Gruppen » the 2015 season, Molitors first as manager

VAL DISERE, France -- Norway dominated, Kjetil Jansrud won, Austria struggled.The first downhill of the mens World Cup season on Saturday traced the same path down the sun-soaked Val dIsere course as the super-G one day earlier.Jansrud has gone 2-for-2 in the first speed races with teammate Aksel Lund Svindal defying expectations after a 10-month injury absence to join him again on the podium.Relying on technical skills ahead of pure speed, Jansrud was 0.26 seconds faster than Peter Fill of Italy, the defending World Cup downhill champion, down the 3.4-kilometer (2-mile) Oreiller-Killy course.Its an amazing beginning, said Jansrud, who won the season-long downhill title in 2015. You never know, but I hoped for sure for a start like this.Svindal, who was runner-up on Friday, placed third, trailing 0.33 behind his fellow Norwegian. Only the top three finished in under two minutes.Im very satisfied, said Svindal, who lacked stamina after limited top-level training since rupturing his right ligaments in January. Its a very hard landing (on the jumps) and I took a second before I got my breath.For the second straight day, Norway and Italy filled the podium and the traditionally powerful Austria team was never in contention.The best placed Austrian, in 17th, was Olympic champion Matthias Mayer who came down 1.45 slower than Jansrud.It was a terrible day, Austria team director Hans Pum told The Associated Press. In the last 40 years I cant remember many like this. We have to analyze exactly what has happened.Austrias winless streak in the marquee downhill discipline extended to 13 races since Hannes Reichelt won at Kvitfjell, Norway, in March 2015.Norway has now won eight of those 13 downhills, with Svindal, Jansrud and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde all taking victories for a small but high-class team.Everyone will start screaming in the Austrian media, for sure, said Jansrud, adding he was not surprised at the rival teams result, citing Mayer returning from a back injury and Reichelt slowed by knee pains.We need to have fast Austrians to keep the entertainment coming and the spectators coming, said Jansrud, who took downhill bronze behind Mayer at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.Jansruds win on Saturday was keyed by skiing well through a turning middle section in the shadows where rivals typically lost at least a half-second to him.The lead was threatened by Steven Nyman before the United States racer strayed wide into rough snow midway down. Nyman placed 15th, ending his streak of four straight top-three finishes in downhill.While Jansrud was only 18th fastest at either of the two speed checks, Fill was the only racer to hit 122 kph (76 mph).Im surprised for my performance, said Fill, who took the downhill crystal trophy last season by edging ahead of Svindal, who missed the last five races after crashing at Kitzbuehel, Austria.Austrias slow start is not really my problem, Fill said. They have good skiers. For me, its better that they dont go too fast.Marcel Hirscher, the five-time defending overall World Cup winner, will seek to restore Austrian pride in a giant slalom on Sunday.Val dIsere hosted a World Cup downhill for the first time in 10 seasons.The French resort took over a three-race weekend meeting which was cancelled at Beaver Creek, Colorado, because of lack of snow. Rashan Gary Packers Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Clay Matthews Womens Jersey . 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Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Minnesota Twins?pitching coach Neil Allen has been reinstated to the team after completing a treatment program following his arrest for suspicion of drunk driving on May 26.Manager Paul Molitor had said at the time of the incident that Allens well-being was the teams top priority and that they would welcome him back after he followed the correct protocol. Allen rejoined the team for its four-game series against the Texas Rangers.Minor league pitching coordinator Eric Rasmussen had served as interim pitching coach and returned to his previous position on Thursday.Allen was named pitching coach prior to the 2015 season, Molitors first as manager. In an interview last year with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Allen said he had not had a drink since 1994.In an emotional exchange before Thursdays game, Allen told reporters that baseball had nothing to do with his return to drinking. He said that the urge had been building for six months prior too his arrest and that the situation could be a blessing in disguise.ddddddddddddAllen, 58, posted a 58-70 record with a 3.88 ERA in 11 seasons in the majors, mostly as a reliever. He came up with the New York Mets in 1979 and also played for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox, in addition to a three-game stint in 1989 with the Cleveland Indians. Prior to joining the Twins, he spent eight seasons as a minor league pitching coach for the Tampa Bay Rays.Rasmussen, 64, who has been in the Twins organization since 1991, interviewed for the pitching coach position that eventually went to Allen.The Twins entered Thursday with the second-worst record in the league at 29-55 and had a team ERA of 5.00, which was 28th in the league.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '