Two Canadian snowboarders who were critical of Shaun Whites decision to pull out of the Olympic slopestyle competition were among eight riders who qualified Thursday for the events final. Max Parrot posted the days best score, a 97.50 in his second run. Sebastien Toutant also made it through to Saturdays final as the Sochi Olympics opened with one of the new events debuting at the games. White, the American star known for his daring halfpipe tricks, withdrew from the event on Wednesday, saying he wanted to concentrate on winning his third straight gold medal in the halfpipe. He hurt his wrist during a training run on Tuesday but initially indicated he would not miss the event. His decision to withdraw was mocked by Parrot and Toutant on social media. In a since-deleted tweet, Parrot said he thought White was "scared" to compete and "knows he wont be able to win the slopes." "I just think me and Seb said something all the other riders would have loved to tell, but maybe are scared to tell," Parrot told TSN on Thursday. "He choked a couple contests this year with not really good reasons. With him here he has the potential to be...Why choke on it for nothing?" Toutant tweeted, "Its easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you cant win." Toutant also deleted his message, but clarified his stance after his runs on Thursday. "I think its sad for all Americans who trained hard for that spot," he added. "Cant replace him - pretty sad. If you think its too dangerous, go do something else." The slopestyle course drew criticism as being potentially dangerous and was modified after Norways Torstein Horgmo broke his collarbone on Monday. The event, making its Olympic debut, features riders doing tricks over rails and jumps, like skateboarders in a city park only down a snow-covered trail. Parrots first run was smooth, but for a dragged hand at the end of one of his jumps, and drew a score of 91.75. The reigning Winter X Games gold medalist was better on his second run, which had few obvious flaws. Toutant scored a 74.25 on his first run and qualified through his second with a score of 87.25. Canadian Mark McMorris, a two-time X Games gold medalist, fell on his first run and will have to qualify through the semifinals. McMorris, who suffered a broken rib at the X Games last month, pulled off a triple-cork on his second run but earned an 89.25, not among the four best riders in his heat. Americans Sage Kotsenburg, Ryan Stassel and Charles Guldemond will also have to try to qualify through the semifinals, which are Saturday. Moving directly to the final with Parrot and Toutant were Norways Staale Sandbech and Gjermund Braaten, Finlands Peetu Piiroinen and Roope Tonteri, Great Britains Jamie Nicholls and Swedens Sven Thorgren. Scott McTominay Jersey . -- Jonathan Diaz is easy to spot in the Blue Jays clubhouse. Eric Bailly Jersey . Its the second of three meetings between these teams this season. Vancouver was a 2-1 winner on home ice December 22nd. http://www.jerseymanchesterunitedsoccer....-united-jersey/. The Austrian ski federation said Morgenstern was "conscious and well responsive" and his condition would be monitored in the intensive care unit of a Salzburg hospital for the next 72 hours. The federation said it was "way too early" to judge Morgensterns chances of competing in Sochi, and that an update on his condition was not expected before Monday. Luke Shaw Jersey . It will mark the 22nd time the tournament has been held in this country and fourth in Atlanta Canada but will make its first appearance ever in played Nova Scotia. Victor Lindelof Jersey . Perhaps as important, shes sending a message to 17-year-old gold medal favourite Sara Takanashi of Japan. Iraschko-Stolz relegated Takanashi, who has 10 World Cup victories this season, to second place in two of three training jumps Saturday.HOUSTON - Dwight Howard isnt quite where he wants to be.He was still good enough to lead the Houston Rockets to a win in his return from injury.Howard had 26 points and 13 rebounds, James Harden had a triple-double, and the Rockets overcame an early deficit for a 108-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.Howard, who missed the previous 11 games with a strained right knee, also reached a milestone, eclipsing 10,000 rebounds in his career.I didnt know what to expect, he said. I just wanted to come there and give my teammates everything I had. I didnt play a perfect game, but I gave the hardest effort I could for my team.Howard said hes still getting his conditioning back and that his knee got stiff when hed return to the game after a break.Harden had 24 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his third career triple-double. He almost didnt get it, grabbing his 10th rebound with less than a second left in the game. He almost had one a few seconds earlier, but teammate Troy Daniels swiped it from him.I almost tackled Troy out of bounds trying to get that rebound, Harden said with a laugh. Everybody in the arena knew what was going on but Troy.Ty Lawson had 19 points and 12 assists, and Darrell Arthur had a season-high 20 points for the Nuggets.We got dominated by their big guys inside, Denver coach Brian Shaw said. Howard and (Donatas) Motiejunas we couldnt stop when they threw the ball in the post. They just backed us down and got whatever they wanted.Houston trailed by 14 points in the first half before taking the lead with a big second quarter and keeping it the rest of the game. They led by seven points at the beginning of the fourth quarter and had extended the lead to 92-77 midway through the period.Coach Kevin McHale was a bit worried about how Howard would do after last playing on Nov. 17. It was apparent there was no reason for concern with the All-Star centres dominant performance. McHale planned to limit him to 20-24 minutes, but kept him in for almost 30.Dwight did fantastic ... its really hard to take thatt much time off, a month, and then come back and have any semblance of rhythm at all, McHale said.dddddddddddd He looked good and now we just have to build from here.Howard also had three blocks, two assists and a steal.About the only thing that slowed him down was a bloody nose he got early in the third quarter. He played several minutes after that with blood smeared on his crisp white jersey just above the R in Rockets and white paper stuffed up his right nostril.He said he got hit in the nose, but refused to elaborate.He went to the bench with about 4 minutes left in the quarter and changed into a fresh jersey.JJ Hickson scored the first basket of the second half to get the Nuggets within four points. But the Rockets scored the next eight points, thanks to 3s by Harden and Trevor Ariza, to make it 62-50 with 10 minutes left in the third.Howard made it 72-59 with a layup with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the third quarter. Denver outscored Houston 14-8 the rest of the quarter to cut the lead to 80-73 entering the fourth.Houston trailed by 14 points about eight minutes before halftime when they went on a 21-4 run to take a 47-44 lead with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the quarter. Motiejunas got things going in that span, scoring the first nine points of the run.TIP-INSNuggets: Lawson is the first player to have 10 or more assists against Houston this season. ... Danilo Gallinari (bruised knee) and JaVale McGee (leg strain) were out for Denver.Rockets: Motiejunas added a career-high 25 points. ... Francisco Garcia (strained right calf/Achilles), Isaiah Canaan (sprained left ankle), Terrence Jones (nerve inflammation in left leg) and Kostas Papanikolaou (strained right knee) all sat out for Houston.ROBINSONS RETURNDenver guard Nate Robinson (back) was cleared by a doctor to play on Friday, but Shaw wants him to go through some contact drills in practice or a shootaround before he returns. Robinson has missed four games with the injury.UP NEXTNuggets: Host San Antonio on Sunday.Rockets: At Denver on Wednesday. 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