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SANTA CATERINA, Italy - Skiing on a hill he hasnt seen before usually gets Travis Ganong fired up.Racing the downhill on a new slope to the mens World Cup circuit certainly brought the best out of the American skier on Sunday.A flawless run on the Deborah Compagnoni course earned Ganong his first World Cup victory, less than six weeks before his home world championship race in Beaver Creek.First World Cup win!!!! Stoked to be able to say that!! Ganong posted on Twitter.I love to take on a new challenge and a new slope, said Ganong, a Squaw Valley, California, native who was just 26th in the only training session Friday. I love the hill, the mountains are huge here and its fun skiing.Its the second downhill win in a row for the U.S. team and the second in Italy after Steven Nymans triumph in Val Gardena last week. The last American back-to-back downhill wins dated from the 2007-08 season when Bode Miller won in Bormio and Wengen.Ganong finished the race in 1 minute, 32.42 seconds to beat Olympic champion Matthias Mayer of Austria by 0.09 and Dominik Paris of Italy by 0.21.Manuel Osborne-Paradis of North Vancouver, B.C., was the top Canadian in 36th.Ganong called his effort a perfect run.I went really, really straight in a couple areas, the American said. It was really smooth and I was able to carry it all the way down. The last big carousel turn I did perfectly, I dont think I could do that again if I tried.Norways Kjetil Jansrud, who has won two downhill races this season, was 1.35 behind and finished outside of the top 10, though he still leads the discipline standings.What goes up, must come down, Jansrud wrote on Twitter. Today was a rough day at work. As said before: Lots of great skiers out there. One mistake and you are gone.Jansrud also tops the overall standings with 624 points, 48 clear of Marcel Hirscher of Austria, who doesnt compete in downhill.Ganong excelled on the second part of the course. Several pre-race favourites had faster split times in the first section but couldnt match the Americans pace afterward.I had a super run and I am very happy, Ganong said. Its a sensational end to the year. I was attacking and I was having fun.Mayer praised Ganong for mastering the final third of the course.I thought my run was fast, Mayer said. On the bottom part I also wanted to race a direct line but I caught a bump and didnt manage to win back the lost time.Mayers runner-up finish gave Austria its first downhill podium of the season after the team suffered its worst pre-Christmas start to a World Cup season in 25 years.Ganongs victory didnt come completely out of the blue.The 26-year-old from Squaw Valley came fifth in the Olympic downhill in Sochi in February and earned his sole previous World Cup podium shortly afterward by placing third in Kvitfjell, Norway.Ganong also came fifth in Beaver Creek earlier this month for his 11th career top-10 finish.The course in Santa Caterina, which replaced the classic downhill on the Stelvio piste in nearby Bormio, was a regular stop on the womens circuit and was also used for the womens downhill at the 2005 world championships but has since been modified.The mens World Cup circuit continues with a slalom in Zagreb, Croatia, on Jan. 6, while the next downhill is scheduled for Wengen on Jan. 17. Cortez Kennedy Youth Jersey . Warren made six birdies and a bogey for a 5-under total of 139 to sit one shot ahead of Felipe Aguilar of Chile, who carded a 69. David Horsey of England was also on 5 under through 15 holes to join Warren atop the leaderboard before play was stopped. L.J. Collier Jersey . Tokarski, a somewhat controversial choice -- with his 10 games of NHL experience and all -- to replace an injured Carey Price in Game Two had a night to remember, turning back a Rangers team that was dominating play from the get-go, outshooting the Canadiens 14-4 in the first period and 37-25 overall. http://www.seahawksfansofficial.com/shau...r-jersey/."; Bach is in Rome for the European Olympic Committees general assembly and meetings with Pope Francis. He also visited with Italian Premier Enrico Letta. "The prime minister appeared to be interested in a bid from Italy for 24, because he has realized that the games can serve as a catalyst for development for a city and a country," Bach told The Associated Press on Saturday. Shaquem Griffin Womens Jersey . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Cortez Kennedy Womens Jersey . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. SAN FRANCISCO -- After slow starts to the season, Ryan Vogelsong and Pablo Sandoval have had a resurgence that has helped send the San Francisco Giants to the top of the standings. Vogelsong struck out seven in 6 2-3 innings of a second straight scoreless start and Pablo Sandoval homered for the fourth time in six games to lead the Giants to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night. "I feel like when Im out there, I can throw anything in any count," Vogelsong said. "Thats a great feeling. Its not always like that, but the last couple of games it has been that way. It definitely helps your mentality on the mound." Vogelsong (3-2) followed up seven scoreless innings against Miami by limiting the Twins to three hits and one walk to give him a 1.35 ERA in his past six starts. The win gave the Giants (31-18) the best record in baseball. Josmil Pinto broke up the shutout bid with a leadoff homer in the ninth inning against Sergio Romo, but that was all the Twins could manage. Romo retired the next three batters to get his 16th save in 18 chances. Samuel Deduno (1-3) allowed two runs in 5 2-3 innings after being moved up a day in Minnesotas rotation, but ended up on the short end because of the performances from Vogelsong and Sandoval. Sandoval got off to a slow start in a contract year and was batting under .200 as late as May 13. But he has found his stroke of late to lead the way for San Francisco. "He has his timing and he has his confidence going," manager Bruce Bochy said. "That usually comes with success. That was the longest tough streak he has ever gone through. It looks like he has come out of it and is making great contact right now." Sandoval gave San Francisco the lead for good in his first at-bat for the second straight night, sending an 0-2 pitch from Deduno over the wall in left-centre to lead off the second inning with his sixth homer of the season.dddddddddddd It was a rare two-strike hit for Sandoval, who came in with just five hits in 79 at-bats for an .063 average after reaching two strikes. "I missed a changeup," Deduno said. "I like to throw it on the ground, but it was just a little bit up. Thats why he hit it." Sandoval added a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning after a poor throw from second baseman Brian Dozier cost the Twins the chance at a double play. That was enough for Vogelsong, who pitched out of trouble in the first three innings before finding his groove. The Twins had a runner on second with one out in each of the first three innings, but couldnt score against Vogelsong, who has rebounded after posting a 7.71 ERA in his first four starts. "He was throwing good cutters to both sides of the plate," Twins outfielder Jason Kubel said. "If youre thinking cutter, hell throw the straight one in at you, too, and it gets guys to chase. Hes got a good curveball. When hes got his pitches, hes tough to hit." Vogelsong was replaced after making a throwing error on Aaron Hicks comebacker with two outs and no on in the seventh. Juan Gutierrez got pinch-hitter Chris Herrmann to ground out to escape the inning. NOTES: The Giants improved to 23-4 when scoring first. ... Minnesota OF Josh Willingham (left wrist) is expected to be activated from the DL on Monday when the team opens a four-game homestand vs. Texas. Oswaldo Arcia (right wrist) is also expected to be activated. ... Giants RHP Matt Cain will miss his scheduled start Monday because of an injured hamstring that did not feel 100 per cent during a pregame bullpen session. Yusmeiro Petit will start in his place. ... Madison Bumgarner (5-3) will start the series finale for San