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Its arguably the first marquee event of every Winter Olympics, and the mens downhill in recent Olympics has provided surprising storylines. “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 Merrill Kelly Jersey . - Veteran Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, sidelined since Game 1 of the Anaheim series, says hes close to returning. Chad Moeller Jersey .com) - The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Seth Curry on Tuesday. https://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.us/...ndbacks.html.ca. 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The team gave no further details for Bess absence or his abrupt end to his season. The 28-year-old Bess was excused from practice on Thursday and Friday by Browns coach Rob Chudzinski, who said Josh Cooper and Greg Little would likely get most of the snaps at slot receiver, Bess primary position. Bess will also miss the season finale at Pittsburgh. The Browns acquired Bess in a draft-day trade from Miami in April, and Cleveland quickly signed the six-year veteran to a three-year, $11.5 million contrract extension through 2016.dddddddddddd The Browns coveted a sure-handed receiver and expected Bess would be both a playmaker and leader. However, he leads the NFL with 14 drops while catching 42 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns. In a loss at Kansas City, Bess dropped three passes and also muffed a late punt, costing the Browns any chance of upsetting the Chiefs. On Friday, a photo on Bess Instagram account showed him sitting on an outdoor deck and lighting what appears to be a cigarette of some kind. He has a flag draped around his neck and nearby is a photo of late reggae legend Bob Marley. The photo has since been deleted, and the Browns had no comment about it. A native of Oakland, Calif., Bess had 61 catches for 778 yards and one TD last season for the Dolphins, who originally signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Bess played college ball at Hawaii. ' ' '