LEVI, Finland -- American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin easily won the World Cup slalom opener Saturday, beating reigning Olympic champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany by more than a second to send an immediate message to her rivals ahead of the Sochi Games.
Drew Butera Jersey . The 18-year-old slalom world champion led by half a second after the first run and raced seamlessly at the top of the hill in the second to extend her advantage, overcoming a mistake near the end to clock a combined time of 1 minute, 55.07 seconds. "Im really happy with how the day went and Im also really excited because it looks like there are some pretty fast girls in the back of the pack," Shiffrin said. "Im excited for the Olympics for sure but there are a couple of races between now and then, so hopefully I can just keep this going." Hoefl-Riesch, who was in a tie for third place after the first run, skied nearly flawlessly in the second but still finished 1.06 seconds behind in second place. Last years overall World Cup champion Tina Maze of Slovenia, who struggled in the giant slalom opener in Soelden last month, was third, 1.61 back. Shiffrin emerged as a major star in the discipline last season by winning both the World Cup slalom title and the world championship race, making her one of the major medal favourites for the Sochi Olympics. Her dominant display on Saturday did little to lower expectations on the teenager -- although Shiffrin thinks theres still plenty of room for improvement. "Every day there is something you can do better," Shiffrin said. "Im going to go back and study my skiing from today and study all the other girls to see who is doing what well and try to get better." Another 18-year-old also made a name for herself, as Christina Ager of Austria finished fourth in her first career World Cup start. Ager started with bib No. 53 but was fifth after the first run -- in part because of favourable winds -- and then missed the podium by just 0.07 seconds. Hoefl-Riesch has won three World Cup slaloms in Levi and made the podium for the seventh time here. "It was a great day for me. I had a good feeling in training already," she said. "Its always really special for me here because of my first win many years ago and because of my many good results here." Maze said she was happy to get back to skiing fast after the disappointing result in Soelden, where she struggled with the high expectations after her dominance last season. "I got a lot of pressure in Soelden race, it was the start of the season so it was not easy to handle all of this pressure so I felt really empty," Maze said. "But at the end I realized its nothing important, the only thing important is to ski fast." Marlies Schild of Austria, the slalom specialist who injured her knee in December 2012, returned for the first time since recovering fully but was already well behind Shiffrin in the first round by the time she missed a gate and skied out. Still, Schild was just happy to finally be able to ski without feeling any effects of the injury. "Of course I wanted to race a second run but yeah, its not so bad at all," Schild said. "Im in a good shape, I have no pain anymore and thats very important for me and I just have to wait, I think, to get a good feeling." Four-time former overall World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn skipped the Levi meet and will make her debut in the speed events in Beaver Creek, Colorado, after recovering from a right knee injury sustained in a crash in February. "She is back and shes strong," Shiffrin said of her teammate. "Im impressed with how strong she is. ... I dont think anybody should count her out thats for sure." For Shiffrin, the Olympic gold medal is clearly main goal for this season, although she received another memorable prize on Saturday. In a first for this year, organizers presented the winner with a live reindeer from the local Lapland region. Shiffrin named the 6-month-old reindeer Rudolf, although she wont be allowed to take him home with her. "I scared him off a bit when I jumped off the podium to meet him but I think we will be getting along," Shiffrin said. "I hope that when he gets older and trained I can go for a ride on a sledge with him."
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Frank White Jersey . Best has been bothered by concussion problems and hasnt played since Oct. 16, when the Lions lost to San Francisco. After starting 5-0, Detroit has lost four of six, beginning with that game against the 49ers.LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Oklahoma State won for the second straight day after blowing a comfortable lead. Marcus Smart scored 17 points as the No. 5 Cowboys survived a major scare in a 69-67 win over Butler in an Old Spice Classic semifinal on Friday. "A great game," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "It was very emotional and very high-level. It felt like an NCAA tournament-type game. Two teams that were wanting to win really badly." Oklahoma State (7-0) again came out flat to start the second half, one day after the Cowboys saw a 23-point halftime lead dwindle to four with 3 minutes to play before beating Purdue 97-87. "Were not paying attention to details as much as we are in the first half," Ford said. With the Cowboys holding a 68-67 lead in the final minute, Smart missed three free throws, including the front end of a 1-and-1. Butlers Khyle Marshall was fouled with 8.4 seconds remaining, but missed both free throws. "Its always tough to lose," Butler coach Brandon Miller said. "When you lose, and its a one-point game or a two-point game, sometimes you can beat yourself up over one mistake here, one mistake there, especially at the end of the game. I think mistakes, or a lack of execution, or a missed shot at the end of the game sometimes gets highlighted more than what it should. "Basketball is a 40-minute game. We didnt execute very well at the beginning of the game. The first half of the game got us." LeBryan Nash made it 69-67 by hitting 1 of 2 from the line before Butlers Elijah Brown had his last second 3-point shot blocked by Michael Cobbins. Nash added 15 points for the Cowboys, who will face No. 21 Memphis in Sunday nights championship game. "My first initial thought is Oklahoma State is a heck of a basketball team," Miller said.
George Brett Jersey. "Obviously, very talented. When you have one of the best players, if not the best player in the country in Marcus Smart and the way he fights and leads his team, he sets the standard for his team." Butler (5-1) got 15 points from Brown. Kellen Dunham, who set a tourney record with 32 points in Thursdays 76-69 victory over Washington State, finished with nine, while Marshall, coming off a 30-point performance Thursday, had eight. This was the first meeting between the teams since Butler beat Oklahoma State 49-26 on Feb. 12, 1934. Alex Barlow keyed Butlers initial surge by connecting on a pair of 3-pointers to get the Bulldogs within 48-41 five minutes into the second half. Phil Fotre made two long-range jumpers and Smart had a couple driving baskets as Oklahoma State responded and grabbed a 66-57 lead with 6 1/2 minutes to play. Dunham and the Bulldogs made a final run, pulling within 68-65 with three minutes remaining when the guard hit a 3 and then converted a three-point play. Smart had the ball stolen by Erik Fromm on Oklahoma States next possession and Marshall got a rebound basket at the other end to make it 68-67. "In the second half, we werent scoring quite as much. We were taking some questionable shots that led for easy points for them," Ford said. Nash had 10 points, helping Oklahoma take a 44-30 halftime advantage. Five different Cowboys had at least six points during the opening 20 minutes. Smart had a slam and Markel Brown made a jumper to give the Cowboys their biggest lead of the first half, at 44-28, 1:48 before the break. Smart had 30 points in Thursdays tournament opener.
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