Off Topic » a turnover at the blue line

SOELDEN, Austria - If skiings opening weekend was any indication, the United States is in for quite an Olympic season. Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin, Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff underlined the squads enormous potential on the Rettenbach glacier in Austria. "Im really happy with how things are going," U.S. Alpine director Patrick Riml said. "The coaches and staff did an unbelievable job getting the athletes ready." And with Lindsey Vonn planning to return in a month from right knee surgery and Julia Mancuso always a threat on a big stage, the Americans could surpass their eight medals from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics at the Sochi Games, which run Feb. 7-23. "Everything is going on track," Riml said. "Im feeling confident with our whole setup." Ligety won the opening giant slalom for the third consecutive year. The 18-year-old Shiffrin matched her career-best World Cup result in the discipline with a sixth-place finish. Miller marked his return from 20 months off by placing 19th after starting outside the top 30. Jitloff was 20th with one big error that probably cost him about 10 positions. Perhaps the only negative note was Mancuso finishing 27th. But Mancuso always seems to save her best for major championships, as evidenced by her gold medal in giant slalom at the 2006 Turin Games and two silvers in Vancouver. "Julia is always showing she does well at the big events," former U.S. mens head coach Phil McNichol said. "Lindsey is Lindsey. Ted is coming off three (gold) medals at the world championships. Bodes back in the mix. Mikaela is going to be a force to be reckoned with. So its going to be a very interesting Olympic cycle." Ligety dominated giant slalom last season, winning six of eight races on the World Cup plus the world championship race in Schladming, Austria, where he was also a surprise winner in super-G and super-combined. "Last year we had an awesome prep here but this year was less so, so I wasnt 100 per cent confident of how I was skiing," Ligety said. "But then we had good training here in Soelden and the last couple of weeks I started to feel a little better. Its nice to have some confirmation." Ligety is enjoying having his childhood friend and former junior world downhill champion Adam Cole on the coaching staff this season. "We grew up together," Ligety said. "Hes also young and athletic so he can do dry-land with us and we can go play other sports and push each other." Shiffrin dominated in slalom last season with four wins plus the world title and now looks like a two-event threat with her giant slalom vastly improved. After the Olympics, Shiffrin could expand into the speed events. Shiffrin is also maturing off the hill. Her mother, who has accompanied her in Europe for the past two seasons, said this is probably the last season shell be there. "I may not have to stay here as she keeps getting more and more comfortable," Eileen Shiffrin said. Shiffrin has improved so much in GS that she was beating male teammates in training the past couple of weeks. Which guys was she beating? Thats still a secret. "Shiffrin was skiing unbelievably fast," mens head coach Sasha Rearick said. "Im not going to tell you." As for the 36-year-old Miller — yes, hes twice Shiffrins age — his new slimmer frame appears to be paying off. The two-time overall World Cup winner lost nearly 30 pounds during his season off to recover from left knee surgery. Miller skied to 13th place with the No. 32 bib in the opening run and was able to hang on in the second leg. "I wasnt tired at all," Miller said. "I think my fitness is higher now for a World Cup than its ever been. Im snappy and springy and I can go as long as the courses are. ... Theres obviously some lack of inertia, some weight, but I dont think thats going to be an issue." If Miller already has his form back in giant slalom, he could really excel in the speed events of downhill and super-G, where hes had nearly all of his wins in recent years. "GS was the one event where we hadnt been able to put the most volume in because it was causing some more knee irritation," Rearick said. "So if hes been able to do what hes done this week, its beyond my expectations." Millers fitness should also get a boost from the speed teams newly hired conditioning coach, Tony Beretzki, an Austrian who once worked with Hermann Maier and Stephan Eberharter and spent the last four years with the Spartak Moscow soccer team. With Miller out last season, downhillers Marco Sullivan, Steven Nyman and Travis Ganong each had solid starts, but their conditioning dropped off around January. "He has brought a great, great program and is doing an awesome job," Rearick said. The womens speed team, meanwhile, is coming off a record-breaking season that included podium finishes not just for Vonn and Mancuso, but also for Stacey Cook, Alice McKennis, Leanne Smith and Laurenne Ross. The bar of expectations has been raised for Cook & Co. this season. "You definitely want to back up those results," womens head coach Alex Hoedlmoser said. "You want to be contenders with all of those girls on a regular basis." The speed teams dont race until events in Lake Louise, Alberta, and Beaver Creek, Colo., on Thanksgiving weekend. Next up are slaloms in Levi, Finland, Nov. 16-17. ___ Follow Andrew Dampf at http://twitter.com/asdampf Air Max Tavas Canada . Or at least on everyone elses expectations. Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process. Air Max 97 Cheap Canada .J. -- After getting permission from his 7-year-old daughter, New York Giants offensive lineman David Diehl has retired after an 11-year career that included two Super Bowl championships. http://www.clearanceairmaxcanada.com/air...ada-sale.html.J. -- Pete Carroll said it was the suspension of linebacker Bruce Irvin last spring that finally got the attention of the rest of the Seattle Seahawks that they needed to be taking their commitment to the team more seriously. Air Max 270 Womens Canada . Mohamed Diame put West Ham ahead in the 47th minute before goals by substitutes Carlton Cole and Joe Cole condemned Fulham to a fifth straight defeat, keeping the visitors in the bottom three. Air Max 270 Bowfin Canada . PAUL, Minn.NEW YORK -- The scoreboard showed that the Boston Bruins were only even with the New York Rangers after the first period. In reality, Tuukka Rask had already won the game for the Atlantic Division leaders. Rask made 19 saves in a one-sided opening period, and defenceman Dougie Hamilton had a goal and two assists to lift the Bruins to a 6-3 victory over the Rangers on Sunday night. New York jumped ahead 14-1 in shots and took a 1-0 lead it couldnt hold. The Bruins skated off in a tie despite being badly outshot. "We were stuck in quicksand. We didnt do anything there, just gave them all kinds of chances," Rask said. "Then we finally got that goal, got some life, and the last eight minutes in the first we played good. "Youre outshot 20-9 and its 1-1 so youre somewhat relieved. We got better and got the lead and never gave it up." Rask finished with 39 saves. He outdueled New Yorks Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped 27 shots on his 32nd birthday but lost for the second straight day. Lundqvist allowed a season-high tying six goals. "Painful. Extremely painful," Lundqvist said. "I thought we played pretty good. They worked hard, but their goals were unbelievable with the bounces they got -- a couple of deflections and a post and in." The Bruins improved to 9-2-3 in their last 14 games and earned their first season-sweep of New York in 31 years. Rask made 43 saves in a 2-1 win over the Rangers on Nov. 19 in Bostons previous visit to Madison Square Garden. "I thought we started to get a little bit better in the second half of the first (period)," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We slowly got ourselves back in the game, but were much better in the second and the third. "We got mad enough after the first 10 minutes that we reacted to doing something. That was huge. We just needed to get over that hump. Once we scored that first goal, it just seemed like everybody relaxed and we got better." The Rangers fell one point behind second-place Philadelphia -- which beat New York 4-2 on Saturday. They lead fourth-place Washington by one point in the Metropolitan Division. All three teams have 20 games remaining. Lundqvist has allowed nine goals in two games since returning from the Olympics. "I dont think that was a game that dictated the score," said Rangers captain Ryan Callahan, who could be traded before New Yorks next game on Wednesday. "I thought we had some good minutes." Boston, which didnt have a power play, increased its lead to 5-2 in the third period on a pair of goals by Gregory Campbell -- first short-handed at 9:04 and then at even strength with 6:34 left.dddddddddddd Milan Lucic finished the scoring with 1:36 remaining. The Bruins have received an NHL-low 176 power plays this season. "They couldve mixed one in, but it seems to go the other way for us all the time," Rask said. Jarome Iginla scored in the first period, and Hamilton and Carl Soderberg connected in the second with assists from Hamilton. Boston won all three games from the Rangers for the first time since the 1982-83 season. J.T. Miller made it 1-0 just 3:20 in with a short-handed goal. Brad Richards tallied in the second, and Ryan McDonaghs power-play goal made it 5-3 with 4:42 left for the Rangers. Iginla began to change momentum when he scored with 1:53 left in the first. "They played yesterday, too, and it shouldve been a pretty even start," Rask said of the Rangers. "We just werent ready. We werent skating and it was pretty ugly there. I was a little surprised." The Bruins came out for the second re-energized. Unlike New York, however, Boston capitalized on two early chances and surged ahead 3-1 just 9:34 in. Iginla helped pushed Boston in front when he freed a puck from the left-wing boards. The puck found its way to Hamilton, who scored his seventh at 4:04. Soderberg stretched the lead to 3-1 just 5:30 later when he gathered the rebound of Loui Erikssons hard shot, shifted the puck from backhand to forehand and scored his 10th goal. Hamilton earned his second assist of the night. The Rangers got back within a goal when Richards got a puck past Rask with 3:07 left. Richards patiently stopped at the blue line and stayed onside while awaiting a pass from Callahan. Richards took the puck into the right circle and snapped a drive that sailed wide past Rask and into the open left side for his 16th goal. Boston held a 14-12 edge in shots in the second, but again found a way to make the most of them. "Its a great win when you score six goals on a good goalie like that," Rask said. New York grabbed a 1-0 lead when Miller converted a turnover at the blue line into a breakaway for his third goal of the season on the Rangers third shot. Rask then stopped the next 17 in the period -- including difficult chances in close by Callahan and Chris Kreider. NOTES: The Bruins, who lost to Washington on Saturday, are 8-2 in the second game of back-to-backs. ... Hamilton had three career two-point games, none this season. ... Rangers RW Derek Dorsett was scratched one day after returning to the lineup following an 18-game absence caused by a broken leg. Dominic Moore took his place. ' ' '