ST. MORITZ, Switzerland -- Ted Ligety of the United States put together two nearly flawless runs in difficult conditions to win a World Cup giant slalom on Sunday, the last mens race before the Sochi Olympics. Ligety, a two-time world champion in the event, overcame poor visibility to finish a massive 1.51 seconds faster than Marcel Hirscher of Austria in the combined time. "Its so tough when you cant see anything, it makes it so much more tiring. Im glad I was able to make it to the finish line," said Ligety, who posted the fastest time in both runs. The convincing win boosted Ligetys Olympic hopes. "Its nice to get in another good race and I hope I can carry that confidence over the next two weeks," Ligety said. Hirscher jumped from third to second, while Alexis Pinturault of France fell from second to third after both heats to finish 1.69 seconds behind Ligety. "The second run was definitely very good, but the first run, to be one and a half seconds behind, was nothing for me," Hirscher said. As fog shrouded the middle section of the course, Ligety raced to his 21st career victory and his third in a giant slalom this season. He also has a victory in a super combined this year. Ligety won the first two giant slaloms of the season, with Hirscher getting the next two. Felix Neureuther of Germany, winner of the previous giant slalom race, skipped the event to rest a painful back before the Olympics. Hirscher still stayed atop the giant slalom standings and took the lead overall as Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway fell in the second heat. Hirscher is now 58 points ahead of Svindal. The Austrian has a 95-point lead over Pinturault in giant slalom standings, while Ligety is five points behind the Frenchman. "It was a very difficult slope but I am pleased because I stayed on the podium," Pinturault said. Ligety explained his big margin of victory by taking a different line. "When its bumpy like this, I dont go so straight, I go a bit closer to the gates. A little mistake will cost you a lot on a course like this," Ligety said. Bode Miller of the United States hit a rut and crashed out about halfway into the first run. Miller won the giant slalom title at the 2003 World Championships, the last time men raced in St. Moritz. The 36-year-old American said he was ready for his fifth Olympics, despite Sundays mishap. "My skiing is generally pretty solid now," Miller said. "There were already big holes in some places when I went down and you cant see where they are and the coaches cant tell you where they are. The guys making it down were skiing very conservatively, trying not to crash and not to make mistakes. Ted is the only one really who skied normally. "I didnt want to be 2.5 seconds behind and so tried to ski normally. But I had big problems from the start," Miller said. Fog forced the cancellation of Saturdays downhill and threatened the giant slalom as well. The start of the second run was delayed by half an hour and there was a long break before the last 11 racers. Olivier Vernon Jersey .com) - Rakeem Christmas scored 21 points, B. B.J. Goodson Jersey .Y. -- The New York Islanders were seeking a positive finish to a frustrating season on home ice. http://www.officialnewyorkgiantsfootball...r-jersey-womens. -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights. Andrew Adams Jersey . -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday for the first time in his seven-year career because of a swollen muscle in his left upper back. Jonathan Stewart Jersey .com) - Carmelo Anthony tallied 31 points to help the New York Knicks continue their improved play of late with a 100-92 victory over a short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder squad.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Former champion Maria Sharapova and third seed Simona Halep notched wins, while former runner-up Ana Ivanovic was a stunning opening-round loser on Day 1 at the Australian Open. The second-seeded former world No. 1 Sharapova eased past Croat Petra Martic 6-4, 6-1. The reigning French Open champion titled here in 2008 and was an Aussie runner-up in 2007 and 2012. Sharapova opened her 2015 season with a title in Brisbane two weeks ago. Her second-round opponent on Wednesday will be fellow Russian Alexandra Panova. Last years French Open runner-up to Sharapova, Halep, handled Italian Karin Knapp 6-3, 6-2 at Melbourne Park. Halep opened her latest season with her ninth career title in Shenzhen, China, two weeks ago. Shell meet Aussie Jarmila Gajdosova on Day 3 this week. Meanwhile, Czech Lucie Hradecka sent shockwaves by ousting fifth-seeded Ivanovic 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena. The Serbian Ivanovic, who was the Aussie runner-up to Sharapova in 2008, suffered her earliest exit at a Grand Slam event since the French Open in 2011. She was a quarterfinalist in Melbourne last year. I think the whole match I didnt really feel like myself out there, Ivanovic said. It was really tough for me to find a rhythm a little bit. In the third set, I really felt like she raised her level. Hradecka, playing her first Grand Slam main draw since last years Aussie Open, lost in qualifying at the other three majors in 2014. The doubles specialist entered the week ranked 142nd in singles play. She has 18 doubles titles, but none in singles. In the first set I was so nervous, Hradecka said. I couldnt hit any balls in the court. When I went outside, I started to serve in the second set, I thought, Okay, it cannot be the worst. Lets play every point and lets see what will happen. Its the earliest exit by a top-5 seed since 2003, when then No. 3 Jennifer Capriati was ousted by Marlene Weingartner. Seventh-seeded Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard doused German Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-2, 6-4, while another upset saw Irina-Camelia Beggu of Romania beat No.dddddddddddd. 9 seed Angelique Kerber of Germany, 6-4, 0-6, 6-1. Bouchard was the only woman to appear in three Grand Slam semifinals last year. Bouchards second-round opponent will be Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens. In other action involving top-16 seeds, No. 10 Russian Ekaterina Makarova whipped Belgian An-Sophie Mestach 6-2, 6-2, No. 14 former Roland Garros runner-up Sara Errani drilled American Grace Min 6-1, 6-0 and Kazakhstans Yaroslava Shvedova upended No. 16 Czech Lucie Safarova 6-4, 2-6, 8-6. In other play involving seeds, German Carina Witthoeft took out No. 17 Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-1; No. 21 Peng Shuai of China beat Germanys Tatjana Maria 6-4, 7-5; No. 22 Czech Karolina Pliskova defeated Russian Evgeniya Rodina 7-5, 6-1; Belgiums Yanina Wickmayer downed No. 23 Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; Frances Caroline Garcia upset No. 27 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 6-4, 6-2; Frances Kristina Mladenovic doused No. 28 Sabine Lisicki of Germany 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; No. 31 Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan overcame Pole Urszula Radwanska 3-6, 6-4, 6-2; and Germanys Julia Goerges vanquished No. 32 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2, 6-1. Several other women moved on, including Americans Christina McHale and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Puerto Rican Monica Puig and Italian veteran Roberta Vinci. On Tuesday, top seed Serena Williams will meet Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck and fourth-seeded Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova will face Dutchwoman Richel Hogenkamp. The reigning U.S. Open champion Williams owns 18 career Grand Slam titles, including a whopping five Aussie crowns. Also slated for opening-round action on Day 2 are sixth-seeded former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska, eighth-seeded former No. 1 and 2014 U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki, 11th-seeded 2014 Aussie Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova, 18th-seeded former top-ranked star and former Aussie finalist Venus Williams, and unseeded two-time Aussie champ Victoria Azarenka, who will battle American Sloane Stephens. 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