DETROIT - Canadas Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch are in second place after Saturdays short program in pairs at Skate America which launches the ISU Grand Prix figure skating season. World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia grabbed the lead with 83.05 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed with a personal best score of 71.51 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia are third at 64.80. "We improved on most aspects of our program," said Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont. "The transitions and connections were the things we really wanted to do better today." Moore-Towers and Moscovitch put their hat in the Olympic medal contenders ring last season placing fourth at the world championships. They opened 2013-14 with a victory at the U.S. Skate International last month. Moscovitch says he wasnt surprised to see a personal best this early in the season. "We knew we were on track to get that score at this point," said the Toronto resident. "Were happy with it even though we didnt skate completely perfectly." Margaret Purdy of Strathroy, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., are seventh. The pairs free skate is on Sunday. The two couples are Canadas only entries at the competition. Later, Mao Asada of Japan won the womens short program, beating Ashley Wagner. This marked the second straight competition where Volosozhar and Trankov, the reigning Skate America champions, have set a short program world record. Their previous record, 81.65, was set last month en route to winning the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. Their Skate America performance, to "Masquerade Waltz" by Aram Khatchaturian, was a crisp display of big throws and lifts, unison spins and a triple toe loop, and sophisticated interpretation. The crowd gave the Russians a one-minute standing ovation. "We dont care so much about the world record," Trankov said. "We care more about our personal record, about our seasons best, about our skating. "Its our pleasure to skate good, and to have audience love it. When people stand up out of their seats, and are very loud and clap their hands, we feel it. It is more important thing than the scores." Asada skated cleanly and had 73.18 points. Wagner, the defending Skate America champion from the U.S., was next at 68.26. Elena Radinova of Russia, who is 14 and the reigning world junior champion, was third at 67.01. The long program is Sunday night. Asada boosted her score on the fly, changing her planned program content. She had planned a triple flip-triple loop near the beginning, but went with a triple loop instead. Asada performed a triple loop-double toe near the end of the short, upping her total. Asadas high-technical program had a pleasing, quiet flow. She made an adjustment, turning a planned triple flip-double loop scheduled for the start to a triple loop-double loop near the end. Jumps placed in the latter half of a program, when a skater is typically tiring, receive a higher scoring value. "For the past few years, I was not able to perform my best at the first Grand Prix, so I was very happy I was reasonably able to perform a very good performance," Asada said through a translator. "I think it is a very good start for the season." Wagners steady performance revealed her off-season work to improve her difficulty level. Wagner, the two-time U.S. champion, is also the defending Skate America titleholder but was still a technical difficulty level below Kim Yu-na, Carolina Kostner, and Asada coming into this season. Wagners lack of a triple-triple was addressed, and Skate America was the first ISU Grand Prix of the season to display it. Her more mature short program, to Pink Floyds "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," debuted at Skate America with a leadoff successful triple flip-triple toe. When her score of 69.26 was announced, she screamed "Oh!" and then did a little seated shimmy dance. "Going into the flip-toe, I was actually pretty terrified because its a high-risk element for me," Wagner said. "Before I went out there, Rafael (Arutunian) told me, Just go do it, go skate the flip-toe, do it like you know how to. And I just kind of turned the rest off and went into autopilot for the flip-toe and performed it like the way I had in practice. Im happy with that." While Asada and Wagner both impressed, the buzz from the short program was Radionova. She is Skate Americas youngest competitor, and many wondered how she would handle the pressure of the seasons first Grand Prix event. She answered the questions quickly, delivering a clean and confident performance. Radionova is the reigning world junior champion, and dominated the senior-level Nebelhorn Trophy event last month in Germany. She is ineligible for the Sochi Olympics because of her age. "This competition is a new level for me, I did not expect this result. ... I was not nervous, I was really calm and I kept it together really well," Radionova said through a translator. "I think this competition has a big meaning for me." The pairs competition wasnt nearly as close, as Volosozhar and Trankov showed they were at a level above the field. Canadians Moore-Towers and Moscovitch are nearly 13 points behind the leaders. Their throw triple loop was big, but Moore-Towers double-footed the landing. Former junior champions Ksneia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov evoked a Spanish feel in their short program. Their side-by-side triple toes were on par with those of Volosozhar and Trankov. But they lost points by downgrading their opening triple twist lift to a double. Dave Keon Jersey . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys . With the Canadiens leading by one to start the third period, Price turned away 16 shots by the Panthers in the final frame to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday night. The Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame, but were repeatedly frustrated by Price, who made 26 saves on the night. http://www.officialmapleleafspro.com/Mike-palmateer-maple-leafs-jersey/ . The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years. Bruce Boudreau Jersey . -- Michigan coach John Beilein is willing to give Nik Stauskas a little leeway when it comes to shot selection. Mats Sundin Jersey . Bell Medias 12-year partnership with the Ottawa Senators includes five major components: - English-language regional television broadcast rights for TSN – a minimum of 52 regular season and pre-season games - French-language regional television broadcast rights for RDS – a minimum of 40 regular season and pre-season games - English-language broadcast rights for TSN Radio 1200 – all games - French-language radio broadcast rights – all games - Telecommunications and retail sponsorship and activation rights "We recognized early on that our regional broadcast rights coming up for renewal was a very important asset," said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Zack Greinke had never lost at Great American Ball Park. Todd Frazier wasnt going to give him time to settle in on the mound again. Frazier swung at the first pitch he got from Greinke and hit a two-run homer on Thursday afternoon, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers and a split of their four-game series. The Reds won the last two games to finish a 5-5 homestand that left them stuck closer to the bottom of the NL Central than the top. Alfredo Simon (9-3) gave up seven singles in eight innings, joining the Cardinals Adam Wainwright as the NLs nine-game winners. Greinke (8-3) had been 4-0 in five games at Great American. A slow start cost him his perfect mark. Skip Schumaker opened the Reds first with a single, and Frazier followed with his team-high 14th homer on Greinkes fifth pitch of the game. Joey Votto doubled on the next pitch as well. "I was just trying to electrify us and get us going," said Frazier, who has five homers in his last 11 games. "First pitch, I was ready to attack. It was good to get the lead for Alfredo." Greinke gave the third baseman credit for hitting a pitch that ended up where it was intended. "It wasnt necessarily any worse pitches than the rest of the game, just that Fraziers hot," Greinke said. "A first-pitch slider at the bottom of the zone, you take your chances. But hes a strong guy and got a homer out of it." Cincinnati would get only one more hit off Greinke, who went six innings before leaving for a pinch-hitter. The Reds added a pair of runs in the eighth, when Zack Cozart doubled and scored on Brandon Leagues wild pitch. Ryan Ludwick had an RBI single. Simon matched his career high with eight innings and held the lead by pitching out of a threat in the seventh with a 2-1 lead. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier opened with singles. Tim Federowicz flied out too shallow to score the run, and Kemp was caught in a rundown after he tried to score on Miguel Rojas grounder. Pinch-hitter Scott Van Slyke struck out to end the threat. "What hes he doing thats most surprising to me is pitching effectively into the seventh and eighth inninngs," manager Bryan Price said.dddddddddddd"Hes pitching deep into games and continuing to stay aggressive with his stuff. He looks very comfortable in high-leverage situations." The 33-year-old pitcher has been a reliever most of his career, but embraced the chance to start. So far, he hasnt shown any problems making the switch. "I feel like my arm is only 20 years old," Simon said. "I feel like I can throw 200 innings." Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 11 chances. Simons nine wins match his total for his last two seasons with Cincinnati, when he was a reliever. Simon moved into the rotation when Mat Latos tore knee cartilage and had surgery at the start of spring training. Latos is expected to bump left-hander Tony Cingrani from the rotation when he returns from the disabled list this weekend. The Reds offence was finally back together during the homestand, with Votto returning from a strained muscle above his left knee that landed him on the disabled list for 23 games. Votto had a double and a single on Thursday, leaving him 4-for-10 in his three games back. The Dodgers completed a 4-3 trip to Colorado and Cincinnati, two hitter-friendly ballparks. Their pitching was solid, but the offence faded at the end, scoring one run in the last two games. They were limited to eight singles on Thursday, including Kemps RBI hit in the first inning. NOTES: The Dodgers start a six-game homestand on Friday against Arizona. LHP Clayton Kershaw (5-2) faces Chase Anderson (5-0). ... The Reds play their next six games in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh. Homer Bailey (7-3) faces Matt Garza (4-4) on Friday. ... LA is 39-22 against the Reds since the start of the 2006 season. .... The Dodgers won a challenge in the first inning, when Brandon Phillips initially was called safe at first base. The replay showed he was out. ... SS Hanley Ramirez was out of the lineup for a second consecutive game with a sore throwing shoulder. He got an injection after Wednesdays game. ... Phillips left in the eighth inning with a sore right index finger, hurt on a defensive play earlier in the game. ... Cozart extended his hitting streak to seven games. 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