It’s another downhill win for Kildow

Lindsey Kildow charged down a course she knows as well as any to win a World Cup downhill Saturday, finishing a 1.33 seconds ahead of Austrian star Renate Goetschl.

Kildow, of Vail, Colo., won a downhill for the third time at Lake Louise, Canada, covering the Olympic course in 1 minute 48.84 seconds. Goetschl followed at 1:50.17 and Anja Paerson was third at 1:50.56.

“I didn’t honestly expect to do as well,” said Kildow, who was second in Friday’s season-opening downhill. “I was pretty nervous in the start. I knew some of the earlier girls had good runs. I just told myself not to think about it. Just go as fast as you can.”

Kildow also won downhills in Lake Louise in 2004 and 2005. She was third in a super-giant slalom last year.

“I have so much confidence,” she said. “I know this hill inside out. I know every bump and every turn of this course. Maybe that’s why I’m so confident and solid on my skis here.”

Emily Brydon was the top Canadian, finishing 11th. No Canadian woman has reached the podium since Lake Louise began holding World Cup races in 1989.

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Massimiliano Blardone won a World Cup giant slalom at Beaver Creek, Colo., in which Bode Miller squandered his first-run lead by catching his arm on a gate.

Blardone rallied from a deficit of 0.09 of a second after the first run for his third World Cup victory. Aksel Lund Svindal vaulted from 11th place after the opening run to finish second, 0.04 of a second behind.

Blardone, runner-up after the first run, completed his two trips down the Birds of Prey course in 2 minutes 27.88 seconds.

Miller, who won the previous day’s downhill, got back on the tails of his skis and caught an arm on a gate, which cost him about a second and a half. He finished 12th, 1.11 seconds off the pace.

Ted Ligety, the Olympic combined champion, climbed from fifth into third, 0.07 of a second behind Blardone.

Simon Ammann led a 1-2 finish for Switzerland in a World Cup ski jumping meet at Lillehammer, Norway. Ammann, a former double Olympic champion, jumped 128.5 and 138 meters for 265.9 points on the same hill where the Olympic ski jump events were held during the 1994 Winter Games.

Andreas Kuttel, who held a narrow lead after the first round, finished second with 129.5 and 133.5 meters for 260.6. Thomas Morgenstern was third with 258.0 points after jumps of 126.5 and 134.5 meters.

Gregor Schlierenzauer, broke the hill record with a 141-meter jump in the second round. But he missed the podium by 1.6 points because he jumped only 120.5 meters in the first round.

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Magnus Moan edged Sebastian Haseney by one-tenth of a second to win a Nordic combined event at Lillehammer for his fifth World Cup victory.

Moan, who finished 17th in the ski jump portion earlier in the day, came from behind with a superb cross-country ski race. His winning time was 38 minutes 20.3 seconds in the 15-kilometer freestyle ski race.

Hannu Manninen, the three-time defending overall champion from Finland, finished third, 0.05 behind.

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Germany’s Silke Kraushaar-Pielach won her second consecutive World Cup women’s luge race, stretching her nation’s winning streak in the event to 66. The three-time Olympic medalist clocked a combined time of 1 minute 27.268 seconds at Park City, Utah, to win by 0.265 of a second.

Sylke Otto (1:27.533), Anke Wischnewski (1:27.725) and Tatjana Hufner (1:27.824) followed, repeating Germany’s top-four sweep at the World Cup opener Nov. 18 at Cesana Pariol in Italy.

BASEBALL

Roberts agrees to terms with Giants

Outfielder Dave Roberts agreed to terms on an $18-million, three-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, reuniting him with Manager Bruce Bochy.

Roberts, 34, spent the last two seasons with Bochy in San Diego and had said he would be interested in following his manager to the Giants. San Francisco hired Bochy last month to replace Felipe Alou.

A reliable leadoff hitter, Roberts batted .293 and stole a career-best 49 bases this year. He was fourth in the National League last season and was caught only six times.

GOLF

Furyk takes three-shot lead into final round

Jim Furyk shot a four-under-par 68 to take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City, South Africa. Through three rounds, he is at 14-under 202, three shots ahead of Padraig Harrington, who shot a seven-under 65. Furyk stretched his bogey-free run to 54 at the Gary Player Country Club.

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Four years ago, Michael Boyd was caddying in the PGA Tour final qualifying tournament. Now he has a share of the lead in the event at La Quinta. Boyd shot a six-under 66 on the Stadium Course at PGA West and is tied with Rich Barcelo (69) at 14-under 274.

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Amateur In-Kyung Kim shot a six-under 66 at Daytona Beach, Fla., to take a six-stroke lead with one round left in the LPGA Tour’s final qualifying tournament. She is at 14-under 274. Hye Jung Choi was second at eight under after a 68.

TENNIS

Russia takes 2-1 lead in Davis Cup final

Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov defeated Argentina’s David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, at Moscow to put Russia within one victory of its second Davis Cup title. The win gave Russia a 2-1 lead heading into today’s reverse singles matches.

Tursunov and Safin opened the third set with a break and continued to dominate until Tursunov served out the match, which lasted 1 hour 38 minutes.

COLLEGE WATER POLO

USC, California reach NCAA final

Top-seeded USC earned a chance to win back-to-back NCAA championships by defeating fourth-seeded Navy, 20-3, in the semifinals at Loyola Marymount.

The Trojans (26-1) took a 9-0 lead behind a first-half hat trick by Juan Delgadillo. They will play second-seeded California today at 2 p.m. for the title. The Golden Bears (30-4) advanced by beating third-seeded UC San Diego, 17-7.

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

UCLA beats Utah, advances to round of 16

Nana Meriwether had 15 kills and nine blocks, and Katie Carter had 12 kills to lead the UCLA women to a 30-24, 30-27, 30-26 victory over visiting Utah in a second-round NCAA tournament match.

UCLA (31-3) will next play Oklahoma in the round of 16 Friday at Honolulu.

Hawaii will return to play host to the regional after a 30-28, 30-25, 24-30, 30-17 win over Long Beach State at the Pyramid. Hawaii will face USC.

MISCELLANY

Reed beats Carmichael in Supercross opener

Yamaha’s Chad Reed won the opening race of the Amp’d Mobile World Supercross GP at Toronto’s Rogers Centre. Suzuki’s Ricky Carmichael finished second, and Kawasaki’s James Stewart was third.

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Two-time Olympian Michael Phelps won two events at the U.S. Open swimming championships, giving him six gold medals during the three-day meet at Purdue’s Boilermaker Aquatic Center in West Lafayette, Ind. He won the 100-meter freestyle in 49.16 and the 200 butterfly in 1:55.77, but his bid for seven golds came up short when Club Wolverine’s 400-freestyle relay was disqualified for a false start.

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New York Jets wide receiver Tim Dwight was put on injured reserve, ending his season because of a foot injury. He had been listed as questionable for today’s game at Green Bay.