Inland Waterways » games at three different levels. "We just wanted to

BORMIO, Italy -- Aiming for back-to-back victories, Canadas Erik Guay simply wants to maintain his form for Sundays World Cup downhill on the physically demanding Stelvio course. The Bode Miller-led U.S. speed team, by contrast, is still looking for its first podium finish of the season -- with the Sochi Olympics only 41 days away. And if the final training session in Bormio was any indication, things havent changed much since last weekend, when Guay won the Val Gardena downhill and Miller finished fifth. Guay, from Mont-Tremblant, Que., also led training Saturday and Miller was fifth again. "I feel like my racing is in a really good spot -- better than its ever been," Guay said. "And I know the reason as well, so thats pretty exciting." Guay won the Val Gardena downhill last weekend but has never finished better than fourth in Bormio. "Some years I come here and Im intimidated by the course and I dont feel quite up to it," he said. "This year Im excited about it and Im looking forward to the challenge tomorrow." While Guay would not reveal the "reason" for his speed, he did attribute some of his success to his personal coach, his younger brother Stefan Guay, a former World Cup racer. "To start working well with a coach typically takes two years, sometimes three," Guay said. "Stef now in his second season, I find hes getting confident and better every time. So that instills a lot of confidence in myself." The Stelvio is known for its knee-jarring bumps and shadows, making it a serious physical test. And this year, theres an added wrinkle with recent snowfall providing changing conditions all the way down. "Up top its quite soft and then toward the middle it gets a little bit firmer and more choppy and then toward the bottom its standard Bormio -- rock hard, fast, rattly," Guay said. "So its got a little bit of everything and it takes a fine touch to adjust on the way down. But its a fun course." Miller is still working on his downhill form after a year off to recover from left knee microfracture surgery, but hes comforted by top 10 results in both super-G and downhill last weekend, plus past success in Bormio. He swept the gold medals in super-G and downhill at the 2005 world championships here and also won the World Cup downhill in 2007. "It hasnt been the season that I had hoped but Ive been making progress all year," Miller said. "I look forward to hills that are a little bit tougher and a little more challenging and this one definitely is that." While Miller finished second to Ted Ligety in a giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, this month, no U.S. man has reached the podium in a speed race this season. "Its definitely been a bit of a slow start but weve definitely been building -- slowly," said Marco Sullivan, the veteran skier from Squaw Valley, California. "We have four or five guys who are consistently in the points, its just a matter of moving into that top 10." Its been a sharp change from this point last season, when Sullivan had finished third in the season-opening downhill in Lake Louise, Alberta; Steven Nyman had won the Val Gardena downhill; and Ligety had placed fourth in two super-Gs. Could it be that the Americans are pacing themselves to peak in Sochi? "I dont think thats it," Sullivan said. "I dont really know what to attribute it to but no one is going slow on purpose. Were all trying to go fast each week." One of the problems has been the race conditions. "The first couple of races were cold and icy and we hadnt trained on that," U.S. mens head coach Sasha Rearick said. "Now weve had the chance to do that." Errors have also played a role, with both Ligety and Nyman failing to finish races in Val Gardena. But there are signs of a turnaround, with Miller, Sullivan and Travis Ganong -- another Squaw Valley native -- combining to set the fastest time in every section in Fridays opening training session, when Miller was second. 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Subban – Scored the overtime winner and assisted on Montreal’s earlier goal, both on the power play, in a 2-1 win over Nashville. MIAMI -- Atlanta Braves left-hander Mike Minor is set to pitch in the major leagues for the first time this season. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez says Minor will start Friday night at home against San Francisco. The 26-year-old Minor has been slowed by shoulder soreness this season. Hes pitched five times in the minor leagues during rehabilitation games at three different levels. "We just wanted to make sure Mikey was healthy," Gonzalez said before Tuesday nights game at Miami. "But he feels good." Minor had urinary tract surgery on Dec. 31, delaying his spring schedule. After the shoulder soreness developedd, he was shut down in spring training.dddddddddddd Minor went 13-9 with a 3.21 ERA last year. He pitched a career-high 204 innings and led the team with 181 strikeouts. Even without Minor and other injured pitchers, the NL East-leading Braves top the majors with a 2.04 ERA going into the game against the Marlins. As for Fridays impending roster move when Minor comes off the disabled list, Gonzalez said it will likely be a pitcher who gets sent to the minors. "It will depend on who would benefit to go down and be stretched out (as a starter), and who will do a better job out of the bullpen," Gonzalez said. ' ' '