Krasnaya Polyana, Russia (SportsNetwork. Eloy Jimenez White Sox Jersey .com) - Ted Ligety skidded out, sliding onto his left side. No, the American skier hadnt just blown another chance to take his rightful place as the Olympic giant slalom champion. He was celebrating. In clear conditions at the Rosa Khutor course, Ligety carved out a big lead with a masterful morning run Wednesday that all but guaranteed him the gold barring a big mistake in the afternoon. Teammate Bode Miller called it a "clutch performance." You might call it a moment eight years in the making. Ligety took a lead of .93 seconds into the second run, then held on to beat Frances Steve Missillier by .48 seconds for his second Olympic gold medal but first in the event hes dominated for years on the World Cup circuit. Ligety finished with a combined time of 2 minutes, 45.29 seconds, winning the first gold medal of the Sochi Olympics for the U.S. alpine skiing team. Alexis Pinturault earned the bronze behind his French teammate. Widely considered the best giant slalom skier of his generation, Ligety skied out of the race in 2006 and finished ninth in 2010. Until he filled the biggest hole in his resume on Wednesday, Ligetys greatest Olympic feat had been a surprising win in the mens combined as a 21-year-old in 2006. "Today was awesome. Theres not really any other way to put it," said Ligety. "This is something Ive been working for since I was a little kid. Being the favorite in alpine skiing is never easy, because its an event thats so far from being guaranteed and not an event thats super simple to win even if youre skiing the best in the world." Miller finished 2.53 seconds behind Ligety in 20th place in what could be the 36-year-olds final Olympic race. Miller became the oldest Olympic medalist in alpine skiing on Sunday when he tied for bronze in the Super-G for his sixth Olympic medal, including a silver in the giant slalom in 2002. "Its asking a bit much of my left knee still on those kinds of bumps. Right in the middle, theres a left-footed turn that just seems like crazy big bumps. I just look at it thinking maybe I could do it, but confidence-wise I dont feel comfortable dropping it in that way and its cost me both runs there. This is pretty aggressive stuff for the lower leg," noted Miller. Ligety is only the second American skier with two Olympic alpine gold medals after Andrea Mead Lawrence, who won both womens slalom events at the 1952 Oslo Games. He finished his first run in 1:21.08 and had the 14th-fastest time in his second run, 1:24.21 -- more than a second slower than Missillier but good enough. Ligety appeared relieved at the bottom of the hill, sliding into the snow and exhaling. Defending Olympic champion Carlo Janka of Switzerland finished in 13th place and Sochi downhill gold medalist Matthias Mayer of Austria ended sixth. Ryan Burr White Sox Jersey . "It was a little weird looking over and seeing all the green uniforms," he said of his first game against the Boston Celtics. Kodi Medeiros White Sox Jersey . -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/1474e-george-kell-jersey-white-sox.html . Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros.Drew Hutchison takes to the mound tonight when the Toronto Blue Jays continue their series with the Kansas City Royals at Kaufmann Stadium. Hutchison is 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in five starts and has recorded three straight no-decisions and tossed six innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts in last Thursdays 11-4 loss to Baltimore. Hutchison has been reached for just four runs in his past three starts and won his only career start against Kansas City on April 21, 2012. He gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 9-5 win. The Blue Jays will be without third baseman Brett Lawrie in the lineup tonight, Juan Francisco will take his place. The Blue Jays have lost five of their last six games and reliever Brett Cecil was dealt the loss after Kansas Citys big inning. Sergio Santos allowed three runs in relief and starter Dustin McGowan was reached for three runs -- two earned -- in six innings. "We just got hit tonight," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of his relievers. Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion both homered for Toronto. Melky Cabrera, who was 2-for-5 with two RBI, has 41 hits this season, the most by a Blue Jays playerr before May 1 in team history. Paul Konerko Jersey. The Royals will counter with Yordano Ventura, who is coming off eight scoreless innings of a 5-0 win at Baltimore last Friday, striking out eight batters to go along with two walks. Ventura lasted just four innings and gave up four runs in his previous start and is 2-1 with a 1.80 earned run average in four starts. The young right-hander has never faced the Blue Jays and is 0-1 in two starts at home. Kansas City had a six-run eighth inning thanks to a two-run double by Salvador Perez and a two-run single from Omar Infante. Jarrod Dyson and Norichika Aoki provided RBI hits in the big inning for the Royals, who have won two straight and three of four games. "We never give up. Thats the motto in here is to never give up and to always play like were in it," Dyson said. Perez also homered and finished with four RBI. Aaron Crow threw a scoreless eighth inning for the win and Jason Vargas was bailed out for the no-decision after he permitted five runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings. Toronto won four of six games against Kansas City a year ago and is 10-5 in the past 15 matchups between the two clubs. ' ' '