Its arguably the first marquee event of every Winter Olympics, and the mens downhill in recent Olympics has provided surprising storylines. Nike Air Max Baratas . “The one thing about the Olympics especially in the speed disciplines, it so very rarely goes to the favourite, the favourite has so much pressure, and the variables are greater in downhill,” says CBC alpine analyst Kerrin Lee-Gartner, a 1992 downhill winner. “ Its not to say its a flukey thing, its just that everything has to align right, its harder for the favourite to make it align right in downhill.” In the last 20 years there have been four Olympic downhill winners who had fewer than three World Cup victories before making history: Tommy Moe of the U.S., Frenchmen Jean-Luc Cretier and Antoine Deneriaz, and 2010 winner Didier Defago of Switzerland. The Canadian Cowboys - Erik Guay, Manuel Osborne-Paradis and Jan Hudec - wouldnt qualify as surprise winners from an individual standpoint, but breaking a 20-year Olympic medal drought for the country in alpine skiing certainly would make fans take notice. No Canadian man has ever won a gold or silver medal in alpine. Steve Podborski (1980) and Ed Podivinsky (1994) each won bronze in the downhill. Guay is the likeliest contender to break through. Hes achieved two of his three career goals after winning a Crystal Globe season title in the super-G in 2010 and winning a world championship in downhill a year later. The Mont-Tremblant, Que., native is only missing an Olympic medal, preferably gold, after three separate top five finishes at the Winter Games. Guay has battled back this season from a knee injury to break Podborskis World Cup podium record for Canadian men. He finished seventh in the opening training session on Thursday. Hudec, he of the seven knee surgeries and more recent back injury, has also reached the podium this season. The Calgary native took silver in the super-G in Val Gardena, Italy in December. Osborne-Paradis is waiting to take that next step. Since coming back in late 2012 from a knee injury, the North Vancouver native has had top 10 finishes, but has been unable to reach the podium. Ben Thomsen of Invermere, B.C., finished second on a slightly different Sochi course two years ago, but hes struggled mightily this season.There are two strong international contenders to buck the recent trend of surprise Olympic downhill champs. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, who won a medal of every colour in Vancouver, has run his total of World Cup downhill wins to eight this season with a pair of victories. Bode Miller of the United States has wowed ski fans again this season, coming back at the age of 36 after more than a year off to reach the World Cup podium once each in downhill, super-G and giant slalom. Millers yet to win since his comeback, but coming up golden for a sixth career Olympic medal would be just his style. The following men would also not be surprise winners: Dominik Paris and Christof Innerhofer of Italy, Adrian Theaux of France and Patrick Kueng of Switzerland. Even 36-year-old Didier Defago put his name into consideration again after his first victory in over two years last month, a super-G at Kitzbuehel. The lengthy course has received mostly positive feedback from the skiers, with many remarking on the "big air" jumps. 2010 Olympic downhill: Didier Defago, Switzerland (G), Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway (S), Bode Miller, USA (B) Olympic alpine skiing schedule: Sunday, Feb. 9: Mens downhill Monday, Feb. 10: Womens super-combined Wednesday, Feb. 12: Womens downhill Friday, Feb. 14: Mens super-combined Saturday, Feb. 15: Womens super-G Sunday, Feb. 16: Mens super-G Tuesday, Feb. 18: Womens giant slalom Wednesday, Feb. 19: Mens giant slalom Friday, Feb. 21: Womens slalom Saturday, Feb. 22: Mens slalom Air Max 200 Hombre . -- Kenneth Faried made a turnaround hook shot over Draymond Green with a half-second remaining, and the Denver Nuggets made Golden State wait at least one more game to secure a playoff berth with a stunning 100-99 win over the Warriors on Thursday night. Nike Air Max 270 Baratas Falsas .FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45. http://www.tiendasairmaxbaratas.com/zapatillas-air-max-270.html . - Alex Dostie scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Gatineau Olympiques to a 5-3 victory over the Drummondville Voltigeurs in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action on Sunday.ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals have made a one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer to free agent Carlos Beltran. They just dont expect him to return next season. General manager John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny met with reporters Monday for the first time since losing a six-game World Series to the Red Sox last week. Mozeliak says he expects the 36-year-old Beltran to seek a multiyear contract elsewhere. "We never want to close doors," Mozeliak said. "Reality is when you look at the depth, trying to find ample playing time, Im not sure how happy he will be." Beltran topped 600 plate appearances both seasons with the Cardinals, needing just occasional rest for his surgically repaired knees. He batted .296 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs this year, and had several big hits in the post-season, too. "I reminded him what an incredible season he had for us," Matheny said. "We dont know how this whole thing is going to play out." But the outfield will be crowded with Matt Adams expected to be the everyday first baseman and cleanup man Allen Craig moving to right field. Top prospect Oscar Taveras also figures to be in the mix. Mozeliak said theres a chance the payroll will be lower at the start of next season, with big contracts for Beltran, Chris Carpenter, Rafael Furcal and Jake Westbrook coming off the books. Given the right circumstances, he said the payroll could go up. At the top of the off-season wish list is an offensive upgrade at shortstop over the slick-fielding, light-hitting combo of Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso. The Cardinals expect to hear from teams interested in their prospects. "We do have the resources," Mozeliak said. "Certainly, I dont want to close any doors today." Rookie Trevor Rosenthal opens spring training as the closer ahead of Jason Motte, wholl be eased back into the mix coming off reconstructive elbow surgery that sidelined him all of 2013. Mozeliak said it was "hard to imagine" a better closer than Rosenthal the way he finishedd the year. Air Max 270 Mujer Baratas. Mozeliak said rookie Kolten Wong, a first-round pick in 2011, could be the everyday second baseman. Leadoff man Matt Carpenter would move to third, displacing David Freese. "If I had a bet, I would say hes probably going to get a lot of playing time for us," Mozeliak said. Neither Matheny nor Mozeliak expressed any regrets about using post-season roster spots for rookie 15-game winner Shelby Miller and deposed closer Edward Mujica, who had 35 saves before hitting the wall the final month. The Cardinals left the 22-year-old Miller out of the post-season rotation due to concerns about the innings load from a full season as the fifth starter. They wanted Miller on the roster just in case, assuring him hes a big part of next years rotation. Mujica got the nod in appreciation for services rendered, with Mozeliak noting "there is some loyalty in the decision-making process." "We were prepared, we knew what we were trying to accomplish," Matheny said. "We do what we believe is best for this team so we can go back and sleep at night and realize we did the right thing." Among the healthy arms who didnt make the cut were lefties Sam Freeman and Tyler Lyons. They could have added third catcher Rob Johnson, freeing up backup catcher Tony Cruz as a pretty good bat off the bench. "Look at Chiefs contribution," Mozeliak said, using Mujicas nickname. "I think it would have been very difficult to keep him off." The Cardinals know Rosenthal wants to be a starter but theyre loaded in that department with rookie Michael Wacha near the top of the list, right behind 19-game winner Adam Wainwright, coming off a phenomenal post-season. Also in the mix are Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn, along with youngsters Miller and Carlos Martinez, plus Matheny thought Jaime Garcia was almost ready to return from shoulder surgery at the end of the season. Mozeliak anticipates no off-season surgeries, and believes Craigs left mid-foot sprain will be healed in about a month. ' ' '