Another Giant Slalom Win for Miller

Bode Miller put his go-for-broke style temporarily in check Sunday at Val d’Isere, France, and won a World Cup giant slalom for the second time this season.

Miller’s daring and brashness on the slope have become his signature, but the overall World Cup leader understood that a bit of restraint was called for this time.

“The first run I definitely held back,” he said. “I didn’t push 100%. Second run, I let go but made some bad turns.”

Miller had a combined time of 2 minutes 20.66 seconds. Lasse Kjus of Norway finished second in 2:20.95, climbing from fifth place. Hermann Maier of Austria was third in 2:20.99. Daron Rahlves, Miller’s U.S. teammate, was 15th.

Miller won his weight in local wine -- about 90 bottles -- in addition to more than $30,000 in prize money.

Miller leads the overall standings with 630 points, a whopping 291 ahead of second-place Maier. Miller tops the giant slalom standings with 200, followed by Kjus at 180 and Maier at 156.

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Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen won her second slalom in a row to regain the lead in the overall World Cup standings at Zauchensee, Austria.

She completed the Kaelberloch course in a combined time of 1 minute 39.88 seconds, edging Austria’s Marlies Schild by 0.03 seconds. Croatia’s Janica Kostelic was third in 1:40.53, followed by Sweden’s Anja Paerson in 1:40.94.

Sarah Schleper of the U.S. finished seventh, making the top 10 for the first time this season. Teammate Kristina Koznick finished 10th, while another American, Resi Stiegler, was 12th.

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Norwegian men won a 40-kilometer World Cup cross-country relay in a photo finish, with five skiers reaching the finish line almost at the same time at Tesero, Italy.

The women’s 20-kilometer relay was also decided in a sprint, with the Russian quartet beating Germany by 1.4 seconds.

In the men’s race, Norway’s last man, Tore Ruud Hofstad, and Italy’s Christian Zorzi finished in 1 hour 34 minutes 7.1 seconds. One ski tip decided the winning team.

Baseball

The Arizona Diamondbacks reached preliminary agreement with shortstop Royce Clayton on a one-year deal worth about $1.3 million. The deal is pending a physical.

Clayton hit .279 with eight homers and 54 runs batted in for Colorado last season, but the Rockies decided to use rookie Clint Barmes next season at shortstop.

Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz will go to Boston this week to have his sore right shoulder checked by doctors.

Ortiz injured his shoulder Aug. 29 sliding head-first into home. He finished the year OK, playing in 150 games and 14 more in the playoffs.

Ortiz also went on a postseason tour in Japan.

“He played through it on the Japan trip,” Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein said. “Rest will probably take care of it, but we want to make sure.”

Hockey

Mats Sundin and Luc Robitaille scored in a penalty shootout to give the NHL World Stars a win at St. Petersburg, Russia, in a two-game exhibition series against the Russian Stars.

The World Stars won the game, 5-4, and then won a shootout, 2-1, in the second game of the two-game exhibition series.

The game was marred by two occasions when officials had to remove bananas from the ice after they were thrown by fans.

Both times King forward Anson Carter, who is black and played for the Kings last season, was on the ice.

“It’s no big deal,” Carter said. “I’m not surprised -- look around.”

The game was the third of the World Stars’ 10-game, seven-country tour. They still have stops in Bratislava, Slovakia; Bern, Switzerland; Karlstad, Jonkoping and Linkoping, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; and Katowice, Poland.

Miscellany

A complaint in Phoenix against former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson for damaging a car was dropped after the vehicle’s owner was reimbursed.

Tyson was cited Tuesday on suspicion of criminal damage for allegedly jumping on the hood of Asaf Alikadich’s vehicle outside a nightclub in suburban Scottsdale on Nov. 27.

Alikadich told police he had stopped his car to let Tyson cross the street when the boxer started screaming and yelling and then jumped on the hood of the car on his hands and knees and began to pound on it.

Alikadich said he contacted police the following day, and an auto body shop estimated the damage to his car at $1,400.

“I’ve been compensated for my damages and those were my only intentions,” Alikadich said, adding that officials with the nightclub reimbursed him.