OTTAWA - Daniel Alfredsson has no doubt that he and the Ottawa Senators will bring their best game to Pittsburgh and doesn’t care if anyone thinks otherwise.

Down 3-1 to the Penguins, the Senators face the prospect of elimination when their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal resume Friday night.

TORONTO - Prior to training camp this season, young midfielder Jonathan Osorio was just hoping to catch on with Toronto FC.

The 20-year-old from Toronto has gone well beyond just hanging around. Osorio earned a starting assignment in the MLS club's first pre-season game against Columbus in Orlando in February, has seen action in 10 of TFC's first 11 league games, scored twice and been singled out for praise by manager Ryan Nelsen, who has used him as an impact substitute.

SASKATOON - Saskatoon Blades defenceman Dalton Thrower has played his last game at the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

The Canadian Hockey League has suspended Thrower for the rest of the tournament for his check to the head on Portland Winterhawks forward Taylor Leier.

Thrower hit Leier as he cut into the Blades' zone in the first period of Portland's 4-2 win on Wednesday night. A bloodied Leier lay motionless before being helped off the ice. There was no penalty called on the play.

MONTREAL - Having Alessandro Nesta back on the field this week was a welcome sight for the Montreal Impact.

The former Italian international defender has battled a nagging adductor injury since the third game of the Major League Soccer season, but looks ready to play again.

"He was in good spirits because he was back with the group," coach Marco Schallibaum said Thursday. "It shows he wants to play, and that experience and quality he has is a big plus for us."

POLSA, Italy - Vincenzo Nibali won the individual mountain time trial in the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday to extend his overall lead.

The Italian finished in 44 minutes, 29 seconds on the 20.6-kilometre (12.8-mile) uphill route from Mori to Polsa in northern Italy for his first stage victory in this year's race. Samuel Sanchez was 58 seconds behind, while Damiano Caruso was third, 1:20 behind Nibali.

PARIS - Used to be the French Open was the scene for clay-court specialists and surprise champions.

Scan the list of past winners and runners-up. There's Gaston Gaudio and Albert Costa, Guillermo Coria and Martin Verkerk, Andres Gomez and Mariano Puerta. Not so much a "Who's Who." More like a "Who's He?"

TORONTO - Toronto FC is hurting ahead of Saturday's away game with the New England Revolution.

Manager Ryan Nelsen says the injured list includes Justin Braun, Danny Califf, Bobby Convey, Richard Eckersley, Stefan Frei and Darel Russell.

Star striker Danny Koevermans is ready to play after a 10-month absence due to a knee injury but is being held out of the game because the artificial turf at New England is where he ripped up his knee last July.

LONDON - Wrestling's governing body has "reacted well" and made the necessary changes to give the sport a chance of saving its place in the Olympics, IOC President Jacques Rogge said.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Rogge said FILA has tackled the issues that led the IOC executive board in February to remove wrestling from the list of core sports for the 2020 Games.

GENEVA - An independent panel will examine allegations that cycling's governing body was complicit in Lance Armstrong's doping, UCI President Pat McQuaid said Thursday.

Senior UCI and World Anti-Doping Agency officials will meet in Russia next week to discuss potential appointments to a three-member expert panel, McQuaid told The Associated Press.

Long-standing claims about the UCI and Armstrong's relationship "absolutely will be addressed" by the commission, he said.

VIRGINIA WATER, England - The head of the European golf tour apologized for using the term "colored" during a live television interview Thursday in which he was reacting to the spat between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia.

European Tour CEO George O'Grady said that "most of Sergio's friends are colored athletes in the United States."