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CALGARY -- Gilmore Junio hopes the people who follow his speedskating career in typhoon-ravaged Philippines feel their spirits lift after his recent gold medal. Willie Young Bears Jersey . The Filipino-Canadian won the first World Cup gold medal of his career in the 500 metres last week in Salt Lake City, Utah. His parents Gino and Julie emigrated from the Philippines to Canada in the 1970s. Junio was born and raised in Calgary. Hundreds were killed and millions left homeless when Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines earlier this month. Junio says the disaster did not directly impact his familys relatives. He is sponsored, however, by the Philippine telecommunications company PLDT. So after winning his gold, Junio sent a message to the company acknowledging his victory, but also conveying his best wishes for anyone affected by the typhoon. "I kept it pretty brief on my success and said it was a great confidence booster going towards the Olympics, but my thoughts and prayers went out to all families," Junio said. "Maybe not a lot of Filipinos know what speedskating is, but maybe just having an athlete they hear has won a gold medal on the World Cup circuit, maybe they can kind of be excited despite the tragedy and find something to rally around for the next couple of months." The 23-year-olds gold was his second career World Cup medal after winning a silver during the 2012-13 season. Along with Edmontons Jamie Gregg, who has earned a pair of World Cup bronze in the 500 already this season, the two men are medal threats at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February. The Philippines is an island country in the western Pacific Ocean. No athletes from the country competed in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., so Philippine media coverage of the Games concentrated on Filipino-American speed skater J.R. Celski and figure skater Amanda Evora. "My dad watches a lot of the Filipino channel and those two were always on the news," Junio said. "For Filipinos to have winter athletes to rally around at Olympic time, its special for them. "Theyre really big on their sports too," he continued, pointing out that boxer Manny Pacquiao is so beloved there, he was elected to political office. Junios sponsorship deal with PLDT is a unique story on its own. Junio did it with the help of Kevin Jagger, an Vancouver investment banker so inspired by the 2010 Games he quit his job to become a speedskater. Jagger has yet to make the national team, but still attracted sponsorship to his quest with his business and marketing smarts. Jagger worked with Junio on building a sponsorship proposal. They highlighted his unique heritage in the sport with the slogan "fastest Filipino on ice." ""We basically took that story and put a deck (proposal) together saying that over 100 metres, Gil is faster than Usain Bolt," Jagger said. "We put that deck together and sent that out to PLDT. "They loved it and they loved the idea. Even though he competes for Canada, hes very proud of his Filipino heritage. Thats someone they can call their own. They have a huge employee base so we basically pitched it around an employee morale story. "It speaks to the importance of having social media and blogging and having a website where he can effectively share his story and tell it across the ocean." It isnt NHL or NBA money, but the sponsorships value is in the double digits. Thats a significant amount to athletes who often believe they cant begin to engage a companys interest without an Olympic gold medal around their necks. "Its a pretty big amount compared to what Im used to," Junio said. "Especially with the Olympics this year, you want to make sure youre doing everything right buying supplements and vitamins and paying for extras. "We have a yoga core class so paying for that and equipment just piles up. To be able to just pay for that stuff and have the financial stresses off me . . . . you kind of have no more excuses." Junio has twice travelled to the Philippines and most recently in 2011 to visit his fathers relatives. Interestingly, Jagger also helped Junio parlay his "born-and-raised Calgarian" side into attracting sponsorship from the Calgary software company Aclaro. "On the sponsorship side, you wont get far with a generic deck," Jagger said. "Each pitch has been highly customized. Its always genuine, but youre pitching different things." Junio played hockey from age seven to 13. He realized he might not be big enough to pursue the sport at a high level when the opposing team had current six-foot-eight Buffalo Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers on it. With some gentle nudging from Gino, he attended a speedskating talent identification camp at the Olympic Oval. Junior started out in short track, but broke two bones in his back just prior to the junior world championships at age 19. He switched to long track as a means of training safely during his comeback and stayed with it. Junio tied for gold in Salt Lake City with Japans Joji Kato, the Olympic bronze medallist in 2010, as the two men posted identical times. "Having the gold with one of the fastest times Ive ever skated, that in itself gives me a lot of confidence that if I execute my plan right and really hone in on that day, I could contend to bring home a medal," Junio said. "Looking to Sochi, I just have to execute on the days I compete and at the Olympic trials. The Olympic trials come first." Tom Waddle Bears Jersey .com Tours Nova Scotia Open. The 27-year-old Sloan, a former Texas-El Paso player from Calgary matched first-round leader Rodriguez at 10-under 132 on Ashburn Golf Clubs New Course. Jim McMahon Jersey . The same for both the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. http://www.bearsauthenticproshop.com/Youth-Tom-Waddle-Bears-Jersey/ .Y. -- The New York Islanders were seeking a positive finish to a frustrating season on home ice.The fight-filled Calgary Flames-Vancouver Canucks game had altercations on and off the ice on Saturday night -- and now its led to an online war of words. Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. "Calgary and Vancouver last night reiterated why the NHL is a minor sport," said Gammons ((at)pgammo) from his verified Twitter account. The tweet referred to the Canucks 3-2 shootout win over the Flames, which saw over 200 minutes of penalties and eight game misconducts. The fights werent limited to the ice as Vancouver head coach John Tortorella got into an altercation with Calgary enforcer Brian McGrattan and goalie coach Clint Malarchuk outside the Flames locker-room during the first intermission. Criticism of Gammons tweet came quickly after Fox Sports 1 anchor Jay Onrait -- a Calgary native -- retweeted the remarks with the added note "Shots fired." "seriously though, who is Peter Gammons? He has a puppy and flowers as his avatar," said professional golfer Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask. Onrait quickly replied to DeLaet, comparing Gammons to TSN hockey analyst Bob McKenzie. "He is the Bob McKenzie of MLB I suppose. Bob Mac would never be so rude to insult baseball (might think it though)," said Onrait. Gammons actually has an impressive resume, earning national recognition in the United States for his work as a baseball reporter for the Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated, the Sporting News and 20 years with American broadcasting giant ESPN. He was named Americas National Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in 1989, 1990 and 1993. Gammons has also earned an honorary Poynter Fellow from Yale University. Gale Sayers Womens Jersey. Those accolades meant little to the Internet on Sunday, however. "(at)pgammo says the guy who makes his living off the dirtiest sport in the world other then maybe cycling," said professional hockey player Mike Commodore, a native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., who currently plays in Russias Kontinental Hockey League. The 11-year veteran of the NHL added the hashtag .beatitpeter to his tweet. Less than 30 minutes later, Commodore tweeted at Gammons a second time, again referring to MLBs struggles to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs: "(at)pgammo , help us out with your infinite wisdom scoops, would a good solid 25 year HGH/doping era turn hockey into a "major" sport?" Erik Johnson, a defenceman for the Colorado Avalanche, replied to Gammons with a picture of the sold-out Michigan Stadium, filled with over 100,000 fans to watch the Winter Classic between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 1. The caption "No one cares about hockey" was superimposed over the image. Larry Brooks, a New York Post sportswriter renowned for his arguments with Tortorella when the coach was with the Rangers, also criticized Gammons. "Dont know about that. No one called baseball a minor sport when Carlos Quentin charged mound and broke Zach Greinkes collarbone," said Brooks. Jesse Spector, baseball writer for the Sporting News, defended Gammons remarks to Sean Gentille, his hockey-reporting colleague. "(at)seangentille Basically, if you think Gammons is the only guy out there who sees last night and says "minor sport," youre kidding yourself," said Spector. Follow (at)jchidleyhill on Twitter. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '