Broken Wings » been a standout early in camp - should

LAKE LOUISE, Alta. - Canadian skier Marie-Michele Gagnon has tasted World Cup success, but she hungers for more than just a taste.The 25-year-old from Lac-Etchemin, Que., wants to move up from seventh in the world, where she currently ranks in slalom, and into the top three.Gagnon opened this season sixth in Levi, Finland, and eighth in Aspen, Colo. A solid start, but its so last season to Gagnon. Im starting to get frustrated, she said. I want more and it only started this year in Levi when I was sixth and I said Ah, again?Honestly, all of last year I was really happy with any of those results because they brought consistency to my skiing and brought me into the top seven. Now that Im in the top seven Im in the game and I know I can do better.Gagnon won her first World Cup medal two years ago in Are, Sweden, where she claimed bronze in slalom. She returns this week to the Swedish resort for a giant slalom Friday and slalom Saturday.The last few years Ive been really fast in the first run and unfortunately either straddling (a gate) or going out on the second run, she said. But I love this hill. Its my favourite hill for slalom. It could go well if I put everything together.The combined times of two runs determines the winner in both slalom and giant slalom. Gagnon says she often nails the first run and the second is where she loses a medal.Because of her ranking shes among the first seven out of the start hut for run No. 1 on a smooth course. The order is reversed for the second run, so Gagnon skis a track more chewed up by the skiers before her.Ive been super-fast in the first runs, fourth and fifth depending, always in the chase, she explained. Its all mental obviously. Its about doing the same thing in the second run as you do in the first.Youve just got to know its going to feel more rough, but take the same approach as in the first run, so Im going to try that.Gagnon claimed her first World Cup victory, and the second podium of her career, on Jan. 12 of this year in a World Cup super-combined in Austria. The event is the total time of one slalom run and one shorter downhill race or super-G.Its a measure of a skiers all-around racing ability, but also rarer on the World Cup schedule..Gagnon wont race a super-combined until Feb. 9 during the world alpine ski championships in Vail, Colo. A self-described slalom ninja, Gagnon keeps a toe in speed events in order to contend in super-combined.Its why she flew in to participate in Sundays super-G in Lake Louise, Alta. She missed a gate and didnt finish, but Gagnon wasnt discouraged.I was in the game, she said. Id rather have charged rather than held back and not do anything.Gagnon has dislocated her left shoulder three times in the last eight months and races with a brace on her shoulder.She suffered the first dislocation in a crash during the slalom portion of the Olympic super-combined in February. After the injury, Gagnon raced to ninth in Olympic slalom, but did not finish GS.Her shoulder slipped out of joint while weight training in Calgary in the off-season. She crashed in the first run of a giant slalom in Soelden, Austria on Oct. 25 and injured it again. She intends to race through it this season.Once you dislocate it once, its more prone to dislocate again, Gagnon said. Im probably going to have to get surgery in the spring.Gagnon says she was fried after a stressful Olympic Games. She and boyfriend Travis Ganong, a skier on the U.S. mens team, bought a home in the Lake Tahoe, Calif., area in the off-season.Despite her shoulder injury, Gagnon says she feels strong enough shave off those hundredths of a second that are the difference in ski racing.Im really close, she said. Thats why I always say in interviews Im getting sick of fourth and fifth and sixth, but at the same time Ive got to be patient. Its almost there, so Im going to keep working with that.Its just consistency, solid skiing and having that little bit of risk. Chris Lindstrom Youth Jersey . - Defensive end-linebacker Mike Neal apparently is returning to the Packers. Kaleb McGary Jersey . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. 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Qadree Ollison Falcons Jersey .com) - Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 12 points in the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats 70-55 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.TORONTO - Not surprisingly, Terrence Ross rookie year was filled with the highs and lows you would expect from a 21-year-old. At times he dazzled, usually with his undeniable athleticism - winning the slam dunk contest at All-Star weekend - but just as often, if not more often, he would come back down to earth with the inconsistency and mental lapses associated with most first-year players. The Raptors eighth overall pick in 2012 averaged 6.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 73 games but shot just 41 per cent from the field and saw his role minimized following the midseason trade for Rudy Gay. To his own admission, the guard was not physically or mentally prepared for the grind of an NBA season; that realization hitting him immediately in training camp a year ago. "I didnt know what to expect," he said of last years camp. "I didnt know how hard it would be, I didnt know how it would wear on your body. I think I was just kind of warn down from the whole draft process so I think that kind of took effect but this year I took time off, relaxed and came back prepared and ready to play." Now a 22-year-old sophomore, Ross knows what to expect three days into his second camp as a professional. "I feel like its easier now," he admitted Thursday after practice. "I havent been getting sore, I feel fresh, Im always loose, always ready to go [and] Im in great shape so I just feel good to go." His coaches have noticed the change but are still mindful of the challenge that faces Ross going into his second year; a challenge that will determine if hes ready to take his game to the next level. "Defensively he was competing [and] offensively he was knocking down shots," Dwane Casey said of Ross stand out practice from Wednesday. "So his thing is being consistent, bringing the consistency to his game. Thats his next step because last year was a typical rookie year, up and down." "[He] had a great start then tailed off, then bounced back again," Casey continued. "So his thing is bringing it every day and every time he steps on the floor." "But hes a great kid, hes giving everything he has, its just [the] consistency." Open Competition After three days back at the Air Canada Centre, Casey continues to rave about his teams effort level and competitive spirit early in camp. Although the Raptors third-year head coach spotted some tired legs in Thursday mornings practice - following two long days and heavy conditioning drills Wednesday evening - he has been impressed with the focus of his players. For manny of them, their roles - and in some cases their jobs - are at stake.dddddddddddd Although Casey has mixed up units over the first few days, the incumbent starting five of Gay, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas is fully expected to reclaim their spot above the teams depth chart. Of the 12 other players in camp, only four are holdovers from last season and with an infusion of added depth comes an open competition for second-unit minutes. "Its open," Casey stated. "Were looking for those spots. We have a lot of people who can step in and take that opportunity. There are going to be minutes there, [the starters] cant play 48 [minutes]." The Raptors ranked eighth in bench scoring for the first half of last season, getting 37.5 points per game from their reserves but dropped to 25th (27.3 points per) after the acquisition of Gay, as the starters were asked to eat up more minutes. "Were looking for that second unit and that was our nemesis [last year]," said Casey. "So whoever that second group is has to create an identity to come in and score and defend, either hold serve or increase the score, you cant go the other way." Veteran D.J. Augustin is battling rookie Dwight Buycks for the backup point guard job behind Lowry - although Augustin should have a leg up going into the season based on experience - while Ross, Landry Fields and new comers Steve Novak and Austin Daye should push for minutes behind DeRozan and Gay on the wing. Up front, Tyler Hansbrough - who has been a standout early in camp - should be the first big off the bench while Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray return but may only factor in should injuries or foul trouble occur, or if Casey chooses to stay with a big lineup. The Raptors have one final roster spot available and three camp invitees - forward Chris Wright, guards Julyan Stone and Carlos Morais - vying for it. Its still too early to say whether one has stood out above the rest, per Casey, but the performance of those three players - all on non-guaranteed deals - should determine whether the team chooses to fill that 15th spot. Off To Halifax The team will continue training camp on the east coast as they return to Halifax for two practices on Friday and an intrasquad game Saturday. Unlike last fall, when they held five days of camp in Halifax, the team wont have time for much sightseeing this time around. Aside from a players-only dinner planned for Thursday evening it will be strictly business before they head to Boston for their first of eight preseason games Monday. ' ' '