Die Jäger des Schicksals » r Tim Cahill to replace long-ter

CORTINA DAMPEZZO, Italy -- Overall World Cup leader Maria Hoefl-Riesch won a shortened downhill Friday and established herself as the favourite to take away two of Lindsey Vonns titles. Hoefl-Riesch took full command of the downhill standings that the injured Vonn dominated for the past six years and improved her status as the favourite for the womens downhill at the Sochi Olympics on Feb. 12 -- the race Vonn won at the 2010 Vancouver Games. "The downhill globe is a big goal for me," Hoefl-Riesch said. "The last years it was always impossible because Lindsey was so strong. I already was skiing strong in the last years but there was never a chance, because I was not consistent enough on every single track like Lindsey. "And of course I would love to win the Olympic downhill," Hoefl-Riesch said. "Thats the biggest race in skiing." Julia Roth of Waterloo, Ont., was 44th. Larisa Yurkiw of Owen Sound, Ont., did not start the first run. With her parents and husband in attendance, Hoefl-Riesch won in 1 minute, 17.84 seconds on the Olympia delle Tofane course for the 27th World Cup victory of her career. "I knew that I had to attack a lot with a shortened course and that it would be very tight," Hoefl-Riesch said. "It was really flat light and tricky in a few turns where some girls had big problems. But not me." Hoefl-Riesch said that she tweaked her left knee while landing a jump and that she felt some pain but was not overly concerned. Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein finished second, 0.31 seconds behind, and Nicole Schmidhofer of Austria was third with the No. 39 bib, 0.75 behind. Lara Gut of Switzerland was fourth and Stacey Cook of the United States was fifth as the pair missed out on the podium by 0.01 and 0.03 seconds, respectively. It was the best result this season for Cook, who finished second in two downhills in Lake Louise, Alberta, last season. The victory gave Hoefl-Riesch an 85-point lead over Weirather in the downhill standings after six of eight races, with wins worth 100 points each. In the overall standings, Hoefl-Riesch leads Weirather by 158 points. Hoefl-Rieschs other two wins this season also came in downhill, in Lake Louise. She also has podium results in slalom, super-combined and super-G and credits part of her all-around success to Hermann Maiers former physical trainer, Heinrich Bergmueller, who she began working with in the off-season. "I was also training hard the summers before but its a new way with a new coach and some things are different," she said. "I feel much stronger this year and with my recovery for all disciplines." Vonn ended her season recently to tend to her right knee, which she first injured in a horrific crash at last years world championships in Schladming, Austria. Hoefl-Riesch is friendly with Vonn but she wasnt about to take anything away from her own success just because her rival is out now. "Thats skiing," said Hoefl-Riesch, who had four serious injuries in 2005. "I was not at the Olympic Games in 2006 and no one was asking the winner of the medals there if they miss me. So a medal is a medal and a title is a title, no matter who is competing and who is not." Vonn used to spend Christmas at Hoefl-Rieschs home in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and they remain in contact. "We were just writing a little on WhatsApp a little bit," Hoefl-Riesch said. "I think shes doing OK and I hope that we can talk on the phone before I go to Sochi." Due to overnight snow and difficulty preparing the course, the start was delayed for half an hour and the course was shortened slightly -- chopping off about 20 seconds of racing. With softer snow and flat light, it was a sharp change in conditions from Wednesdays only training run, which was held under bright sunshine. Conditions improved for later starters as a tailwind moved in. The wind helped Schmidhofer, whose only other podium finish also came in Cortina, having finished second in a super-G last year. "I was hoping for a tailwind," Schmidhofer said, before she addressed her chances of being selected for Sochi. "I hope the coaches look at my result." The revised start put skiers directly into the courses best-known section, the Tofane schuss -- a long straightaway between two high rock outcroppings. "I generally do OK when there are straight shots out of the gate like that," Cook said. "So that was a little confidence booster to kick out of the gate, get on my skis and not have to do too much and then get into it. And then I just tried to not ski a perfect line but ski perfect body position and really attacking. And it seems to have been fast." Elisabeth Goergl, the Austrian who won a super-G on Thursday, lost control after hitting a gate and slammed into the safety padding at full speed. But she got right back up, skied down and said she was not injured. Another downhill is scheduled for Saturday, followed by a second super-G on Sunday to round out a series of four races in four days. Two of the races were originally scheduled for last weekend in Cortina but were wiped out due to heavy snowfall. The other two were moved from Garmisch due to a lack of snow in the German resort. Custom Seattle Mariners Jerseys . - Pierre-Maxime Poudrier scored twice and added an assist, and Antoine Bibeau made 43 saves as the Val-dOr Foreur downed the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 6-3 on Sunday to force Game 7 in their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final series. Edgar Martinez Jersey . His absence against the Celtics comes a day after he scored 43 points in the Heats 100-96 win at Cleveland. http://www.marinersrookiestore.com/Mariners-Dee-Gordon-Kids-Jersey/ . -- Phil Mickelson will be watching the final two rounds of the Masters from home for the first time in 17 years. Hisashi Iwakuma Jersey . -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. Denard Span Jersey . In his first game with Boston University, the 17-year-old Eichel picked up five assists as his Boston University Terriers thumped St.TERRIGAL, Australia -- Crystal Palace midfielder Mile Jedinak will lead Australia at the World Cup after getting the nod over Tim Cahill to replace long-term captain Lucas Neill. Australia coach Ange Postecoglou announced the decision Wednesday, five days ahead of the Socceroos last friendly on home soil before the squad leaves for Brazil. The 29-year-old Jedinak was a mainstay for Palace last season, playing every game until he had to be replaced due to a groin strain during the last Premier League match. Jedinak has played 43 times for Australia and was considered a longer-term option than 34-year-old Cahill, the New York Red Bulls star who will be playing at his third World Cup. "It is a privileged position and an accolade he richly deserves after the incredible job he has done at Crystal Palace in the toughest club competition in world football," Postecoglou said. "Mile Jedinak embodies everything that is great about Australian football and Australia as a nation. "He has risen to the top ... and done it the hard way from humble beginnings where he has battled and believed in himself to overcome the odds with an enormous work ethic and passion for what he does. I have no doubt he will lead the team with distinction in Brazil." Postecoglou told the 36-year-old Neill before unveiling the extended 30-man World Cup squad last week that he wasnt in the Socceroos future plans. Jedinak, who played in a defeat to Germany in 2010 in his only previous World Cup match, will bbe only the fourth Australian to lead the Socceroos at footballs marquee tournament, following Peter Wilson (1974), Mark Viduka (2006) and Neill (2010).dddddddddddd Cahill and Mark Bresciano, who is also going to his third World Cup, were appointed as vice-captains. Jedinak led Australia for the first time during a 4-3 loss to Ecuador in a friendly in London in March. "To be handed the responsibility of captaining my country at the World Cup is humbling, yet incredibly exciting," Jedinak said. "It is an honour to be named captain but it is also a huge responsibility and I look forward to providing leadership for the team along with Tim and Mark as we take on some of the biggest nations in world football." Australia plays South Africa in a friendly on Monday before leaving for South America. The Australians were drawn into a difficult Group B with defending champion Spain, 2010 runner-up Netherlands and Chile and are considered long shots to advance to the knockout stages in Brazil. Postecoglou said Jedinaks lead-from-the-front mentality was crucial to the selection. "Hes led a group of players and a team in the English Premier League that many had written off. A lot of those characteristics apply to us right now and I know that when we get to Brazil and face up to the challenges we need to face up to, Mile and Timmy and Mark will be leading from the front," he said. "Ive challenged these guys as well to have their best World Cup ever." 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