Rogge has continued to circle the globe on IOC business and kept his hand on day-to-day issues. "My agenda will be full until the very last day," he said. Rogge is looking forward to returning to Ghent and spending time with his family --wife Anne, two adult children and grandchildren. Hes got a pile of books to read and a list of art galleries to visit. Even though he could stay as an IOC member for 10 more years, Rogge is resigning to become an honorary member. "I dont think it would be sound for the IOC to have the past president running around the session having a vote to cast, giving his opinion," he said. Rogge will continue attending the Olympics, able to appreciate the action from a new perspective, no longer a president worried about the organizational aspects. "Coming from one competition to another I was constantly in line telephonically or by email with my team at the headquarters who would inform me about potential problems," he said. "I wont have that anymore and I will enjoy sport at 100 per cent." Rogge has no plans to write his memoirs, preferring to update the archives for the Olympic Museum. "I note everything every day on my little white papers, so I have a pretty impressive collection, a lot of material that is very interesting that people dont know about," he said. Then, with a laugh, Rogge adds: "And some material that people better not know about." ' ' '