LAKE LOUISE, Alta. -- Of the many injuries that can befall a downhill ski racer, John Kuceras is an unusual one. The 2009 world downhill champion isnt racing in the season-opening World Cup downhill Saturday or in Sundays super-G at Lake Louise, Alta. Kucera was the first Canadian man to stand atop the podium at Lake Louise when he won the super-G in 2006. He also won a silver in the discipline in 2008. The Calgarian is dealing with the lingering symptoms of vestibular neuritis, an inner ear condition causing dizziness and nausea. It struck suddenly at a training camp in Chile in September. "I literally went to bed with a cold and woke up and went to turn off my phone alarm and got full dizzy spins and the whole nine yards," Kucera says. "The easiest way to describe it is post-concussion. Its sensitivity to motion. I get nauseated and stuff and a little fog comes over me and I cant focus on skiing gates." Thats a problem when Kucera needs to navigate terrain and gates at 130 kilometres per hour. The 29-year-old has been free skiing this week, but Kucera isnt at a point where he could race and be competitive. "This is a place I love to race and its not even just here," Kucera said. "Its any race when theyre going to be on. Its not like when you have a broken leg and youre so out, its unrealistic to even think you can do it. "With this, you almost feel like youre so close, but youre just not there. Itll be frustrating in that regard." Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, Que., Vancouvers Manny Osborne-Paradis and Jan Hudec of Calgary are Canadas top medal hopefuls at Lake Louise this weekend. Between those three and Kucera is a litany of back and knee injuries. Hudec leads the way with seven knee surgeries. Kucera broke his leg at Lake Louise in 2009 and didnt race the next three seasons. The skiers accept these as the occupational hazards of their sport, but Kuceras vertigo seems strange and random to them. "Its a bummer Johnnys not feeling up to it yet, but hopefully that will settle down and hell be back on the snow soon," Guay said. "It is a weird one. Id never heard of it. He said he looked online for a long time and hes only found two cases of it with athletes. "He said the two athletes he found was a Major League Baseball player and a professional tennis player. If you fall down in those sports, its not a big deal, but when youre going 140 and you get dizzy, theres some serious consequences. I wouldnt risk it too much." Norways Aksel Lund Svindal won Fridays final downhill training run that was shortened to the super-G course because of poor visibility at the top of the mountain. While Lake Louise is nicknamed "Lake Lindsey" because of Lindsey Vonns multiple wins in the womens races, Svindal is approaching that domination on the mens side. Svindal has won five times at the Alberta resort, including victories last year in both downhill and super-G. Georg Streitberger of Austria was second and Bode Miller of the U.S. was third Friday. Osborne-Paradis was the top Canadian in 25th and Guay 26th. Fogged goggles and a missed gate made Hudecs run adventurous, although he did get to the bottom. "I went on a road trip and almost didnt come back and ran out of gas and didnt put windshield wiper fluid in the tank. But I still made it," Hudec said. "I definitely took the scenic route." Guay was fastest in the first training run with Osborne-Paradis and Hudec also in the top 10, so the Canadians feel confident and relatively healthy heading into their home race. "We have guys who are definitely in contention of getting a podium here," Osborne-Paradis said. "We need to push it. Hopefully it happens, but if it doesnt, theres a race every weekend." The timing of Kuceras malady isnt good. Breaking his leg in the super-G in 2009 kept him from racing at the 2010 Winter Olympics as well as the next three seasons. He returned to the World Cup last winter with the intent of building a base of racing under him again. The mens speed team has depth this season and there will be internal competition for the four downhill spots on the 2014 Olympic team. Hudec, Osborne-Paradis, Guay, Ben Thomsen of Whistler, B.C., and Kucera, if he can get back to racing, are the forerunners for the Olympic team. But that group will also get competition from brothers Morgan and Conrad Pridy and Robbie Dixon of Whistler, Dustin Cook of Lac Sainte-Marie, Que., and Jeffrey Frisch of Mont-Tremblant. All will race Saturday except for Cook, who declined his spot to concentrate on Sundays super-G, and Dixon, who didnt qualify out of training. Hudec, Osborne-Paradis, Guay and Thomsen have met half the criteria for Olympic selection, as those four each achieved a top-12 result last season. Kucera needs a pair of top-12 finishes or one top-five this season to meet the standard. But all he can do for now is wait until his symptoms disappear, which is not unlike having a concussion. "Sometimes you kind of get dealt the cards you get out of nowhere and a weird one," Kucera says. "The good thing about it is its nothing super-serious where my health is really at risk long term. "At the end of the day, its a bummer and my career might suffer, but its a good thing Im not here fighting for my life or something really crazy. Theres other crazy health cards out there that can really get you." Ryan Kesler Team USA Jersey . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. John Carlson Jersey . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. http://www.shopusaicehoc... . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. [url=http://www.shopusaicehockey.com/Jonathan-Quick-Jersey/]Jonathan Quick Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Max Pacioretty Team USA Jersey . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. TORONTO -- Carter Ashton received the call Saturday night that no player wants. However, after being told he was being demoted, the 22-year-old made the best of his return to the American Hockey League by scoring the game-winning goal as the Toronto Marlies edged the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs 2-1 on Sunday. Despite Ashtons disappointment of being sent down after playing nine games with the Maple Leafs, Marlies head coach Steve Spott was pleased with the power forwards mindset heading into his first AHL game of the season. "He was good. He went right with Trevor (Smith) and with Spencer (Abbott) on that first line and I thought he had a heck of a game," said Spott. "He was just a dominant player out there. He played 5-on-5, killed penalties and was good at the net front on power play. "Its great to see when he comes down. It sends the right message for our young guys." Toronto took a 2-0 lead at 5:30 of the second period when Ashton put home an Abbott rebound while on the power play. "Abbott stood on the half wall and just walked it to the net," said Ashton of the goal. "I knew the puck might come out and I got a good rebound, right on my stick." T.J. Brennan also scored for the Marlies (4-1-0), who are unbeaten in four games at the Ricoh Coliseum this season, and goaltender Drew MacIntyre made 17 saves for the victory. Mike Blunden scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs (1-1-2), who were held to just nine shots through the final 40 minutes. Robert Mayer stopped 26 shots in defeat. Hamilton cut Torontos lead in half 2:08 into the third period on Blundens second goal of the season. The Bulldogs pulled theirr goaltender with less than a minute remaining, but could not find the equalizer.dddddddddddd Ashton had an excellent chance to get Toronto on the board 6:55 into the first period when he was awarded a penalty shot, however Mayer stopped him. "I was thinking about trying to fake a shot and open him up somewhere and I tried going five hole, but he dropped pretty quick," Ashton said. Brennan opened the scoring with his league-leading eighth goal of the season, on the power play, at 8:29 of the first period. With Erik Nystrom off serving a tripping penalty, Brennan one-timed a John-Michael Liles feed past Mayer. Near the midway mark of the opening period, Hamiltons Gabriel Dumont hit Torontos Jerry DAmigo hard, from behind. DAmigo remained down for a moment, but was able to skate off under his own strength. Dumont was assessed a minor penalty for boarding. Thirty seconds later, Nathan Beaulieu went to the box for shooting the puck over the glass giving the Marlies an extended 5-on-3 opportunity, but Toronto was unable to capitalize. Toronto finished 2-for-8 on the power play, but was unable to score with a two-man advantage in first period, which has become an early-season trend for the club. "The challenge for me is still that 5-on-3," he said. "Weve got to find a way to punish teams 5-on-3. We were up 1-0 when we had the extended 5-on-3 and we didnt get it done. Thats an area weve got to continue to focus on." Notes: Bulldogs forward Martin St. Pierre missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. The Maple Leafs assigned Carter Ashton, Trevor Smith and David Broll to the Marlies Sunday morning. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China ' ' '