SSCV's December Publications in the Vail Daily by Michael Suleiman

Vail Daily 12/02/2012

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Sunday, December 2, 2012

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AP PHOTO

Lindsey Vonn celebrates her win with teammate and second place finisher Stacey Cook, left, and third place finisher Switzerland’s Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden on the podium after the women’s World Cup downhill ski race in Lake Louise, Alberta, on Saturday.

Vonn wins 2nd Lake Louise downhill Lindsey Vonn edges teammate Stacey Cook by 0.52 seconds ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAKE LOUISE, Alberta — Lindsey Vonn raced to her 13th World Cup victory at Lake Louise on Saturday, leading another 1-2 U.S. sweep in the second downhill at the Canadian resort. Vonn finished in 1 minute, 52.9 seconds to edge teammate Stacey Cook by 0.52 seconds. On Friday in the season-opening downhill, Vonn beat Cook by 1.73 seconds. Vonn nearly skidded into safety nets rounding a corner halfway down the course. “A lot of people make mistakes in a lot of races, but if you don’t think you’re going to win after a mistake then you’re not,” Vonn said. “I kept charging. I knew I could make up some time if I skied well on the bottom and thankfully my skis were fast and I had a good line and I was able to make it up.” Switzerland’s Marianne KaufmannAbderhalden was third in 1:53.52. The 28-year-old Vonn, from Burnsville, Minn., will race in the super-G on Sunday in a bid to sweep the three-race event for the second straight year. “I did it last year and I’m going to do my best but super-G is a whole other ball game,” Vonn said. “I really hope I can get another sweep, but I would be extremely happy to be on the podium.” Vonn tied Switzerland’s Vreni Schneider for second place on the World Cup victory list with 55. Austria’s Annamarie Moser-Proell is the leader with 62.

Vonn raced for the third time since returning from a stomach bug that landed her in the hospital. Last week in Aspen, Colo., she was 21st in the giant slalom, then skipped the slalom. “I’m a little bit more tired today for sure, especially with that mistake,” Vonn said. “It was definitely interesting today and an adventure. I’ve made mistakes here before. I haven’t won with that big of a mistake before.” She said she pressure to win the women’s races because she asked the world governing body of skiing to race the men’s World Cup at Lake Louise. Vonn was denied by FIS, but hasn’t given up on that dream. Her best argument to race the men at Lake Louise is to continue winning by large margins. “I’ve been racing here for so many years that there’s definitely been a lot of interesting things that have gone in the races, but this weekend was very important for me to make sure I won at least one race and to come away with two wins is more than I hoped for being sick,” she said. “I felt like I had a lot of pressure coming into these races because I, of course, wanted to race the men. You make that kind of statement, you kind of have to back it up. I’m confident in the way I ski here. I know what to do and I think I proved that this weekend.” Cook watched Vonn’s run on television at the bottom of the course. “I was like ‘I don’t have a chance’ and then I saw her make a mistake. My heart stopped beating for a second,” Cook said. “But she’s so good. She’s the only person who can stop and still win.” The 28-year-old Cook, from Mammoth Mountain, Calif., celebrated her first two podium finishes. “I really kind of lifted a monkey off my back yesterday getting that first podium out of the way,” she said. “I know I can compete with these girls. It’s just been a long time coming to AP PHOTO actually believe it and I think I’m start- Lindsey Vonn reacts in the finish area following her run at the women’s World Cup downhill ski ing to.” race in Lake Louise, Alberta, on Saturday.

December 2, 2012 4:39 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/08/2012

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SPECIAL TO THE DAILY

Ski & Snowboard Club Vail sweeps the podium Friday at Copper Mountain.

SSCV sweeps at Copper Daily staff report

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Holiday Wish List:

The Surefoot Colorado Ski Cup is back at Copper. The Surefoot Cup is a FIS race for athletes over the age of 16. Between the snowflakes on Friday, racers from Breckenridge, Vail, Winter Park, Steamboat, Canada and even Japan battled it out for the Surefoot downhill title. There were three days of training and two days of competing in downhill, with Friday being the second day of competition. Maybe it was all the high-speed slipping from volunteering at the Birds of Prey that helped Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) perform so well at the Surefoot Cup. Not only did the U18 and U21 boys from SSCV sweep the top three spots Friday, they in fact took the top five spots. Florian Szwebel came away with the win by just over one-tenth of a second. Gregoire

Pasquier placed second, followed by William Blommer in third. These athletes have been making the most of their early season training, despite the lack of snow. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is obviously a great accomplishment to be on the podium at a FIS race. These races are the highest-level FIS races in the Rocky Central Division,â&#x20AC;? said SSCV men's ability coach Stefan Hughes. Thursday was also a successful day, with Szwebel in second place and Pasquier in first. â&#x20AC;&#x153;William Blommer made a huge improvement from placing ninth on the first day of the competition to placing third on the second day,â&#x20AC;? said Hughes. SSCV also placed well on the women's side of the event, with Grace Merriman in third on Day 1 and fifth on Day 2. Katie Talbot placed fourth on Day 1 and seventh on Day 2. Kelly Balfanz showed consistency and scored well by placing sixth on both days.

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Vail and Beaver Creek Ski Patrol, Mountain Safety, and Mountain Management are enforcing skier safety on Vail and Beaver Creek mountains every day this season.

LAST WEEK Warnings given for safety violations VAIL: 43 57

BEAVER CREEK: 21 35

VAIL: 231 14

BEAVER CREEK: 140 15

LAST WEEK Days of skiing/riding privileges revoked for safety violations. SEASON TO DATE Days of skiing/riding privileges revoked for safety violations. VAIL: 917 29 84 BEAVER CREEK: 772

GONE FOR THE SEASON Individuals who have lost skiing/riding privileges for the season. VAIL: 20

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BEAVER CREEK: 30

Vail and Beaver Creek are committed to providing an enjoyable experience for all of our guests. Integral to that experience is skier and rider safety. As an industry leader, Vail and Beaver Creek are committed to ski safety edxucation, awareness, and enforcement. Please use good judgement, follow the Skier Responsibility Code to ski and ride safely and responsibly.

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(970) SKI-VAIL (754-8245)

December 8, 2012 3:02 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/11/2012

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Patriots rout Texans in key matchup Patriots 42, Texans 14 By Barry Wilner

AP PRO FOOTBALL WRITER

AP PHOTO

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) reacts after running for yardage against the Houston Texans during the third quarter Monday.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Look out. That familiar sight is the New England Patriots romping through December, looking like a Super Bowl team. The Patriots rolled over Houston 42-14 on Monday night, stamping themselves once again as the team to fear in the AFC — and making the Texans look like pretenders. Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns and 296 yards as New England manhandled the team with the league’s best record. The Patriots (10-3), who already own the AFC East title, won their seventh straight and moved one game behind the Texans (11-2) for the conference’s top seed. A matchup of the top two scoring teams in the league was a mismatch from the outset. It took take New England only one possession to start its scoring barrage as the Patriots surpassed their average of

35.8 points per game. Wes Welker’s 31-yard punt return and 25-yard reception — the 107th straight game he’s had a catch — led to Aaron Hernandez’s 7-yard score. That gave Brady 45 consecutive games with a TD pass, third longest in NFL history. It also set the tone. Houston, which had won six straight, threatened on its next series, only to have Matt Schaub force a ball into double coverage in the Patriots’ end zone. Devin McCourty picked it off and returned it 19 yards, setting up more pinpoint throws by Brady, who finished 21 of 35. He couldn’t miss if he tried, his receivers were so uncovered: Brandon Lloyd for 14 yards, Danny Woodhead for 18, Hernandez for 13, then Lloyd for the 37-yard TD to make it 14-0. Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips could only shake his head in disgust at his players’ inability to challenge the Patriots. It got worse. At the end of a 70-yard drive helped by a 26-yard interference call on Danieal Manning, no Texans were lined up to Brady’s left in front of Hernandez. A quick snap, a quicker pass and the

tight end waltzed into the end zone. New England was headed for its 20th successive home win in December, and its 21st straight victory in the second half of the schedule. Houston was headed back home wondering not only how it could measure up to a perennial championship contender in the future, but if it could hold off surging Indianapolis in the AFC South. The Texans have a two-game lead but face the Colts (9-4) on Sunday in Houston, then in the season finale at Indianapolis. Although the Texans have clinched at least a wild-card berth, they haven’t had a truly convincing win since October. This was a convincing defeat, however — although they got on the scoreboard in the third quarter with an 88-yard drive capped by Arian Foster’s 1-yard run. By then the Patriots had their fourth TD, a gorgeous 63-yard throw to Donte’ Stallworth, who was re-signed last week to replace injured Julian Edelman. It gave Brady his 18th game with at least four TD passes, moving ahead of Hall of Famer John Unitas for fourth all time.

Vail athletes dominate podium at North Face Open Daily staff report

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Vail is predominantly a ski-racing town. However, with park expansion plans, a new 22-foot halfpipe in the works and the U.S. Open of Snowboarding coming to Vail, big changes are on the horizon for Vail’s park and pipe scene. There have been a handful of tremendous freeskiing and freestyle skiers who have trained in Vail and gone on to win numerous competitions. In the next few years, the Vail Valley will see more freeskiing and freestyle athletes using Vail as their training ground. The North Face Open series for halfpipe came to Copper Mountain this past weekend, and athletes from all over the world showed up to compete. Pro-level athletes such as Mike Riddle, Gus Kenworthy and Tanner Hall were a few big names at the event. The North Face Park and Pipe Open series is a huge event for aspiring athletes looking to head to the Olympics. Both slopestyle and halfpipe skiing will make their Olympic debut in 2014 at the Sochi, Russia, Winter Games. The North Face series is an International Ski Federation (FIS) event, which provides athletes with the points necessary to qualify for the Olympics. The athletes trained during the week at Copper and competed on Saturday, with the finals on Sunday. With FIS points in play and $55,000 in prize value up for grabs for the whole series, it is a great event to get noticed and potentially pad that wallet. Ski & Snowboard Club Vail has had a tremendous influence on the world of skiing in the valley, and it is no exception when it comes to freeskiing and freestyle skiing. Just two short years ago, SSCV hired renowned coach Elana Chase to lead the freekiing program to new heights. Elana has coached X-Games athletes such as

SPECIAL TO THE DAILY

The men’s podium at The North Face Park and Pipe Open at Copper Mountain this past weekend had some familiar faces. Torin Yater Wallace, David Wise, Jen Hudak and Walter Wood. When she came to Vail, Chase developed the current freeskiing pro team at SSCV. Annalisa Drew, Alex Ferreria, Walter Wood and Aaron Blunck are a few of the athletes on the pro team that made it to the finals in The North Face Open. On Saturday night in Copper Village, during a blizzard, the U.S. Freeskiing team for the 2012-13 season was announced to the public. Blunck, who is currently ranked 14th in the world, according to AFP’s (Association of Freeskiing Professionals) overall ranking, and Ferreria, who placed fourth in the qualifiers at the North Face Open, were announced to the U.S. Freeski rookie team during the ceremony. With hard work, these athletes will have a chance to compete in the next Winter Olympics. Wood is a name that has been in the press before. This rising star has been training in Vail with Chase for the past couple of years and has shown incredible talent. Currently ranked ninth in the world for halfpipe, he almost had the perfect finals run at the event. “We haven’t really been skiing

since this summer in New Zealand,” Wood said. “These competitions come up quick, and you have to really be on it if you want to do well. The conditions today were absolutely freezing cold, which makes your equipment start to malfunction a bit. It is tough to compete in these conditions, but the person that pushes through is usually the one that goes away with the podium. I had a blast today, and I’m excited for next weekend.” Wood actually broke his binding, partly due to the cold temperatures, when he landed in the pipe on his last “hit” out of the pipe. He sees this past weekend’s North Face Open as a good training opportunity for next weekend’s Dew Cup at Breckenridge. Blunck, a Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy student, skied unbelievably well in the finals. By linking smooth off-axis tricks from wall to wall, Blunck landed himself a spot on the podium. During his final run, Blunck attempted a double cork 1260, which is one of the more difficult tricks a pipe skier can perform. Blunck outperformed well-known veteran athletes such as Hall, Justin Dorey and Matt Margetts.

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Aaron Blunck boosts out of the pipe on a cork 900 at The North Face Park and Pipe Open at Copper Mountain on Saturday. The 16-year-old Crested Butte resident ended up placing third in the event, winning himself $1,250. “The facilities that have come up in Vail recently are top of the line for training,” Blunck said. “We have a trampoline room inside of VSSA. We will have a 22-foot pipe to ski on this year in Vail and won’t have to drive to other resorts. I’m really excited about everything that has been happening in Vail, and I’m really excited about how today went.” Former VSSA student Peter Crook placed second in the finals, winning $1,500 just behind Riddle. Riddle is currently one of the best pipe skiers in the world, and it showed during his smooth run.

Crook recently established the British Virgin Islands National Freeskiing Team so that he can compete for his home country in the Olympics. “I started skiing pipe here in Copper this week for the first time in a while,” Crook said. “I had a missing link in my run that I worked on and managed to put down a good run. This is a huge boost for my confidence, and I’m excited to continue to progress this season.” The fact that these up-andcoming athletes are able to successfully compete with some of the best is a clear indicator that they, too, are some of the best in the world.

December 11, 2012 5:58 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/14/2012

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Breckenridge’s Eric Willet flies through the air on his way to a third-place finish during the Dew Tour men’s snowboard slopestyle qualifying event on Thursday.

Local athletes advance after semifinals SSCV in action on Dew Tour By Janice Kurbjun and John LaConte SUMMIT DAILY NEWS

BRECKENRIDGE — A handful of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athletes qualified for the finals in the Dew Tour ski and snowboard superpipe competitions in Breckenridge on Thursday. Freeski superpipe finals are set for today at 3 p.m., with the snowboard superpipe finals on Saturday at noon. Edwards skier Taylor Seaton made the finals with a 10th place finish in Thursday’s qualifier, while SSCV snowboarders Brett Esser and Ayumu Hirano also made the finals with their fifth and ninth place finishes, respectively. Check out the Dew Tour in person at Breckenridge or on TV on

NBC Sports Network — where the station will be trying out a new cable-cam angle. The freeski superpipe will air at 3 p.m. and the snowboard superpipe is Saturday at noon.

Men’s snowboard slopestyle

Last year in Breckenridge, Frisco’s Eric Willett finished ninth. In Thursday’s snowboard slopestyle semifinal, Willett landed himself a third-place finish, solidly qualifying for Sunday’s final and getting his hopes and confidence up for a top finish during this year’s single stop in Breckenridge. Willett finished behind Torstein Horgmo (Norway) and Maxence Parrot (Canada) with a score of 88.50. Horgmo sat nicely on top with a 95.00 and Parrot squeaked into second with an 89.00. “It’s good,” Willett said. “You never know how that first com-

petition is going to go. … The conditions were a little gnarly out there for all of us. We had a bunch of snow, so we didn’t get too much practice in the first few days. The wind played a factor (Wednesday).”

Men’s snowboard superpipe

As Thursday’s semifinals wound down, Scotty Lago beat out defending champion Shaun White to take the top spot in the men’s snowboard superpipe semifinal event. He started his run with a frontside 540, followed by a backside 900, frontside 1080 double cork, cab 700, frontside 900 inverted nose grab and a backside air. Shaun White finished the contest in second, and Greg Bretz rounded out the top three. Top contender Ioui “iPod” Podladtchikov ruled himself out of the

finals by finishing in 12th place.

Men’s freeski superpipe semifinal

Day two of the Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships started off with 21 freeskiers hitting the superpipe, each taking two runs during a single heat of two rounds, with only their best score counting. Considering that only the top ten skiers will be moving on to the finals, the semifinal level of competition resembled a winner-takeall attitude from the athletes, according to Alli Sports. The best score of the day went to Mike Riddle (Canada) with his first run of the day. His run consisted of a double 1260, right 900, left 900, flatspin 360, switch left 900 and a switch right 900. “It felt pretty amazing to win today. They narrowed it down from three stops to one this year. It is a pretty big deal. They are really

pulling out all the stops, so it felt pretty good to come out on top. I am feeling real strong this year and can’t wait for finals,” Riddle said. David Wise (Reno, Nev.) and Justin Dorey (Canada) rounded out the top three from semis in second and third place, respectively.

Women’s snowboard slopestyle

South Lake Tahoe native Jamie Anderson’s strong first run put her in the top spot going into Friday’s snowboard slopestyle final for the women. Anderson threw down a switch back 540, a back 180 and cab 540 in her first run, giving her a score of 94.25. Anderson’s first run score was the highest of the he day. Trailing close behind Jamie Anderson was Germany’s Silvia Mittermueller with a 93.00 and Enni Rukajärvi in third with a 92.00.

Athletes hit big air under the lights in Breckenridge Hefty crowd turns out for inaugural Dew Tour event By Janice Kurbjun SUMMIT DAILY NEWS

BRECKENRIDGE — It was a dog fight to the top of the freeski big air podium on Thursday night, with athletes one-upping each other in their three runs for the finals event. New Zealand’s Josiah Wells, Tel-

luride’s Gus Kenworthy, Pittsburgh’s Tom Wallisch, Switzerland’s Kai Mahler and Sweden’s Henrik Harlaut landed spots among 12 contestants in the envied finals heat. There, they battled it out for the win in the winter Dew Tour’s inaugural freeski big air event, with victory going to the skier with the best score of three final runs. Kai Mahler landed an undisputed 97.00 with a switch double misty double Japan grab and gaining huge air, much to the crowd’s delight.

“It was the first time I ever did that trick,” the Swiss skier said. “It was a super cool jump, one of the best I have ever jumped in my life.” Mahler took the lead early with a 93.25 in a jump with amplitude, depth and rotation. Everyone else started with scores in the 80s in the first heat. Wells landed a 69.75 in the first round and never really stepped it up. In Round 2, Kenworthy cleaned up with huge height, adding a tail grab and sneaking ahead to first place with a 94.50. But then Hen-

rik took his smile and pink helmet down the ramp to boot into his butter takeoff and a 94.75 score. Heading into the third round, Kenworthy bested himself for the third time in three runs for a 95.75 and another first-place spot, only to be bested by Mahler’s final run, which wowed the crowd both with its style and score. Harlaut wasn’t able to throw a trick that impressed the judges as much as he did in his second round, and he finished with a 91.50 on the third run.

Freeski big air final results

1. Kai Mahler — 97.00 2. Gus Kenworthy — 95.75 3. Henrik Harlaut — 94.75 4. Josiah Wells — 87.75 5. Tom Wallisch — 87.50

December 14, 2012 4:54 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/18/2012

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Vonn heads home for midseason break Local World Cup skier still ill By Andrew Dampf AP SPORTS WRITER

ALTA BADIA, Italy — Lindsey Vonn is heading back to the United States for an unexpected break in the middle of the World Cup ski season and is unlikely to return to Europe until January. After a weekend of disappointing results at a World Cup meet in France, the fourtime overall champion said in a statement on her Facebook page Monday that she needs to get her full strength back before returning to the slopes after New Year’s. Vonn stayed two nights in a hospital in Vail, Colo., in November after suffering from severe intestinal pain. “After talking with my family and consulting with my coaches and trainers, I have decided to take a break from the World Cup circuit,” Vonn said. “Since my intestinal infection last month, I have been struggling with my energy and strength. I believe that some time off the mountain will help me regain the physical strength that I require to compete at the level that I demand from myself.” Earlier Monday, U.S. women’s head coach Alex Hoedlmoser told The Associated Press on Monday that the timing of Vonn’s return “depends on how she’s feeling and exactly what her condition is.” “She’s going home for now,” Hoedlmoser said. “We’ll have to see when she’s ready. It’s a little bit unknown, but the plan is to get her back strong. ... With the way the schedule has been and all the travel she just hasn’t had a chance to get back to strength. We want her back at full strength.” Hoedlmoser said Vonn will miss this week’s slalom and giant slalom races in Are, Sweden. The following races on the schedule are also technical races in Semmering, Austria, Dec. 28-29. “It’s possible she’ll skip Semmering, so that would mean her next races would be in January,” Hoedlmoser said. “It depends how she’s feeling and exactly what her condition is.” Vonn won three consecutive speed races at Lake Louise, Alberta, this season, and a

AP PHOTO

Lindsey Vonn waits at the finish area after failing to complete a women’s World Cup downhill race in Val d’Isere, France, on Friday. super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 8 for her 57th career World Cup win — moving her within five of record-holder Annemarie Moser-Proell on the all-time list. But she fared poorly in both her races this past weekend in France. On Friday in Val d’Isere, she had an uncharacteristic fall in the downhill, an event in which she’s the Olympic champion. On Sunday in Courchevel, she fell again in the opening run of a giant slalom. Immediately after Sunday’s race, Vonn posted a note on Facebook: “Hit a rock on my left ski in the GS and skied off course...struggling to find the energy I usually have...going to think hard over the next few days about my plan for the coming weeks and how to get strong again. Trying to stay positive. Now I’m packing up the

Audi and heading to the airport.” After Semmering, there is a special city event in Munich on New Year’s Day and a slalom in Zagreb, Croatia, on Jan. 4, followed by speed races Jan. 12-13 in St. Anton, Austria — on one of Vonn’s favorite courses. Depending on how many races Vonn misses, her chances of defending the overall title may be affected. Vonn is fourth in the standings. Tina Maze of Slovenia leads with 799 points, followed by Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany at 468, Kathrin Zettel of Austria at 440 and Vonn at 414. Vonn, however, might not miss any speed races, her specialty, so Hoedlmoser wasn’t counting her out. “In January there are plenty of races left

for her,” he said. “The goal is to get her back up in shape.” In last week’s issue of People magazine, Vonn revealed she struggled with depression in 2008 and was prescribed an antidepressant. She added that she’s happier these days. “All the parts of my life are finally in sync,” she said. “I accept who I am, and I’m moving forward.” Vonn separated from her husband of four years, Thomas, last year. In Monday’s statement, Vonn said “I want to be emphatic that this has nothing to do with my recent interview with People Magazine.” “I had completed that interview weeks before I was in the hospital with the intestinal infection,” she said.

Amid doubts by rivals, Local racers excel at Loveland Ligety gets OK on skis Daily staff report

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By Andrew Dampf AP SPORTS WRITER

MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO, Italy — Ted Ligety is ruling the giant slalom like few others, and the praise extraordinary: “phenomenon,” “superhero” and “unreal.” His performance also has left some rivals questioning whether his equipment conforms to new rules introduced by TED LIGETY the International Ski Federation for this season that limit the hourglass shape of skis. But the federation says no equipment rules have been breached. “It would be nice if people would be more observant of all the preparation Ted has done, and all the training he did with the new equipment,” U.S. technical coach Mike Day said. “That’s why he’s dominating.” It’s been mainly Italian skiers raising questions, after they couldn’t keep up with Ligety at home in Sunday’s race in

Alta Badia, when Ligety won the first run by a massive 2.40 seconds. Ligety won by 2.04 seconds, with defending overall World Cup winner Marcel Hirscher of Austria the runner-up. Ligety also won the first two GS races this season by large margins, finishing 2.75 ahead in Soelden, Austria, and 1.76 in front in Beaver Creek, Colo. Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark set the record for margin of victory at 4.06 in 1978-79. Still, Ligety became the first man since Stenmark in 1978-79 to win two giant slaloms in the same season with an advantage of more than two seconds. In an article in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Monday — headlined “Ligety even more giant, amid talent and the usual suspects” — skiers Manfred Moelgg and Davide Simoncelli wondered about the American’s skis. “It seems to me the tails are wider,” Moelgg said. Simoncelli said: “It does raise some doubts.” A similar article appeared in Gazzetta dello Sport.

The second Smartwool Series race took place on Saturday and Sunday at Loveland. Athletes earned FIS points in their respective age groups. A week ago, local boys from Ski & Snowboard Club Vail landed podium spots at the Surefoot race. This time, local girls from SSCV came out strong and landed podium results. The Smartwool Series is no small time race. With a deep field of more than 70 girls from numerous clubs, and even a few colleges such as the University of New Mexico, it is the perfect race for alpine athletes to step up their race game and compete with seasoned veterans. Local athlete Abigail Murer, from SSCV, had an incredible day racing giant slalom on Saturday, winning her U16 division and landing in third place overall. The U16 division was the largest division at the competition. Leah Newton, from SSCV, placed 12th overall, and Genevieve Soden placed 15th overall. Although Saturday was a phenomenal day from Murer, Sunday proved even better for the young racer. Murer ended in second place on Day 2 of the giant slalom race. Soden sped up her time from Day 1 and

SPECIAL TO THE DAILY

Local athlete Abigail Murer, from SSCV, had an incredible day racing giant slalom on Saturday, winning her U16 division and landing in third place overall. landed in 10th place overall on Day 2. Lauren Viola, from SSCV, had a huge improvement from Day 1 to Day 2. On Saturday, she placed 29th but improved her time on Sunday and finished in 13th. On the boys’ side of the race, Jack Keane had a solid and consistent performance, as usual. Keane ended in a respectable 15th place on Saturday and 14th place on Sunday. Luke Vickerman skied well on Sunday and ended in 18th place.

December 18, 2012 4:37 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/19/2012

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SSCV Nordic skier cracks the top 10 in World Cup Daily staff report

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Sylvan Ellefson, Tad Elliot, Noah Hoffman, Ryan Scott, Christian Shanley and Max Scrimgeour make up Ski & Snowboard Club Vail Nordic’s self-proclaimed “Team Homegrown.” Last weekend, they were in Alberta competing in the Canmore World Cup. “In general, winning the Olympics is harder for Nordic but placing top 30 in the Olympics is actually easier than in a World Cup event. World Cup events have a deeper field of athletes that are all really fast,” said Hoffman during a Skype call last Friday. Hoffman placed 22nd in the 15K mass start Thursday and had an outstanding eighth-place finish in the 15K free skiathalon on Sunday. He had the fastest time out of anyone else from the U.S. and is clearly on a mission to success. Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s (SSCV) Nordic program director, Dan Weiland, as well as Kevin and Karl Hochtl, created the “Team Homegrown” program within the Nordic program at SSCV before the 2009-10 season. The purpose of the group is to give older Nordic athletes the chance to continue to pursue a career in Nordic skiing. “If athletes come back from college looking to ski Nordic, they still have a place with us here in Vail,” says Weiland. Unlike other more injury-prone snowsports, Nordic skiing has the unique advantage of having a longer “prime” period. Many athletes competing on a World Cup level are older than 25. According to statisticalskier.com, many Nordic athletes hit their prime in their late 20s. This provides Nordic athletes with a lasting chance to reach a higher level of competition. Competing in any sport can be expensive.

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Unlike baseball, football, or any other bigname sport, professional skiers often shell out their own money for competitions and travel expenses. One of the biggest tools that Weiland has provided his “Homegrown” athletes is an outlet to make all these competitions financially possible. Weiland helped create the Rocky Mountain Nordic Angel Fund; the money raised helps the dreams of local Nordic skiers who have a chance to go to the Olympics. Even though Elliot and Hoffman are currently on the U.S. Ski Team, they still have to pay their way to compete in World Cup events. “It really all started last year after skiing nationals. Sylvan was the Super Tour leader and we all got to go ski in Russia as a group,” said Elliot. The Super Tour is the Nordic equivalent of a Nor-Am and allows for athletes to qualify for World Cup events. “We all grew up competing against each other in Rocky Mountain events and it is pretty cool to continue to ski with each other,” said Ellefson. After winning the Super Tour, Ellefson was eligible to compete in every World Cup race before Christmas. The race in Canmore this past weekend was Sylvan’s last eligible World Cup race. He will now be coming back to the U.S. to compete in more Super Tour events. Scott was eligible to compete in the Quebec World Cup and the Canmore World Cup last weekend due to an impressive third-place finish at the Super Tour in Bozeman, Mont., earlier in the season. “I didn’t perform as well as I would have liked to in Quebec. I’m looking forward to U.S. Nationals in January out in Utah,” said Scott. Scott is predominantly a sprinter, while Ellefson is an all around skier; Elliot and

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Sylvan Ellefson is one of six members of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail's “Team Homegrown,” competing around the globe in the 2012-13 season. Hoffman are both distance skiers. “It is great being able to train with these guys and to be able to be up in Canada com-

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Vail Daily 12/22/2012

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SPORTS Shiffrin felt ready for the win SECTION A

PAGE 30

SATURDAY, 12 • 22 • 12

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Eagle-Vail teen the third youngest American woman to win on tour By Lauren Glendenning

LGLENDENNING@VAILDAILY.COM

VAIL — When 17-year-old Eagle-Vail ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin picked up her first World Cup win Thursday in Sweden, she said she felt like she had come home. Shiffrin became the third youngest American woman to win a World Cup race behind Kiki Cutter, who won slalom in 1968 at the age of 16, and Jody Nagel, who won slalom in 1969 at just three months younger than Shiffrin. The win also puts her on top of the World Cup slalom standings with 196 points over Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who has 174 points. She won the night race in Are, Sweden, with a combined time of 1 minute, 45.36 seconds. U.S. Ski Team spokesman Doug Haney said she had an “incredibly solid” first run, after which she was in second place, but it was her second run that blew everyone away. Haney called it “flawless.” Shiffrin sounded wise beyond her years in a teleconference with the media around 2 p.m. Mountain Time on Thursday as she spoke about her win and the mindset she had going into the race. She felt like Thursday night was her night to pick up a win because she said she finally felt ready. She knew whenever she felt ready, that’s when she would win, though she also said she has never been able to predict when that feeling would come. “I’ve been in this position a couple times now and gave it away because I was thinking too much about today being my day,” Shiffrin said, adding she knew she had to fight for it Thursday night.

Eagle-Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin reacts at the finish line after winning a women’s World Cup slalom in Are, Sweden, on Thursday. “Tonight I just felt like I know how to handle that position now.” Shiffrin didn’t expect to win at such a young age, but she “sure hoped for it,” she said. She said she has tried to stay grounded and focused as she has worked toward her first World Cup victory. “I didn’t want to be waiting around that long because I’m pretty impatient when it comes to competition,” she said. Shiffrin talked about the emotions she felt after the win, and what it was like to see her mother at the finish area. She said the finish area was hectic and she had to

stay out there for media photos. It was 10 or 15 minutes before she saw her mother. “I kept seeing her across the fence and I couldn’t get to her,” Shiffrin said. “It was so exciting and there was all sorts of emotion running through everybody. ... Hearing her say, ‘Great job,’ and ‘I love you,’ and ‘I’m so proud of you,’ — it was just the best thing.” That’s when it hit Shiffrin that everything she’s been working so hard for is now paying off. She described that moment as when she started to feel like she was home — she now feels like she’s

AP PHOTO

Watch Shiffrin’s winning run

To watch footage of Thursday night’s race in Are, Sweden, visit www.youtube.com/ussanetwork.

where she belongs, she said. “It’s hard to find that feeling when you’re so far away from home for so long,” Shiffrin said. Shiffrin said her phone was “blowing up” while on the media call, which happened around 10 p.m. in Sweden. Congratulatory posts on social media sites were also blowing up as the news

spread across the Atlantic. “Omg Mikaela Shiffrin just won a World Cup in Sweden, huge,” tweeted professional skier Chris Anthony, of Avon. She was getting shout-outs from fellow American skiers, too, including veteran racer Steven Shiffrin, page A31

Big start for Nordic Town Series Large crowd braves cold for opening event in public race series By John LaConte SPECIAL TO THE DAILY

VAIL — Coach Dan Weiland was amazed by the record-size crowd at Wednesday’s Nordic Town Series opening race. A group of 50 or so racers braved the zero-degree temperatures to compete in the 20-minute freestyle event, the first in a fiverace Nordic skiing competition that’s an annual tradition in Vail. “This is a pretty big field for us, considering we didn’t put any fliers out or anything,” Weiland said as the race was starting. “I sent out an email at like 3 o’clock this afternoon but that’s it ... this is three times the size of the normal

field.” With the town series as a microcosm of the program itself, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Nordic branch is growing successfully and in the right direction, attracting athletes like Wednesday night’s winner, Cal Deline. “He’s the top J1 in the United States right now,” said Weiland, “and one of the best overall juniors in the country.” To pull off the win, Deline had to battle it out with No. 2 finisher Tony Ryerson, also a Ski & Snowboard Club Vail alumnus. “On the final lap Cam and I were butting elbows the whole time, switching off the lead, stepping on each other’s skis,” said Ryerson. “It was really fun. The dark made it even more dramatic because you couldn’t even see what you were doing.”

Cheering spectators

But Deline and the racers

weren’t the only ones braving the cold. Spectators such as Sally Darlington were on the sidelines, cheering on the competitors “It’s a great group of folks here,” said Darlington. “The hearty souls, the people that want to do the crazy things.” Darlington’s children, Nathan Maddox, 16, and Samantha “Bob” Maddox, 17, from Eagle Valley High School, were among the competitors. “They’re into it, and they’re all around other kids who are just like that,” she said. “It’s fun because you know all the kids, you know all the parents, and it’s all part of this really great group of positive people.” Darlington is originally from Massachusetts, but moved to the Vail Valley before having Samantha and Nathan. She said this season, she's been really enjoying coverage of Vail's 50th anniversary from publications like the new

STEVE SHANLEY | Special to the Daily

Cal Deline and Tony Ryerson battle for the lead while Ski & Snowboard Club Vail coach Dan Weiland (in the blue flannel) watches the action Wednesday night at the Vail Nordic Center. Vail 50th magazine. “It’s been so interesting to read about the folks that were here in the very beginning,” she said. “They all had the same pioneer

spirit of wanting to create something. And it became this, wow ... there’s stuff happening everyNordic, page A31

December 22, 2012 4:42 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/23/2012

THE VAIL DAILY

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Colin Lang, who trains with Ski & Snowboard Club Vail and competes for his home country of Poland, finished 26th on Friday at Copper Mountain. MICHAEL SULEIMAN Special to the Daily

HARRELL

FROM PAGE A28

receive a spot at the NorAms for the season,” said SSCV freestyle coach Riley Campbell at the top of the course on Friday morning. “The top two U.S. skiers receive World Cup spots for the season. Our athlete Kaitlyn Harrell will most likely battle it out today with Keaton McCargo from Telluride to land one of the World Cup spots.” During Wednesday’s competition, there were 51 female competitors and 73 male competitors. Harrell had an incredible day on Wednesday and ended up in third place. The 15-year-old beat numerous skiers five to 10 years older than her. On Friday, she wasn’t feeling well but still placed fourth overall. In the end, she was one place away from making the World Cup spot. Despite her incredible results, Harrell wasn’t feeling well during the race. “I was really trying to forget about my results from the other day and not put any

expectations up for myself and just keep calm,” Harrell said. “I get caught up in my head, so my main goal coming out here was to really control my nerves. At the same time, it was a bit tricky competing today because I think I ate something that really upset my stomach. I actually almost threw up at the top of the course.” This rising star is well on her way to a successful season and will be competing in the NorAm events throughout the season. “She did really well today, and I’m not too worried that she didn’t get a World Cup spot,” Dowling said. “She is only 15, and there will be many other opportunities for her to get to the next level.” Emerson Smith placed 22nd on Wednesday and ended in 30th on Friday, which just qualified him for NorAms. Colin Lang, who trains with SSCV and competes for his home country of Poland, finished 26th on Friday. Vail local Hunter Bailey greatly improved on his ranking from Wednesday to Friday and ended in 18th place. Bailey also qualified for NorAms.

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Vail Daily 12/23/2012

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COPPER MOUNTAIN — Freestyle skiing has been visible in the Vail Valley for some time. Vail has produced big name athletes such as Toby Dawson and Heidi Kloser, among others. Recreational, and competitive, mogul skiers usually think of Mary Jane or Winter Park as a true place to rip a zipper line. However, with runs like Prima, Pronto, Log Chute and most of Chair 10, Vail has enough moguls to keep the legs burning all day long. This season Team Breckenridge has merged into Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s program and will most certainly create a dramatic change in the competitive mogul scene. John Dowling, who was just hired as the Freestyle Program director at SSCV, created the Team Breckenridge program with Riley Campbell and is responsible for the merging of the teams. John Dowling has been coaching freestyle athletes for years and has coached 16 athletes to the U.S. Ski Team. Riley Campbell and Dowling started Team Breckenridge a few years ago and decided they would move over to SSCV, which will ultimately offer a more suitable training ground for their athletes. Dowling’s coaching style and wealth of knowledge is well known by many including current SSCV athlete Emerson Smith who moved from Vermont two years ago to be coached specifically by Dowling. “We met with John and knew that he was the right coach for Emerson,”

Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Kaitlyn Harrell, 15, right, landed on the podium in third place at U.S. Selections at Copper Mountain last week. She finished just one place away from making the World Cup spot. MICHAEL SULEIMAN Special to the Daily

said Emerson’s mother, Teresa Smith. “When we went to nationals last year, we talked to a lot of different coaches that praised John’s coaching abilities. When John moved over to Vail this season, we knew we would be there too. Emerson is only 15 and has time to continue improving especially in such a great program.” SSCV’s freestyle athletes have been training on Golden Peak for the past month on a fast course with one jump. They were the only team in the Rocky Mountain Division to have an early season training ground reflective of a competitive mogul course. This early season training was visible in their performance at Selections last week at Copper. Selections started last Monday and

continued to run Saturday finishing with duals. International athletes from Australia and Japan even showed up to compete in the event. During the early parts of the week, the athletes trained the course on Rosi’s pitch, just next to the Super Bee. Freestyle Selections serve to place athletes for seasonal NorAm competitions and potentially even World Cup events. Wednesday was the first day of competition and after training for two days, it was clear that everyone was ready to compete. Friday was the second day of open moguls. With scores so close, it was the little mistakes that separated the best from the great. “The top-20 female U.S. competitors Harrell, page A29

December 23, 2012 5:27 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/23/2012

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SPORTS SECTION A

PAGE 27

SUNDAY, 12 • 23 • 12

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Heidi Kloser, of Vail, jumps during the women’s freestyle World Cup dual moguls skiing competition in Kreischberg, Austria, on Saturday. Kloser placed second.

AP PHOTO

Kloser gets first World Cup podium Vail native, moguls skier finishes second in Kreischberg By John LaConte SPECIAL TO THE DAILY

VAIL — When Vail residents Mike and Emily Kloser get an early morning phone call from their daughter Heidi overseas, they never know what to expect. But in Saturday’s 7:30 a.m. call from Austria, they received some of the best news they’ve ever heard from Heidi — she’d made the podium in a World Cup event. “This call was one you wake up to and are extremely happy to hear the news,” Mike Kloser said on Saturday afternoon. “We’re incredibly excited for Heidi.” The second-place finish — Kloser’s first podium in World Cup competition — came after another top-10 finish last weekend, a seventh-place effort at the season opener in Ruka, Finland. Kloser told her parents that

AP PHOTO

American Heather McPhie, left, finished first and Vail’s Heidi Kloser finished second in the women’s freestyle World Cup dual moguls skiing competition in Kreischberg, Austria, on Saturday. her outstanding qualifying run, and the Kreischberg course itself (one of the flatter on the circuit), had her feeling good about her chances going into the finals. “I qualified second, which is the highest I’ve ever qualified, so I went into finals really excited,” she said. Dual moguls World Cup competition pits athletes against each other in a head-to-head

format on a jump-and-bump course, with judges scoring the athletes on technical turns, speed and aeriel maneuvers to determine a winner. Some formats have mogul skiers side-byside only in the final rounds, with a seeding system used to determine those finals, but the format used at Kreischberg on Saturday was similar to NCAA basketball, where competitors were seeded

down to a field of 16, followed by four rounds of duals. Kloser went head-to-head against her teammate Eliza Outtrim in the round of 16, besting her to make it to the round of eight where she defeated the Canadian Chloe DufourLapointe. In the final four, Kloser knocked out Austrian Brittney Cox to qualify second into the final round against teammate Heather McPhie. “I had a bit of a sloppy run against Heather, but I’m really happy with my second-place finish,” she said. McPhie is undefeated in dual moguls so far this season, winning every matchup in Ruka, as well, where she defeated Kloser in the round of eight. “It was great going into finals with Heidi,” McPhie said after the event. “When I saw her coming up the cat, I couldn’t have been more excited for her.” Moguls coach Garth Hager said the finish was one of the best he’s ever seen. “Both Heather and Heidi were very consistent today in trusting their speed into the bottom jump where they were able to make up ground,” he said. “They trusted their skiing and didn’t worry

about what anyone else was doing. In doing that they were able to make the bottom as clean and fast as they could.” McPhie knew that for Kloser, qualifying for finals with a guaranteed podium was a milestone accomplishment for the young skier. McPhie, 28, has eight years seniority on Kloser, who just turned 20 in September. In Ruka, McPhie defeated Kloser in the round of eight “As soon as I saw her, I told her ‘I’m going to be competitive in about five minutes, but right now I’m so stoked for you,” McPhie said. “The U.S. is killing it right now, and this was a great Christmas present for all of us!” Kloser, McPhie and the rest of the Americans will get to spend Christmas at home in the U.S., with the European wing of moguls competition over for now. “We’re so excited that Heidi will be here for Christmas,” Mike Kloser said. “She’ll work with the Ski Club Vail coaches here during the break and also help coach some of the young athletes.” Kloser will return to competition Jan. 17 with a World Cup moguls event in Lake Placid, N.Y.

December 23, 2012 5:25 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/24/2012

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THE VAIL DAILY

Monday, December 24, 2012

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Steadman Clinic Vail Cup results

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The U10 girls division winners celebrate on the podium at the Steadman Clinic Vail Cup on Sunday in Vail. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Ava Surridge 55.47 Reese Harnick 56.05 Dylan Dodds 56.52 Ella Murphy 01:01.07 Oliva Jones 01:01.70 Grace Linafelter 01:03.78 Emily Fenstermacher 01:07.93 27 Lizzy Trombly 01:08.58 28 Roxy Surridge 01:11.29 29 Addie Sullivan DNF U10 Boys 1 Nick Kirwood 41.86 2 Brooks Hauser 43.75 3 Sumner Frandsen 44.03 4 Dirkson Brinkerhoff 45.29 5 Brendan Archer 46.62 6 Tyler Webert 46.77 7 Cricket Byrne 47.89 8 Maddox Fitzgerald 48.75 9 Thomas Rodney 50.44 10 Thomas Judge 50.94 11 Patrick Keane 51.36 12 Mac Upton 51.64

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December 24, 2012 5:24 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/24/2012

THE VAIL DAILY

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Monday, December 24, 2012

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A racer speeds down the course at the Steadman Clinic Vail Cup on Sunday in Vail.

Sarah Schleper signs a bib for Leah Sandberg at the Steadman Clinic Vail Cup on Sunday at Vail.

VAIL CUP

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

FROM PAGE A32 13 Declan Miner 52.13 14 Spencer Peterson 52.91 15 Nicklas Eggebrecht 53.00 16 Wyatt Horn 53.17 17 Luke Schelter 54.47 18 Sullivan Middaugh 54.53 19 Hunter Roach 54.55 20 Charlie Decker 55.91 21 Erich Petersen 59.83 22 TJ Soulakis 01:01.25 23 Will Geiman DNF U10 Boys Snowboard 1 Ferguson St John 01:01.7 U12 Girls 1 Samantha Trudeau 38.16 2 Kaitlyn Harsch 39.08 3 Caroline Jones 39.21 4 Kate Kirwood 39.25

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Amanda Norvell 40.03 Katie Bervy 40.19 Marley Chappel 41.10 Campbell Sullivan 41.10 Meriel Upton 41.32 Jordan McMurtry 41.98 Roxanna Chaney 42.12 AInsley Proffit 42.33 Lizzy Harding 42.34 Schuyler Woodland 43.01 Yarmony Bellow 43.11 Hailey Harsch 43.37 Georgia Driscoll 43.37 Nicola Rountree-Williams 43.55 Josephine Trueblood 44.97 Audrey Schane 45.13 Gabriella Byrne 46.18 Samantha Lindall 46.52 Ava Jemison 46.61 Charlotte Gunther 46.99 Bloem Van den Berg 47.04

Kiki Lettovska Emily Creek Alexandra Mayer Rosemary Millett Lorenza Meza Caroline Dewell Gracie Rounds Lexi Linafelter Senna Sink Berit Frischholz Jenevieve McMurtry Heather Smith U12 Boys 1 Henry Heaydon 2 Kellen Kinsella 3 Andrew Stevens 4 Zane Worrell 5 Phenix Tatge 6 Ian McCormick 7 Zach Wehner 8 Emil Soden 9 Reagan Wallis

49.32 49.71 49.90 50.59 51.80 52.13 52.57 54.66 56.97 57.17 DNF DNF 38.09 38.99 39.54 39.71 41.49 41.53 41.59 41.68 42.07

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

JP Starkey 42.19 Robert Harnick 42.28 Nick Ebner 42.33 Jose Antonio Ascencio 42.51 Dominik Lettovsky 42.96 Kai McGuffin 43.07 Dominick Epifanio 43.30 Cade Cyphers 43.65 Brody Cyphers 44.38 Alexander Viola 45.17 Trey Kelsey 45.93 Jack Goss 46.45 Paul Skok 48.96 Ryan Cole 49.15 Griffin Marx 49.40 Aiden Woodard 50.68 Will Brown 51.51 Nicholas Mayer 51.86 Justin Mayer 52.28 Andres Ascencio 54.04

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December 24, 2012 5:25 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Vail Daily 12/29/2012

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Mikaela Shiffrin, of Eagle-Vail, speeds down the course during a women’s World Cup giant slalom in Semmering, Austria, on Friday. AP PHOTO

Shiffrin notches a top-10 GS finish

Eagle-Vail skier has best giant slalom finish of her career; Austria’s Fenninger takes the win By Eric Willemsen ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEMMERING, Austria — Anna Fenninger of Austria had two near-perfect runs to win a World Cup giant slalom on Friday, while second-place Tina Maze of Slovenia extended her lead in the overall standings. In difficult conditions because of snowfall, Fenninger posted the fastest time in both runs on the Panorama course and finished in a combined time of 2 minutes, 13.09 seconds to beat Maze by 1.10. Tessa Worley of France, who was second after the opening run, was third. Eagle-Vail teen Mikaela Shiffrin, who won her first World Cup race last week, was eighth for the best

GS result in her career. She’s now 10th in the overall standings. Shiffrin had several mistakes in her final run but used a blistering second to finish 2.68 seconds off Fenninger’s winning time. “I had some energy that run,” said Shiffrin, who struggled with a cold. “My energy level has been OK, or maybe I am just telling myself that’s OK — mind over matter ... Hopefully tonight I get a good night of sleep and come out tomorrow (for the slalom) and have some fun.” Shiffrin leads the slalom standings, the first time since 1982 that the U.S. women’s team has three racers in the top 10. Defending overall champion Lindsey Vonn of the United States skipped the race. Vonn, who is fifth in the overall standings, is taking a break from the circuit to fully recover from an intestinal illness. Fenninger earned her second World Cup victory after claiming a GS on home soil — in Lienz — a year ago to the day. “I was very difficult to free my

mind before the start,” said Fenninger, who had never led a World Cup race after the first run before. “I tried to tell myself that it’s just an ordinary race. I kept repeating that, and it worked.” Fenninger held a 0.90-second margin over Maze going into the final run but refused to hold back and managed to even increase that lead, to the delight of the home crowd. Maze, who won the first four GS events this season, accepted her defeat. “I am really happy with my skiing,” said Maze, who lost time early in her opening run as she struggled for rhythm in the first flat section. “I lost a lot of time there. I fought until the end but Anna really had a perfect day. She was unbeatable today.” Maze became the first woman skier to earn nine podium finishes in GS within one year, beating the record previously held by Lise-Marie Morerod of Switzerland (1977), Deborah Compagnoni of Italy (1997) and Anita Wachter of Austria (1999).

“It’s my skiing that makes me confident, I don’t look at the points or the records,” the Slovenian said. “I try to prepare each race as well as I can. It’s not always perfect but I am a fighter.” Maze finished runner-up to Vonn last season without winning a race. In the first 15 events of this season, Maze won five times and earned five more podium finishes. She tops the overall standings with 999 points, and is likely to surpass the 1,000-point mark in Saturday’s slalom, the last women’s race of 2012. Maze already leads secondplace Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany by 417 points. Vonn is fifth, trailing Maze by 585 points. “It’s still a long season, anything can happen,” Maze said. “If Lindsey comes back and she wins all the downhills, you never know. I am not calculating. I hope Lindsey returns to the circuit quickly, but of course her health is most important.” The only other racer besides Maze and Fenninger to win a GS

this season, Olympic champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany, finished 1.91 behind Fenninger in fifth place. After six of nine events, Maze is a strong favorite to take the discipline title. She leads No. 2 Kathrin Zettel by 198 points, with each victory worth 100 points. There is one more women’s GS scheduled ahead of February’s world championships — in Maribor, Slovenia, on Jan. 26. The 2006 Olympic champion, Julia Mancuso, finished 25th on Friday, 4.16 seconds behind Fenninger. “I felt pretty well but somehow the time isn’t there,” the American said. “I was surprised that I was that far behind. I thought I had a pretty good section.” Mancuso switched her ski supplier in the offseason. Her best result so far in the discipline was sixth on Dec. 16 in Courchevel, France. “I am better when the snow is really hard,” Mancuso said. “I guess these are not quite my conditions.”

Holliday doubtful, Porter out for Broncos-Chiefs By Arnie Stapleton

AP PRO FOOTBALL WRITER

ENGLEWOOD — Kick returner Trindon Holliday is doubtful for the Denver Broncos’ season finale against Kansas City because of a sprained ankle. The injury has sidelined him all week and prevented him from working on ways to cut down on fumbling. He has five fumbles on returns to go with touchdowns on a

punt return and a kickoff return. Coach John Fox said the cure for that is “you just practice. You work on it. No different than a running back or quarterback as far as in the pocket, receivers after they catch the ball. Anytime you have that ball, you have the other 10 guys’ best interest in hand. It’ll be something that we’ll continue to work on.” Jimmy Leonhard is expected to handle punt returns and Omar Bolden the kickoff returns if Holli-

day doesn’t play Sunday against the Chiefs. Cornerback Tracy Porter (concussion) was ruled out for Sunday. He was injured last week just three snaps into his first game since Oct. 7. He had been sidelined after experiencing symptoms similar to those he had before a seizure during training camp. “That’s so unfortunate because he’s been waiting for this opportunity to get back in there. And I just

hope he’s OK. I think he will be but only time will tell,” cornerback Champ Bailey said. Right guard Chris Kuper is 50-50 for Sunday after participating on a limited basis for the second straight day. He’s been sidelined with a sprained left ankle and migraines. Fox said he wasn’t worried about Kuper’s availability heading into the playoffs. “He practiced for the first time yesterday and then today. I think

he’s making good progress,” Fox said. “He’s been out for a little bit. We’re just going to make sure he’s ready to play football and we’ll make that decision day to day.” Kuper has played in just six games this season. He missed the first month with a broken forearm and five of the last seven games after spraining his left ankle, the same one in which he tore ligaments in a gruesome injury on New Year’s Day.