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Chris Del Bosco entered this weeks World Cup skicross competitions in France knowing that a podium appearance would probably lock up a spot on the Canadian team for the Winter Olympics. He won gold Thursday in a weather-hampered event at Val Thorens, but he likely needs to do more to book his ticket to Sochi. The race was halted due to high winds and Del Bosco was given the victory based on his qualification results and win in his first heat. However, hell need to return to the podium Friday to really strengthen his chances for inclusion on the Sochi roster. "I definitely felt like I could have kept going, it was kind of frustrating because you want to win by winning the final but it was out of my control," Del Bosco said in a release. "Theres not really any more I could have done. "It was getting down to crunch time and I knew what I needed to do. I needed to podium. Sochi qualification is kind of a grey area. I dont really know how that works — Im going to just regroup here and get ready to give er again tomorrow." The second of back-to-back World Cup events will be held Friday at the same venue. The Olympic qualification window for skicross closes Sunday, so it will be the last chance for Canadians to qualify for nomination. The qualification process is very complicated and there are several freestyle events on tap this week. The selection committee will analyze all the results and data on Sunday and formally announce their decision the next morning. There are 26 spots available in the five disciplines that fall under the freestyle skiing umbrella —skicross, slopestyle, aerials, moguls and halfpipe — and there can be no more than 14 selections from either gender. The committee will look at results from previous years but performances this season have the biggest impact. For Del Bosco, all he can do is try again Friday and hope for the best. The 2011 world champion and X Games gold medallist has struggled of late and now has loads of pressure on him for the stretch drive. The 31-year-old Montreal resident finished second in the test event in Sochi last season but his best result prior to this week was a 15th-place finish in Innichen-San Candido, Italy. His victory Thursday didnt really offer much sway because he only raced one heat. "Chris is probably one of the most interesting and difficult situations," said Canadian Freestyle Ski Association CEO Peter Judge from Park City, Utah. "But certainly hes helping his cause today and hopefully hell get one more good go at it tomorrow and be able to remove all doubt." Sanna Luedi of Switzerland took gold in the womens competition Thursday. Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., was the top Canadian in fourth to retain her hold on the red bib as overall leader. The depth of the national skicross team and the Canadian freestyle team as a whole leaves athletes who are on the bubble in a tough spot. Some very talented competitors arent going to make the cut because Canada is stacked in several events. Del Bosco competed at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, where skicross made its Olympic debut. He made the final heat of four skiers but crashed just before the finish while making a late push to move into a better position. A spokesman for FIS, the sports governing body, said in an email that Del Boscos victory Thursday would be treated just like any other result on the World Cup circuit, regardless of whether the race was cut short due to weather. That gives Del Bosco 100 points and moves him to 11th place in the World Cup standings. Dave Duncan of London, Ont., was seventh. He slipped to second in the mens overall standings, falling behind Andreas Matt of Austria. Tristan Tafel of Canmore, Alta., was 15th on Thursday and Brady Leman of Calgary was 18th. Georgia Simmerling of West Vancouver, B.C., was sixth in the womens event. Kelsey Serwa, the 2011 world champion from Kelowna, B.C., was seventh in the first qualification round but didnt start her heat. Thompson is the only Canadian who has met the qualification criteria for nomination to the Sochi team. Duncan, Leman and Serwa are considered virtual locks for inclusion. . - The width of Alec Martinezs shin guard was the difference between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in their playoff series opener. . -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released veteran guard Davin Joseph, a mainstay on their offensive line over the past eight seasons. . The 20-year-old overager has appeared in 35 games for the Ontario Hockey Leagues Erie Otters this season, scoring 41 goals and adding 27 assists with a plus-28 rating. .The Ottawa Senators winger was relegated to a corner seat in the locker-room to allow Daniel Alfredsson to return to his regular stall one last time. . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves.SAN ANTONIO -- Blowing their playoff opener turned out to be great therapy for the Dallas Mavericks. Eighth-seeded Dallas rolled to a 113-92 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday night, snapping a 10-game skid against the Spurs and evening their first-round series at a game apiece. Dallas didnt relent in Game 2 after watching a 10-point lead evaporate in the final eight minutes of the series opener Sunday. "Game 1 actually helped a lot more than today," Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "We were down after Game 1, but in this building to be up 10 with six or seven minutes left, I think that gave us a lot of confidence coming into this one. Just keep executing the game plan." It was Dallas first playoff victory since June 12, 2011, when it rebounded from an 0-2 deficit to defeat the Miami Heat for the NBA title. If not for the final eight minutes of the series opener, the Mavericks would have a 2-0 lead entering Game 3 on Saturday. "It feels great, but its nothing to celebrate," Dallas point guard Jose Calderon said. "I think we have to keep doing what were doing. I think we played two really good games." In Game 2, the Mavericks used an aggressive offence and a brutal defensive effort that discombobulated the normally even-keeled Spurs, who finished the regular season with the leagues best record. Monta Ellis scored 21 points, Shawn Marion added 20 points, Nowitzki had 16, Devin Harris had 18 and Calderon 12 for Dallas, which never trailed after the opening minutes of the second quarter. Manu Ginobili had 27 points, Tony Parker added 12 and Tim Duncan 11 for the Spurs, who did not have any other player score more than seven points. "They beat us in every aspect of the game," Ginobili said. "They played harder. Our defence was soft (and) not as aggressive as theirs. Not that I dont expect them to play hard. We know they are a tough team, but having such a poor performance in the playoffs bothers me." San Antonios ineptness had as much to do with tying the series as Dallas stellar play. The Spurs averaged 14.4 turnovers during the regular season, but had 15 with 3 minutes left in the first half. They finished with 24 turnovers, which resulted in 33 points for the Mavericks. "Just being very active," Ellis said. "Not put them on the free-throw line. Trust that the help was going to be there. We locked in to the game plan that we had. They made some careless turnovers. That was good for us." Dallas was extremely physical in the first half whenever Parker and Ginobili drove the lane. "NBA playyoff games are physical," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.dddddddddddd "If you dont have the right kind of posture and disposition, youre going to knocked back on your heels and your butt and tonight we did a better job of hitting first in some of those instances." San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was dismayed early when no fouls were called -- not that it mattered when they were. San Antonio finished 18 for 29 on free throws. "Its a bad combination to not play good defence at one end and give the ball up at the other end and not shoot free throws very well, either," Popovich said. "Thats a bad combination at both ends of the floor. That means you get your butt kicked and thats what happened tonight." Dallas also continued to crowd San Antonios 3-point shooters. Aside from Ginobilis 5-for-6 shooting, the Spurs were 5 for 14 long range after going 3 for 17 in the opener. "Its pretty frustrating," San Antonio wing Danny Green said. "Theyre doing a good job of getting, not just to me, but all our shooters; showing us a lot of respect. But weve got to find other ways to get it done. We cant rely on our Big Three to carry us every night. Got to find a way to get involved, push the pace offensively." The Mavericks attacked the basket with the same intensity, finishing with 44 points. San Antonio pulled within 61-56 with 8:38 remaining in the third quarter when Kawhi Leonard made two of three free throws, but it was the closest it would get in the second half. NOTES: Popovich received a standing ovation before the game after being recognized as the NBA Coach of the Year. Spurs owner Peter Holt presented Popovich with the Red Auerbach trophy, which he has won three times. ... After assigning Spurs nemesis Joey Crawford to officiate Game 1, the league had Danny Crawford on hand for Game 2 to the chagrin of the Mavericks fans. But just as in the opener, both officials reserved most calls and non-calls for the opposition. Crawfords lack of calls led Popovich to scream at Crawford throughout the first half. ... Academy Award-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones sat courtside beside Holt. ... Nowitzki was assessed a technical foul with 1:38 remaining in the first half after Ginobili was fouled by Marion on a 3-point attempt. Marion touched Ginobilis hip as he released the ball, but the Argentinian appeared to exaggerate the contact when he fell to the floor. ... After scrambling to capture a loose ball under the basket, Tiago Splitter flung an overhead, two-handed no-look pass to an open Ginobili for a 3-pointer with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter. ' ' '
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