Canadas Patrick Chan sits in second place in mens figure skating after a solid performance in his short program at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. One of his main rivals, Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu, sits just ahead of him in first place. Chan skated a largely clean routine, although he stumbled slightly in landing one of his triple axels — a jump that CBC figure skating analyst Kurt Browning said is "not his favourite comfort jump." Chans score of 97.52 was only one point off his all-time personal best of 98.52 in the short. It was not enough to surpass Hanyu, however, who beat his own world record in the short program with a score of 101.45 today in the event. Chan is the world record holder in the long program, which starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET. Despite having been home to several prominent figure skaters over the years, no Canadian man has ever won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Spanish skater Javier Fernandez is in third place, atop a group of skaters bunched tightly together, with only four points separating third place from eighth. Plushenko retires Earlier in the day Evgeni Plushenko surprised the figure skating world by withdrawing during warm-ups to his short program because he injured himself while awkwardly landing a jump. He then went to the judges table before bowing to the crowd and leaving the ice, saying later it felt like "a knife in my back." "After the first triple axel I stepped out and felt terrible pain in my leg and the second one was just a terrible landing," Plushenko said. "I couldnt feel my legs after it." He later announced his retirement from competitive skating. "I am sorry for my fans and for everybody, but I tried till the end. I almost cried," he said. "This is not how I wanted to end my career. I am very disappointed. But I tried to do my best." Plushenko, a three-time medallist in the mens event, was a darkhorse for the podium this time around and the host countrys only representative in the event. Another Canadian skater, Kevin Reynolds, failed to land two jumps and hit the ice twice during his short program, scoring a 68.76. Thats well off his personal best in the event of 85.16. "It was a disaster out there," Reynolds said after he finished skating. "I lost it on the first jump and it just snowballed from there. The result is where Im sitting now. Its incredibly disappointing for me." Reynolds performance was good enough to make the cutoff to perform in the free skate tomorrow. With files from Olympic News Service Kevin Mitchell Jersey . Ilonen birdied five of his closing seven holes in superb scoring conditions to end the day with a two-shot lead on the Fota Island course. Ilonen had just 26 putts on the occasion of his 300th European Tour event. Gary Redus Jersey . PAUL, Minn. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/. Marcus Olsson, 23, joins Blackburn on a free transfer from Swedens Halmstads. He made 139 appearances and scored 17 goals in his four years with the club. He earned his first caps for Sweden this month, featuring against Bahrain and Qatar. Curt Casali Jersey . The Flames are in the midst of a six-game slide (0-5-1), their longest losing streak since an 0-6-3 skid from Jan. 11-28, 2010. They havent won since Nov. 3 in Chicago and most recently went winless on a three-game homestand. Pedro Borbon Jersey . -- Chicago manager Darold Butler has a message for the Windy City.BEREA, Ohio -- Montario Hardesty cant stop his unlucky run of injuries. The Browns running back will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday, the latest medical setback for Hardesty, who dislocated his right thumb on Monday after missing most of training camp with a hamstring injury. Cleveland coach Rob Chudzinski said Hardesty has been bothered by "nagging" soreness in his knee, and that the surgery is not related to the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the majority of workouts this summer. Hardesty had only returned to practice on Monday when he injured his thumb while jumping to catch a direct snap from centre. Chudzinski does not know how long Hardesty, who has undergone prior surgeries to repair torn ligaments in both knees, will be sidelined. "Well have to see after he gets that (scope)," Chudzinski said. "Its just to clean it up." Typically, the recovery time on such surgeries is least one month. Chudzinski said his message to Hardesty is to stay strong. "You have to keep coming back and keep fighting," he said. "I think that is the theme we have been talking about a lot. It applies everywhere in this game. And hell make it back." Chudzinski did not know which knee Hardesty was going to have scoped. Hardesty was limited in practice Tuesday, when he had a protective wrap over his thumb. He left without speaking to reporters. The engaging 26-year-old has had injury issues throughout his NFL career, and before he turned pro. Hardesty tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the final exhibition game in 2010 and missed his entire rookie season. Hardesty also had knee problems in college at Tennessee, and had his right ACL repaired when he was a freshman with the Volunteers. Hes battled back every time, and now Hardesty will have to do it again. "That injury bug is something you cant control," said linebacker DQwell Jackson, who had had to overcome two major chest injuries. "Hes just got to stay positive. Once he has his surgery, its just one day at a time, just look at how you can make the situation better. It starts with the attitude, attitude is everything. Its going to help the healing process and its going to help him mentally get through it. "I would tell him is to keep good people around him just so he stays motivated and stays with a positive outlook.dddddddddddd" Hardesty was drafted in the second round by Cleveland in 2010. He rushed for 271 yards as Trent Richardsons backup last season, but his roster spot was believed to be in jeopardy because of the arrival of Dion Lewis, who recently passed him on the depth chart. Chudzinski said the Browns will have to wait to see how long Hardesty will be out before any roster decisions can be finalized. "Well just have to see when he gets back and then balance that with the other guys and how they are doing and how theyve done in the next couple weeks," he said. With Chris Ogbonnaya and Brandon Jackson, the Browns have enough depth at running back to help ease the sting of losing Hardesty. "Its really nice having Dion in there because hes done a great job during the entire training camp," Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas said. "He did a great job in the first preseason game, and obviously with him and Trent and Obi, a nice little depth chart there. Theyll be able to pick up the slack nicely." NOTES: Thomas said RB Trent Richardson playing in the preseason should help the Browns line develop some chemistry with the second-year star. Richardson sat out all four exhibitions a year ago and never caught up. "You cant just plug somebody in there and just expect him to know where the reads are and the cuts and how were blocking every play," Thomas said. "So having live reps with him back there is going to be tremendously helpful." ... Starting S T.J. Ward will be kept out of Thursdays exhibition game against Detroit as a precaution as he recovers from a nagging hamstring. "Nothing wrong," Chudzinski said. "Just want to be smart about it and get him ready for the season." ... CB Chris Owens practiced with the starters on Wednesday and will play against the Lions after missing last weeks preseason opener against St. Louis with a strained foot arch. Owens is competing with Buster Skrine for the starting spot opposite Joe Haden. ... WRs Jordan Norwood (hamstring) and David Nelson (knee) and P T.J. Conley (groin) did not practice as the Browns did their final tuneup for the Lions. ... Undrafted rookie OL Chris Faulk had arthroscopic knee surgery Monday, Chudzinski said. ' ' '