~Tritt herein~ » ying: He’s an extraordinary player. He’s j

LA VILLA, Italy -- Marcel Hirscher was more pleased at finally beating his French rivals than with the fact that he had matched Alberto Tomba with a record fourth giant slalom win in Alta Badia on Sunday.The overall World Cup leader from Austria increased his first-leg lead and finished 0.71 seconds ahead of Mathieu Faivre of France on the steep and dark Gran Risa course. Florian Eisath of Italy was third, 1.10 behind.Hirscher had finished second behind Frenchmen -- Alexis Pinturault twice and Faivre once -- in each of the previous three giant slalom races. Thomas Fanara and Victor Muffat-Jeandet, two more French skiers, have also been highly competitive.Im super happy to get my first GS win of the season, Hirscher said. The French team is the benchmark at moment. All four guys showed in France how strong they are.Pinturault, who won on home snow in Val dIsere last weekend, fell early in his second run, spun around and crashed into the safety netting at high speed. He was charging hard after placing seventh in the opening run.Pinturault was slow getting up but skied down under his own power. He said later that he was not injured but had only sore legs.Olympic champion Ted Ligety slid off course shortly into his first run. The American, a two-time winner on the Gran Risa, has been unable to train properly lately due to severe back pain.I just have stabbing pain all the way down my leg, nerve pain, so I havent been able to ski much, Ligety said. Ive been getting injections and trying to get it sorted out but it hasnt really turned the corner yet.Italian great Tomba captured his wins on the Gran Risa course in 1987, `90, `91 and `94.Hirscher has now won this race four straight years. He also took a slalom in Badia in 2011.Im not thinking about breaking records, Hirscher said. I dont know how long I will ski.Attempting to become the first skier to win six consecutive overall titles, Hirscher increased his lead in the standings to 218 points ahead of Kjetil Jansrud, who didnt qualify for a second run.The most challenging section of the Gran Risa course is usually the steep and dark upper area but many skiers had trouble with an artificial jump on the flatter bottom part this year.Hirscher was slightly out of control going over the jump in his first run but he was perfect in his second trip down.Artificial, built-in jumps are a rarity in giant slalom.Its good to have some parts of a ski race where spectators are screaming and shouting and nervous watching in TV, Hirscher said. I was also watching in the start when one of the guys jumped far away into the flat and it was fun to see.Eisath had just taken the lead and the crowd was going wild when Faivre began his second run.I was listening to music but fortunately I took my headphones out early enough to hear the crowd cheering for Eisath, so I knew I had to really attack to take the lead and I did, Faivre said. But then Hirscher was really perfect in the second run and on a higher level today.It was the first podium result for Eisath in his 100th World Cup race.Its been a really long journey with lots of ups and downs and lots of fighting, said Eisath, who is from the nearby Val dEga and had his entire family and fan club in attendance.Zan Kranjec of Slovenia finished fourth to match his best career result from the season opener in Soelden, Austria.The top American finishers were Tommy Ford in 13th and Ryan Cochran-Siegle in 20th with the No. 50 bib.In the opening run, Philipp Schoerghofer was faster than his teammate Hirscher before he lost control and skied through one of the final gates. Erik Read of Canada also crashed into the safety netting.A parallel giant slalom is scheduled for Monday night on the Gran Risa.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf Cheap Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Flyers Jerseys Authentic . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. http://www.cheapflyersjerseys.com/ . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. Cheap Flyers Jerseys . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Cheap Flyers Jerseys China . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013.New Zealand look the complete one-day outfit under the inspirational leadership of Brendon McCullum, says Mark Butcher. The Black Caps got their World Cup campaign off to an emphatic start with a 98-run victory over Sri Lanka at Christchurchs Hagley Oval on Saturday.McCullum plundered 65 off 49 balls to set the tone for a dominant batting display, putting on 111 with Martin Guptill for the first wicket before Kane Williamson (57) and Corey Anderson (75 off 46 balls) picked up the big-hitting mantle. A half-century from Corey Anderson helped New Zealand to a 98 run win over Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup. But it was McCullum who caught the eye of former England opener Butcher, who said: He has such self-belief, such self-confidence. The pitch was meant to be a little bit tacky. There had been some rain around, the weather was bad.He just decided OK, there’s a length that I dont want Sri Lanka to bowl and if they bowl it there, Im running at it and attacking it.Lasith Malinga was a little of colour because he’s been out of the game for a long time but McCullum gives the bowlers nightmares because you know that if you let that ball go and it doesn’t go exactly where you want it to, he’s going to punish you.The way he captains the team is fabulous as well - he must instil so much confidence in his players because he always backs them to do the aggressive thing.New Zealand have got the bases covered so well. Anderson is left-arm, medium quick – he perfectly complements the likes of Tim Southee. Watch this stunning one-handed catch from a fan during the Sri Lanka v New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup.dddddddddddd They’ve got the left-armers of Trent Boult, they’ve got off-spin in Nathan McCullum if they choose to pick him. The evergreen Daniel Vettori is bowling brilliantly again.They look the complete outfit at the moment. There were questions, I suppose, about how they would handle being fancied as opposed to being dark horses. On the evidence of their win over Sri Lanka, it isn’t bothering them one bit.Anderson was named man-of-the-match after adding figures of 2-18 to his brutal innings, which featured eight fours and two sixes.Sky Sports pundit Bob Willis hailed his contribution, saying: He’s an extraordinary player. He’s just appeared on the scene out of nowhere. It was only that incredible innings by AB de Villiers in Johannesburg that deprived Anderson of the fastest century in one-day international cricket. There’s nothing to say that he won’t beat that in this competition. He’s a superb all-round cricketer, particularly in the one-day format.You’ve got to remember that New Zealand’s cricketers are all the time in the shadow of the All Blacks rugby team – it’s much more difficult to express yourself as a cricketer.But hats off to Brendon McCullum. You don’t have to think back too far to the disarray that New Zealand were in with Vettori giving up the captaincy and Ross Taylor being given the job and that being taken away from him.So it was a very, very delicate situation when Brendon McCullum came in and tried to galvanise this team with all the distractions of T20 cricket going on around the world.Watch New Zealand take on Scotland in Mondays Group A clash at 10pm on Sky Sports World Cup. Dont miss our live preview show before then, starting at 9pm. ' ' '