Frenchman ends skid; Miller falls

Pierre-Emmanuel Dalcin ended a 12-year winless streak for French skiers Saturday in their nation’s most famous downhill. Bode Miller, meanwhile, misjudged a turn and fell in the World Cup race at Val d’Isere.

Dalcin earned his first World Cup victory by finishing the Oreiller-Killy course in 1 minute 56.37 seconds. Canada’s Erik Guay and Manuel Osborne-Paradis were second and third. Guay was 0.26 of a second behind, and Osborne-Paradis was 0.32 behind.

The last Frenchman to win the downhill at Val d’Isere was Luc Alphand in 1995.

Dalcin’s previous career best was second place in a super-giant slalom at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in January 2004, and his previous best in the downhill was seventh at Bormio, Italy, in December 2005.

Miller, of Bretton Woods, N.H., went inside on his skis on a turn on the top section of the course and toppled over.

He refused to talk about his fall but could be heard saying “it wasn’t even a hard turn” in discussions with U.S. ski team officials.

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Julia Mancuso’s two-race winning streak is over. But her run of top-three finishes is still alive, as is her quest to become the first American woman to win the World Cup overall title since Tamara McKinney in 1983.

Mancuso, of Olympic Valley, Calif., finished second behind Renate Goetschl in a downhill at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, for her fourth consecutive top-three finish.

Goetschl skied the 1.6-mile Olympia delle Tofane course in 1 minute 31.14 seconds, 0.17 of a second faster than Mancuso. Marie Marchand-Arvier finished third, 0.60 behind.

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Ski jumper Jan Mazoch of the Czech Republic was fighting for his life after crashing off the large hill during a World Cup event at Zakopane, Poland.

In difficult wind, Mazoch appeared to bounce off the hill during his second jump. He was taken to a hospital unconscious.

“The injuries he sustained are very dangerous and threaten his life,” Sylwester Kosinski, deputy head of the city hospital in Zakopane, told a TV station. Later, doctors decided to transport Mazoch to a special hospital in Krakow.

Mazoch was 15th after his first jump. The rest of the second series was canceled because of the wind after a few more jumps.

The event was won by Rok Urbans of Slovenia, with 143.3 points after a first jump of 136 meters. He was followed by Roar Ljoekelsoej (133.5 meters, 138.8 points) and Matti Hautamaki (131.5 meters, 134.7 points).

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

West defeats East in Shrine Game

Nevada’s Jeff Rowe threw two touchdown passes, one of them covering 79 yards to Fresno State’s Paul Williams, to help the West beat the East, 21-3, in the 82nd East-West Shrine Game at Houston.

With the West leading, 14-3, late in the first half, Rowe threw to Williams, who caught the pass at the East 40. It was the second-longest scoring pass in Shrine Game history, eclipsed only by an 80-yarder 80 years ago.

Hall of Fame coach Don Shula coached the East squad. Dan Reeves, who played or coached in an NFL-record nine Super Bowls, coached the West.

SOCCER

Liverpool beats Chelsea, 2-0, in Premier League

Liverpool defeated Chelsea in an English Premier League match for the first time in 2 1/2 years, winning, 2-0. The loss left the Blues six points behind leader Manchester United.

Chelsea has 51 points, five more than third-place Liverpool. But United has 57 and could extend its lead to nine if it wins at fourth-place Arsenal today.

MISCELLANY

Four accused of fixing Cal Expo harness race

Four veteran harness-racing drivers have been charged with conspiring to fix a race last year at Cal Expo in Sacramento.

Agents from the state attorney general’s office arrested Todd Ratchford and Jason Maier between races at Cal Expo on Thursday night. New York authorities arrested Daniel Maier on allegations that he offered bribes to Ratchford and driver-trainer Raymond Burt. He is awaiting extradition to California to face conspiracy, bribery and grand theft charges.

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A French motorcyclist died during the next-to-last stage of the Dakar Rally, the second death in this year’s grueling event across Europe and Africa.

Eric Aubijoux, a 42-year-old Yamaha rider, had a heart attack, rally director Etienne Lavigne said.

Aubijoux had completed the stage and was finishing an untimed section near Dakar. He stopped his bike “feeling faint” before collapsing, organizers said in a statement.