The hill? Perfectly suited for Ted Ligetys style. Bill Barber Jersey . The hand? Almost healed. The hardware? Hes hoping to retain all those medals.The American skier knows it wont be as easy as 1-2-3 to defend his giant slalom, super-combined and super-G titles at the world championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado, beginning Wednesday with the super-G.After all, he had one of those everything-goes-right kind of performances two years ago in Austria, when he became the first male skier since French great Jean-Claude Killy in 1968 to win at least three golds at worlds.Still, Ligetys not ready to surrender those crowns — any of them.Defending all three gold medals? I guess I wouldnt say thats my expectation, Ligety said in a phone interview from Park City, Utah, where hes squeezing in some last-minute training before making his way to Colorado. Its certainly on the dream side, for sure.But its still possible.Especially at Beaver Creek, a venue Ligety has ruled in the past. Hes won five times on the demanding Birds of Prey slope, including in December when he captured his only giant slalom race so far this season by holding off Alexis Pinturault of France by 0.18 seconds.Thats when the two-time Olympic champion was at the height of his skiing. Ligety hasnt been his usual dominating self this season, particularly in his signature event, the GS.In his words, hes fighting the skis and gravity a little bit.The reason could be simple: Ligety is racing with four screws inserted into his left hand after breaking his wrist in a training accident two months ago. He remains wary of dragging the hand in the snow as he cruises around gates.Ligety said he still has good days and bad days with his dinged-up hand. It affects him more in slalom events, because he has to tightly tape it and wear a protective brace.But in GS and speed events, its not a big deal, said the 30-year-old Ligety, who will have the screws removed after the season. This is not ideal, but not something that affects me a great deal.In Beaver Creek, his plan is to ski every race except the downhill, since the Americans are already so deep in the event with Steven Nyman, Marco Sullivan, Travis Ganong, Jared Goldberg and, of course, Bode Miller, should the six-time Olympic medallist return after undergoing back surgery in November.Recently, Ligety took a pit stop home to Park City, so he could fine-tune some technical issues he spotted on video.Even the worlds best occasionally need to a refresher course.I would say this year has been a little bit of a struggle for me, said Ligety, who added a gold medal in the giant slalom at the Sochi Olympics last February to the gold in the combined he captured at the 2006 Turin Games. Ive figured a couple of things out in my skiing, to hopefully realign myself back to where I have been.When Ligetys at his best, his skiing appears almost effortless. His turns are razor sharp and his speed unmatched. That hasnt always been the case this season, with tiny hiccups interrupting promising performances.To have any chance of duplicating his success two years ago in Schladming, Austria, the skier known as Shred realizes he needs to uncover his top form and fast.Thats because Kjetil Jansrud of Norway looks almost uncatchable these days in speed events, currently leading both the super-G and downhill standings. And then theres Marcel Hirscher, the Austrian standout whos won four giant slalom races this season and leads in the overall World Cup race.Beaver Creek is probably one of the best places possible for me to have a chance of repeating, said Ligety, who has his own company that makes goggles, helmets, gloves and outerwear.Asked if he feels like a marked skier heading into worlds, Ligety laughed.Its not like football, where they can tackle me, he said. Its good to have that kind of pressure on you because that means youve done some things right.But this is about me skiing the way I can ski and being confident and hopefully putting together some great runs.__Follow Pat Graham on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pgraham34. Nolan Patrick Jersey . The 34-year-old averaged 10.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 82 games played in 2013-14 with the Utah Jazz. Jefferson has averaged 14.5 points, 4. Michael Raffl Jersey . -- Fantasy football owners and Denver Broncos fans can rest easy: Peyton Manning is back. http://www.flyersteamstoreonline.com/authentic-dave-schultz-flyers-jersey/ . Earnshaw, 31, most recently spent time on loan in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv from Welsh club Cardiff City, which plays in Englands second-tier League Championship. Earnshaw began his career with Cardiff Citys youth program and turned professional in 1998.CLEVELAND -- The Los Angeles Lakers left Canadian Robert Sacre on the court after he fouled out in the fourth quarter. Coach Mike DAntoni felt it was the best move for his depleted team. Its been that kind of year for the short-handed Lakers. Los Angeles lost two more players to injuries on Wednesday night and had to go to a little-known NBA rule to hold on for a 119-108 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. "That was, by far, one of the strangest games Ive ever seen," DAntoni said. Rookie Ryan Kelly scored a career-high 26 points and Steve Blake had his first career triple-double for Los Angeles, which snapped a seven-game losing streak. The Lakers set a franchise record for 3-pointers, going 18 for 37 from long range. But Los Angeles first win in two weeks was overshadowed by a bizarre ending. The Lakers had eight available players coming into the game. Then Nick Young twisted his left knee in the first half and Chris Kaman fouled out early in the fourth quarter. When Jordan Farmar left with leg cramps in the final period, that put Los Angeles at five players. Sacre committed his sixth foul with 3:32 remaining, but the North Vancouver, B.C., native stayed in the game because DAntoni was out of healthy bodies. The Lakers were assessed a technical foul. "That was just crazy," Sacre said. "When I got my sixth foul, I was just like, Oh, dang! Then I got to come back in, so I thought it was something special. I didnt know what was going on." Each side has to have five players on the court at all times during an NBA game. With the Lakers down to five healthy players, DAntoni was informed by the officials that he could leave Sacre on the floor and any addition foul on the centre would also result in a technical. "I didnt know about that rule, but its a nice rule," DAntoni said with a chuckle. The Lakers were without Steve Nash (rest), Jodie Meeks (sprained ankle) and Jordan Hill (strained neck). Pau Gasol (groin) and Kobe Bryant (knee) remained in Los Angeles for the three-game road trip. The situation was so unusual that Nash, who was in street clothes, went to the locker room and put on his uniform late in the game, but DAntoni said he had no intention of putting the point guard into the game. "I was not going to go to Nash -- it was not an option to us -- but the other thing we talked about was having Jordan go out there and just stand in the corner," DAntoni said. "When the officials came over to explaiin the options to me, we decided to keep Robert out there. Robert Hagg Flyers Jersey. I knew he would be smart and not commit too many more fouls." Nash played for the first time since Nov. 10 on Tuesday night after being out because of a nerve problem in his back. Meeks sprained his right ankle about a minute into Tuesdays game and Hill was elbowed in the head by Kaman. Farmar scored 21 points and Wesley Johnson added 20 for the Lakers, who shot 53 per cent from the field. Blake had 11 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. C.J. Miles led Cleveland with 27 points. All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving was taken out with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter and finished with 11 points as the Cavaliers lost their sixth consecutive game, tying their longest losing streak of the season. Anderson Varejao was the only starter to play in the fourth quarter as Miles, Anthony Bennett of Brampton, Ont., Matthew Dellavedova and Dion Waiters got the Cavaliers back in the game. "They definitely deserved to be on the floor," Irving said. "That second group did a heck of a job. You have to give a whole bunch of credit to them. If I were the coach, I would have played that second group as long as he did." "Maybe we can learn something from what that group did on the floor," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "They played the right way." The Lakers built a 29-point lead in the second quarter and led 96-68 late in the third period before the Cavaliers rallied. Cleveland cut the lead to 100-90 early in the fourth and got to 114-108 before Blakes 3-pointer with 56.9 seconds left finally sealed the win. While the Cavaliers were off Tuesday, the Lakers lost in Minnesota and flew through a snowstorm to arrive in Cleveland around 2 a.m. Wednesday. While Los Angeles had 22 assists on 25 field goals while building a 70-49 halftime lead, Clevelands offence was stagnant. The Cavaliers shot 37 per cent from the field and were 1 of 18 on 3-pointers. NOTES: The Cavaliers hung a new banner of Austin Carrs retired No. 34 jersey from the rafters at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday. The original banner vanished last week and is still missing. Carr was the first player drafted by the franchise in 1971 and currently works as a TV colour analyst for the team. ... Nash is expected to play Friday night in Philadelphia. ... Lakers G Manny Harris second 10-day contract expired and the team chose not to re-sign him for the rest of the season. Harris went out on a high note with 18 points against Minnesota. ' ' '