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Chris Del Bosco entered this weeks World Cup skicross competitions in France knowing that a podium appearance would probably lock up a spot on the Canadian team for the Winter Olympics. He won gold Thursday in a weather-hampered event at Val Thorens, but he likely needs to do more to book his ticket to Sochi. The race was halted due to high winds and Del Bosco was given the victory based on his qualification results and win in his first heat. However, hell need to return to the podium Friday to really strengthen his chances for inclusion on the Sochi roster. "I definitely felt like I could have kept going, it was kind of frustrating because you want to win by winning the final but it was out of my control," Del Bosco said in a release. "Theres not really any more I could have done. "It was getting down to crunch time and I knew what I needed to do. I needed to podium. Sochi qualification is kind of a grey area. I dont really know how that works — Im going to just regroup here and get ready to give er again tomorrow." The second of back-to-back World Cup events will be held Friday at the same venue. The Olympic qualification window for skicross closes Sunday, so it will be the last chance for Canadians to qualify for nomination. The qualification process is very complicated and there are several freestyle events on tap this week. The selection committee will analyze all the results and data on Sunday and formally announce their decision the next morning. There are 26 spots available in the five disciplines that fall under the freestyle skiing umbrella —skicross, slopestyle, aerials, moguls and halfpipe — and there can be no more than 14 selections from either gender. The committee will look at results from previous years but performances this season have the biggest impact. For Del Bosco, all he can do is try again Friday and hope for the best. The 2011 world champion and X Games gold medallist has struggled of late and now has loads of pressure on him for the stretch drive. The 31-year-old Montreal resident finished second in the test event in Sochi last season but his best result prior to this week was a 15th-place finish in Innichen-San Candido, Italy. His victory Thursday didnt really offer much sway because he only raced one heat. "Chris is probably one of the most interesting and difficult situations," said Canadian Freestyle Ski Association CEO Peter Judge from Park City, Utah. "But certainly hes helping his cause today and hopefully hell get one more good go at it tomorrow and be able to remove all doubt." Sanna Luedi of Switzerland took gold in the womens competition Thursday. Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., was the top Canadian in fourth to retain her hold on the red bib as overall leader. The depth of the national skicross team and the Canadian freestyle team as a whole leaves athletes who are on the bubble in a tough spot. Some very talented competitors arent going to make the cut because Canada is stacked in several events. Del Bosco competed at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, where skicross made its Olympic debut. He made the final heat of four skiers but crashed just before the finish while making a late push to move into a better position. A spokesman for FIS, the sports governing body, said in an email that Del Boscos victory Thursday would be treated just like any other result on the World Cup circuit, regardless of whether the race was cut short due to weather. That gives Del Bosco 100 points and moves him to 11th place in the World Cup standings. Dave Duncan of London, Ont., was seventh. He slipped to second in the mens overall standings, falling behind Andreas Matt of Austria. Tristan Tafel of Canmore, Alta., was 15th on Thursday and Brady Leman of Calgary was 18th. Georgia Simmerling of West Vancouver, B.C., was sixth in the womens event. Kelsey Serwa, the 2011 world champion from Kelowna, B.C., was seventh in the first qualification round but didnt start her heat. Thompson is the only Canadian who has met the qualification criteria for nomination to the Sochi team. Duncan, Leman and Serwa are considered virtual locks for inclusion. Discount Ultra Boost China . The 24-year-old Raley was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA for Chicago in his first two career starts after being called up from Iowa on Aug. 7. He was optioned to Iowa on Monday after losing 3-0 to Cincinnati in Chicago on Sunday. Ultra Boost Cheap Real . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. http://www.discountultraboost.com/. 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Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant scored 29 points apiece, and Oklahoma City avenged Sundays surprising loss to the Lakers by rolling past them 131-102 Thursday night. Lakers guard Jodie Meeks, who scored a career-high 42 points on Sunday, was held to 19 on 6-for-15 shooting. Westbrook said the Thunder didnt pay extra attention to Meeks. "We just did what we did," Westbrook said. "He just happened to get lucky the first time. We aint worried about what Jodie Meeks does. Were just worried about playing Thunder defence." Westbrook shot poorly against Lakers on Sunday, but he made 9 of 17 shots and had nine assists in 23 minutes in the rematch. Hes become more focused on passing and has been more efficient since his return from knee surgery. "Its real fun, especially when we win," he said. "As long as we continue to do a good job of playing together and everybody gets in a good groove, I think well be all right." Serge Ibaka added 15 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high seven blocks for the Thunder, who won their second straight and climbed within half a game of San Antonio for the top record in the Western Conference. "We knew they were going to be ready, especially here at home," Lakers centre Pau Gasol said. "Theyre playing for trying to get the best record in the league, were not. Theyre situation is just a tiny bit different than ours. " Kent Bazemore scored 16 points and Gasol added 14 for the Lakers. Los Angeles allowed at least 131 points for the fourth time in five games. "I didnt think we were focused coming out like we were Sunday, and you cant do that against this team," Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said. "We cant lose them in transition two or three times. Theyre a good offensive team, so if you give them extra points, then you are going to get beat." The Lakers trimmed an 18-point deficit to 11 in the second quarteer before Westbrook returned from a brief rest to ignite a 13-1 run that gave the Thunder a 52-29 lead.dddddddddddd Oklahoma City led 60-46 at halftime. Westbrook had 14 points and six assists in 15 minutes and Durant had 13 points. The Thunder outrebounded the Lakers 33-16 in the first half and held them to 37 per cent shooting. Durant, who rarely gets into foul trouble, picked up his fourth with 10:16 left in the third quarter. Ryan Kelly hit a 3-pointer with 7:30 left in the period to cut Oklahoma Citys lead to 69-58, causing the Thunder to call a timeout. Oklahoma Citys Caron Butler hit a 3-pointer right out of the short break and Ibaka followed with a midrange jumper to boost the advantage to 16 points. Westbrook drained a 3-pointer to push Oklahoma Citys lead to 23 midway through the quarter, and Westbrook wore a broad smile as the Lakers called timeout. By the time Durant re-entered the game, Oklahoma City led 90-68. "When the game was kind of getting out of whack, I just felt like it was the right time to pass the ball, rebound or score, or whatever it took to get us over the hump and keep us rolling," Westbrook said. In the final seconds of the third quarter, Ibaka swatted a shot by Xavier Henry and the Thunder rebounded. Butler hit a 3-pointer in the final second of the period to push Oklahoma Citys lead to 101-77. "I think its hard to play the same team twice back-to-back so that was a little difficult, but it is what it is," Gasol said. "We cant make any excuses and we have to deal with it." NOTES: Thunder G Andre Roberson, who has spent much of the season in the D-League, got his fifth start. ... Westbrook scored nine points in the first four minutes, including a dunk to start the game. ... The Thunder shot 57 per cent in the first quarter and led 33-19 at the end of the period. 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