FLACHAU, Austria - Frida Hansdotter of Sweden dominated a World Cup night slalom on Tuesday, strengthening her position at the top of the discipline standings going into the world championships next month.Loudly cheered by 14,800 spectators, Hansdotter built on her first-run lead to finish in a combined time of 1 minute, 49.59 seconds.Tina Maze of Slovenia was 0.61 behind in second, and Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States improved from a disappointing opening run to finish third, 0.63 behind.I dont feel like a favourite but for sure its fun if I would be a favourite, Hansdotter said about the Feb. 14 world championship race in Beaver Creek, Colorado — where Shiffrin will be defending her title.I just need to ski my skiing and ski good and then the results are coming, she said. You cant be focusing on where you should end up. You just need to focus on what you should do with your skis.Hansdotter led Maze by 0.23 after the opening run but used a flawless final run for a convincing win.It was the Swedes 14th career World Cup podium but only second victory. She also won in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, last season.Hansdotter now has 420 points in the slalom standings, with two-time champion Shiffrin in second place on 379 points.Good training, hard training, and know what you need to do, Hansdotter said about her consistency this season. In training, I always try to be on the limit, but not over the limit. That is the hard part, to really be on your top but dont ski more than you can.Erin Mielzynski of Collingwood, Ont., was 12th.Maze went further ahead in the overall standings with 857 points, well ahead of Shiffrin on 605 points. However, Maze has two weekends of speed racing coming up in Cortina dAmpezzo, Italy, and St. Moritz, Switzerland, while Shiffrin wont race on the World Cup until after the world championships.I was really easy today, said the Slovenian, who looks set for a repeat of her 2013 overall triumph. I was training good the last days and I was pretty confident about my slalom here.Maze benefited from the cancellation of a downhill and a super-G in Austria last weekend.We were training slalom in Bad Kleinkirchheim so you get more slalom turns in your legs and in your head, Maze said. The schedule is crazy doing all the events. It takes a lot of energy and adaption to each discipline.Shiffrin, who had won the event for the past two years, avoided mistakes in her first run but was still 0.68 behind Hansdotter in eighth.The American looked more aggressive in her second run and posted the second-fastest time after Veronika Velez-Zuzulova of Slovakia.I felt like the surface was better the second run, Shiffrin said. I was able to get an edge in the snow and I found some response and I was able to arch cleaner turns.Despite posting the fastest time up to then, Shiffrin shrugged after crossing the finish line.I didnt think my second run was good enough or fast enough to win today because Tina and Frida are so strong.After winning in Kuehtai, Austria, and Zagreb, Croatia, recently, Shiffrin missed out on yet another record — as no Americam skier has won three World Cup slaloms in a row.Eight of the 30 skiers who qualified for the second run failed to finish on the demanding course.The annual night slalom is the race with the highest prize money on the womens circuit, with the winner taking home nearly 53,000 euros ($62,300).So now I dont need to ski anymore? Hansdotter joked about her paycheque. Thats not the things I am thinking about when I am racing. But for sure its good for the future. Blues Jerseys China . That little deal worked out in a big way for the Mavericks. 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Cheap Blues Jerseys . - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball.NEW YORK -- A happy homecoming for Jimmer Fredette and Michael Malone was another miserable night in a turbulent season for the New York Knicks. Rudy Gay made the tying basket in regulation and a 3-pointer in overtime that gave Sacramento the lead for good, and Fredette scored a career-high 24 points to help the Kings beat the Knicks 106-101 on Wednesday night. Gay and Isaiah Thomas each finished with 20 points for the Kings, who shook off a 13-point deficit and the loss of DeMarcus Cousins late in regulation to salvage the finale of a four-game road trip. Cousins had 19 points and 14 rebounds before limping off with a strained hip flexor with about 3 1/2 minutes left. The Kings made Malone a winner in his first game as a head coach in New York, where he spent four seasons as a Knicks assistant. It was the first time his mother watched him coach an NBA game in person. "Being from New York and having my family here and this is where I started in the NBA, its like a little kids dream," Malone said. "To come back here, and as a head coach, and get a win against the Knicks, it is an unbelievable moment for me, my mother, my father and my family." Carmelo Anthony had 36 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks but flopped at the finish, missing a potential winning shot in regulation before blowing a layup on the first possession of overtime. Playing 48 minutes, he was scoreless in the extra session. Gay followed Anthonys missed layup with his 3-pointer, Derrick Williams added a basket that pushed it to 98-93 with 2:28 left, and the Knicks never really had a chance to catch up from there. New York finished the first half at 20-32. The reigning Atlantic Division champions have already lost more games than all of last season and continue to battle injuries and speculation that coach Mike Woodsons job is in jeopardy. "I didnt expect us to be in the situation that were in right now. If somebody would have told us that before the season, Id have put any amount of money that they were lying," Anthony said. "But were in this situation right now and weve got to fight through it." The Knicks played without J.R. Smith, who broke a ccheekbone Sunday at Oklahoma City and was uncomfortable with the protective facemask he was supposed to wear, which he didnt receive until Wednesday.dddddddddddd Iman Shumpert then left in the second half with a strained left hip flexor. Amare Stoudemire scored 20 points off the bench and Tyson Chandler had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks in a game Anthony had called a "must-win." "We cant go back and get this game," Woodson said. "We didnt finish the game. I think we played well in spurts. We just didnt get it done." Stoudemire had three straight New York baskets midway through the fourth quarter, giving the Knicks an 87-83 advantage with 4:59 remaining. Fredette twice hit 3-pointers to make it a one-possession game, and Gay, after having a jumper go in and out, got another chance and knocked it down that time to tie it with 20 seconds to go. Anthony scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the Knicks cruised to a 33-22 lead after one, hitting 70 per cent of their shots. But Fredette, the college scoring star from BYU whose pro career has been largely underwhelming, answered back with 15 points in the second, matching his high for a game this season. "It was a lot of fun," said Fredette, a native of Glens Falls. "You dream about this, growing up not too far from here, and this is the best arena in the world. It was an amazing experience tonight. But I was just happy we got this win and go into the All-Star break on a high note." New York built a 54-48 halftime lead on 57.5 per cent shooting, but was just 7 of 23 (30 per cent) in the third quarter, with the Kings cutting it to 74-72 entering the fourth. NOTES: Smith didnt want to play without the mask for fear of further injury, acknowledging his choice to sit out was a "somewhat selfish decision." He said he will have to wear the mask for a few weeks and hopes to get it adjusted before play resumes next week. ... Malone worked for four different head coaches in New York. ... The Knicks honoured Hall of Famer Bernard King, who held the franchises single-game scoring record with 60 points until Anthony broke it with 62 last month against Charlotte. ' ' '