VAL DISERE, France - World Cup leader Tina Wierather of Liechtenstein protected her lead from the first run to win the first giant slalom race of her career on Sunday, her second victory of the season and third of her fast-improving career. "Today was a very great day for me. It was always my dream to be good in GS," Wierather said. "I took quite a long time to get there. It feels awesome to have my first win (in GS)." Wierather leads overall with 595 points from Lara Gut (568), who finished second, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany (535). "Its cool to have the chance to fight for it. Its the first time Ive been so consistent. But its only December so Im not thinking about that," Wierather said. "Its just that Ive been healthy for some years now and I could improve a little bit every summer. I feel very strong and feel ready for more than just downhill, but also super-G and GS." Julia Mancuso of the United States did not finish the second run. After winning a super-G race at St. Moritz last weekend, the 24-year-old Wierather secured her third career win and 13th podium finish with an overall time of 2 minutes, 24.10 seconds. "Its a process of many years. I tried to improve my technique, my physical performance. Its like a big puzzle and at the moment it looks like it is working," Wierather said. "I used to play tennis until I was 12. I never liked this battle. In skiing its you against the hill and you see the time. You just fight the hill and not the other girls. Thats what I like about ski racing." Wierather was 0.75 seconds clear of Gut, who was third after the first run, and 0.95 ahead of Swedens Maria Pietilae-Holmner, who had been second. Italian Federica Brignone was fourth, ahead of the former World Cup winner Hoefl-Riesch. Gut has four World Cup wins this season, and five podiums, but had failed to finish the last two GS races. "Its always fun to be on the podium and to make points," the 22-year-old said. "But I was skiing good even in Beaver Creek and St. Moritz before going off course." Pietilae-Holmner, the GS runner-up at the 2007 worlds, secured her first World Cup podium in GS. "Its a perfect Christmas present," the 27-year-old said. "I had two seasons with both knee injury and shoulder injury. Im back without injury so I can put the energy in the right things." World slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin was eighth, improving from her 12th-place finish in slalom at Courchevel on Tuesday. The previous weekend, the 18-year-old had failed to finish another GS in the Swiss resort of St. Moritz. "I was really tired coming from the U.S. to here (Europe). I had to rethink how I was doing things, getting my recoveries and stuff," Shiffrin said. "Before this race I actually got some rest and I felt a lot better today, which means that I just have to ski faster. Im happy with the top 10." She thought that she could have done better, however, with more preparation. "I think the first run was a little bit straighter than I thought it would be from looking at it on inspection. Its a lesson for next time," she said. "I have to be able to see its a little straighter so I can go, because some of the other girls hammered it and they were really fast, and thats where I lost some time." Defending overall champion Tina Maze, who was second in Saturdays downhill, improved in her second run to finish 11th. The Slovenian is still looking for her first win of the season and says she feels mentally tired. "Maybe its the result of the progam I have. Since St. Moritz every day Im in ski boots, skiing and training and its tough to be in shape every day and to concentrate 100 per cent," she said. "I really need two days break now, just to relax a little bit. I think its pretty tiring when youre going up and down and fighting every day to be positive." The 30-year-old Maze looked set for a competitive time but almost fell on her first run. "I was skiing really good so Im excited about my skiing, but with that mistake it was just too hard to come in front and be relaxed in the second run," she said. "I was attacking too much and on this snow when you push too much its not a good idea." Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 . The 49ers, 6-2 and riding a five-game winning streak following the bye week, also waived cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and activated cornerback Eric Wright from the reserve/non-football injury list. Manningham made 42 receptions for 449 yards and one touchdown in 12 games and 10 starts last season before injuring his left knee in a loss at Seattle Dec. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday . Those who impressed in each of the three events were asked to attend the main CFL Combine which begins Friday in Toronto. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping . The Broncos quarterback earned the offensive award Wednesday after passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over the Raiders Monday night. Manning completed 32-of-37 passes and had a passer rating of 135. Discount Shoes Black Friday .C. -- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Edmonton Oilers have been in spoiler mode for a while now, however as the season winds down they become more and more dangerous to opponents fighting for a playoff berth. Next up is the Nashville Predators at Rexall Place on Tuesday. The Oilers, who are headed for an eighth straight year out of the playoffs, were able to halt a two-game slide in their last trip to the ice. Justin Schultz scored a tiebreaking power-play goal in the third period to help Edmonton edge the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1, on the road. "Finally, our power play was able to chip in and win us a game," said Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins. Ben Scrivens made 29 saves for Edmonton, which went 2-1-1 on a four-game road trip and will now begin a six-game stay at Rexall Place. The Oilers are 12-16-3 as the home team this season. The Predators missed the playoffs for only the second time in nine seasons last spring and the club is nine points out of the last postseason berth in the West with just 14 games remaining on its schedule. Nashville hopes to pick up a much-needed win when it kicks off a four-game road trip Tuesday against the Oilers, who are 11 points behind thhe Preds in the Western Conference standings.ddddddddddddEdmonton, however, has won the first two of three meetings with the Predators this season. The Oilers posted a 3-0 win in Nashville on Nov. 28 and then recorded a 5-1 win at Rexall Place on Jan. 26. The Oilers have won three of four in the series overall and Nashville has lost two in a row and four of its last five tilts in Edmonton. Nashville was on a three-game winning streak before running into the NHL- leading St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Patrik Berglund scored twice and Ryan Miller turned away 30 shots to help the Blues record a 4-1 road triumph in the Music City. Eric Nystrom scored the only goal of the game for the Predators, while Pekka Rinne gave up all four goals on 26 shots in the loss. "It was just one of those games where we couldnt get much going," said Nashville head coach Barry Trotz. "And when we did get shots on net, their guy was on top of it." Nashville won all three games on its recent winning streak on the road and is 14-12-6 as the visiting team this season. The Preds also will make stops in Vancouver, Calgary and Chicago during this important road trip. ' ' '