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VAL GARDENA, Italy -- Canadas Erik Guay gained a measure of revenge by winning the prestigious Val Gardena downhill Saturday, a year after missing out on the victory because of changing weather. Guay, from Mt. Tremblant, Que., clocked one minute 56.65 seconds down a Saslong course lined with huge jumps and filled with tricky terrain, making up time over the last few gates to edge Kjetil Jansrud of Norway by 0.12 seconds. "It is sweet," Guay said. "I skied really well and took the chances necessary." It was the fourth career World Cup victory for Guay, who also won gold in downhill at the 2011 world championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Johan Clarey of France finished third, 0.24 back, and overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal was fourth, 0.29 behind. Bode Miller placed fifth, 0.39 behind, for his best finish in a speed event this season. Miller took last season off to recover from left knee surgery and he is improving race by race as he prepares for the Sochi Olympics in February. Miller would have made the podium if he was just a bit faster on the flats and said getting his equipment dialed in after so much time off was a big factor. "Theres so many details, you never know what it is thats really causing the problem," the 36-year-old two-time overall World Cup winner said. "The fact is we just dont have the whole thing together right now. Were close, and were getting there." Miller made up more than half a second on the technical lower section. "On the top I didnt feel like I was going fast," Miller said. "I took a little bit of risk in some parts and pulled off some decent turns and I skied pretty well but its one of those courses where theres not enough to it to bring it back in with my technical ability." Guay thought he had won this race last year until a drastic weather change helped later starters on a shortened course, with Steven Nyman of the United States taking the win and Rok Perko of Slovenia claiming second, relegating Guay to third. "I had a great run last year," Guay said. "In my mind I skied the best that I could have with my start number and not to take anything away from Nyman and Perko but the conditions do change and thats the reality of our sport. "I know that ski racing is like that," Guay added. "Ive been on the good side of the hundredths and Ive benefited from good weather sometimes. So you take it when you can and you forget it when youre on the other side." While it wasnt quite as drastic as last year, when winds played a role, changing light once again made a big impact. Guay, Svindal and Miller had to deal with less light on the gliding section on top but then all three racers excelled on the more technical section of the course. The highlights of the Saslong are the camel bumps, which launch skiers into the air for nearly 80 metres (90 yards), and the twisty and technical ciaslat section -- two areas that come one right after another midway down. There are also numerous little bumps and jumps, making for constant air time. "A lot of times Val Gardena goes under radar with Wengen and Kitzbuehel getting so much attention but I think its one of most fun courses on the World Cup," Guay said. Guays performance was all the more impressive considering that he had left-knee surgery in the off-season and missed most of preseason training. Jansrud also had left-knee surgery after a crash in the super-G at last seasons world championships in Schladming, Austria. Jansrud took silver in giant slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Saturdays result matched his best downhill finish from March, 2012, on home snow in Kvitfjell. Clarey also finished third in this race four years ago for his only other career podium. He stood first when the 2011 race was abandoned beause of strong winds after 21 racers had completed their runs. "Its unbelievable for me," Clarey said. "I almost quit skiing five months ago after my back injury." In the overall standings, Svindal moved 175 points ahead of Marcel Hirscher, who does not race downhill. Svindal also leads the downhill standings, 53 points ahead of Guay. Nyman was an early starter and made a big mistake midway down and had to make an acrobatic recovery to avoid injury. But his race ended there. Brice Roger and David Poisson of France also fell. Poisson slammed into the safety netting at full speed but eventually got up and skied down. The circuit moves over the Gardena pass for a giant slalom Sunday in Alta Badia, where Ted Ligety will attempt to duplicate his dominant win from last season. Kevin Shattenkirk Jersey . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Phil Kessel USA Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.hockeyusaonline.com/Jamie-Langenbrunner-Jersey/ . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Jimmy Howard Jersey . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jamie Langenbrunner Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night.TORONTO -- Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver all passed on Stage 1 of the MLS Re-Entry Draft on Thursday but D.C. United continued its remake by taking defenders Sean Franklin and Bobby Boswell. United took Franklin first overall and then grabbed Boswell in the second round. Franklin spent the last six years with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Named 2008 rookie of the year, he played 160 matches and won two MLS titles with the Galaxy. He earned US$248,333 this season. "Sean is in the prime of his career, and we are excited that he is now part of D.C. United," United GM Dave Kasper said in a statement. Boswell joined D.C. United in 2005 and won Defender of the Year honours in 2006 before leaving for Houston. He played 32 games in 2013 for the Dynamo, making $220,000. "We are pleased to welcome Bobby back to United," said Kasper. "Bobby is a seasoned veteran and a winner, and he will provide our back line with solid leadership." Only Chivas USA gave up more goals (69) than D.C. Uniteds 59 in 2013. United had the leagues worst record at 3-24-7. On Tuesday, United acquired veteran midfielder and captain Davy Arnaud from the Montreal Impact in exchange for an international roster spot for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Steve Zakuani, Corben Bone and Marc Burch were the only other players chosen Thursday as most teams elected to wait until the next stage of the re-entry process next Wednesday, allowing them to negotiate new salaries. Teams that chose players in Stage 1 must either exercise those players 2014 option or make them a "bona fide offer." Teams will have seven days to make an offer to the players taken in Stage 2. If an agreement cant be reached, the club will hold the right of first refusal for that player in MLS. Players not picked up after Stage 2 become available to any MLS club on a first-come, first-served basis. The Portland Timbers took Steve Zakuani, a former Seattle winger, after trading with Chivas USA to grab the No. 2 selection. Portland also picked up midfielder-defender Jorge Villafana in the deal while Chivas gott the No.dddddddddddd 17 selection and defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste. Zakuani, 25, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft after playing at the University of Akron under current Portland coach Caleb Porter. He earned $233,000 this season. Bone, formerly of the Chicago Fire, went to the Philadelphia Union while Burch, another Seattle alumnus, was taken by Colorado. Bone, 25, was taken by the Fire 13th overall in the 2010 draft. He made $49,000 this season. "We like what Corben can offer to our team going forward," said Union manager John Hackworth. Burch, 29, spent the last two seasons with the Sounders, and has 152 regular-season matches under his belt. The defender-midfielder made $75,000 in 2013. "Marc is a versatile and talented left-sided player with a lot of MLS experience," said Rapids technical director Paul Bravo. Torontos Bobby Convey was one of several players to pull out of the re-entry draft, suggesting another form of move was in the works. FC Dallas Kenny Cooper and New Englands Kevin Alston also dropped out. Portland also announced that midfielder Rodney Wallace had undergone successful surgery to repair a torn right anterior cruciate ligament and a non-displaced right tibial plateau fracture as well as a meniscectomy of his right knee. Wallace, injured in the Western Conference Championship against Real Salt Lake on Nov. 24, is expected to be out five to seven months. In other MLS news, the Seattle Sounders acquired veteran defender Chad Marshall from the Columbus Crew in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick and allocation money. Columbus sent its 2014 fourth-round draft pick to the Chicago Fire in exchange for the rights to midfielder Daniel Paladini. The Houston Dynamo announced the launch of the Houston Dash, a womens pro team that will join the National Womens Soccer League (NWSL) as an expansion team for the 2014 season. The Dash join the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, the Washington Spirit and Western New York Flash. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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