game against Houston

[ldh2013]

ARE, Sweden - Olympic champion Marielle Thompsons pursuit of a second skicross World Cup title will go down to the wire. . Thompson, of Whistler, B.C., was fourth in Sundays race while rival Fanny Smith of Switzerland finished first, cutting Thompsons lead in the overall standings to just five points with only next weekends World Cup finals in France left to go. Ophelie David of France was second while Vancouvers Georgia Simmerling was third. "The overall is pretty exciting — for both the women and the men," said Thompson, who has 655 points compared to Smiths 650. "In the final, I was leading into the first turn and then Ophelie passed me and I got pushed into the powder and lost all my speed. Thats how she goes sometimes." Simmerling won her first heat Sunday and was second in her quarter- and semifinals to advance to the big final. "It was good today. I had to fight hard and it all came together," Simmerling said. "I messed up my timing on one of the features at the end of the start and I was fourth. Then Marielle (fell back) and the three of us just ended up 1-2-3. "Ive had a pretty consistent year, I would say. Theres one more race to go and Im hoping for a strong result again." Danie Sundquist, of Calgary was third in her first heat and finished 20th overall. Olympic silver medallist Kelsey Serwa, of Kelowna, B.C., did not participate as she took the post-Olympic season off. On the mens side, Austrias Thomas Zangerl finished first while teammate Andreas Matt was second. Armin Niederer of Switzerland picked up the bronze. Mathieu Leduc of Comox, B.C., was the top Canadian, finishing eighth. "It was definitely nice to see I can compete with the top guys," Leduc said. "Im just hoping to establish myself on the World Cup and put my name in there. "Im learning from my mistakes and trying to bank all my experiences and put them to good use." Calgarys Brady Leman and Montreals Chris Del Bosco did not advance past their first heats. Louis-Pierre Helie, of Berthierville, Que., did not finish his qualification run, while Tristan Tafel, of Canmore, Alta., did not qualify for the round of 32 heats. Canada sits second (1,898) behind Switzerland (2,124) in the ski cross Nations Cup standings with one race to go. . For the second game in a row, the Athletics won despite squandering a 4-0 lead. They also overcame a blown save by Sean Doolittle, whose streak of 26 2-3 innings ended when Miami scored the tying run in the ninth. .The visitors, who had lost their last four games at the Stadium of Light, fell behind in the 19th when Pablo Zabaletas attempted clearance deflected off Connor Wickham and into the net. . Lowry missed his third consecutive game with a bruised left kneecap suffered in a collision with Miamis LeBron James in Miami on Monday. Johnson left Wednesday nights game against Houston after only three minutes with an ankle injury. LONDON -- West Ham will head into 2014 stuck in the Premier Leagues relegation zone after twice surrendering the lead to draw 3-3 with West Bromwich Albion in a thrilling match at Upton Park on Saturday. Former France striker Nicolas Anelka scored twice in a five-minute span -- his first goals for West Brom -- to put his team 2-1 ahead at halftime after Joe Cole had given West Ham a fourth-minute lead with a low shot. Substitute Modibo Maiga curled a shot underneath goalkeeper Ben Foster for West Hams equalizer in the 65th before heading across goal for Kevin Nolan to net a flying volley two minutes later, the captains first goal since the start of the season. That looked like giving the hosts a victory in what under-pressure manager Sam Allardyce had labeled a "must-win" game. But Saido Berahinos low finish in the 69th earned a point for West Brom, which is unbeaten in threee matches under caretaker manager Keith Downing. . Of the teams to start the day in the bottom six, only West Ham hasnt changed its manager since the start of the season. "Any of the six teams in trouble, if Sam is out of a job, they hire him to keep them up," Nolan said. "The chairmen have been brilliant with him, they understand weve had injuries. Were all in it together. "We feel well be in the Premier League come the end of the season." West Ham, which has won just one of its last 12 games, was fortunate to come away with a point after Berahino curled a free kick against the post in the 82nd. By running on to Chris Brunts pass and clipping home a finish in the 40th to make it 1-1, Anelka became the ninth player to score for six different Premier League clubs. It was his first goal in the English top division since August 2011. ' ' '