"Its going to be my first World Series experience being

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OTTAWA -- A majority of Canadians equate mens hockey gold with success at next months Sochi Olympics, a new poll suggests. . Seventy-three per cent of those surveyed in the Harris-Decima poll, which was provided to The Canadian Press, said Canada winning gold in mens hockey is "important in determining the success of the Games." But even more say they view avoiding security threats as the most important measure of whether the Sochi Olympics are a success. In total, 83 per cent said it was very or somewhat important that there be no security threats. That is a slightly smaller number than the 88 per cent who said in a survey prior to the 2010 Olympics that it was very or somewhat important that there be no security threats in Vancouver. Nationally, 58 per cent of those polled suggested they would follow the Sochi Olympics very or somewhat closely, also down from those polled prior to the Vancouver Games. And just over half those polled suggested theyd be paying less attention to these Games than they did to the Vancouver Olympics. "We saw an amazing degree of national enthusiasm for the Games we hosted in Vancouver and we shouldnt expect Canadians to get quite that engaged for any other Winter Olympics," said Harris-Decima vice-president Megan Tam. "That being said, a majority of Canadians anticipate following the Games in Sochi and there is clearly some sense of national competitiveness demonstrated with the attitudes expressed about the importance of winning certain gold medals or even the most overall again." B.C. residents were the most likely to say they would be paying a lot less attention to Sochi. Mens hockey gold wasnt the only big item on the list of those who will be following the Olympics. A gold by the Canadian womens hockey team was also picked by 71 per cent as important in gauging success. And 70 per cent said they felt it was important there be no organizational problems that could give the Olympics a black eye on the world stage. Canadas overall standing was also important with 63 per cent saying its important Canada finish in the top three in the medal count, and 58 per cent suggesting Canada winning more medals than any other would be important in their determination of the success of the Olympics. The telephone survey of 1,015 Canadians was done between Jan. 9 and Jan. 13. The survey is considered accurate to a margin of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. .C. -- With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Utica Comets needed someone to step up Saturday night. . "Maybe, we were too comfortable," he told TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie. "It looked to me that - the year before we had a lot of injuries and a number of the key guys didnt play very much - we came to camp with a full group, maybe we thought we were going to be better than we were going to be and, certainly, we didnt compete at the same level. . Then, he delivered. Semien hit a tiebreaking RBI double in a two-run 12th, Jose Quintana pitched one-hit ball over seven innings, and the White Sox beat the Cubs 3-1 at Wrigley Field on Monday night.ST. LOUIS - So much is at stake and with an entire offseason to recover, Boston right-hander Clay Buchholz will make the Game 4 start on Sunday night. Hell be at less than full health, something with which hes become accustomed. "I dont think there is any risk there," said Buchholz. "My one thing that I have is to go and compete. Go out there for as long as John wants to leave me out there, and give the team a chance to win to the best of my ability." Buchholz had gaudy regular season numbers (16 starts - 12-1, 1.74, 1.025 WHIP) but he suffered through an injury-riddled campaign, missing exactly three months with a neck strain. He made four starts after his return on September 10 and in three postseason starts, hes recorded three no-decisions while posting a 5.40 ERA and 1.440 WHIP in 16 2/3 innings. Buchholz appears to tire relatively early in games, twice against the Tigers he couldnt get out of the sixth inning, and indications are hes experiencing tightness in his pitching shoulder. Buchholz promises to grind through. "Its going to be my first World Series experience being on the field, and I think that just the environment, the crowd, the adrenaline, thats going to help me out, too," he said. The 29-year-old has undergone rigorous treatment to prepare for Sunday night. Buchholz has been careful about his use of pain medication in the wake of a bout of esophagitis that put him in hospital last season. "I stayed away from the stuff that, the really strong aanti-inflammatories," said Buchholz. . . "Basically been on the same stuff since the first time during the season, whenever I went on the disabled list." Buchholzs problems of late have started around the 75-pitch mark. He will be watched closely by Bostons coaching staff. Left-hander Felix Doubront and right-hander Ryan Dempster, both starters during the regular season, would be available to work multiple innings if Buchholz needs the support. "We go into (Sunday) thinking that hes going to give us what hes been in the postseason," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "That might be a little bit shorter of an outing than maybe weve seen back in April and May. But hes also been very effective and were fully anticipating that to be the case (Sunday.)" Itll be a fine balance for Buchholz, who will have to make an honest determination about the state of his arm on an inning-by-inning basis. "Being at this level, especially on this stage, its tough to take yourself out of a game. Ive never done that before," he said. "But with this scenario thats going on right now, Im going to tell them the truth. Its not going to be one of times where you might be feeling tired but still telling everybody that youre good to go. Like I said, Im going to compete and give my team the best chance of winning that I can and if something does come up that Im feeling a little rundown, then, yeah, thats something that Ill let them know." ' ' '