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Krasnaya Polyana, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Ted Ligety skidded out, sliding onto his left side. No, the American skier hadnt just blown another chance to take his rightful place as the Olympic giant slalom champion. He was celebrating. In clear conditions at the Rosa Khutor course, Ligety carved out a big lead with a masterful morning run Wednesday that all but guaranteed him the gold barring a big mistake in the afternoon. Teammate Bode Miller called it a "clutch performance." You might call it a moment eight years in the making. Ligety took a lead of .93 seconds into the second run, then held on to beat Frances Steve Missillier by .48 seconds for his second Olympic gold medal but first in the event hes dominated for years on the World Cup circuit. Ligety finished with a combined time of 2 minutes, 45.29 seconds, winning the first gold medal of the Sochi Olympics for the U.S. alpine skiing team. Alexis Pinturault earned the bronze behind his French teammate. Widely considered the best giant slalom skier of his generation, Ligety skied out of the race in 2006 and finished ninth in 2010. Until he filled the biggest hole in his resume on Wednesday, Ligetys greatest Olympic feat had been a surprising win in the mens combined as a 21-year-old in 2006. "Today was awesome. Theres not really any other way to put it," said Ligety. "This is something Ive been working for since I was a little kid. Being the favorite in alpine skiing is never easy, because its an event thats so far from being guaranteed and not an event thats super simple to win even if youre skiing the best in the world." Miller finished 2.53 seconds behind Ligety in 20th place in what could be the 36-year-olds final Olympic race. Miller became the oldest Olympic medalist in alpine skiing on Sunday when he tied for bronze in the Super-G for his sixth Olympic medal, including a silver in the giant slalom in 2002. "Its asking a bit much of my left knee still on those kinds of bumps. Right in the middle, theres a left-footed turn that just seems like crazy big bumps. I just look at it thinking maybe I could do it, but confidence-wise I dont feel comfortable dropping it in that way and its cost me both runs there. This is pretty aggressive stuff for the lower leg," noted Miller. Ligety is only the second American skier with two Olympic alpine gold medals after Andrea Mead Lawrence, who won both womens slalom events at the 1952 Oslo Games. He finished his first run in 1:21.08 and had the 14th-fastest time in his second run, 1:24.21 -- more than a second slower than Missillier but good enough. Ligety appeared relieved at the bottom of the hill, sliding into the snow and exhaling. Defending Olympic champion Carlo Janka of Switzerland finished in 13th place and Sochi downhill gold medalist Matthias Mayer of Austria ended sixth. . To get things started, heres a little photo tour to get you acquainted with all the main characters. . Scheffler told The Associated Press on Wednesday he made the choice because he had three concussions over the past four years. . In the opener of the World Group first-round series, world No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont. .com) - Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos had an arthroscopic procedure performed on his right elbow last week, the teams official site reported Wednesday. . Before that, Rousey needed a total 23 minutes and 26 seconds to take care of her last eight opponents - and one of those fights lasted 10 minutes and 58 seconds.BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Kenny Perry didnt have a double hit, miss many easy putts or do anything spectacularly good or bad. Perrys steady play at Shoal Creek was enough for his third Champions Tour major in the past year, a one-stroke victory over Mark Calcavecchia on Sunday in the Regions Tradition. Perry closed with an even-par 72 to finish at 7-under 281, while other contenders had up-and-down days and John Cook lost a share of the lead with a double hit. "I was leaderboard watching and nobody was really running, so I knew par was a good score," Perry said. "I was just trying to stay away from the bogeys. I bogeyed the first hole right out of the gate and then I birdied the third to get it back and then just kind of hung in there. "I plodded along, hit lots of fairways, lots of greens and just stayed patient." Perry got his sixth victory and became the second player to win in three consecutive Champions Tour major starts, joining Gary Player, who did it in 1987-88. Perry won the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts last year, then skipped the Senior British Open. Jack Nicklaus is the only other player to win all three of those events. It was the highest score for a Tradition winner. Perry missed a short putt to make bogey on No. 15 but retook the lead with a 20-footer for birdie on the next hole and lined up an easy par putt with a nice drive on the closing hole. "It told me that I could hit the shots under extreme pressure, and great shots," he said. "I killed a drive on 18 and I hit the prettiest 9-iron. It came in on the flag and spun to the left when you needed to do it. "A lot of times you think, All Ive got to do is make par to win the tournament and youll make a five quicker than you can blink an eye." Calcavecchia finished with a 70. Two-time winner Tom Lehman closed with a 67 to tie Jay Haas at 5 under. Haas closed with a 71. Cooks closing 72 put him three strokes back. Fred Couples was disqualified Sunday after missing his tee time. He was 9 over after a 73 Saturday, his best round.dddddddddddd Couples also withdrew from the Senior PGA next week at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Cooks double bogey on No. 14 cost him a share of the lead. Cooks ball was buried deep in the right bunker just under the lip, and appeared to ricochet backward before winding up a couple of feet out of the sand. Tour officials reviewed the bunker shot using phone video shot by an event staffer and determined that Cook hit it again on his back swing. "Golf Channel didnt have a great view of it but there was someone with the event who was shooting social media video of it that had a face-on angle, and it was clear that he double hit it," said Brian Claar, the Champions Tours vice-president for competition. Cook declined a chance to review it himself and said he hadnt been sure what happened. "That was bizarre," he said. "I told Todd, my caddie, You better move that bag because if this ball hits the lip it could go anywhere. And thats what I thought it did. I didnt hear anything. All I felt was my club hitting the lip of the bunker and then the sand catching the club. "Evidently in all that, it hit my club head. Im good with that. If it shows on TV, I can honestly say I didnt feel anything but I dont want to take something that wasnt there." Cook returned a couple of weeks ago after a 10-week layoff because of a fractured rib in his back. "If someone would have said that Id have a one-shot lead with five to play this week, Id have said, Youre nuts," he said. Calcavecchia had another near-miss at Shoal Creek. He had bogeys on Nos. 9 and 13 after missing short putts, and said he missed five during the week of 3 feet or less. "Ive never won a tournament doing that and I dont think anybody has," Calcavecchia said He led after 36 and 54 holes at Shoal Creek in 2011 before a final-round 75 cost him a lead that had ballooned as high as six strokes. Calcavecchia was plagued by nagging rib problems that pained him after swings. "I was hurting all day," he said, adding that he wasnt sure if hed play in the Senior PGA. ' ' '
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