Then, a small outbreak of the strain happened in Jochberg, 11 miles outside of Kitzbühel midweek among British ski instructors. One day later, the races were moved again, this time to the slopes at Flachau, which just played host to the women’s slalom on Tuesday where Mikaela Shiffrin roared to a first-place finish in the discipline for the first time in 13 months.

With all that juggling, the men’s slalom races will run in Flachau on Saturday and Sunday. The two downhill races in Kitzbühel, along with a super G, have been bumped to next Friday through Sunday, provided there are no more outbreaks.

Got it? Good.

Flachau Racing Schedule

The following events will all stream on Peacock.

Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021
Men’s slalom, first run, 3:30 am ET
Men’s slalom, second run, 6 am ET

Sunday, January 17, 2021
Men’s slalom, first run, 4:30 am ET
Men’s slalom, second run, 7:45 am ET

Variable Conditions and Course Changes Create Rotating Cast of Winners

There’s usually an emerging winner or two who surface as top contenders at this point in the season. This year though, relatively little snow, icy-to-slushy conditions, and constant course and schedule changes have resulted in a rotation of winners.

Top contenders Daniel Yule, Clement Noël, and Alexis Pinturault have yet to podium in slalom this year. In the meantime, German Linus Strasser has emerged as a top contender seemingly out of nowhere. Through the races so far this year, eight different racers have occupied the 12 podium spots.

Schwarz the Favorite in Flachau at +500

Ski bettors should keep an eye on Marco Schwarz (+500) this weekend. His odds seem long, but the tight course and unpredictable conditions leave the 25-year-old Austrian technician as the favorite. Schwarz is looking for another win coming off a Jan. 10 victory in Adelboden where he became the fourth winner of the four slalom events so far this World Cup season.

The last Austrian man to win successive World Cup slalom events was Marcel Hirscher in 2019.

Strasser Within Striking Distance of German Slalom Record

Strasser (+600) is on a hot streak with two, top-two finishes in the last two slaloms. This weekend, he can become the fourth German skier of all time to win multiple slalom events in a season.

Henrik Kristoffersen (+1000) has won 18 World Cup slalom events, ranking him fourth all-time among men behind legends Ingemar Stenmark (40), Alberto Tomba (35), and Marcel Hirscher (32).

The 26-year-old Norwegian has won six World Cup slalom events in Austria, and 10 of his World Cup wins in the slalom have come in January. Kristoffersen has won World Cup slalom events in seven different years, and he may be on the hunt for number eight this weekend under conditions that will promise to be faster in Flachau than earlier venues, favoring the Olympic medalist’s speed and precision.

Is this the Weekend Britain’s Ryland Gets the Win? 

Others to watch include Clément Noël (+600), who’s won six World Cup slalom races and is looking to top the podium. He last tasted victory on Feb. 8, 2020, in Chamonix. Five of Daniel Yule’s (+1000) 10 podiums have been won in Austria, and he’s also scheduled to break out.

Ramon Zenhäusern (+1600) is skiing well this season. After winning this season’s first slalom event in Alta Badia, he trails only Yule (4) with World Cup slalom wins among Swiss men.

Italian Alex Vinatzer (+1200) can become the first Italian man to win a World Cup slalom event since Manfred Mölgg in Zagreb in 2017. And why not take a flier on Manchester’s own Dave Ryding (+3300), who still strives to become the first Brit to land atop a World Cup podium. Ryding is skiing well this season with a third-place finish in Adelboden last week.

The post Location Wheel Spins for Men’s Slalom, Points to Flachau this Weekend appeared first on nrxhb.shop | OG News.

With 11 cases reported in the entire country on Jan. 15, the Australian curve has flattened since early August. The nation is also celebrating two straight days of no new cases reported at the end of the week. They are a global example of contact tracing protocols, warm weather, and unique isolation policy work.

So it should come as no surprise that when athletes are coming from all over the world, they’re treated as vectors.

Tournament Flying in Participants, Staff by Private Charter

Tennis Australia is doing everything it can to make sure the disease stays out of the country. Players are made to take COVID-19 tests before they board their charter flights and after they arrive, and will be tested at least once a day during their mandated quarantine period.

Tournament officials expect about 1,200 players, coaches, security, medical, and support staff to land over the next 36 hours. The charter flights are restricted to 25% capacity, and the last to arrive will be early Saturday.

Five-time AO finalist Andy Murray tested positive for COVID-19 48 hours before his scheduled flight to Melbourne. The three-time Grand Slam champion, who got a wild card to participate, didn’t officially withdraw, but his window to participate is slim.

Murray Not Welcome in Australia with COVID-19, American Keys Out

Tennis Australia said Murray, 33, will miss the charter flights and won’t go through quarantine with other players. While still possible, his chances of appearing in the tournament are slim.

“Andy Murray has advised that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home in the UK,” Tennis Australia said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this means he will be unable to join the official AO charter flights arriving in Australia in the coming days to go through the quarantine period with the other players.”

American Madison Keys tested positive before her scheduled flight and withdrew from the tournament on Thursday after posting on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/sXy3yu18MT

— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) January 14, 2021

Her American counterpart, Tennys Sandgren, had the virus in November. He was permitted to fly, as health officials in Australia determined he is no longer contagious, though he may still be shedding viral particles.

A lot couch virologists out there. My two tests were less than 8 weeks a part. I was sick in November, totally healthy now. There’s not a single documented case where I would be contagious at this point. Totally recovered!

— Tennys Sandgren (@TennysSandgren) January 14, 2021

The tournament was delayed three weeks because of the pandemic. As a precautionary measure, the AO hosted men’s and women’s qualifiers in Doha, Qatar, and Dubai. It was the first time the tournament’s play-in games were held outside of Australia.

The tournament’s draw is set for Feb. 4 and action will end on Feb. 21 with the men’s single’s final.

A trio of the sport’s biggest names, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams, who is seeking her 24th Grand Slam title, will participate in an exhibition in Adelaide on Jan. 29. Those players arrived in Adelaide earlier this week for their quarantine. All other matches will be in Melbourne.

Australian Open Early Favorites Men

N. Djokovic +1224
D. Thiem +400
D. Medvedev +450
R. Nadal +650
S. Tsitspas +1200
A. Zvrev +1400
A. Rublev +2500
J. Sinner +2500
D. Shapovalov +3300

Women:

N. Osaka +650
A Aarty +800
A. Sablenka +800
B. Andreescu +900
S. Williams +1000
I. ÅšwiÄ…tek +1000
S. Halep +1100
V. Azarenka +1200
K. Plíšková +1400

Odds via Bwin

The post World’s Tennis Elite Arrive in Melbourne for Australian Open, Go Straight into Quarantine appeared first on nrxhb.shop | OG News.

Seven group games continued the action on Day 2 of the two-week, 32-team tournament in Egypt.

Russia a Team Without a Country in Doping Scandal’s Wake

The Russian team plays without their nation’s emblems or flag on their uniforms, or their anthem being played, after being banned from significant events for the next two years following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In the ruling announced last Dec. 17, the team’s proposed four-year ban was cut in half. The ban results from findings in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s case that accused Russia of state-ordered tampering of a testing laboratory database in Moscow.

Many are watching how the RHF team handles playing without an official country to represent as a precursor to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, where athletes will be tasked with playing under similar guidelines in the wake of the doping scandal that has plagued the nation.

Russian Athletes Can Still Compete, but Not for Russia

As it stands, Russian athletes and teams can compete at this summer’s postponed Olympics as well as at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing if athletes don’t test positive for banned substances between now and then.

Russia’s 32-32 draw with Belarus (-200) was a tight match throughout. The match was knotted at 15-15 at the break, and both teams scored 17 goals in the second half.

Uladzislau Kulesh of Belarus was named man of the match after scoring six goals in a game; both teams earned a point toward advancing to the next round.

Algeria Outlasts Morocco, Portugal Defeats Iceland

Over in Group F, heavy favorite Algeria (-450) barely bested Morocco (+475) 24-23 at New Capital Sports Hall in Cairo. Looking to pull a major first-round upset, Morocco led 15-8 at the break, but Algeria regrouped and came out one point on top.

Also in the Group F bracket, favorite Portugal narrowly defeated Iceland 25-23, and Sweden (-350) cruised to a win over North Macedonia, 32-20.

North Macedonia was a late replacement for the Czech Republic, which experienced a COVID-19 outbreak within its ranks, forcing the team to withdraw from the tournament last-minute. A COVID-19 outbreak also forced the US team to withdraw from competition.

Norway Falls to France, Action Continues Friday

In other action, reigning world champions and underdogs France (+200) bested Norway 28-24 on Thursday.

Eight more group games are scheduled for Friday, with teams in Groups A through D due to play their opening contests of the tournament in empty venues because of COVID-19 protocols. Games are streaming in North America on ESPN Plus.

IHF World Men’s Handball Championship Odds: Groups A-D, Friday, Jan. 15

Odds via Bwin

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Shiffrin has been slowly working her way back to full mental and physical strength after a 10-month skiing hiatus spawned by injury, her father’s February death, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tuesday was the Colorado native’s first win since a giant slalom victory in France in December. It was also her first slalom victory in more than a year â€�?the longest drought in the favored discipline of her career.

“All of the pieces that go into race day came together,” she said in an emotional post-race interview. “It’s amazing, but it doesn’t mean it’s fixed yet. Tonight was really, really good.”

Her near-perfect second run deserves a second look.

.@MikaelaShiffrin earned her 68th World Cup win today, officially breaking her tie for third on the all-time career list and her reaction at the end says it all. �?/p>

This is her first victory in her trademark discipline in over a year. pic.twitter.com/vCpgxrUyry

— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) January 12, 2021

While Shiffrin’s speed is coming back, it’s Italian giant slalom specialist Marta Bassino (+250 on Bwin) who is the pre-race favorite. Bassino won the first two women’s giant slalom World Cup races this season, one in Sölden in mid-October, and the other in Courchevel last Dec. 12.

Despite a Resurgent Shiffrin, Italy’s Bassino the Favorite

Bassino DNF’d in the second race at Courchevel, leaving the door open for Shiffrin’s other victory this season. Bassino is currently in second place in the giant slalom World Cup standings, trailing Italian teammate Federica Brignone by five points. The 24-year-old looks to take a fourth career World Cup win this weekend. If she does, all of her wins will be in the giant slalom.

She could also become the first Italian woman to win at least three women’s World Cup giant slalom races in a single season since Denise Karbon won five in 2007-08.

Shiffrin Made History Tuesday, Can She Break Records this Weekend?

Shiffrin’s Tuesday comeback notched her name in the history books and provided her with a boost of confidence. In Flachau, she became the eighth alpine skier in World Cup history to reach the podium 100 times. It was also the 25-year-olds 68th win, putting her ahead of Marcel Hirscher (67) for third place on the sport’s all-time list. Only Ingemar Stenmark (86) and Lindsey Vonn (82) have won more World Cup events.

Her 12 career victories in the giant slalom give Shiffrin a tie for 10th place in this event among women, alongside Hanni Wenzel.

The record is 20 by Vreni Schneider. December’s giant slalom win in Courchevel means that Shiffrin (+350) has won at least one giant slalom race in five successive seasons.

Don’t Ever Count Vlhová Out  

Four of current World Cup overall points leader Petra Vlhová’s (+500) 18 career World Cup victories are in the giant slalom.

In the discipline this season, Vlhová finished third in Sölden, and then third in the first of two races in Courchevel in December. As a result, her odds are slightly ahead of Italy’s Federica Brignone (+700), who currently leads the giant slalom World Cup standings after finishing second in both Sölden and in the second race in Courchevel, and fifth in the first race in Courchevel.

Brignone, with seven career giant slalom World Cup victories, is looking to come off a mini-slump. Last season, Brignone won five World Cup races, but she has yet to top the podium this campaign.

Liensberger Comes Close on Tuesday, Will Kranjska Gora Bring Victory?

Another skier close to that top spot is 23-year-old Austrian Katharina Liensberger (+1400), who finished in the top six of the giant slalom in both Courchevel races this season after DNF’ing in Sölden. Including Tuesday’s third-place finish in Flachau, Lineberger is the only skier to finish on the podium in all five women’s slalom events this season.

Those looking for a bit of a long shot should take a chance on Tessa Worley (+1600). The French technical specialist has won 13 World Cup races, all in the giant slalom.

No other female skier on the circuit is dominant in a single discipline, and Worley’s skiing favors a steep and technical course like the one in Kranjska Gora. Saturday’s race will be broadcast at 2 am ET on Peacock.

Kranjska Gora Odds: Women’s World Cup Giant Slalom Race 1

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The schools, both atop the Pac 12 at 9-2, will play two in five days at Pauley Pavillon after they were forced to move a December match-up for a second time due to the No. 22 Ducks’ COVID-19-related pause of all basketball activities this week.

Instead of enjoying the confines of Matthew Knight Arena, the reschedule has forced Oregon to a three-game road trip in Los Angeles.

Ducks’ Second Make-up a Make-up for First Make-up

Should their program come back online in time, Oregon will tip-off against the Bruins on Jan. 28, USC on Jan. 30, and UCLA again on the first.

Originally the Feb. 1 game was to take place in Eugene on Dec. 23 before that game was postponed due to the Ducks’ first outbreak-related pause of the season.

In its current pause, Oregon basketball has been dormant since Tuesday, which also sent games against Arizona State on Thursday and Arizona on Saturday into scheduling limbo.

The Ducks’ next scheduled game is Saturday, Jan. 23, vs. Oregon State at home. The rescheduled game between the Ducks and Bruins on Feb. 1 will start at 2 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Earlier this week, Virginia Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall said his office is spending January completing the registration of online sportsbooks and making sure all rules are in place before launch, focusing on the end-user.

“The priority is strong consumer protections, guardrails that prevent underage gambling, procedures, and audits to make sure there’s no criminal activity,�?Hall said.

The Virginia Lottery is in charge of all sports betting activity in the Commonwealth. Because there are no brick-and-mortar casinos in the state, all sports gambling activity will be online.

Virginia Creates Unique Set of Sports Gambling Rules 

Hall said starting from scratch has presented both opportunities and challenges. Some Virginia-only rules and regulations have surfaced as a result. The most notable of this is the 15% tax on sports betting revenue thrown at potential sportsbook operators.

Critics who predicted states taking such a large chunk (most states’ operator tax range between six and seven percent) would dissuade sportsbooks from opening have thus far been silenced, where Tennessee, which takes 10% off the top, launched online-only in November and immediately started to see record returns.

Unique-to-Virginia regulations also include rules insisting sportsbooks give bettors updated spread information in real-time so that online gamblers can make the “most informed decisions�?according to the lottery.

Some Sportsbooks Object to Virginia’s Requirements, Modest Numbers Projected

FanDuel, one of the potential 14 operators set to go live in early February, said a pilot effort to provide live line updates on its app during an October NBA playoff game became untenable.

“Sports betting apps are simply not built to provide and display this type of information,�?FanDuel wrote in the formal comments section of the Virginia Lottery’s draft regulations last fall. “This requirement would force a reengineering of the products, to create a demonstrably worse user experience.�?/p>

Other regulations specific to the Virginia Lottery include ramped-up safeguards players can place upon themselves, including voluntary bans for years or even life. Pennsylvania became the first state to offer such self-restricting tools at the end of December.

According to the lottery, Virginia’s projected revenues for 2021 are in the neighborhood of $412 million, with the state looking to take a little over $60 million. But if 2020 online gambling trends hold and a state like Tennessee, with 2 million fewer residents, is any indicator—those numbers may be eclipsed within months of opening.

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It has been since 2001 that the US men have appeared at the international invitational.

All But Two Members of Team Tested Positive for COVID-19

On Monday, 10 players from the 20-man roster plus head coach Robert Hedin tested positive for the virus while training and staging in Denmark before flying to Egypt for the tournament.

By Tuesday, that number ballooned to 18 Hedin told the Norwegian newspaper “Aftenposten.”

Being left with a two-member team prompted the USA Team Handball federation and the International Handball Federation (IHF) to decide for the team to withdraw before its scheduled first-round match against Austria on Thursday.

US Team Has Been Absent from World Competition for Decades

Before their 2001 appearance at worlds, the US team’s last appearance on a big stage was during the 1996 Atlanta Games in Atlanta when it received an automatic bid as the host nation.

The team failed to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games, which were postponed a year to this coming summer because of the pandemic.

The US team got into the tournament as a nominee to represent North American and Caribbean countries by the IHF Council. There were no opportunities to play in because of the pandemic.

US Still Hopes to Grow Sport in Popularity by 2028 Los Angeles Games

Hedin has previously said he hopes the sport will gain traction over the next few years in time for the US to field a competitive team ready for its automatic bid to play at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

The US squad was initially set to be in Group E and battle against Austria on Thursday before facing Norway and reigning world-champion France over the weekend. Austria (-190) will now play Switzerland (+140) at 9 a.m. EST Thursday.

The competition will run from January 13-31 and will take place without fans.

Below are some of the 2021 World Men’s Handball Championship’s first-round of action from Egypt.

Handball World Championships Matchups
Round 1, Thursday, Jan. 14

source: Bwin

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The playoffs’ first round featured six games on Jan. 9 and 10, two more than in the past. The contests averaged about 24.3 million viewers on TV, eclipsing the regular-season average of 15.4 million but well behind the same weekend in 2020.

The four games with similar time slots to 2020 averaged 25.2 million viewers this year, down 18 percent from the 30.7 million viewers who tuned in last year.

Wild-Card Weekend Viewership Smallest in More than Half Decade

Fox’s late-afternoon Saturday game averaged 23.8 million viewers; NBC’s Saturday primetime contest drew 21.3 million, and CBS’ early Saturday game averaged 20 million. By comparison, the four games in 2020 averaged between 26 million and 35 million viewers.

In total, 2021’s viewership was the smallest combined for a wild-card weekend since at least 2014.

CBS drew the biggest audience of the wild-card weekend, with an assist from broadcast partner Nickelodeon. The two Viacom outlets drew a combined 30.65 million viewers for their coverage of the Saints’ 21-9 win over the Bears. It was the biggest Sunday wild card audience for CBS Sports since 2014.

The networks’ most significant win was Nickelodeon’s telecast, which had special graphics and analysis specifically geared toward viewers under 18, drew 2.06 million viewers. CBS reported the Nick broadcast was the networks’ audience for any event since 2017.

ESPN ‘Mega-Cast’ Draws More than 90k Bettors to ESPN 2

ABC and ESPN’s Sunday afternoon game, dubbed by the networks its “mega-cast,�?included feeds on ESPN2, Freeform. The Ravens-Titans game tied for the second-largest audience of the weekend, with 24.8 million viewers.

ESPN spokesman Derek Volner said the broadcast takeover yielded “the second-best wild-card offering [on the] networks over the past four seasons and the third-best audience of NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend.�?/p>

“The audience of more than 24.8 million surpassed ESPN’s wild-card Game audience following the 2018 NFL season by 9% and the 2017 season by 12%,�?he said.

Volner added that ESPN2’s online gambling-centric broadcast brought in 92,000 viewers.

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Artistically, the slate of nominees, which included eventual winner Parasite from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, the Academy seemed to inch toward a more diverse look at cinema. It was a typical star-studded, if not a somewhat self-aware evening that was opulent yet subdued and a harbinger of things to come.

That thing was a pandemic and the total collapse of Hollywood in the year to come.

While sports have found a way to continue, albeit mostly without fans, and daily interactions for many have been reduced to faces on a screen, making films is a contact sport.

Entertainment Industry at a Loss

While some films and shows have returned to production, the entertainment industry is stagnant for the most part. Movie theaters are closed, significant openings have been delayed or shelved altogether, and financing on major tentpole franchises has stalled out. In other words, the movie industry is still on pause almost one year out from its last celebration.

But the 2021 Oscars will go on, albeit on a later timeframe, and with distinct changes.

In an average year, most studios are mid-campaign by now on the films they want to consider, which means LA is usually awash in billboards, chatter, and screeners. But this year, both the run-up to and the ceremony itself will be subdued. Still scheduled to occur in Los Angeles on April 25, the Oscars ceremony will take place more than two full months after it was initially scheduled.

Pandemic May Force Oscars Ceremony into Broadcast with Mass-Appeal

With Oscar ratings showing a steady decline in the last decade and the ceremony itself hostess since 2018, perhaps this is the year to make the brave changes the Academy, with its 10,000 members, has hinted (and been pushed) toward for years.

Either way, the slate of films that came out mid-pandemic leading the conversation is not necessarily a reflection of the times we’re living in, but maybe the best look back at what was, as the movie industry, like the rest of us, lurches forward into the unknown.

The official nominations will be announced on March 15, but here’s a chance to see the films �?if you can find them — and place a wager early.

Below is a list of potential best picture nominees and corresponding odds, which are all according to Bwin.

“Nomadland�?/strong> (Searchlight Pictures)
Synopsis: After losing everything in the Great Recession, an old woman embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Producers: Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Chloé Zhao
Director: Chloé Zhao
Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Swankie, Bob Wells
Odds: +150
Where to watch: Currently unavailable online, theatrical release and streaming TBD.