LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland - A dramatic season-ending crash for Maria-Hoefl Riesch on Wednesday denied Alpine skiing one of its two overall title duels at the World Cup Finals. Hoefl-Rieschs exit — from the downhill course into safety nets, then airlifted from the slope by helicopter — left Anna Fenninger of Austria favourite to win her first giant crystal trophy one month after becoming an Olympic champion. Fenningers sixth-place finish in the final downhill built a slim 11-point lead in the standings over the 2011 champion with three races remaining. Hoefl-Riesch will miss them all after sustaining upper leg, elbow and shoulder injuries on her left side. "Its tough," Germany womens head coach Thomas Stauffer said. "We were up and running for the World Cup all season and at the end you cant battle for it." Earlier, Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway seized the mens overall lead from Fenningers teammate Marcel Hirscher, who skips downhill, in what also shaped as a back-and-forth duel this week on sunbathed slopes at Lenzerheide. Svindals fifth-place finish moved him only 41 points ahead and extended a series of results since the Sochi Olympics opened which left him just off the podium. The Olympic downhills proved a reliable guide Wednesday with mens champion Matthias Mayer of Austria repeating his gold-medal success in another tight race. Olympic silver medallist Christof Innerhofer tied for second with Ted Ligety of the United States, the Olympic giant slalom champion. They finished 0.11 seconds behind Mayers winning run of 1 minute, 29.99 seconds. Lara Gut of Switzerland, the downhill bronze medallist , delighted her home crowd with victory in 1:32.31. Runner-up Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was 0.05 back, and third-placed Swiss Fraenzi Aufdenblatten was 0.57 behind in her final World Cup race before retiring. Pre-race favourite Fenninger, trailing 1.07 behind Gut, failed to repeat her speedy training runs but 40 race points could yet be enough to clinch the sports most prestigious honour. "I hope Maria can race again," Fenninger said before the extent of her rivals injuries were known. "My focus is on the next two races. What she is doing, I cant change." Hoefl-Rieschs bitter-sweet day started atop the standings and got better minutes before entering the start house. Fenningers failure to lead assured the 29-year-old German of her first season-long downhill title after six years of domination by Lindsey Vonn, the injured and absent American. Hoefl-Riesch crashed midway down the bumpy course when her skis slipped beneath her at a sharp right-hand turn, sending her sliding off course. The downhill trophy ceremony was staged immediately after the race with an empty top step on the podium and the German anthem playing as the helicopter landed nearby. Hoefl-Riesch was driven to a nearby hospital for checks. Fenninger now leads Gut, a six-race winner, by 235 points and defending champion Tina Maze of Slovenia by 287. A maximum of 300 points are available in the final three races. Fenninger can secure the title outright by finishing first or second on Thursday in the super-G, in which she is Olympic champion. She also won Olympic silver in giant slalom, which is the World Cup season-ending race on Sunday. Svindal and Hirscher will both start in the mens super-G also scheduled Thursday. "If I had to put money on someone I have no idea who it would be," said Svindal, a two-time overall champion, of his contest with the two-time defending champion. "I used to be 1-2-3 every race, and now Im 4-5-6. But Marcel is too." Ligety is the super-G world champion and will be a contender on a steep slope that produces sharp-turning corners which suit his technical skills. "This is a hill I know I have a good chance on," said Ligety, whose career-best result in downhill improved on his fourth here in 2007. Bode Miller had seemed poised for victory Wednesday until going wide near the end of his run. He placed eighth, 0.62 behind Mayer, who got his first World Cup win. In a rare choice by World Cup race organizers, the men and women raced through the same gate-setting down the 2.3-kilometre (1.43-mile) Silvano Beltrametti course. Mayers time was 2.32 seconds ahead of Gut, who raced two hours later on a warm day. Gut had the 18th best time and was faster than two men who completed the course: Johan Clarey of France and Canadas Erik Guay. However, the woman who did not finish safely, Maria Hoefl-Riesch, left the most significant mark on the day. Wholesale Nike Shoes Black Friday .Y. - Islanders forward Anders Lee has been fined $2,286 by the NHL for elbowing St. Nike Shoes Black Friday Online . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/.J. -- Tom Coughlin doesnt have many options at halfback for the winless New York Giants. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . Radulov scored the lone goal in the shootout, and the Predators edged the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on Tuesday night to reach 100 points for the second time in three seasons and fourth in seven. Fake Nike Shoes Black Friday .com) - Novak Djokovic captured a mens Open Era-record fifth Australian Open title on Sunday by defeating rival Andy Murray in the final in Melbourne.HOUSTON - The Houston Texans are nearing a deal to trade quarterback Matt Schaub to the Oakland Raiders, two people familiar with the negotiations said Friday. The people spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet complete. Schaub must still pass a physical in order to finalize the trade. ESPN first reported the trade and said the Raiders would give up a late-round pick in this years draft for Schaub. Schaub was Houstons starter from 2007 until last season, when he was benched in favour of Case Keenum after a terrible start to the year. The Texans were expected to contend for a Super Bowl last season, but instead became the NFLs worst team, sinking to 2-14, which tied the worst record in franchise history. It was clear after last season that Schaub didnt have a future in Houston, but his departure looked to be imminent on Thursday night when the Texans signed veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Houston also has the first overall pick in this years draft, which includes top quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel. The pending acquisition of Schaub is the latest attempt by general manager Reggie McKenzie to find a quarterback to lead the Raiders back into relevance after 11 straight years without a winning record or playoff berth. Since dumping Carson Palmer last spring, McKenzie traded a 2014 fifth-round pick for Matt Flynn before cutting him early last season; spent a fourth-rounder last year on Tyler Wilson before losing him off the practice squad to Tennessee; and signed Matt McGloin as an undrafted free agent. McGloin showed flashes in his six starts last season but is viewed more as a potential backup than a starter. The only other quarterbacks on Oaklands roster are Terrelle Pryor, whose running style does not fit what the coaching staff wants to do offensively, and veteran Trent Edwards, who was signed earlier this off-season. The move puts less pressure on Oakland to use a high drraft pick on a quarterback in May.dddddddddddd The Raiders pick fifth overall in the draft but could use that selection to fill another hole. With loads of salary cap room to start the league year, the Raiders have targeted veterans with only one of their acquisitions younger than 29. That appears to be part of an effort to turn the team around quickly. McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen oversaw back-to-back four-win seasons since arriving in Oakland and owner Mark Davis is running out of patience with this regime. They are hoping last year was an aberration for Schaub. While the Texans had plenty of problems, Schaubs poor play was perhaps the biggest. The Texans won their first two games before Schaub began to struggle and he threw six interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns in the next three games. He started the sixth game of the season and left with an injury before being replaced in the starting lineup by Keenum, an undrafted free agent who spent 2012 on the practice squad. Keenum was injured late in the season, forcing Houston to go back to Schaub for the last two games. He didnt fare any better than he had before he was benched and he threw four interceptions combined in the last two games as Houston wrapped up the season with a 14-game skid. The 32-year-old is a two-time Pro Bowler, who last made the game in 2012. He had been solid for the Texans since taking over the job after being traded from Atlanta in 2007, but his best seasons came in 2009 and 2012 when he started each game. In 2009, he led the NFL in yards passing (4,770), completions (396) and attempts (583) and was fifth in touchdown passes (29). In 2012, he threw for 4,008 yards with 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions to help Houston to its second straight AFC South title. He spent three seasons with the Falcons as Michael Vicks backup before joining the Texans, and has thrown for more than 24,000 yards with 130 touchdowns in his 10-year career. AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report ' ' '