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06-23-2017, 05:23 AM | #1 |
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KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia -- Felix Neureuther overcame a pre-Olympic car crash to win a World Cup slalom on Sunday, giving himself pole position in the fight for the seasons discipline title. Patrick Mahomes II Youth Jersey . Neureuther beat Fritz Dopfer for a German 1-2 finish, and overtook Marcel Hirscher on top of the slalom standings by five points with one race remaining. On his way to Munich airport for his flight to Sochi on Feb. 14, Neureuther suffered whiplash as he lost control of his car on an icy road and hit the barrier. "I was in the best shape of my life when the car accident happened," Neureuther said. "The whole body was hurting. I couldnt ski at my top level at the Olympics. I was very disappointed. That was the most difficult time of my life." Starting as a medal contender, Neureuther came eighth in the GS and failed to finish his second run of the slalom at the Olympics. "The last couple of weeks have been brutal," the German said. "But I kept on fighting and today is the reward for that. I came back and I am very proud of that." Neureuther finished in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 45.50 seconds to lead Dopfer by 0.59. Norwegian teenager Henrik Kristoffersen took third, 0.79 back. Olympic champion Mario Matt of Austria, who led after the first run, straddled a gate near the end of his final run and failed to finish. Hirscher came 0.95 behind Neureuther in fifth. The Austrian has 465 slalom points, just five behind Neureuther on 470. Kristoffersen is third on 430. "It looks pretty good," Neureuther said. "Henrik and Marcel are very close. Its going to be exciting. We will all ski absolutely to our limits." Neureuther said that winning the slalom globe would not make up for missing out on an Olympic medal. "Olympics are every four years," he said. "An Olympic medal is something different, winning a globe means youre the best skier during the whole year." It was Neureuthers seventh career slalom win and he now shares the German record for most World Cup wins in the discipline with Armin Bittner. Two-time defending champion Hirscher went top of the overall standings with 1,050 points, edging Norways Aksel Lund Svindal by just four points and setting up a tense conclusion to the season at next weeks World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. "Something has to change over the next few days," said Hirscher, who was hoping for a larger buffer. "I have to be able to compete at the same level as Aksel again, otherwise I am lost. (Fifth) is better than skiing out but this result is not satisfying." Hirscher admitted he was feeling the pressure. He can become only the fourth skier, and the first Austrian, to win the overall title three years in a row. "I am just not racing as easily as I usually do," Hirscher said. "This was all I could do, more was impossible. I have to admit that. What the other three showed on the hill was different class. How Felix took the steep part, that was the best slalom skiing weve seen all season." Dopfer reached his fourth career World Cup podium but was still waiting for his first win. Like teammate Neureuther, Dopfer bounced back from a disappointing Olympics, where he came fourth in the slalom. "This is my medal," said Dopfer. "My last few slaloms have been really good and this is my reward." Kristoffersen continued his great run that started in January and saw him win his first World Cup race, an Olympic bronze medal, and two junior world titles. And Saturday, he earned his first career podium in GS. "My main goal is for sure to get a better skier," said the 19-year-old Norwegian, who was giving himself an outside chance to grab the slalom title next week. "For sure, now its that close you want more." Ted Ligety, who won a record sixth giant slalom on the same course Saturday, was 2.04 back in 16th. Former overall champion Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, who won here last year, finished 2.98 off the lead in 27th. Sundays race was the last event before the World Cup finals start in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Kareem Hunt Chiefs Jersey . Hoefl-Rieschs exit — from the downhill course into safety nets, then airlifted from the slope by helicopter — left Anna Fenninger of Austria favourite to win her first giant crystal trophy one month after becoming an Olympic champion. Kareem Hunt Womens Jersey . For Sweed, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, this will be his second go around in the CFL after previously having spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Cheap Tanoh Kpassagnon Jersey, Womens Elite Tanoh Kpassagnon Chiefs Jerseys . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks.Despite making the playoffs for the first time since joining Major League Soccer, Montreal Impacts 2013 season ended with a massive letdown. It wasnt just the 3-0 loss at Houston in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round that hurt; it was the manner of the defeat and the total loss of discipline. As the team prepares to head to Orlando for the final stage of their training camp, there is a different feel around the Impact squad following the appointment of new head coach Frank Klopas to replace the fiery Swiss manager Marco Schallibaum. "Frank is settling in. He has put certain messaging and systems in place," Impact sporting director Nick De Santis said on TSNFC this week. "We made the right decision to move forward and go in a different direction and up until now, we have a very good relationship with Frank. We know what he wants and he knows what we want." "If we go back to that game in Houston, the result, the actions by certain players can give you an idea of what went on for the last two months, the last 10 games of the season. It was very frustrating." "In my position and in Joeys (Impact president Joey Saputo) position, the easiest thing to do was to reconfirm Marco because we set out our objectives at the beginning of the season and we met those objectives – being in the playoffs, winning the Canadian Championship – but when you are making decisions of what is best for the club going forward and whats best for the players, we felt that we needed to go in a different direction." With just over three weeks until the Impact open up the 2014 season, and after a quiet offseason in terms of player signings, De Santis says the club is still looking to add "one or two pieces" to the team. It seems the club is close to announcing the signing of young Uruguayan striker Santiago Gonzalez, who De Santis first met in Argentina on a scouting trip in November. "I managed to see him in my last trip to Argentina and watched him live," De Santis told TSNFC. "Hes a young player but a player with certain qualities that I think can help our team get better up front. Kareem Hunt Youth Jersey. Were still dealing with a few issues but were hoping that is something that can get done, hopefully even before we get to Orlando on the weekend." While Montreals squad hasnt seen as many additions as most teams across MLS, De Santis believes some of the players they have retained from last year will be in a better position to produce top quality performances on a consistent basis. "Hernan Bernadello played half a season last year and I think now you can say that hes basically a new addition because the first six months was an adaptation period. With him now being with the team from day one, he will bring a lot more to the table. We have Nelson Rivas healthy and hopefully we can manage him well and he can give us a good amount of games because when he is on the field feeling well physically and with his head in the right place, he can be a dominant defender in this league." On Monday, the Impact announced the return of Argentine midfielder Andres Romero, who joins the team on loan from Brazilian club Tombense for the second successive season. Romero showed glimpses of his ability in 2013, scoring two goals in 30 regular season appearances, but De Santis expects there is much more to come this season from the former Argentina U20 international. "Were happy that Romero is back because he is another player that showed very good signs in certain moments," said De Santis. "When his wife gave birth to twins, she went back to Argentina and thats when we saw his consistency level had gone down. We just want to make sure now that hes in the best environment for him to be as consistent as possible." With other teams getting much stronger during the offseason, the Eastern Conference will be a fierce battleground in 2014. Repeating the accomplishment of making the playoffs will be a difficult task for Montreal, but with the core of a squad that led the East on a number of occasions throughout the first half of the 2013 season, the Impact feel they are well positioned to hit the ground running when their season opens in Dallas on March 8. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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