eason at home in front of our home fans, said B.C. defensive

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KVITFJELL, Norway -- Erik Guay has never been a fan of skiing with pain but is showing he can adapt and overcome. The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. And it came on one of his favourite courses as two of his victories and four of his 22 podium finishes have come at Kvitfjell, where theres a super-G scheduled for Sunday. "There are a lot of similarities (between Norway and Quebec)," Guay said during a conference call. "When I left Quebec it was raining and warm and thats pretty much exactly what its here but it can easily be -30 C, again, a lot like Quebec. "I feel comfortable when I come here." Guay finished fourth in a downhill event Friday. The impressive showings came following a respectable 10th-place effort in the downhill at the Sochi Games. But Guay said he battled knee issues in Russia. He had knee surgery in the summer and claimed a World Cup downhill in Val Gardena, Italy, in December but didnt feel anywhere near 100 per cent in Sochi. "It (knee) affected me a lot," he said. "I have a hard time skiing through pain, I have a hard time really finding that courage, that determination to fight through it and push on the ski. "I was trying not to mention it too much in the media because I wanted to put it out of my head completely and sort of pretend and focus that it wasnt even there. You definitely have that on the brain and it was affecting me because I couldnt do a proper preparation for the Games." However, Guay said hes working on improving his mental ability to deal with injury much like teammate Jan Hudec of Calgary, who has overcome numerous ailments to succeed on the world scene. "The ideal situation is to not have that pain and I plan to deal with it in the off-season," Guay said. "Right now Im trying to work through it and I think its an important thing. "If I look at a guy like Jan Hudec, probably one of his biggest strengths is that strength and character he shows when he has those injuries. I know he skiis in a lot of pain so I like to watch those circumstances and try to emulate them. Its not always easy for me. I think when I dont feel 100 per cent its tough for me to go out and attack it but id like to think its getting better." Guay, 32, finished ahead of Frenchman Johan Clarey and Olympic champion Matthias Mayer of Austria. American Travis Ganong, who was third Friday, narrowly missed out on another podium, finishing 0.62 seconds back in fourth. Bode Miller, a bronze medallist in the super-G at the Sochi Olympics, was eighth. Conditions were overcast and a little foggy but unlike Fridays downhill the rain stayed away. Guay had a time of one minute 22.17 seconds, finishing 0.35 seconds ahead of Clarey -- who secured a third career podium. "Its difficult conditions, soft snow. I think you need a really well-balanced touch," Guay said. "If youre too aggressive or leaning in a little bit, its easy to lose (time)." Jeffrey Frisch of Mont-Tremblant finished 17th while Manuel Osborne-Paradis of North Vancouver, B.C., was 21st. Benjamin Thomsen of Invermere, B.C., was 43rd, finishing one spot ahead of Hudec. Other Canadians included: Conrad Pridy of Whistler, B.C., (50th), Torontos Dustin Cook (59th) and Morgan Pridy of Whistler (60th). Meanwhile, it was the best result of Clareys career. "It shows anything can happen, even late on. Better late than never," Clarey said. "Im not hugely confident at the moment and the Olympics were difficult for me to cope with mentally." Clarey had pondered retirement after the Sochi Games, where he didnt finish the downhill and was 19th in super-G. "This changes my ideas a little bit from a psychological point of view," he said. "Even though my knees still pretty banged up." Despite already having an Olympic gold medal, the 23-year-old Mayer clinched his first career podium in World Cup downhill and only his third overall. "I had a lot of things to do, with celebrating the Olympic victory back home. I hadnt much time for me to be prepared," Mayer said. "I can be happy with this result. Its very difficult to be fast here, with the soft snow its not the best conditions." Ganong finished fifth in the downhill at the Sochi Olympics. "I really thought I could (win), so I pushed a little harder and had a couple mistakes. I was able to make up a lot of time on the bottom and salvage fourth place," he said. "Its really fun skiing right now. Im having a good time and the results are coming." Olympic super-G champion Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, who tied for the win Friday with Austrian Georg Streitberger, placed fifth. "I made a couple of mistakes which I didnt think I would make," Jansrud said. "Fell on my inside ski a couple of times, I had to support myself on my hand." Overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was tied for sixth with Switzerlands Silvan Zurbriggen. Ian McCoshen Jersey . It was my fifth straight year attending and, as always, there are many interesting matters discussed as it pertains to the use of statistics in sports. Frank Vatrano Panthers Jersey . The No. 5 Aztecs held Burton, the Mountain Wests leading scorer, to 11 points, 10 below his average, in beating the Wolf Pack 73-58 on Saturday night. http://www.hockeypanthersofficialonline.com/ .C. -- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. Mike Hoffman Jersey .C. -- Panthers offensive tackle Jordan Gross is saying goodbye to the NFL after 11 seasons. Custom Florida Panthers Jerseys . - The New Orleans Saints have re-signed receiver Joseph Morgan for one year and have agreed to a four-year deal with free agent fullback Erik Lorig.VANCOUVER - The Calgary Stampeders are entering their first-round playoff bye on the right terms.The B.C. Lions, however, are not.Eric Rogers caught two touchdown passes as the Stampeders downed the B.C. Lions 33-16 on Friday night in the CFL regular-season finale for both teams.The Stampeders, who had already clinched first place in the West Division, finished the regular season with a 15-3 record and tied the leagues 54-year-old road victory total with eight, set and matched by Winnipeg in 1960 and 1961. Calgary bettered its club road-win record of seven set 65 years ago in 1949 and matched in 1995.But, more importantly, the Stampeders gained considerable confidence as they seek to avoid a repeat of a loss in the Western final. Calgary will host this years West final against either the Edmonton Eskimos or the yet-to-be-decided club that places third in the West.Last year, coming out of this (final regular-season) game (also against B.C.), we had lost the game and we had lost a lot of important guys to our team — this year its a completely different story, said Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.The Lions, who finished the season 9-9, missed a chance to clinch third in the West and could now face a cross-over playoff game against an Eastern team, depending on how Saskatchewan fares against Edmonton on Saturday.Thats not the way we wanted to the end the season at home in front of our home fans, said B.C. defensive back Ryan Phillips. We didnt play at a high level.Although both the Lions and Stamps had secured playoff berths and rested key players, the game featured dazzling touchdowns as both clubs scored on long passes. Emannuel Arceneaux scored B.C.s lone touchdown on a 46-yard reception in the second quarter.But Rogers TD catches of 21 and 44 yards, which both came in the second quarter, proved to be the most painful.I was lined up out wide and I read the seam, the line gave the quarterback some time to throw, the quarterback put it on the money and I go up there and high-point it - thats both touchdowns, basically, said Rogers.B.C. was missing key regulars on defence to rest and injury, including middle linebacker Adam Bighill (hand), but Phillips said Rogers TDs and other long gains thrrough the air were still inexcusable.ddddddddddddFor me, its alarming due to the fact that weve been pretty good at (preventing long gains through the air) through the course of the year, he said.In a rare start, Calgary quarterback Drew Tate completed 14 of 20 passes for 206 yards and one touchdown with one interception.(Tate) did a great job of starting it off, said Mitchell, who completed 13 of 18 for one touchdown.. He came out there and we got to see what they were doing. They were playing a lot of (man-to-man coverage). … It was a good job by the passing game and it shows a different dynamic of what we can do as an offence.The Stampeders did not miss CFL rushing leader Jon Cornish, who missed the game due to a concussion and appears questionable for the playoffs.B.C. quarterback Kevin Glenn completed 26 of 36 of for 312 yards and one touchdown, but was hurt by two interceptions. Contrary to plans, he played the whole game after backup John Beck was left dizzy and suffered a headache on a two-yard surge in the third quarter. But Beck said afterwards he will be ready for the playoffs.Tate led the Stampeders to a 13-yard Rene Paredes field goal on their first series. But the Lions produced an identical opening eight-play march of their own, which went 66 yards and culminated with McCallums 18-yard field goal.But Tates 21-yard touchdown pass to Rogers staked Calgary to an advantage that they never relinquished. After Dante Marsh intercepted a Tate pass, Mitchell entered the game on Calgarys next series and took the Stamps to the B.C. one before third-string QB Bryant Moniz scored on a plunge that gave Calgary an insurmountable 17-6 lead and Rogers second TD, on a pass from Mitchell, that extended Calgarys lead to 24-13 at half-time.Notes: A moment of silence was held before the game for late Stampeders player and owner John Forzani, who died of a heart attack last week at the age of 67. … Calgary receiver Marquay McDaniel returned after missing six games with a broken wrist. … Calgarys Shawn Lemon tied a CFL single-season record of eight forced fumbles as he sacked Glenn in the second quarter. … Military veterans received a standing ovation during a rousing half-time salute. ' ' '