VAL GARDENA, Italy -- Canadas Erik Guay gained a measure of revenge by winning the prestigious Val Gardena downhill Saturday, a year after missing out on the victory because of changing weather. Guay, from Mt. Tremblant, Que., clocked one minute 56.65 seconds down a Saslong course lined with huge jumps and filled with tricky terrain, making up time over the last few gates to edge Kjetil Jansrud of Norway by 0.12 seconds. "It is sweet," Guay said. "I skied really well and took the chances necessary." It was the fourth career World Cup victory for Guay, who also won gold in downhill at the 2011 world championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Johan Clarey of France finished third, 0.24 back, and overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal was fourth, 0.29 behind. Bode Miller placed fifth, 0.39 behind, for his best finish in a speed event this season. Miller took last season off to recover from left knee surgery and he is improving race by race as he prepares for the Sochi Olympics in February. Miller would have made the podium if he was just a bit faster on the flats and said getting his equipment dialed in after so much time off was a big factor. "Theres so many details, you never know what it is thats really causing the problem," the 36-year-old two-time overall World Cup winner said. "The fact is we just dont have the whole thing together right now. Were close, and were getting there." Miller made up more than half a second on the technical lower section. "On the top I didnt feel like I was going fast," Miller said. "I took a little bit of risk in some parts and pulled off some decent turns and I skied pretty well but its one of those courses where theres not enough to it to bring it back in with my technical ability." Guay thought he had won this race last year until a drastic weather change helped later starters on a shortened course, with Steven Nyman of the United States taking the win and Rok Perko of Slovenia claiming second, relegating Guay to third. "I had a great run last year," Guay said. "In my mind I skied the best that I could have with my start number and not to take anything away from Nyman and Perko but the conditions do change and thats the reality of our sport. "I know that ski racing is like that," Guay added. "Ive been on the good side of the hundredths and Ive benefited from good weather sometimes. So you take it when you can and you forget it when youre on the other side." While it wasnt quite as drastic as last year, when winds played a role, changing light once again made a big impact. Guay, Svindal and Miller had to deal with less light on the gliding section on top but then all three racers excelled on the more technical section of the course. The highlights of the Saslong are the camel bumps, which launch skiers into the air for nearly 80 metres (90 yards), and the twisty and technical ciaslat section -- two areas that come one right after another midway down. There are also numerous little bumps and jumps, making for constant air time. "A lot of times Val Gardena goes under radar with Wengen and Kitzbuehel getting so much attention but I think its one of most fun courses on the World Cup," Guay said. Guays performance was all the more impressive considering that he had left-knee surgery in the off-season and missed most of preseason training. Jansrud also had left-knee surgery after a crash in the super-G at last seasons world championships in Schladming, Austria. Jansrud took silver in giant slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and Saturdays result matched his best downhill finish from March, 2012, on home snow in Kvitfjell. Clarey also finished third in this race four years ago for his only other career podium. He stood first when the 2011 race was abandoned beause of strong winds after 21 racers had completed their runs. "Its unbelievable for me," Clarey said. "I almost quit skiing five months ago after my back injury." In the overall standings, Svindal moved 175 points ahead of Marcel Hirscher, who does not race downhill. Svindal also leads the downhill standings, 53 points ahead of Guay. Nyman was an early starter and made a big mistake midway down and had to make an acrobatic recovery to avoid injury. But his race ended there. Brice Roger and David Poisson of France also fell. Poisson slammed into the safety netting at full speed but eventually got up and skied down. The circuit moves over the Gardena pass for a giant slalom Sunday in Alta Badia, where Ted Ligety will attempt to duplicate his dominant win from last season. Bob Gainey Canadiens Jersey . A fully booked flight forced me to leave two hours later. After a nice meal in which I studied the stats of the Argo win, I prepared to leave the restaurant. As I was gathering my things to leave many large individuals began to walk up and wait for tables. Charlie Lindgren Canadiens Jersey . Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon; a brief, poor outing that served to highlight two trends that have developed this season. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-k...ens-jersey/.The South African had three birdies on the front nine and another four after the turn at Leopard Creek Country Club to move to 16-under 128 overall.Grace, who won all four of his European Tour titles in 2012, dropped his only shot of the competition on the par-3 fifth. Paul Byron Canadiens Jersey . Brassard and Coyotes defenceman Derek Morris were battling for position in the crease when a nudge from Morris sent Brassard on top of Smith late in the third period. Patrick Roy Jersey .5 million. The 25-year-old Varlamov is thriving under first-year coach and Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy, posting a 26-9-5 record with a 2.TORONTO – Marcus Stromans first career major league start began as the story of the day but once the Blue Jays were done waxing the Kansas City Royals, 12-2, in another record-setting fashion, he was happy to offer the proverbial tip of the cap to his offence. "The lineup is like playing a video game with a cheat team," he said. "Everyones like 100-level." By the time the first inning was over the Blue Jays led 7-0 on the strength of five hits, three walks and two hit batsman off Royals right-hander Aaron Brooks, wholl have far fewer fond memories of his first big league start than his mound opponent. Toronto set a franchise record; never before had the first eight hitters of a game reaching base safely. The cushion gave Stroman an opportunity to relax and he went to work with a dazzling curveball, striking out six Royals over six innings. The likes of Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler succumbed as the pitch darted down and toward the left-handers batters box. "It was sharp today," said Stroman. "Me and (Dioner Navarro) got on a pretty good roll and whatever he was calling I was throwing and it just kept trickling in. I felt like we were pounding the zone pretty well." "You could even see the reaction of the hitters after they were swinging at it," said Navarro. "Hopefully he builds up from this start and keeps going strong and help us out throughout the whole season." Stromans final line: Six innings, one earned run, five hits, zero walks and six strikeouts. Manager John Gibbons offered a quick quip when asked if the 23-year-old had earned another start. "I think itd be crazy not to," said Gibbons. "I told you Im dumb, not stupid." Stroman started in place of Drew Hutchison, whose next start was pushed back to Tuesday for the series opener in Detroit. While nothing is ailingg Hutchison, he has thrown 65 innings in 11 starts already this season.dddddddddddd Pro-rate that over an expected 33 or 34 starts and Hutchison would be at, or close to, the 200-inning mark. Coming off a year-long rehabilitation of Tommy John elbow surgery and with limited minor league innings under his belt last year, the Blue Jays will take hand-picked opportunities to give Hutchison extended breathers. While the plan runs contrary to Hutchisons ultra-competitive nature, the 23-year-old is okay with the idea. "It was already kind of mentioned to me a little bit," said Hutchison. "I knew at some point this was probably going to happen. Of course I want to take the ball every five days, its something you take pride in doing but this is something I think will enable me to pitch all year and be beneficial." Hutchison threw a bullpen session on Sunday morning. "To keep it like it would be on my normal, five-day routine," said Hutchison. "Just to try to keep it the same so Ill be crisp leading up to (Tuesdays start)". RED HOT MAY The Blue Jays wrapped up a 21-9 May to improve their overall record to 33-24. The strong month comes on the heels of an 0-1 March and a 12-14 April. While pleased, manager John Gibbons delved into the personal history file to throw a bit of cold water on the excitement. "I think in 08 in May we won 20 games, we had the best record in baseball and I got fired three weeks later," said Gibbons. "I always enjoy a good month but it means absolutely nothing in June." Gibbons is right. Toronto went 20-10 in May, 2008 and had a record of 31-27 as a result. He was axed on June 20 with the club on a five-game losing streak and with a 4-12 record to that point in the month. As another point of reference: Toronto dropped a 4-3, 17-inning game in San Diego last May 31, which dropped the Blue Jays record to 23-32. ' ' '