By USSA

ADELBODEN, Switzerland — Heavy fog creeping lower and lower down the fabled giant slalom course in Adelboden forced cancellation of the event Saturday in what was to be the final GS in the Olympic selection period. After a weather delayed first run on a shortened course, Italian Davide Simoncelli was in the lead with American Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) fifth. There was no immediate word if the race would be made up.

After a delay of over an hour, the start was lowered for the first run. But for the final round, fog continued to creep down the mountain all the way to the finish area, where over 30,000 fans had congregated for one of the Audi FIS World Cup’s classic events. The race was halted after 58 of 66 starters. After a two hour delay, FIS Race Director Guenther Hujara made the call to cancel the race.

Ligety had been the only American to make the second run cut. In the first run, Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) whacked a gate with his right shoulder, spun around and went out. Jake Zamansky (Aspen, CO), Tommy Ford (Bend, OR) and Warner Nickerson (Gilford, NH) all missed the top-30 cut.

It was the last chance for racers to get a strong giant slalom finish before the end of Olympic Selection on Jan. 24.

By Matthew Piper, USSA

HAUS IM ENNSTAL, Austria — A plaid-clad Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) overcame a bone bruise on her left arm to tough out her fourth 2010 Audi FIS World Cup downhill win in as many races, pushing off for a fast start, building speed throughout her run on a course shortened by heavy fog Saturday in Austria.

“It was really tough,” Vonn said. “It was really short, and I knew that I had to be nearly perfect to be able to get a win today.”

The race was delayed for two hours while athletes and spectators waited for fog to lift, and the start was moved to the reserve super G start – the lowest possible alternate.

Lindsey Vonn and Stacey Cook watch the big screen as teammate Julia Mancuso burns to an 11th place finish. Photo/Doug Haney/U.S. Ski Team

In her grey and pink plaid Spyder racing suit, Vonn looked at ease despite admitting to trouble with starts at the onset of the weekend’s events. She took an early lead and held it over the early benchmark from Switzerland’s Nadja Kamer to win by 0.14 seconds, her narrowest margin of victory this season.

“I had a little trouble out of the start, I caught my pole in my legs,” said Vonn, who has made all but one World Cup downhill podium since February 2008 and has a commanding 164-point lead over Germany’s Maria Riesch in the downhill title chase, as well as a 99-point advantage in the overall standings. “I think that cost me a little bit of time, but thankfully I had a good run.”

Seeming right at home after a six-year break from racing in Haus im Ennstal, it was Vonn’s fifth consecutive World Cup downhill win, dating to the discipline’s championship last season.

“She’s very, very confident in speed,” said women’s speed coach Alex Hoedelmoser. “The mental game is huge, she knows that she can beat everybody. Even today, with very, very tough conditions – especially when she ran, conditions changed and got worse – and she was able to do it. It’s pretty amazing.”

Vonn’s continued dominance wasn’t the only bright spot for the U.S. team.

Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) earned her first World Cup top 10 since March 2007, taking advantage of the early conditions and skiing to ninth with bib No. 2.

It snowed hard the entire race, and a significant headwind met racers on a bumpy course with flat light.

Overcoming an even later position than Vonn, Olympic champion Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) was the third fastest through the first interval and finished a solid run in 11th.

Chelsea Marshall (Pittsfield, VT) took 19th for her best result since Tarvisio, Italy, in February, and Leanne Smith (North Conway, NH) just missed out on making the points for the third time since tearing her ACL last January.

For Vonn, Saturday’s triumph was the perfect sequel to Friday’s downhill victory in a make-up for Val D’Isere, France. She not only leads the World Cup standings in overall and downhill, but also super G, and will try to complete her speed event trilogy in Sunday’s super G at 2:30am.

Haus Im Ennstal, Austria – Jan. 9, Women’s Downhill

1. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:09.12

2. Nadja Kamer, Switzerland, 1:09.26

3. Ingrid Jacquemod, France, 1:09.28

4. Marion Rolland, France, 1:09.47

5. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 1:09.52

–

9. Stacey Cook, Mammoth Mountain, CA, 1:09.68

11. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 1:09.82

19. Chelsea Marshall, Pittsfield, VT, 1:10.01

33. Leanne Smith, North Conway, NH, 1:10.48

45. Keely Kelleher, Big Sky, MT, 1:10.96

48. Alice McKennis, Glenwood Springs, CO, 1:11.04

By Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal

A coyote-hunting tournament has been scheduled this weekend near Fallon to help protect ranch livestock, but critics say such hunts don’t control coyote populations.

“I understand that there are some people that are upset about it,” said Misty McFarlane of Fallon, who registers hunters for the event. “But they haven’t ever faced a bill that must be paid because of these predators.

“We are ranchers, and many a time we have come upon a mother giving birth to their calf and coyotes have torn out their rectums and eyes and left them to die. The ranchers in Northern Nevada are completely overwhelmed with the coyotes.”

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Unsettled weather is expected to be in the Lake Tahoe Basin today. Here is the ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

By Lindsey Sine, USSA

MAMMOTH  — Shaun White (Carlsbad, CA) and Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, VT) aren’t totally perfect, but they’re pushing the boundary as each continued to dominate the Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix. The two finished first in qualifications at Mammoth Mountain on Friday, while Wednesday’s winner Danny Davis (Detroit, MI) also won his qualifying heat.

In sunny California winter weather, athlete after athlete continued to ride the wave of progression from Wednesday’s halfpipe finals with all going bigger and trying harder to stake their claim on the chance at an Olympic spot as time ticks down.

Already nailing her athlete credential for the Games, Clark used the competition time to put miles on some tricks she’s been keeping on the side.

“There’s no better practice to do runs than in a contest setting. I have the luxury and the opportunity to do that now,” Clark said. “The best practice is to do difficult and new runs in events so they feel more normal. Basically the hard runs become easier so when I get to the Olympics, my hardest runs now will be my easiest.”

Fellow Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter (South Lake Tahoe, CA) followed Clark in second, and Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO) completed the trifecta of talent in third.

In her run Clark threw out some moves rarely, if ever seen before in her repertoire, all of which she said were fun.

“I’ve been doing this for so long that I have my plan and routine. Everything is mapped out with how to qualify. To have the luxury to switch it up and focus on the progression is huge,” Clark said.

In the men’s halfpipe Davis and White competed in different heats with White taking the top. All eyes are going to be on the men’s halfpipe on Saturday as the crowd looks for what is poised to be “showdown part two” in the battle between the two greats after Davis ousted White from the throne on Wednesday.

And then there was young gun Dylan Bidez (Minturn, CO) took his riding to the next level, finishing third.

“I went into there just hoping to make finals and ending up third is a bonus,” Bidez said. “It was probably my amplitude because I don’t have a double in my bag of tricks. Just going big is what got me the third.”

As for what lies ahead for the rookie, Bidez wants to up the ante.

“This makes me feel more confident going in to tomorrow. I’m going to change my run up a little bit and add some more difficulty to it, so that hopefully I can keep that top three position,” Bidez said.

The Sprint U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix finals are Saturday at 11am. It will be the third of five Olympic qualification events for halfpipe.

Mammoth Mountain, Jan. 8, Halfpipe Qualifiers

Men

1. Shaun White, Carlsbad, CA, 45.80

2. Danny Davis, Detroit, MI, 45.20

3. Dylan Bidez, Minturn, CO, 43.10

4. JJ Thomas, Golden, CO, 41.40

5. Elijah Teter, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 41.30

6. Louie Vito, Sandy, UT, 40.80

7. Nathan Johnstone, Australia, 40.70

8. Zack Black, Breckenridge, CO, 39.60

9. Steve Fisher, Breckenridge, CO, 39.50

10. Matt Ladley, Steamboat Springs, CO, 39.40

11. Mathieu Crepel, France, 38.30

12. Luke Mitrani, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 38.20

13. Andy Finch, Truckee, CA, 38.00

14. Jack Mitrani, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 37.90

15. Brad Martin, Canada, 37.20

16. Scotty Lago, Seabrook, NH, 36.90

Women

1. Kelly Clark, Mt. Snow, VT, 45.60

2. Hannah Teter, Belmont, VT, 44.00

3. Gretchen Bleiler, Aspen, CO, 41.30

4. Clair Bidez, Minturn, CO, 39.90

5. Holly Crawford, Australia, 38.90

6. Ellery Hollingsworth, Stratton, VT, 38.30

7. Elena Hight, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 37.90

8. Maddy Schaffrick, Steamboat Springs, CO, 37.20

By Matthew Piper, USSA

CALGARY — The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team’s women’s moguls squad continued its scorching start to the 2010 season with four top 10 results in Calgary on Friday night, showing little signs of cooling off in a month-long break from the FIS World Cup circuit.

Heather McPhie (Park City, UT) was fourth, Emiko Torito (Denver) followed in fifth, 2002 Olympic silver medalist Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) was seventh, and Shelly Robertson (Reno, NV) finished eighth in an event won by Canada’s own Jennifer Heil.

“McPhie skied great,” said U.S. Ski Team Freestyle Head Coach Jeff Wintersteen. “She’s had a couple fourths before, but in the Olympic year it’s really good for her to get that result.”

For Torito, it was the second top-five finish this year, putting her on top of the hunt for an Olympic spot now behind Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT). McPhie has a fourth and a sixth-place to her credit this season.

“Emiko also got another top five, which we’re really excited about,” said Wintersteen. “She skied fantastic coming from 16th. It was a rough set, but she was great in the finals. Had she been a little closer in the semi finals we probably could have gotten a podium.”

Outdone only slightly, the U.S. men were able to sneak three into the top 10 with Michael Morse (Duxbury, MA) taking sixth, Sho Kashima (South Lake Tahoe, CA) seventh with the same score (22.78), and David Babic (Washington, VT) in 10th. Canadian native and defending Olympic champion Dale Begg-Smith, now skiing for Australia, took the win.

It was a tough day on a tough course for some of the top U.S. men. Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, WA), Bryon Wilson (Park City, UT) and Nate Roberts (Park City, UT) all missed finals.

“We’re a little disappointed in the semis, obviously,” said Wintersteen. “Nate, Patrick and Wilson had some problems, so that was hard. The course was just tricky. It was flat up top then drops 30 degrees into the bottom air.”

Kearney qualified fifth among women but was unable to summon the same form she had in her win in Finland almost a month ago. The defending World Cup champion took 11th when she bobbled her bottom air in the finals.

The U.S. Olympic Trials winner trails only Canada’s Heil and Kristi Richards (sixth Friday) in the World Cup standings after three events.

Four events remain for the skiers before the Olympic Team is named Jan. 26 including one more in Calgary on Saturday night, two at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, UT next week and a final event in Lake Placid just prior to 7eam selection.

Calgary, Jan. 8, Moguls

Men

1. Dale Begg-Smith, Austria, 23.73

2. Vincent Marquis, Canada, 23.38

3. Alexandr Smyshlyaev, Russia, 23.27

4. Guilbaut Colas, France, 23.22

5. Jesper Bjoernlund, Sweden

–

6. Michael Morse, Duxbury, MA, 22.78

7. Sho Kashima, South Lake Tahoe, CA, 22.78

10. David Babic, Washington, VT, 21.92

33. Bryon Wilson, Butte, MT, 16.58

46. Nate Roberts, Park City, UT, 8.18

50. Patrick Deneen, Cle Elum, WA, 6.30

Women

1. Jennifer Heil, Canada, 23.95

2. Nikola Sudova, Czech Republic, 23.39

3. Margarita Marbler, Austria, 23.16

4. Heather McPhie, Park City, UT, 23.03

5. Emiko Torito, Denver, 22.83

–

7. Shannon Bahrke, Tahoe City, CA, 22.49

8. Shelly Robertson, Reno, NV, 22.28

11. Hannah Kearney, Norwich, VT, 21.82

18. Eliza Outtrim, Steamboat Springs, CO, 19.45

RNS – Michelle Roark, Denver

The 10-day festival to celebrate Squaw hosting the 1960 Winter Olympics starts today. LTN has several stories — feel free to do a search for them on the site. Here is today’s ski report from Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe.

By Lindsey Sine, USSA

HAUS IM ENNSTAL, Austria — It was Lindsey Vonn’s (Vail, CO) day Friday as the World Champion showed that her bruised left arm was no problem, charging through flat light conditions to win the downhill Audi FIS Alpine World Cup in Austria.

“I needed this win today to get my confidence back on track and to feel like I could ski well again. It’s been a couple of bad races since my arm injury,” Vonn said. “I was able to concentrate really well on my run. I’m happy with the way the weekend is starting and hopefully I can keep the ball rolling and have a good race tomorrow and Sunday.”

It was the 26th career win and third downhill of this season for Vonn, who said her injured arm was not really a factor for her.

“It hurt, but thankfully the start is only five or 10 seconds of the course. After that I was able to concentrate on my run and not be thinking about my arm too much,” Vonn said. “I’m just thankful that it doesn’t hurt as bad in downhill as it did in slalom. Hopefully the self-confidence will transfer over into the technical events, too.”

After incredibly snowy conditions for the women’s downhill training on Thursday, Friday’s speeds were four to five seconds faster in the much clearer conditions. For Vonn, who regained the overall lead by 35 points, this meant having a different race.

“The downhill was really fun today. The snow was very good, it was just a little bit bumpy at the bottom and it made it a little bit difficult because the light was flat, but I just kept charging,” Vonn said. “I went in a complete snowstorm yesterday and today was a different track. When you’re going five seconds faster everything feels different.”

After Friday’s win, Vonn is looking to stay on top and hopes to be able to do so throughout the weekend.

“I need to look at the video, see where I can be more aggressive tomorrow and hopefully I’ll stay ahead of the girls,” Vonn said.

The day of racing in Haus also treated Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) and Olympic champion Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) well as each cracked the top 15 with Cook 13th and Mancuso 14th. The two were separated by only a hundredth.

“It was awesome and once Jules came down, no one could come between us. It was pretty cool to be in there with her,” Cook said.

For Cook, being able to follow through on her plans and overcome conditions was what brought her success on Friday.

“I think I executed my plan and skied well. The light was pretty flat, but that was luck of the draw. I had one of the best runs I could for the conditions,” Cook said.

Rookie Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, CO) continued to shine with her third points-scoring downhill of the year, finishing in a tie for 21st.

There’s more racing in store for Haus with another downhill on tap Saturday, and a super G Sunday where weather may again be a factor with snow predicted. Women’s Alpine Head Coach Jim Tracy is hoping the weather forecasters are wrong.

“We’re all really happy with the way the girls executed today. We were a little bit leery about the weather and what it was going to do, but it held,” Tracy said. “A lot is going to be dependent on the weather now because they’re calling for snow. Hopefully they’ll be wrong and the girls can go and execute again tomorrow.”

Haus Im Ennstal, Austria, Jan. 8, Women’s Downhill

1. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 1:38.84

2. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 1:39.19

3. Maria Riesch, Germany, 1:39.23

4. Nadia Fanchini, Italy, 1:39.68

5. Marion Rolland, France, 1:39.78

–

13. Stacey Cook, Mammoth Mountain, CA, 1:40.43

14. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 1:40.44

21. Alice McKennis, Glenwood Springs, CO, 1:40.83

33. Chelsea Marshall, Pittsfield, VT, 1:41.10

48. Keely Kelleher, Big Sky, MT, 1:42.35

–

DNF: Leanne Smith, Conway, NH

Publisher’s note: Shotzoom Software, makers of Golfshot, is based in Douglas County.

Business Wire

SCOTTSDALE — Golfshot: Golf GPS(C), the incredibly popular Golf GPS and Scorecard application for golfers, was ranked the fifth-best selling app of the year in Apple’s iTunes Rewind 2009. The ranking, which came out just before Christmas, comes on the heels of Apple featuring Golfshot in numerous TV ads in the United States, Japan and Australia.

Golfshot has been used on more than 10 million golf holes since it was released on Father’s Day in June of 2009, and its popularity among golfers has vaulted it to one of the top grossing iPhone apps among more than 100,000 apps in the Apple iTunes Store.

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Curtis Fong, the Guy from Tahoe, says rose colored glasses would be good today. Here is his ski report.