It was back in 1991 that Stephen Ames got a taste of what life in Canada would be like. For a guy raised in the tropical temperatures of Trinidad, it was a rude Calgary welcome. "I think the wind chill was minus-55," he said recalling his first Canadian winter spent living in the basement of his mother-in-laws house. "I never left the house." Ames has never really grown fond of winter, but he has certainly fallen in love with Canada. On Wednesday, the country paid him back for that by naming him to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. A four-time winner on the PGA Tour including the 2006 Players, Ames is winding down his career on the regular tour and preparing to join the 50-and-over gang on the Champions circuit in April after reaching the magic age of 50. For most of this year, hell split his time between the two tours using his top 50-career money list exemption on the PGA Tour. When asked what he thought the difference between the two tours would be, Ames said it might have to do with what happens off the course. "I think its the 19th hole," he said with a chuckle. "I think its a bit more relaxed after the round." Ames would be a worthy inductee based solely on his playing record, but his contributions to Canadian golf go well beyond that. He has run the Stephen Ames Cup for the past decade, a team event that pits squads from Canada against those from Trinidad. Some of the youngsters who have participated in that event have gone on to earn U.S. college scholarships. And he was instrumental in bringing the Shaw Charity Classic to Calgary, helping line up a team of big rollers in the Western Canadian city to lay the foundation for the Champions Tour event. Ames was also the guy who gave an energetic young teacher named Sean Foley a chance to work with a PGA Tour pro. We all know where thats gone. When asked what the top mark of his career is, Ames didnt hesitate. "Its this," he stated, in reference to his induction. "I think being in the Hall of Fame is the highlight." On the course, Ames said that his Players victory was at the top of his personal list. I can say that in all the golf Ive covered and watched, that is simply the best 18 holes of golf Ive ever witnessed. Ive never seen anyone control his golf ball for every shot as Ames did that day. All he did was beat the best field in golf by six shots. I remember some of the biggest names in the game that day shaking their heads in disbelief at what he was doing to TPC Sawgrass. For some people, Ames is seen as a prickly personality but to those who get to know him, nothing could be further from the truth. Hes a guy with a huge heart who loves to laugh and loves his family. Sometimes when he speaks his mind, it can get him in trouble such as the occasion when he questioned Tiger Woods driving ahead of the 2006 Match Play. While a lot was made of that and the subsequent beating Woods laid on him, what he said wasnt wrong. Woods was hitting it all over the lot with his driver. After he won the Players, some media members took him to task for saying he might skip the Masters to go on a family vacation. They couldnt understand how someone would pass up the years first major, the one thats exceptionally difficult to get into. What many failed to realize was that his wife, Jodi, was recovering from surgery for lung cancer. Suddenly a golf tournament, even the Masters, didnt seem so important. There are also still some who, for small-minded reasons, dont even consider him a Canadian. To me, a guy who leaves his native country to willingly take up citizenship, to give back to the game here, to start businesses here, to create tournaments here and make his home full time in Canada – and even cheer for the Calgary Flames -- is about as Maple Leaf as they come. 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The Oilers have been shut out in three straight home games and are in last place in the Western Conference with a 4-14-2 record. "Things have obviously not gone as well as I would have thought probable.SAN ANTONIO -- The Spurs rode the wide shoulders of Tim Duncan to victory. The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. So the veteran Duncan overcame a brief injury scare to score 27 points. The Spurs held Dallas to one field goal in the final seven minutes to rally for a 90-85 win Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. The Mavericks also went scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes during that stretch, their lone field goal coming with less than a second remaining. San Antonio won despite going 3 for 17 on 3-pointers and getting only 23 points from its normally potent bench. "We got killed on 3s in the first four outings this year," Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said. "It was no secret; we stayed home a little more on 3-point shooters, but youve got to give them something, and Duncan in there is obviously still solid." Duncan scored nine points on 4-for-5 shooting from the paint in the final quarter to help the Spurs overcome a 10-point deficit. "Timmy, hes not going to score 24 a game or anything like that," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Hes the base from which everything else occurs, whether hes scoring or not. It just gives us a comfort level and a point from which to operate. He plays (defence), rebounds, scores here and there. He just does his job." Parker had 21 points, and Manu Ginobili added 17. Kawhi Leonard had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Tiago Splitter pulled down 11 rebounds for top-seeded San Antonio, which has won 10 straight against Dallas. Devin Harris scored 19 points for the Mavericks, who nearly pulled off a huge upset. The Spurs had insisted that what happens in the regular season doesnt matter, and they were proven right for much of the game -- much to the home fans dismay. Absent were the crisp passing, aggressive defence, bench scoring and 3-point shooting that made for the leagues best record. "Its always tough to change gears from the regular season to the playoffs when youre preparing for a team and theyre preparing for you specifically," Duncan said. San Antonio returned to its winning formula over the final seven minutes, taking an 86-81 lead with a 15-0 run. Splitteer tied the game with five minutes remaining, rolling to the basket off a screen for an easy layup off a pass from Parker.dddddddddddd The All-Star point guard then drove the lane for a layup and drained a 13-foot jumper, which he punctuated with a loud scream after Dallas called timeout with 2:45 to go. "I was able to push the ball and get some easy baskets," Parker said. "It got our confidence going, so once again defensively, the stops that we made helped us offensively." Dallas had taken an 81-71 lead when Brandan Wright completed a three-point play with 7:45 remaining. The Mavericks proceeded to miss their next 12 shots and committed three turnovers. "Defensively, we started making stops," Ginobili said. "We were at a point where they were getting to the rim. They were making shots and nothing seemed to work for brief periods. There was a point where we were down 10 where we made a couple of steals. We ran, we got fouled, we got a couple of easy buckets, and that changed our mentality." Nowitzki, who finished with 11 points, was 2 for 6 from the field in the final quarter. The veteran forward was closely defended by Splitter. "Theyre not necessarily unbelievably athletic and long, but they are very smart," Nowitzki said. "What they want to do defensively is take you out of your comfort zone." Duncan, wearing a heavy brace on his left knee, walked off the court gingerly with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter after banging knees with Monta Ellis. He did not get up as he customarily does during a timeout to greet his teammates. Duncan later left the court, followed closely by trainer Will Sevening and team doctor David Schmidt, returning a minute later limping slightly less, and he played big down the stretch. "I knew as soon as I felt it," Duncan said. "My leg just kind of went numb, so I knew it was hopefully just a charley horse. I knew I needed just a couple of minutes just for the feeling to come back and I would be fine." NOTES: Referee Joey Crawford screamed twice at a pair of scoring officials during a timeout, telling them at one point to do their jobs. Crawford, who once ejected Duncan for laughing from the bench during a game against the Mavericks, was booed regularly by the fans. 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