Canadas flag-bearer traditionally generates plenty of conversation, an

Dario Franchitti kept racing after the death of best friend Greg Moore. He continued on following the death of former teammate Dan Wheldon. He was eager to drive into his early 40s. He wont get the chance. The three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and four-time IndyCar Series champion reluctantly and abruptly retired Thursday, saying doctors told him it would be too dangerous for him to continue racing because of injuries sustained in a harrowing crash last month. "Racing has been my life for over 30 years, and its really tough to think that the driving side is now over," Franchitti said. Franchitti fractured his spine, broke his right ankle and suffered a concussion in the Oct. 6 race at Houston, where his car made contact with Takuma Satos car on the last lap and sailed into a fence. Debris from the accident injured 13 fans in the grandstands and one IndyCar official. The 40-year-old Franchitti underwent two surgeries on his ankle and recently returned home to Scotland to recover. "One month removed from the crash, and based upon the expert advice of the doctors who have treated and assessed my head and spinal injuries post-accident, it is their best medical opinion that I must stop racing," Franchitti said. "They have made it very clear that the risks involved in further racing are too great and could be detrimental to my long term well-being. Based on this medical advice, I have no choice but to stop." Franchitti did not use the word "retire" in a lengthy statement released through Target Chip Ganassi Racing, the team he joined in 2009 following a brief stint in NASCAR with Ganassi a year earlier. Franchitti was unstoppable upon his return to IndyCar. Teamed with Ganassi and driving the feared red No. 10 Target car, Franchitti reeled off three consecutive championships and won 12 races. Two of the wins were Indy 500s. He became the face of the series -- Franchitti always had crossover appeal for IndyCar thanks to an 11-year marriage to actress Ashley Judd, which ended in January -- because he was personable, well-spoken, popular in the paddock and passionate about the sport. It resonated with fans and made Franchitti one of IndyCars all-time greats. His 31 victories are tied for eighth on the all-time list, and his 33 poles are sixth. "Dario Franchitti has done so much for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, so it will be very disappointing to not see him in our cars next season," Ganassi said. "But simply put, Dario is a motorsports legend and will be sorely missed on the race track by everyone in the paddock and in the stands. His contributions to the sport of motor racing are too many to list, but I can tell you that they go way beyond what he has done on the track." Asked on Twitter if Franchitti had indeed retired, Judd replied: "Yes, with an extraordinary career, legendary achievements, aplomb & style." Franchittis last victory was the 2012 Indy 500, an emotional race that came seven months after defending winner Wheldon had been killed in a crash at Las Vegas. Franchitti battled teammate Scott Dixon over the final third of the race, jockeyed with Sato in the closing laps until Sato spun to bring out a caution, and led Dixon and Tony Kanaan across the finish line as three of Wheldons closest friends finished 1-2-3. It was a poignant moment for Franchitti, who was too familiar with death in the sport he loved. Moore died in the 1999 season finale at Fontana, and Franchitti to this day remains deeply affected by the loss. "Ill forever look back on my time racing in CART and the IndyCar Series with fond memories and the relationships Ive forged in the sport will last a lifetime," he said. "Hopefully in time, Ill be able to continue in some off-track capacity with the IndyCar Series. I love open-wheel racing and I want to see it succeed. Ill be working with Chip to see how I can stay involved with the team, and with all the amazing friends Ive made over the years at Target. "As my buddy Greg Moore would say, See you up front." Word of Franchittis decision spread quickly and drivers who never raced against him reacted with sadness. "I think to have him around and on the circuit is far better than him going an injuring himself again against doctors advice," said Nigel Mansell, who was at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for this weekends Formula One race. But those closest to Franchitti were most affected. "Dario was a hell of a driver and will be missed -- missed by everyone in racing around the world," said 1963 Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones. "He was my kind of guy. He wasnt afraid to put his foot down and go. It is really hard to believe that he had to give up racing, I know would he would have won more races, and maybe Indy a couple more times, had he been able to continue driving." Michael Andretti, who fielded Franchittis car for his first Indy 500 victory and first series championship in 2007, said he was shocked. "I thought he had one good year left in him, and I know he wanted to race beyond IndyCar," Andretti said. "So thats what I feel most bad about -- hes being parked by a doctor. Hes not going to be able to race the sports car stuff he had talked about. He wont race with his brother (Marino), Le Mans, all the things he wanted to fulfil." Dixon, who won the 2008 championship while Franchitti was in NASCAR, called his teammate a motorsports legend. "More importantly, I can call him a best friend," Dixon said. "There are very few people that have achieved as much in auto racing and knowing Dario, he wont go far as IndyCar racing is in his blood and I am sure he will stay involved somehow." Franchitti had lured good friend and former Andretti teammate Kanaan to the Ganassi stable for 2014, an announcement that was made at Houston two days before Franchittis accident. Kanaan said he was counting the days "to be his teammate again," but is grateful Franchitti will still be in the IndyCar paddock next season. "As much as it hurts not seeing him compete with me in IndyCar, Im delighted that he got out of that accident and is still here with us," Kanaan said. Franchitti defeated Will Power three consecutive years to win the IndyCar championship and the two developed a rare rivalry for the series. "We had some real battles out on the track over the last few years and I appreciated how fierce of a competitor he was," Power said. "His accomplishments in IndyCar are incredible and the sport will definitely miss him." His retirement leaves Helio Castroneves as the only active three-time Indy 500 winner trying to join A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser Sr. as a four-time winner. "I know he will continue to be a great ambassador for our sport and Im sure Dario has a lot more to contribute to racing, it will just be in a different way than driving an IndyCar," Castroneves said. Foyt, the only driver with more IndyCar titles than Franchitti with seven, said: "If the doctors tell him he should quit then he should listen to them. Im the opposite and never would listen, but I probably would have been a lot better off if I did. But Darios won a lot of races and championships so he has a lot to be proud of. My hats off to him." Franchitti could find a role with the Ganassi organization, or perhaps land in the television booth. Andretti suggested Franchitti would be a good fit as a consultant to a manufacturer. For now, everyone was still trying to adjust to the idea of racing without Franchitti on the track. "You pinch yourself everyday as firsthand you are witness to the talent, ability, work ethic and start-versus-win ratio of Dario Franchitti," Ganassi team manager Mike Hull said. "Having Dario represent all of us is whats right about motorsports. His representation of the integrity of a true champion is what sets him apart." Steven Nelson Jersey . This is an exercise I have undertaken a few times, starting in 2009, and hope that Ive refined my approach a little bit in that time to help paint a better picture. Ron Parker Jersey . The Irish golfer, whose father Patrick died from cancer, says he underwent surgery for sun spots. 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The selection was packaged in the teams deal for Thomas Vanek on October 27, 2013.Alexandre Bilodeau captured Canadas first gold medal at the 2010 Olympics, while Charles Hamelin was the Canadian teams only multi gold medallist in Vancouver. Erik Guay narrowly missed the Olympic podium four years ago, but hes Canadas most decorated World Cup alpine skier. The next honour one of them could add to an already illustrious career is Canadas flag-bearer for the Sochi Olympics. On Thursday in Ottawa, the Canadian Olympic Committee will announce who will carry the Maple Leaf into the Sochi opening ceremonies, and Bilodeau, Hamelin and Guay, all leaders in their respective sports, are all strong candidates. "Just being among those, its a great honour for me because those are great athletes and there are many more athletes that deserve to carry the flag and deserve to be in the front row when it comes to Canada and to be role models," Bilodeau told The Canadian Press in Montreal on Wednesday. "It would be a tremendous honour to do that for my country and well see (Thursday), but its definitely something very special to be flag-bearer and whomever its going to be, were going to be proud." When asked if hed been tipped to be in Ottawa, Bilodeau laughed and said "I havent been contacted yet, so if its already decided, Im not the one." Bilodeau won moguls gold on the second day of the Games, and the image of the freestyle skier celebrating with his brother Frederic is one of the most enduring of Vancouver. Hamelin claimed two of Canadas record-setting 14 gold medals, but even more remarkable is the fact the short-track speedskater, whos also an eight-time world champion, won them within half an hour of each other, winning the 500 metres before returning to the track as part of the victorious 5,000-metre relay. Guay posted a pair of fifth-place finishes in Vancouver, in the downhill and super-G, missing a medal in super-G by just three hundredths of a second. In December, he won his 21st World Cup medal, breaking the Canadian record for podium performances held by Steve Podborski. Guay will be in Kitzbuehel, Austria, on Thursday, where hes racing in a World Cup. Canadas flag-bearer traditionally generates plenty of conversation, and this time is no different, with Canadian hockey stars Sidney Crosby and Hayley Wickenheiser garnering much support. Crosby, who created one of Vancouvers golden moments when he scored the winner in the final versus the U.S., isnt expected to be in Sochi for the opening ceremonies as his Pittsburgh Penguins have a game that night versus the New York Rangers. While Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara is missing two of Bostons NHL games to carry the flag for Slovakia, when asked about the possibility of carrying Canadas flag, Crosby said last weekend "It hasnt been brought up (by the Canadian Olympic Committee).dddddddddddd." Wickenheiser, meanwhile, is Canadas biggest womens star and a pioneer of the game who will make her fifth Olympic appearance. According to Hockey Canada, the womens team will march in the Feb. 7 opening ceremonies, despite playing their opening game the following night versus Switzerland. Wickenheiser, however, was a participant in the 2010 opening ceremonies -- she read the athletes oath. Plus, womens hockey player Danielle Goyette carried the flag into the opening ceremonies in 2006 in Turin, Italy. Long-track speedskater Clara Hughes carried the flag in the 2010 opening ceremonies while figure skater Joannie Rochette, who captured bronze just days after the death of her mom, was chosen to carry it out. Other favourites for Sochi include figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who won Canadas first ice dance gold medal in Vancouver, and three-time world champion Patrick Chan. With the new team event starting the day before the opening ceremonies, however, Virtue and Moir have said they wont march. Two-time world champion Kaillie Humphries, who teamed up with Heather Moyse in Vancouver to win Canadas first ever womens bobsled medal, is another favourite. She and Moyse will be gunning for gold again in Sochi. And long-track speedskater Christine Nesbitt also won gold in Vancouver, and is a seven-time world champion and has won a whopping 39 World Cup titles. Theres a Facebook pace supporting skier Larisa Yurkiw for flag-bearer that has over 3,500 likes. Yurkiw missed the Vancouver Games after suffering a bad knee injury in 2009, and then was forced to go pounding on doors for financial support after she was cut from the national team program. Yurkiw bounced back to qualify for Canadas Sochi-bound team. Each sport nominates an athlete as a candidate for flag-bearer. But some athletes see the responsibility as a distraction. Diver Alexandre Despatie told reporters before the 2012 London Games that he would decline any offer to carry the flag. "Its a great distraction, although it is the greatest honour an athlete can receive," the two-time Olympic silver medallist said. Moguls skier Jean-Luc Brassard finished fourth at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and blamed his disappointing performance on the fact hed carried the flag a day earlier. Among other recent flag-bearers named recently: Japan selected womens curler Ayumi Ogasawara, Italy chose two-time Olympic mens luge champion Armin Zoeggeler, and Spain will hand its flag to figure skater Javier Fernandez. 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