WINTER OLYMPICS COUNTDOWN 64 DAYS UNTIL THE GAMES

A sport-by-sport look at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City:

Alpine Skiing: The women’s World Cup giant slalom scheduled for Saturday at Val d’Isere, France, was postponed because of a lack of snow. Although snowmaking machines are available, priority was given to men’s races and the machines couldn’t manufacture enough snow for both. International Ski Federation officials haven’t decided whether to reschedule the women’s GS or cancel it.... The revised men’s schedule at Val d’Isere has a super giant slalom today, downhill Saturday and giant slalom Sunday.

Biathlon/Cross-Country: The biathlon World Cup season started Wednesday at Hochfilzen, Austria with sprint, pursuit and relay events.... The cross-country competitors will be in Cogne, Italy for a World Cup event this weekend.

Bobsled/Luge/Skeleton: The Swedish Bobsled and Luge Assn. banned Ludmilla Engquist for two years after she failed a doping test. Winner of the 100-meter hurdles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, she turned to bobsled in an effort to become the first woman to win gold in the Summer and Winter Games.... The luge World Cup circuit moves to Europe for races Saturday and Sunday in Koenigsee, Germany. It continues to Igls, Austria and Oberhof, Germany. The top-ranked U.S. team of Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin is tied for third in the overall men’s doubles standings.

Curling: The Kari Erickson team was one of 10 recipients of a Women’s Sports Foundation Travel and Training Grant. Erickson, of Bemidji, Minn., and teammates Debbie McCormick of Rio, Wis., and Stacey Liapis and Ann Swisshelm of Chicago, are the U.S. champions. They’re seeded second in the U.S. Olympic trials, which begin Sunday at the Ice Sheet at Ogden, Utah.

Figure Skating: Two-time U.S. men’s champion Michael Weiss won the Eastern Sectional competition and qualified for the national championships in January at Staples Center.... The pro-am Hershey’s Kisses Figure Skating Challenge Friday at Auburn Hills, Mich., will match three teams of four skaters in a head-to-head format. U.S. and world champion Michelle Kwan will team with Matt Savoie, Dorothy Hamill and Weiss. Sasha Cohen of Laguna Niguel, 1996 U.S. champion Rudy Galindo, 2002 U.S. silver medalist Sarah Hughes and U.S. men’s champion Tim Goebel are another quartet. The other team is 1994 Olympic silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan with 2001 U.S. bronze medalist Angela Nikodinov of San Pedro, Jennifer Kirk and five-time U.S. champ Todd Eldredge.... Kristi Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic gold medalist, heads the field for the Skaters’ Championship, Saturday and Sunday, at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. ... Canada’s Emanuel Sandhu became the first skater to land a triple-triple-triple combination in competition at the pro-am Sears Open. All were triple toe loops.

Freestyle Skiing: Johann Gregoire of France won the season-opening World Cup men’s moguls event at Tignes, France. Jeremy Bloom of Loveland, Colo., who gave up a college football scholarship to train for the Olympics, was third. Defending Olympic moguls gold medalist Jonny Moseley of Tiburon was ninth. World Cup champion Kari Traaof Norway won the women’s event. Hannah Hardaway of Moultonborough, N.H., was second.... Evan Dybvig missed the trip because of a torn knee ligament but might return next weekend in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Hockey: The U.S. women’s team swept a three-game series against Canada to improve its record to 15-0-0. The team next will face the University of Minnesota on Saturday at Grand Forks, N.D.... Anders Hedberg, general manager of Sweden’s men’s Olympic team, said he’s still unsure whether Peter Forsberg will interrupt his sabbatical to compete at Salt Lake City. “As far as I know, there is no change from before,” Hedberg said. “He will play both in Colorado and for Sweden. That’s if and when he is healthy and in shape again.”

Nordic Combined-Ski Jumping: Sven Hannawald of Germany defeated World Cup leader Adam Malysz of Poland in both rounds at Neustadt, Germany to win the second large hill (120-meter) ski jumping meet of the season. Clint Jones of Steamboat Springs, Colo., was 32nd and Alan Alborn of Anchorage, Alaska was 35th.

Snowboarding: Mathieu Bozzetto and Karine Ruby of France won parallel giant slalom races last weekend at Ischgl, Austria after falls by Swiss rivals. The top U.S. finishes were eighth by Lisa Kosglow among the women and 11th by Chris Klug among the men.

Speedskating: Jennifer Rodriguez of Miami, who had clinched an Olympic berth in the 1,500, earned a spot in the 1,000 by winning a World Cup race at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns. Casey FitzRandolph of Verona, Wis., earned Olympic spots in the 500 and 1,000 at that event. Elli Ochowicz of Waukesha, Wis., set a junior U.S. record in the 500, at 38.78 seconds. She’s the daughter of Sheila Young Ochowicz, who won three speedskating medals at the 1976 Games.