NAGANO, Japan -- When hes not chanting and living the austere life of a Buddhist priest, Kazuki Yazawa contemplates Olympic gold.The 27-year-old Yazawa will represent Japan in canoe slalom at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics where he hopes to use his mental toughness and skill to bring home a medal.Yazawa wakes up before dawn every day -- not to train -- but to pray as a novice priest.With a shaved head and donning a long black robe, he tags along behind senior priests at the ancient Zenkoji Daikanjin Temple in Nagano prefecture, still learning his chants and getting used to long hours of sitting on the floor.But once the clock strikes 3 p.m. and his duties are done, he changes into a polo shirt and shorts and drives his white van to the nearby Saigawa River to practice for the big stage of Rio.Though a lifelong canoeist, Yazawas second calling as priest came shortly after competing in the London Olympics in 2012.He placed ninth in the mens K-1 kayak slalom -- a record for a Japanese canoeist -- but was strained under the pressures of finding sponsors.Thats was when he felt the need to find a stable job, and was inspired by his mentor and a fellow priest who also serves as the Nagano canoe association chairman, Kenei Koyama.In 2013, Yazawa decided to retreat from the front-lines of foreign competition and entered into priesthood.I never had the intention of balancing the two Yazawa said. When I started as a Buddhist priest, I had decided that my main job would be as a priest and that my life as a canoeist would be done in my spare time.An unexpected turn of events happened when Yazawa won the Japanese canoe slalom national tournament in 2015, propelling him to the top among Japanese contenders to compete in the Summer Games in Rio.Now, Yazawa practices for about an hour and half, six days a week, followed by either a runs or a gym session.His practice time on an average day is less than half of what he had done for the London Olympics, but that has not deterred Yazawa from reaching for gold.I hope to give my best performance that I can on the grand stage of the Olympics, and come back to Japan with a good feeling Yazawa said.His elders, meanwhile, are giving him all the support they can while not putting too much pressure on him.If you can win, nothing would surpass that, Kansho Kayaki, Deputy Chief Priest at the temple, told Yazawa. Regardless of the results, we hope you will stay healthy, avoid injuries, and complete the games.Yazawa will be competing at his third Olympics in Rio, following Beijing and London. Win or lose, he is taking a philosophical approach.This time, I think Im more at ease, Yazawa said. I think Ill be able to enjoy the Games. Javier Hernandez Mexico Jersey . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Marco Fabian Mexico Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.nationalsoccermexico.com/jorge-torres-nilo-mexico-jersey/ . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Raul Jimenez Jersey . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Carlos Pena Mexico Jersey . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. RIO DE JANEIRO -- There wont be a golden sweep in the green Olympic diving pool.Britain upset China to win the mens synchronized 3-meter springboard Wednesday, with Jack Laugher and Chris Mears totaling 454.32 points for their countrys first Olympic diving gold in history.When the scores came up and it obviously said that we had won I was still like, `No, someone is playing a horrible prank on me, Mears said. It was crazy, absolutely crazy, but Im absolutely buzzing.American duo Sam Dorman and Mike Hixon took silver with 450.21. Chinas Cao Yuan and Qin Kai settled for bronze with 443.70, ending their countrys bid to sweep the eight diving medals at the Rio de Janeiro Games.The Chinese had won the first three synchro events.On a dreary, windy day at Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre, a steady drizzle fell throughout the six-round final. The pools water was green for the second straight day, with games officials struggling to correct what they say is decreased alkalinity thats causing the change from clear blue to murky green.Being from the U.K., were very much used to rain, wind and all that kind of stuff, Laugher said.Qin was trying to win a third straight 3-meter synchro gold medal with his third different partner. But the 30-year-old Chinese -- oldest in the contest and owner of five Olympic medals -- faltered in the third round, dropping his team to second behind the British.I am the reason I did not do well, Qin said through a translator. I wasnt strong enough in my mindset. I didnt really focus enough.China fell to third in the next round, but moved up to second after its fifth dive. Cao and Qin earned scores ranging from 8.5 to 9.0, leaving them within 2.64 points of Britain heading into the last round. Laugher and Mears nailed the toughest dive any team attempted in the final, scoring 86.58 points in the fifth round.The Brits, Americans and Chinese all attempted the same dive to close the contest.Dorman and Hixon went first, scoring 98.04 to take over first, with the British and Chinese still to come. The Ammericans endured a five-minute wait while Mexicos duo, who competed in front of them, sought a do-over.ddddddddddddeading into the last dive, having the Mexicans try to re-dive was beneficial, Dorman said. Having them distract us and me wondering what was going on took a lot off my mind.Jahir Ocampo and Rommel Pacheco complained to officials after a temporary light on scaffolding above the pool suddenly turned on while they were starting their dive.At first, it appeared the Mexicans would be allowed to go again, and they climbed back on the boards. Hixon had already started up the stairs, thinking it was his turn before going back down to wait.Ocampo and Pacheco stood on the boards waiting for the judges to give the go signal. It never came. They werent allowed another attempt. It wouldnt have affected the medal finish, but might have moved the Mexicans up to fourth instead of fifth among the eight teams.We were going to do it again, but when we were up there waiting for the whistle to jump, they announced our scores and we had to come down again to protest, Pacheco said.He said he thought Mexico would protest to FINA, the sports world governing body.They might admit that they were wrong, but it wont change anything, Pacheco said.After Hixon celebrated his teams execution by punching the water, the Brits grabbed the top spot back, although at 91.20, they didnt score as high as the Americans.GB did an unbelievable last dive as well, Hixon said. We sort of made them earn it, but they absolutely did.On Chinas last dive, Qin struggled again, failing to enter the water straight on a forward 4+ somersaults dive carrying a 3.8 degree of difficulty that scored 83.22.Its a lot of pressure and yes, we were a little bit nervous, Cao said.China failed to win gold in the event for the first time since the 2004 Athens Games.---Associated Press Writer Carlos Rodriguez contributed to this report. ' ' '