ST. MORITZ, Switzerland -- Ted Ligety of the United States put together two nearly flawless runs in difficult conditions to win a World Cup giant slalom on Sunday, the last mens race before the Sochi Olympics. Ligety, a two-time world champion in the event, overcame poor visibility to finish a massive 1.51 seconds faster than Marcel Hirscher of Austria in the combined time. "Its so tough when you cant see anything, it makes it so much more tiring. Im glad I was able to make it to the finish line," said Ligety, who posted the fastest time in both runs. The convincing win boosted Ligetys Olympic hopes. "Its nice to get in another good race and I hope I can carry that confidence over the next two weeks," Ligety said. Hirscher jumped from third to second, while Alexis Pinturault of France fell from second to third after both heats to finish 1.69 seconds behind Ligety. "The second run was definitely very good, but the first run, to be one and a half seconds behind, was nothing for me," Hirscher said. As fog shrouded the middle section of the course, Ligety raced to his 21st career victory and his third in a giant slalom this season. He also has a victory in a super combined this year. Ligety won the first two giant slaloms of the season, with Hirscher getting the next two. Felix Neureuther of Germany, winner of the previous giant slalom race, skipped the event to rest a painful back before the Olympics. Hirscher still stayed atop the giant slalom standings and took the lead overall as Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway fell in the second heat. Hirscher is now 58 points ahead of Svindal. The Austrian has a 95-point lead over Pinturault in giant slalom standings, while Ligety is five points behind the Frenchman. "It was a very difficult slope but I am pleased because I stayed on the podium," Pinturault said. Ligety explained his big margin of victory by taking a different line. "When its bumpy like this, I dont go so straight, I go a bit closer to the gates. A little mistake will cost you a lot on a course like this," Ligety said. Bode Miller of the United States hit a rut and crashed out about halfway into the first run. Miller won the giant slalom title at the 2003 World Championships, the last time men raced in St. Moritz. The 36-year-old American said he was ready for his fifth Olympics, despite Sundays mishap. "My skiing is generally pretty solid now," Miller said. "There were already big holes in some places when I went down and you cant see where they are and the coaches cant tell you where they are. The guys making it down were skiing very conservatively, trying not to crash and not to make mistakes. Ted is the only one really who skied normally. "I didnt want to be 2.5 seconds behind and so tried to ski normally. But I had big problems from the start," Miller said. Fog forced the cancellation of Saturdays downhill and threatened the giant slalom as well. The start of the second run was delayed by half an hour and there was a long break before the last 11 racers. Josh Donaldson Jersey .9 million deal Thursday. The 25-year McGinn had 19 goals and 19 assists in 79 games last season in helping the Avalanche tie a franchise record with 52 wins. Tony Larussa Braves Jersey .com) - The Los Angeles Kings werent playing their best hockey before the league went on break during the Winter Olympics. https://www.cheapbraves.com/743o-gene-ga...sey-braves.html. - The Jacksonville Jaguars are leaning more toward playing injured quarterback Blake Bortles against Tennessee on Thursday night. Orlando Cepeda Jersey . Seth Smith hit a towering drive for a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Dodgers in baseballs North American opener Sunday night. Cheap Braves Jerseys . -- Theres nothing like winning to bring hope for a struggling team.NEWCASTLE, England -- Juan Mata inspired Manchester United to a 4-0 victory at Newcastle on Saturday, securing a 10th away win in the Premier League that belies the champions poor home form. The 25-year-old Spaniard, who joined United from Chelsea in January, scored twice, including directly from a free kick, to take his tally to three goals in his last two games. "I think he has made us better," United manager David Moyes said. "He hasnt had the goals in the earlier games, but I really thought he played fine in the games. "But recently he has started the get the goals and, more importantly, assists as well. Over the last few seasons in the Premier League, Juan Mata is one of the best assist-makers and he has always got himself a good tally of goals." Showing that United can cope without injured striker Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, Javier Hernandez and substitute Adnan Januzaj added further goals in the second half. Moyes United moved up to sixth place, while Newcastle stayed ninth. The priority for Unitted is to follow up a 1-1 home draw with Bayern Munich with a victory in Germany on Wednesday to reach the Champions League semifinals.dddddddddddd Moyes made wholesale changes for the trip to Newcastle with only three of the players who started against Bayern Munich in midweek -- Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia and Marouane Fellaini -- retained with one eye on Munich. However, once Mata had fired them ahead from a 39th-minute free kick which Magpies manager Alan Pardew felt should never have been awarded, United never looked back. Mata added a second from close range five minutes after the restart and Javier Hernandez put the result beyond doubt 15 minutes later, before substitute Januzaj wrapped up a comfortable win with the help of a deft assist by the Spain international. It handed Newcastle a seventh loss in 10 league games. "Its tough. I understand the fans frustration," manager Alan Pardew said. "They want to see exciting football at this stadium and we are just not producing it at the moment." ' ' '