PEORIA, Ariz. Brian Quick Black Jersey. -- Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said Saturday it would be "hard pressed" for either Hisashi Iwakuma or Taijuan Walker to be in the Mariners rotation on opening day because of their injury setbacks during spring training. McClendon said the injuries to Iwakuma (finger) and Walker (shoulder) will open up chances for others in camp, but also leave a rotation that had questions entering spring training even more uncertain. "I always plan for the worst and our contingency plan has been that," McClendon said. "So like I said before this gives other guys opportunities to go out and see what they can do. Well see what happens." Iwakuma will have his right middle finger in a splint for another three weeks before throwing, while Walker is being shut down for a week because of inflammation in his right shoulder. By the time the duo make up for missed time on the mound it will be early- to mid-April before either is expected in a game. While Seattle is understandably cautious with the sore shoulder of the 21-year-old Walker because of his age, the finger injury has become frustrating for Iwakuma. When he went to see Dr. Don Sheridan on Friday, Iwakuma had the expectation that he could start throwing on Saturday. Instead, he was told to avoid throwing for three more weeks. The earliest Iwakuma is expected to pick up a ball is March 21. By the time he gets caught up on bullpen sessions and simulated games to get the needed innings to be ready for the season, itll likely be mid-April before he could join the Mariners rotation. "I was honestly disappointed and frustrated too at the same time, but you have to respect what the doctor says," Iwakuma said through an interpreter Saturday morning. "I was ready to play catch today so it is what it is and I have to wait three more weeks." Iwakuma went 14-6 with a 2.66 ERA in 33 starts last season and was a finalist for the AL Cy Young Award. Iwakuma reported for spring training wearing the splint and said his finger got caught as he tried to retrieve a ball in some netting while working out in Southern California on Jan. 20. McClendon also confirmed -- not surprisingly -- that Felix Hernandez is expected to be Seattles opening day starter when the Mariners open the season on March 31 against the Angels. "Unless youve got somebody else," McClendon joked. "Ill try and see if he can go opening day, the second day and the third day." Zac Stacy Black Jersey. The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Jo-Lonn Dunbar Jersey. Stamkos suffered a broken leg 10 weeks ago and continues to rehab in hopes of returning to the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup before the Olympic break. As a result of the positive feedback from the X-ray, Stamkos will continue to ramp up both on- and off-ice workouts.TORONTO -- She has successfully defended her Olympic gold medal and plans to compete in the 2018 Games, but Kaillie Humphries still has her sights set on achieving yet another goal in bobsleigh: having women take part in the four-man competition. Humphries said she plans to make a proposal this summer to her sports international governing body. The Calgary athlete hopes to help lead the charge by seeking to train and compete with men as the pilot of a four-person sled. "Women dont have four-man -- yet," Humphries said in an interview Friday, sporting her gold medals from the Vancouver and Sochi Olympics. "Were in a situation where women for a lot of years in our sport have always been told that were not as good a pilot, or were not as strong. And I think were at a point where women are proving now that we are just as good.... Were competing on the same level. And so its got to start somewhere. "Were still very much an all-boys club, and were still fairly new," she added, noting that women first competed in Olympic bobsleigh at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. "But at the same time, youve got the chicken and the egg. Youre not going to get more girls coming in unless you have more events. At the same time, theyre saying you cant have more events until you have more girls." Humphries said if women arent allowed to start competing in four-man bobsleigh, then maybe she can "join the guys." "Ill definitely have to have three men behind me in order to be competitive at all, but I feel like that could be a start and a step in a right direction towards encouraging women to come out to the sport, which will hopefully raise the profile a little bit more. And from there, we can hopefully get four-man started (for women)." The 28-year-old acknowledged that it will be an uphill climb, saying shell have to attend driving school and qualify "just like any other mens team would," adhering to both the Canadian system and international rules. "It will be a long process, it will be a hard one, one that I know Im going to get a few battles over and slack over for sure -- but one that Im willing to face. "I feel like Im a great person to at least get the ball rolling. Whether itll happen while Im still in sport, I dont know -- but its got to start somewhere." So could Humphries foreseeably see herself piloting both two-man and four-man sleds in the future? "I wouldnt go forward with it if I wasnt super passionate about it and didnt see it happening," she said. "Its just whether the federation and everybody else is ready for that to take flight yet. So thats what Ive got to do my best to convince people of." Humphries is still revelling in the golden glow of earning back-to-back Olympic titles with brakeman Heather Moyse of Summerside, P.E.I. The duo capped off their victory with yet another honour: being chosen as Canaadas flag bearers for the closing ceremony. T.J. McDonald Jersey. Humphries mom, Cheryl Simundson, was able to attend the Games as part of the "Thank You, Mom" program spearheaded by Procter & Gamble Co., which sponsors the bobsleigh champion. The program honours the role mothers play in helping children achieve their dreams. Simundson became emotional recalling the nail-biting two-minute wait to see Americans Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams complete their run following the Canadian team. In the end, Humphries and Moyse eked out a victory by a tenth of a second. "We knew that it was close. We knew that they had finished their fourth run and that it was possible, that it was up to Elana to take it or lose it," Simundson recalled, as her eyes began to fill with tears. "It was all about consistency. At that moment, we knew that they had done their best." Humphries admitted the pressures were greater heading into the Sochi Games, but said she couldnt approach the event any differently than other competitions. "I try and keep all my races as simple as possible," she said. "I push as hard as I can and I drive that track the very best that I can, and all my energy and focus goes into that. "If I think about it as the Olympics and your life is built up to this, four years is about this moment its too much." As has become customary, the heavily tattooed athlete plans to add new ink in commemoration of her Sochi victory just as she did after Vancouver. She plans to have a design of her newest medal tattooed with art from Sochi blended into one piece. Despite thriving under the intense spotlight of competition, Humphries admitted carrying Canadas flag with Moyse at the closing ceremony was fraught with a fresh set of jitters. While no one offered any guidance on how to carry the colours, she recalled a tip she received from British flag bearer Lizzy Yarnold that didnt quite work out as planned. "She said: I think you wave it like a figure eight. So I started doing that as I walked out, and I started hitting other peoples flags and I was like: This is an epic fail. OK, dont do that. Thanks, Lizzy," Humphries recalled, laughing. Still, the moment in Fisht Stadium was one to remember. "To know that we had our whole country behind us that just completely supported us and to hear it and to feel it from back home ... it was unbelievable." Humphries said while her biggest goal now is "just trying to live in the moment," her plan is to compete at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, with hopes of once again piloting to victory -- and the top of the podium. "Of course, if Im going in, Im going all in, 100 per cent. It will be sights set on another gold medal. "I cant do things halfway because I know its going to be that much harder. I mean, two is hard, but three, its really unbelievable, and again, never been done." ' ' '