01-13-2020, 02:34 AM
VAL THORENS, France -- Canadas Marielle Thompson can rest easy knowing that she has locked up a spot for Sochi. Joe Ethridge . Teammates Kelsey Serwa, Dave Duncan and Brady Leman are virtual locks to join her. As for the rest of the Canadians on the deep national skicross team, they have a long, anxious weekend of waiting ahead of them. The Olympic qualification window for skicross closes Sunday, so Fridays race served as the last chance for Canadians to qualify for nomination. The 26-athlete freestyle team roster for the Winter Games will be announced Monday. Skicross is one of five disciplines that fall under the freestyle umbrella so inclusion could be tough. There are several World Cup events scheduled for this weekend so it remains unclear who will make the cut. "Im sure a lot of (the athletes) will have empty stomachs depending on where they sit on that bubble," Canada Ski Cross director Dave Ellis said on a conference call. "Depending whos in the rankings behind them and how they perform, thats going to make a difference for sure." Thompson, from Whistler, B.C., won gold Friday at the FIS Audi Val Thorens World Cup to extend her lead atop the womens overall standings. "I didnt really feel anyone too close to me today," she said. Duncan, from London, Ont., moved back on top of the mens standings with a bronze medal. Leman, from Calgary, took fourth place and Montreal resident Chris Del Bosco was fifth. "The competition from within the team is what drives the success, so its fun," said head coach Eric Archer. Del Bosco won gold in the first of back-to-back races a day earlier. The race was cut short due to high winds so the veteran skier was given top spot due to his strong performance in the qualifications and first heat. Del Bosco, who finished fourth at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, has struggled this season. He had not cracked the top 10 until this week and it remains to be seen whether he has done enough to get a spot on the Sochi nomination list. "I did pretty much everything I could this weekend to give myself a shot," Del Bosco said. "At the end of the day thats all I can really do." Danielle Sundquist of Calgary and Georgia Simmerling of West Vancouver, B.C., are also on the bubble. Sundquist finished fifth on Friday and Simmerling was seventh. Serwa skipped Fridays race. The qualification process is very complicated. Athletes from slopestyle, aerials, moguls and halfpipe will also be included on the freestyle team and Canada is strong in all of those events. Of the 26 spots available in the five disciplines, there can be no more than 14 selections from either gender. The selection committee will look at results from previous years but performances this season have the biggest impact. The depth of the national skicross team and the Canadian freestyle team as a whole leaves athletes who are on the bubble in a tough spot. Some very talented competitors simply arent going to make the cut. Hop Riopel . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. Justin Canale .J. - Pete Carroll is in support of the NFL looking further into whether medicinal marijuana could beneficial for players. https://www.cheapnfljerseyschina.co/ .com) - Rakeem Christmas scored 21 points, B.DALLAS -- Monta Ellis figures the Dallas Mavericks are better off mentally than the last time they played a Western Conference contender. Armed with three straight wins against losing teams and their best record in almost two years, the Mavericks have to get ready for three games against playoff-worthy foes in the West. Ellis scored 21 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 15 and the Mavericks beat Orlando 107-88 Monday night, extending the Magics longest skid of the season to eight games. The Mavericks bounced back from a blowout loss to defending West champion San Antonio and now get set for a trip to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, less than two weeks after blowing a late lead after Chris Paul left with a shoulder injury that still has him sidelined. "I think our mindset is different heading into this game on a three-game winning streak," said Ellis, who scored 14 in the first half to help build an 18-point lead that withstood a few challenges after halftime. "Hopefully we continue with it." Jameer Nelson scored 21 and Glen Davis added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, who got swept on a swing through five Western Conference cities and lost by an average of 20 points. "Im disappointed that it didnt go the way we felt it should have went or could have went, but at the same time we get the opportunity to go home, see our families, sleep in our bed," Nelson said. "You get to play in front of your home fans." The Mavericks (23-16) moved seven games over .500 for the first time since the end of the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season -- the year after they won the franchises first championship. Nowitzki did most of his damage in the first half with 10 points, two nights after scoring 20 in the third quarter on his way to a season-high 40 against New Orleans. Vince Carter, who had 17 points, was 3 of 4 from 3-point range and had consecutive 2-point baskets in an 8-0 run that finally put Orlando away in the fourth quarter. The spurt included a long pass from Jae Crowder to Brandan WWright for a dunk that put Dallas up 97-82. Butch Byrd. Orlando was playing its second straight game without leading scorer Arron Afflalo (strained right foot) and starting centre Nik Vucevic, who was back in Florida after sustaining a concussion at the Clippers in the opener of the long road trip. "This is a team that is depleted because of injuries and stuff, but theyre an NBA team," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "They made a couple of runs at us. We did a good job of getting the lead back up in the game." Jose Calderon scored 13, including a 3 at the shot-clock buzzer that gave the Mavericks their biggest lead of the first half at 58-36. The shot came after Ellis missed badly on a wild layup, but Wayne Ellington grabbed one of his season-high seven rebounds and found Calderon beyond the arc. Nelson played despite injuring a finger in a loss at Denver two nights earlier and had seven assists The veteran guards supporting cast tried to keep the game close early in the second half, with Davis scoring the first six Orlando points after halftime as part of a 21-5 run that got the Magic to 63-57. Davis scored 12 during the run. "I was being more aggressive," Davis said. "I had nothing to lose. I ended up making a nice run and kind of getting the game under control a little bit. They just came back and made another run." Calderon hit another 3-pointer to get the Dallas lead back to 13, and Ellis pulled up from long range with the shot clock running down to finish a 12-0 spurt that put the Mavericks up 75-57. Ellington had a season-high 12 points. NOTES: Mavericks F Shawn Marion sat out again with shoulder and rib injuries, and rookie point guard Shane Larkin was sidelined with a right ankle injury sustained Saturday against the Pelicans. ... Magic F Maurice Harkless played despite a sore right knee and had 13 points and seven rebounds. ... Nowitzki became the 24th player in NBA history with 1,400 3-pointers on a shot that put Dallas up 84-64 late in the third quarter. ' ' '