Narrenpost-Kasten » Heisman winner to play in the Rose Bowl, follow

LAKE LOUISE, Alta. - Lindsey Vonn left Lake Louise with both confidence and the belief she can ski faster.After winning her first downhill in almost two years, the U.S. ski star was second behind winner Lara Gut of Switzerland in Sundays World Cup super-G.World Cup overall leader Tina Maze of Slovenia was third and Larisa Yurkiw of Owen Sound, Ont., was 20th.With two knee surgeries in as many years, this was the second straight season Vonn launched her comeback at the Lake Louise World Cup. This return looks more promising than a year ago.It meant a lot to have worked so hard for so long and to finally be back in a position where Im contending every race, Vonn said Sunday. Thats more than I could have hoped for.Vonns downhill victory Saturday was her first since Jan. 26, 2013. She tore two ligaments and broke a bone in her right leg a month later while racing super-G at the world alpine ski championships.More ligament damage sustained prior to her arrival in Lake Louise last year limited her to just four starts. Another surgery in January sidelined her again.With a career 60 World Cup victories, Vonn is two away from matching the womens record of 62 held by Annemarie Moser-Proell of Austria.The four-time overall World Cup champion and first American woman to win Olympic downhill gold in 2010 will return to Colorado to catch up with speed training she missed this fall. Vonn didnt get back on snow until Oct. 1.I have a lot of speed races left in the season, so now I have the confidence I need, Vonn said. Hopefully by the next race, Ill be guns-a-blazing and ready to really put down some good super-G runs.Vonn finished just under four-tenths of a second back of Gut, who claimed her second super-G win in as many years at Lake Louise.Gut didnt make the top-10 in downhill races Friday or Saturday, but set a blistering pace Sunday in a time of one minute 18.46 seconds.Downhill is something that is complicated for me in Lake Louise. Its always a fight, Gut said. Super-G is way more fun for me. I would love if we raced two super-G and just one downhill here, but its not going to happen.After winning the first downhill of the season Friday, Maze looked unhappy with 10th the next day. The reigning Olympic champion in downhill and giant slalom was smiling again after the super-G.That was quite a shock yesterday, Maze acknowledged. I had a lot of adrenalin in my blood.I still have something to do in super-G, but Im really happy with my skiing. Coming here in Lake Louise, I had a big wish to win here once and it happened.Maze and Vonn are deadlocked atop the overall downhill standings. The prize purse in each of the three womens races in Lake Louise was C$118,000 with $35,000 going to each winner.Yurkiw posted a career-best fourth in Saturdays downhill to add to the excitement at the finish line around Vonns victory.The top 30 skiers in each race earn World Cup points, so Canadas lone female downhiller is ranked 11th after opening weekend.Its such a great base, foundation, for the season, Yurkiw said. Its more than we hoped for. Im taking a lot out of this weekend.Slalom and giant slalom specialist Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., missed a gate in Sundays super-G. The technical races are her specialty, but Gagnon races some speed events in order to compete in the combined event.Valerie Grenier of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was 32nd in her World Cup debut.Gagnon heads this week to Are, Sweden, for a giant slalom Friday and a slalom Saturday. The next World Cup womens downhill is scheduled for Dec. 20-21 in Val-dIsere, France. Kelly Hrudey Jersey . -- Sonny Grays fastball wasnt as sharp as it usually is, and the Oakland Athletics young pitcher even had a quirky replay go against him. Rob Blake Jersey . -- Jacksonvilles offensive makeover is just getting starting. http://www.kingsauthentic.com/authentic-butch-goring-kings-jersey/ .C. -- The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday theyve signed free agent wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery to a two-year contract, helping rebuild a depleted wide receiving corps. Wayne Gretzky Jersey .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan opened the Ford Womens World Curling Championship with a 7-5 win over Russia on Saturday. Tiger Williams Jersey . And it showed Thursday night. The Canadiens, playing in their second game in as many days, however, got a good performance in the end from their backup goaltender as he filled in for an injured Olympic gold medallist .Pasadena, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcus Mariota stood on the sideline, clapping. He smiled, his helmet nowhere to be seen, a berth in the national title game secure. In the span of just over a quarter, the Oregon star went from Heisman Trophy- winning quarterback to Heisman Trophy-winning cheerleader. He can thank his defense for the break. Mariota finished with 400 combined yards and three touchdowns on offense, but it was the Ducks defense that led a 59-20 rout of Florida State in the Rose Bowl on Thursday. Oregon scored 34 points off five Florida State turnovers in the second half, including two by the Seminoles own Heisman Trophy winner, Jameis Winston. The Ducks, seeded No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings, will face Ohio State in the national championship game on Jan. 12 in Arlington, Texas. The Buckeyes upset top-ranked Alabama 42-35 in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday. Mariota was named the offensive MVP in the first national semifinal game in college football history after passing for 338 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 62 yards and another score in a little over three quarters. Backup Jeff Lockie played most of the fourth with the game well in hand for Oregon (13-1). Its an incredible feeling, said Mariota. When you prepare all week and you find success and are able to execute as we did, it does feel good. Hopefully, we can take a little bit of this momentum heading into the next game. Winston, after leading the Seminoles to a national title last season, couldnt get them a shot at another one. Riding a 29-game winning streak, Florida State (13-1) imploded in the second half, losing for the first time since Nov. 24, 2012. It hurts badder than whatever you can imagine, but the good thing is we live to fight another day. Weve got tons of great futures, said Winston. No one likes to lose, man. Losing is really not in my vocabulary, to be honest with you, but we fell short today. Got to man up and go ahead and just get better every day. I just hope that we can learn from this because I aint felt this way in a long time, Ive got to say. So thats something to smile on. Winston passed for 348 yards and a touchdown but turned the ball over twice in the third quarter -- once on a fumble and once on a interception, both leading to Oregon touchdowns. The redshirt sophomore wouldnt say after the game if he would leave school for the NFL. Hes only had two years, and what hes been able to accomplish (is a lot), said Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher. It was a tough day out there. Linebacker Tony Washington returned Winstons fumble 58 yards for a touchdown and was named defensive MVP of the game. He scooped the ball up and raced it to the end zone after Winston, scrambling around the pocket for nearly 10 seconds, fell backward and let it slip out of his hands. The play gave Oregon, ahead just 18-13 at halftime, a 45-20 lead with 1:36 left in the third quarter. Winston was intercepted by Erick Dargan two plays into the enssuing drive, leading to Mariotas touchdown on a 23-yard scramble.dddddddddddd It took three more plays for the Seminoles to give it away again, on Jesus Wilsons fumble, which led to Thomas Tyners 21-yard touchdown run for the final margin. Florida State freshman running back Dalvin Cook fumbled twice in the third quarter, leading to Royce Freemans 3-yard touchdown run and Mariotas 30-yard touchdown pass to Darren Carrington. Carrington finished with 165 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions. Tyner carried the ball 13 times for 124 yards with two scores and Freeman also scored twice. Oregon has won nine games in a row since losing to Arizona on Oct. 2 and will be trying to capture the programs first national title. The Ducks are 4-0 in bowl games since losing to Auburn in the BCS title game after the 2010 season. Cook rushed for 103 yards on 15 carries and Karlos Williams carried 12 times for 80 yards and a score for the ACC-champion Seminoles, who had a six-game bowl winning streak snapped. Cooks first fumble came just five plays into the second half when the ball was ripped out of his hands by linebacker Derrick Malone Jr. Winston responded with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Travis Rudolph with 8:07 left in the third quarter, but those were Florida States last points. Carrington scored on a 56-yard catch-and-run at the other end after cutting past a Seminoles safety who slipped, touching off Oregons 34-0 run to end the game. A lot of fun, Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said of his teams surge, but at the same time these guys were able to retain a tremendous focus, and we knew that was going to be needed against an opponent like this and in a game like this, where the emotions, the crowd, everything is just up and down and up and down. Mariota became the 18th Heisman winner to play in the Rose Bowl, following Winston, who led the Seminoles over Auburn last year in the final BCS title game. He was 18-of-26 for 157 yards in the first half, including 4-of-4 for 51 yards on a 73-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter that ended with Freemans 1- yard run. Later, Mariota guided scoring drives of 88 and 75 yards in the second quarter as Oregon built an 18-6 lead after Aidan Schneiders 28-yard field goal and Tyners 1-yard touchdown. The Seminoles made four trips inside the red zone in the first half before scoring a touchdown on Williams 10-yard run in the final minute of the second quarter, which made it 18-13. Earlier, they failed to reach the end zone on two early drives despite getting second chances from Oregon penalties. One touchdown was overturned after a replay review showed Winstons knee was down before the ball crossed the goal line on a fourth-down scramble. Game Notes Oregons 59 points broke the previous Rose Bowl record by 10 ... Oregons 13 wins are a school record ... The Ducks are 3-4 in the Rose Bowl and 13-15 in bowl games ... Florida State fell to 25-15-2 in bowl games. ' ' '