Boateng, Philipp Lahm and Mario Götze all entered the match in the se

LA PLAGNE, France -- Canadian skicross star Marielle Thompson capped her dream season in style Sunday by winning her second career Crystal Globe. Thompson, who won Olympic gold last month at the Sochi Games, edged Fanny Smith of Switzerland to win the final World Cup of the season and the overall title. "Once I was in the gate I was in my zone and comfortable," Thompson said on a conference call. "I just focused on what I needed to do. I think thats the way to do it." The Canadian entered the competition with a slim five-point lead on Smith in the World Cup overall standings. Thompson fell behind her main rival in the final before executing a dramatic pass to move in front to stay. "I knew that everything came down to that last run down the course so it was pretty intense, especially being behind out of the gate and having to make that pass," Thompson said. "It was probably one of the most exciting moments for me in a long while on the skicross course. "It was really great for me to make that pass. Its not very fun skiing behind people. I like skiing in front." Smith settled for silver and Georgia Simmerling of West Vancouver, B.C., won bronze. Calgarys Brady Leman won bronze in the mens race. Jean Frederic Chapuis of France won gold and Austrias Christoph Wahrstoetter took the silver. "I think I made more finals than any other guy this year," Leman said. "They didnt really go my way and I didnt have my best skiing when I made it to the medal rounds and when it really counts. I know Im there and I know Ive been super-competitive every week this year which is good because thats something that Ive struggled with in the past. "But you always want more so I know what Ive got to focus on this summer at least anyway." Leman reached the final at the Olympics but just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish. Thompson led a 1-2 Canadian finish in the womens final at Sochi with teammate Kelsey Serwa. "The main goal this year was the Olympics and once I realized that goal I had to refocus and think about the Globe," said Thompson. "In the final (Sunday) I needed to be patient. I waited for the right moment (to pass) and it happened to be near the end. "I nailed the big super-G turn and I was able to move past her." Thompson, from Whistler, B.C., became the first Canadian to win a skicross Crystal Globe in 2012. The 21-year-old won this seasons overall title with 755 points. "Im just really happy that I could realize all my goals and not really disappoint myself," she said. Smith was second with 730 points and Ophelie David of France was third with 572 points. Swedens Victor Oehling Norberg won the mens Crystal Globe with 494 points. Andreas Matt of Austria was second with 482 points and Germanys Daniel Bohnacker was third with 399 points. Dave Duncan of London, Ont., was leading the World Cup rankings when he was injured during the qualification round at the last World Cup stop in Are, Sweden. He missed his last three races and settled for sixth overall. Switzerland won the Nations Cup for the second straight year with 2,261 points. Canada was second with 2,154 points. Sonny Jackson Braves Jersey . The weekend at Oriole Park has been less kind, with three players suffering varying degrees of injury. The worst ailment of the three, at least optically, is the deep bone bruise suffered by Adam Lind when he fouled a pitch off the top of his right foot in the sixth inning of Saturdays game. Rafael Ortega Jersey .com) - No Sidney Crosby, no problem. https://www.cheapbraves.com/1643o-joe-torre-jersey-braves.html . Now Arizonas new manager is hoping Yasmany Tomas can have the same effect on the Diamondbacks. Orlando Cepeda Jersey . In the other Group A game, the Czech Republic stunned Canada, 5-4 in a shootout. Dominik Simon scored the deciding goal in the tiebreaker. The United States scored its first three goals on power plays. "Overall, I love to see the power-play goals we were able to get tonight," said U. Bob Uecker Jersey . According to bodog.ca, Cleveland moved up to grab the best odds to win the Larry OBrian trophy at 4-1 on Friday. By comparison, the Miami Heats odds plummeted from 3-1 favourites before LeBron left, to 50-1.PORTLAND, Oregon - The MLS All-Star game was an entertaining affair on Wednesday night at Providence Park in Portland, as the hosts staged a second half comeback to defeat Bayern Munich by a score of 2-1. Goals from the New York Red Bulls Bradley Wright-Phillips and the Los Angeles Galaxys Landon Donovan saw the All-Stars overcome a wonderful Robert Lewandowski first half volley for the Germans. Purists are critical of the All-Star game; they believe that a mid-season fixture can only result in fatigue for the players at best, or injury and a lengthy spell on the sidelines at worst. Yet the game was played at a surprisingly lively pace, as Bayern showed their class early on. Regarded as one of the best club teams in world football, Bayern were excellent in the opening 45 minutes. Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri pulled the strings for Bayern in a central attacking midfield role, while the duo of Lewandowski and the ageless Claudio Pizarro caused havoc with their movement up front. That Bayern were only up 1-0 at the break was down to some desperate defending and heroic goalkeeping from the All-Stars. Wholesale changes at the half for the hosts made the second half a sight to behold. Wright-Phillips, the leading goalscorer in MLS right now, hammered a strike past Tom Starke in the Bayern goal to bring the All-Stars level in the 51st minute before 14-time All-Star Donovan scored the games winner in the 70th minute, latching on to a Diego Valeri cross before calmly beating substitute – and German World Cup winner – Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal. The game even had a bit of bite to it in the second half, as Osvaldo Alonso and Canadian international Will Johnson made their presence felt in midfield, putting in the requisite crunching tackles that we have come to expect from both players. Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola was not a happy man at the final whistle – iin part because of the rough treatment his star players came in for in the second half but also, Im sure, because he simply hates losing, regardless of the "friendliness" of the competition.dddddddddddd It was a highly entertaining match in front of a raucous crowd – if youve never been to watch a game in Portland, put it on your bucket list because you wont regret it – but it would be foolish to draw any sweeping conclusions about the state of the game in North America from one result. Pre-season training is for players to find their form and fitness, and Bayern Munichs objective in this game was entirely different to the All-Stars. A glance at the Bayern bench in the first half showed just what a stunning wealth of talent Guardiola has at his disposal. World Cup winners like Neuer, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm and Mario Götze all entered the match in the second half for a short appearance, as did Dutch star Arjen Robben. Their brief cameos delighted the sellout crowd more than they did anything to rescue Bayern from defeat. The All-Stars looked a reasonably cohesive bunch – something that cannot always be said for such squads. Far too often, players in such games look like they have only just met, which is often the truth. Credit has to go to All-Star head coach Caleb Porter for scrambling together a simple, yet effective, game plan on such short notice. For the purists, dont expect this game (or the midseason "friendly" that is popular with MLS clubs) to go away any time soon. MLS is still in its infancy as a league, and the general consensus is that such games are growing the awareness of MLS around the world. My advice to you is to do what Luke Wileman and I did on Wednesday night – sit back, enjoy the ride and marvel at the talents of some world-class players on display. ' ' '