ARE, Sweden -- Olympic silver medallist Anna Fenninger won a World Cup giant slalom race Thursday, and closed the gap on overall leader Maria Hoefl-Riesch. The Austrian, who also won the Olympic super-G in Sochi, won the race despite finishing seventh in the first run. Her combined time of 2 minutes, 26.39 seconds was 0.21 faster than surprise runner-up Anemone Marmottan of France. Lara Gut of Switzerland and Eva-Maria Brem of Austria tied for third, trailing Fenninger by 0.39. Hoefl-Riesch placed 21st in what is typically her weakest discipline and earned only 10 World Cup race points. Fenningers 100 points brought her within 67 of the 2011 overall champion from Germany with six races remaining this season. Congratulating Fenninger in a post on her Twitter account, Hoefl-Riesch wrote: "Now you are the favourite for the big crystal globe." In her past four races, Fenninger has collected two Olympics medals, finished second in a World Cup downhill and now taken her sixth career World Cup win. The 24-year-old Austrians second GS victory this season lifted her to second behind Jessica Lindell-Vikarby of Sweden in the season-long discipline standings. Lindell-Vikarby placed sixth in front of her home crowd, 0.82 behind, and has a 54-point lead over Fenninger. Are hosts another giant slalom on Friday, after Thursdays race was a replacement for one cancelled last month in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. Tina Maze of Slovenia, the Olympic champion in GS, held a clear first-leg lead Thursday but had a strangely cautious second run to fall to fifth place. Marmottan and Brem both recorded their first career podium finishes in the World Cup. Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States placed 15th, 2.16 behind Fenninger. The Olympic champion in slalom will get a chance to race her favourite event on Saturday. The season concludes next week with the World Cup finals races in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, where weather has been a major factor. Hoefl-Riesch clinched her 2011 title by only three points from Lindsey Vonn when the final GS race was cancelled, and last year none of the mens and womens downhill and super-G races were completed. . The 40-year-old midfielder was put in charge on Tuesday when David Moyes reign ended after 10 months with the defending champions in seventh place in the English Premier League. .J. - The New York Jets have signed former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Graham Harrell, giving them some added depth at the position.
http://www.custompackersjersey.com/cust ... 1002r.html. A Swiss Federal Tribunal ruling published Friday said that FIFAs disputes panel and the Court of Arbitration for Sport correctly imposed the sanction for Nantes enticing Guinea forward Ismael Bangoura to break his contract with Dubai club Al Nasr in January 2012. . LaQuinton Ross scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half, hitting his first four 3-pointers, to send No. . Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson hit RBI singles in the second inning against Kevin Correia (4-10), and that was all Vargas needed.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray continued to steamroll the opposition Saturday in the mens draw at the Australian Open. The former Grand Slam champions have yet to drop a set through the first three rounds and each had little trouble Saturday. Nadal dropped a mere six games in a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 rout of Frenchman Gael Monfils, while Federer lost only seven games in a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 pounding of Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili. Murray, meanwhile, battled through a first-set tiebreaker before cruising the rest of the way in a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-2 victory over Spains Feliciano Lopez. The top-seeded Nadal broke Monfils serve to start the match and battled through a tough first service game of his own to set the tone Saturday night at Laver Arena. There wasnt much drama afterward. Nadal finished off the first set in 39 minutes and again breezed through the second in 36 before Monfils put up a fight in the third. Tied at 3-3, Monfils had a couple of break chances, but Nadal was up to the task each time and went on to hold serve. Monfils spirit was broken and so was his serve in the next game. Nadal then held at love to finish it. "Tonight, I think I played a great match," said Nadal. "Very happy the way that I played against a very tough opponent like Gael. So that makes the level that I played tonight better, because (it) was against tough opponent." Monfils failed on each of his six break-point chances throughout the match and committed a whopping 57 unforced errors. "Definitely, today he was in great shape," said Monfils, who went the distance against Nadal in the Doha final to start 2014. "Been a while since I played Rafa like that." Nadal, who missed last years Australian Open while recovering from a knee issue, will continue his quest for a second title in Melbourne against Japans Kei Nishikori, a 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 winner over American Donald Young. Nadal, the 2009 winner, is 5-0 lifetime against Nishikori. Federer, the four-time Aussie Open champ, is seeded sixth this year after his troubling 2013 season that featured only one tournament title and no Grand Slam finals. He hasnt had any issues beating overmatched opponents in the first three rounds this week, including Saturdays triumph. "Im happy that from my side Im winning my matches in straight sets," said Federer. "Its been different condditions every match: the heat first and the indoor match and now normal conditions today with a bit of wind.dddddddddddd So its just good to get through and get a good feel out there and make sure if youve got a chance to win your matches easier to do so." It starts to toughen up next with 10th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who advanced Saturday with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-2 win over fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon. "Its always difficult when you play a friend, Ive known him since we were nine or 10," said Tsonga about beating Simon. "Its like we create a little war." A battle against 17-time major champ Federer now awaits Tsonga, whose best Grand Slam result came with a runner-up finish to Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open final. Federer beat Tsonga in last years quarterfinals in Melbourne, but Tsonga earned a measure of revenge with a quarterfinal win at the French Open. "Its a good opportunity for me to play him again," said Tsonga. "Its always nice to play against such a good player. The tournament continues for me and Im feeling good." Murray, a three-time Aussie Open runner-up, is battling back pain, but has shown no ill effects yet. "Ive recovered well after the matches," the reigning Wimbledon champ said about his back. "You know, from time to time a bit of stiffness and soreness, but for the most part its been good." Next up for the Scotsman will be French lucky loser Stephane Robert, who has played his way into the fourth round after entering the tournament following the withdrawal of Philip Kohlschreiber. "I dont know him personally, so maybe next tournament when I see him Im going to tell him, like, thank you," Robert said when asked if he had spoken with the German. Spains Roberto Bautista Agut followed up his upset of fifth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 romp over Frenchman Benoit Paire and will next face Bulgarias Grigor Dimitrov, a four-set winner over 11th-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic. The fourth round starts Sunday with a quartet of matches. Djokovic will continue his push for a fourth straight Aussie Open crown against Italys Fabio Fognini, while third-seeded David Ferrer will square off against Germanys Florian Mayer. Switzerlands Stanislas Wawrinka will face Spains Tommy Robredo and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic will battle South Africas Kevin Anderson. ' ' '
