KITZBUEHEL, Austria -- Defending overall champion Marcel Hirscher posted the fastest time in the first run of a World Cup slalom in heavy snow Friday. The Austrian opened the race in 56.92 seconds. Felix Neureuther of Germany was 0.38 behind to become the only racer within a second of the lead. Luca Aerni of Switzerland, who started 27th, finished 1.36 behind in third, closely followed by Fritz Dopfer of Germany and Alexis Pinturault of France, who won the slalom in Wengen last week. "Visibilty was obviously bad," said Hirscher, who wiped his goggles immediately after crossing the finish line. Michael Janyk of Whistler, B.C., was the top Canadian in 17th place. Mario Matt of Austria skied out in the first run, which means Hirscher will remain in the lead of the slalom standings regardless the outcome of the second run. Hirscher is aiming to become the first slalom skier to win back-to-back crystal globes since Thomas Sykora in 1997 and 98. Its the final slalom before nations have to name their Alpine skiing teams for the Sochi Olympics. After days of mild weather, course workers salted the piste in order to harden up the surface, but the fresh snow made for difficult conditions. Furthermore, the unusual placing of some gates by Croatian coach Ante Kostelic made racing even harder. "On such a tough course the field gets torn apart," Hirscher said. Kostelic, the father of former overall champions Ivica and Janica, has made a name for setting challenging courses. A year ago in Kitzbuehel, the jury rejected a course set by Kostelic, deeming it as "unskiable." The course wasnt that extraordinary this time, though Neureuther said it was "by far the most difficult slalom in Kitzbuehel I have ever done." "Visibility is brutal, the course setting is extreme, and the piste is bad," the German said. "Its extreme but we are the best ski racers so we have to adapt to these conditions. I managed that quite well in the first run. I think nobody feels really well today." Nolan Kasper of the United States lost a pole when he tried to clean his goggles during the final part of his run. He still completed the final gates and came 3.34 seconds behind in 25th place. "Its definitely tough, its one or two gates in a row that get a lot of splashback," Kasper said. "Its not the snow falling, its the snow from the gate. Thats why I tried to wipe my goggles and dropped my pole. I am probably not going to do that next run." The second run will be held under floodlights later Friday. Wholesale Jerseys China . Rookie Marek Mazanec made 39 saves for his first NHL victory and the Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-2 Saturday night. China Jerseys 2020 . LOUIS -- Russell Martin wanted a better fate for his starting pitcher and helped deliver a happier ending. https://www.cheapjerseysfromchinareview.com/. -- Cordell Cato scored his first goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes survived a full half playing a man down to beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday night. NFL Jerseys 2020 . Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny on Sunday after he defeated Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 6-4 in an all-Russian semifinal. "Youzhny is a good player," Ferrer said. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . - Kevin Labanc and Joseph Blandisi were a potent combination for the Barrie Colts on Friday night.TORONTO – Unless the Blue Jays are laying the groundwork to promote top pitching prospect Aaron Sanchez from Triple-A, Fridays roster move is at best pointless and at worst, a hindrance. On its own, its hard to see how the acquisition of left-hander Brad Mills off waivers from Oakland on Thursday, followed by the optioning to Buffalo of right-hander Chad Jenkins on Friday, makes the Blue Jays a better baseball team. Sitting four games out of first place in the American League East entering post-All-Star Break play, the priority must be to improve the ballclub with each transaction. This results in the shuffling of back-to-back first-round picks. Jenkins (20th overall in 2009) gets shuffled out. Right-handed pitcher Deck McGuire (11th overall in 2010) was designated for assignment to create space on the 40-man roster for Mills. Manager John Gibbons, left to answer for a move he likely had no say in, offered this on Mills: "Hell be our long guy," said Gibbons. This, according to Gibbons, is to facilitate a larger role for Todd Redmond. "Youll probably see him in the middle of the game, later in the game," said Gibbons. Jenkins, who was gone before media had a chance to speak to him, could be forgiven if he was scratching his head all the way to Pawtucket, where hell join his Bisons teammates and begin his fourth stint with Buffalo this season. The 26-year-old has a 3.72 ERA in 15 appearances, 19 1/3 innings, for the Blue Jays this season. Clearly, hed developed a degree of Gibbons trust, seeing use in high leverage situations late in close ballgames. Mills, 29, is a journeyman. A fourth-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2007, he posted an 8.57 ERA in 14 appearances, nine starts, with Toronto spread over three seasons starting in 2009. After a stop in Anaheim (sent west by the Blue Jays in the December, 2011 deal for catcher Jeff Mathis), Mills has spent time in the Rangers, Brewers and Athletics organizations. He made three starts for the As this season after Oakland acquired him for one dollar from Milwaukee, winning once before becoming expendable after the blockbuster trade for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. Redmond has had a solid year for the Blue Jays, posting a 2.57 ERA in 25 appearances but pitching mostly in low leverage situations. There have been 14 occasions when Redmond has entered the game with Toronto either leading or trailing by at least three runs. "Basically Red was pitching in blowout-type games so he wasnt getting a lot of work and hes pitched very good," said Gibbons. "Were going to give him a shot in a little bit tougher roles and see what he can do with them; pitch him more often." Redmond had been the long man with Jenkins serving a hybrid long man/high leverage role. Now, its Mills as the long man with Redmond serving a hybrid long man/high leverage role. The only thing the club has accomplished is the addition of a depth pitcher. Maybe Jenkins helps to fortify a pitching staff in Buffalo thats soon to lose Sanchez. It could be similar to the recent acquisition of Brett Wallace, meant to cover Buffalos loss of Dan Johnson, who jjoined the Blue Jays when Adam Lind went on the disabled list.dddddddddddd Then again, maybe it isnt and this is just another move in the seemingly constant waiver wire scavenger hunt that leaves Jenkins the odd man out. REYES GETS CORTISONE SHOT Jose Reyes used the four-day All-Star Break to spend time with his family at their Long Island, New York home. He didnt exercise and he didnt participate in any baseball-related activities. Reyes had good reason for it. "I didnt do anything because I had a cortisone shot in my shoulder," said Reyes. "I had to sit for a couple of days at home and rest and go from there. Today, I feel good. Its all about baseball now, you know, second half. Were still in the mix to continue competing." Reyes played in Sundays game against the Rays and received the shot afterward. Hes been dealing with soreness in his rotator cuff, soreness that comes and goes, for most of the season. Entering Fridays play, Reyes had appeared in 79 of Torontos 96 games, the majority of which have been played on the fake surface at Rogers Centre. His body needed the break. "People know on the field that we play here, on the turf, its going to hurt your body a little bit," said Reyes. "When you have the opportunity to take a day off you have to take it and enjoy it." ARENCIBIA RETURNS TO TORONTO After a two month stint with Texas Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, J.P. Arencibia was back in the big leagues in time to begin the second half of the season in, of all places, Toronto. The irony wasnt lost on the former franchise catcher. "Its crazy the way life works. I think things happen for a reason," said Arencibia. "Obviously (its) where my whole career started; where I grew up. I mean, walking around is a little different for me but, obviously, Im here to do a job and Im excited to be back." Arencibia had a big effect on the outcome of Friday nights game. His three-run home run in the seventh inning increased the Rangers lead to 5-0. Texas won 5-1. The Rangers have a plethora of catchers now that Geovany Soto, the incumbent, has returned from a knee injury. The Rangers used a combination of Robinson Chirinos and Chris Gimenez after Arencibia was outrighted to the minor leagues in mid-May. Thanks to left ankle surgery which will keep first baseman Mitch Moreland out of action until September, possibly the rest of the season, the Rangers have a hole at first base. Carlos Pena was designated for assignment. Arencibia gets a chance to fill the void. His two months in the minor leagues were helpful. "I 100-percent needed it," said Arencibia. "I think that it was something that necessary and I went back and had to iron some things out and be who I can be. That was really the main thing, changing my mentality and really understanding myself." Arencibia hit .279/.320/.542 with 14 home runs in 48 games with Round Rock. In his first stint with the Rangers, he hit .133/.182/.233 with one home run in 20 games. The former Blue Jay was non-tendered last offseason after hitting .194/.227/.365 despite 21 home runs. ' ' '