Hunde Stammtisch » Michigan States Darqueze Dennard, take

SCHLADMING, Austria -- Hannes Reichelt has been ruled out of the Olympics because of a back injury, leaving the Austrian Alpine speed team without its main medal hope in Sochi. The Austrian ski federation said Monday that Reichelt had to undergo surgery in a sanatorium in Innsbruck for a herniated disk, only two days after winning a World Cup downhill in Kitzbuehel, and therefore has to end his season prematurely. "I am glad I had my back checked today because the consequences (of skiing on) could have been bad for me," said Reichelt, who became the first Austrian in eight years to win the classic Kitzbuehel race. "The X-ray speaks for itself and surgery is unavoidable," Reichelt said. "Health comes in first place and I want to keep doing sports after my career. Unfortunately my Olympic dream is in shatters." Reichelt had been complaining about persistent back problems for weeks. They almost prevented him from starting in Saturdays race but he took medicines to ease the pain. Austria mens head coach Mathias Berthold called Reichelts absence in Sochi "a massive blow to all of us." The Austrian mens ski team failed to win any medal at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. For the technical races in Sochi, overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher is a strong favourite, but Austrias hopes for the downhill and the super-G were mainly with Reichelt. He is the only Austrian skier to win a downhill in the past two seasons. "I feel extremely sorry for Hannes. He misses out on the most important race of the season," said Berthold, who was expected to announce a replacement later Monday. "We knew before the downhill in Kitzbuehel that Hannes wasnt doing well," the coach said. "That he still won the race is almost incredible." Berthold said it wasnt an option for Reichelt to rely on painkillers to take part in the Olympic downhill on Feb. 9, the first Alpine event of the Games. "His condition is that bad, it would have been medically irresponsible to ski even once more," Berthold said. Besides his triumph in Kitzbuehel, Reichelt had four more podiums in World Cup speed events this season. He has seven career wins. His only Olympic race was the super-G in Turin in 2006, where he finished 10th. The federations sport director, Hans Pum, said Reichelt "was in the form of his life." "This is obviously really bitter," Pum said. "But health is the most important. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery and hope he returns soon." Retro Jordans Australia . -- With Tony Allen back, the Memphis Grizzlies were able to turn up their defence pressure and hold off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch. Buy Cheap Jordan Australia . 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United on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p.The NFL Combine wrapped up this week and the impact on the mock drafts and predictions around the league is already being felt. While some players merely solidified their standing on big boards and mock drafts, several others saw their Combine results either boost or drop their placing in the mind of scouts and general managers across the league. Some notes from the NFL Combine Two-Horse Race A look at the most recent batch of mock drafts has two players showing up more often than any others at the top spot. One wont surprise you – South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney – but one certainly could – UCF quarterback Blake Bortles. While questions about his work ethic may knock Clowney out of the top spot, his blistering 40-yard dash time (4.53) ensures that if he does fall, it wont be very far. Bortles meanwhile impressed both on the field and off. Almost all draftniks and experts consider the once unknown QB to be a legit top end prospect. Of the 15 expert mock drafts gathered for TSN.cas database, Bortles had the most first overall picks of any player. Quarterback Battle While mock drafters are slotting Bortles into the first pick (owned by the Houston Texans) more than any other quarterback, that doesnt necessarily mean hes viewed as the top quarterback. Of the 15 expert mock drafts culled by TSN.ca, Bortles had just the third highest average draft position. First was Texas A&Ms Johnny Manziel with an ADP of 3.1 followed by Louisvilles Teddy Bridgewater (3.9) and then Bortles at 4.7. Dont Forget Me While hes not in the same boat as Manziel, Bridgewater, or Bortles, Fresno States Derek Carr reportedly had a very strong NFL Combine showing, particularly while interviewing with teams. At this point Carr appears to be a mid-first round pick at best but his showing has some quarterback-needy teams considering passing on one of the top three QBs early in the draft to fill other positions, while hoping to land Carr later on. There are reports the gap between the Big Three and Carr is not very wide. Moving Up The biggest benefactors of the NFL Combine, among the early picks at least, were Auburn OT Greg Robinson and Buffalo LB Khalil Mack. Robinsons athleticism seems to have solidified him as the top offensive tackle on the board and boosted his projected status from Top 10 pick to Top 5. Robinson could even hear his name as early as second overall to the St. Louis Rams. Mack is another former potential Top 10 pick that could easily find his way intto the Top 5 come May.dddddddddddd While his destination is hard to pinpoint at this point in the evaluation process, respected NFL Network draftnik Mike Mayock said he would consider Mack with the first overall pick. Thats high praise! Moving Down The rise of Robinson and Mack is having adverse effects on players of similar talent at the same position of the two in Jake Matthews and Anthony Barr. Once considered two of the top three players in the draft (alongside Clowney) by some, Matthews and Barr are no longer locks to be Top 5 picks and thats in large part due to Robinson proving hes the better offensive tackle, and Mack proving hes far closer to Clowney than originally thought. At this point it wouldnt be shocking to see Barr fall out of the Top 10 picks (ADP currently 8.9) while even Matthews could see himself suffer the same fate (ADP currently 5.9) the way things are playing out. To be fair, in Barrs case, Mack isnt the sole reason the UCLA pass rushers stock is falling; only 15 reps on the bench press could scare away a few teams. Lions targeting a CB The Detroit Lions need help at cornerback and most draftniks expect them to get it at the draft. Of the expert mock drafts culled by TSN.ca, 86% of them have the Lions taking a cornerback 10th overall. The only question in their minds is if it will be Oklahoma States Justin Gilbert, taken by the Lions in 53% of mock drafts, or Michigan States Darqueze Dennard, taken by Detroit in 33% of mock drafts. The current draft landscape lays out with a slight drop off after the top nine players. From there its still anyones guess as to who leads the second tier of players. Many mock drafters see the Lions filling a need and taking whichever cornerback they have ranked the highest. Wide Receiver Battle This position battle is unlike the quarterback battle as Clemson standout Sammy Watkins is the clear cut top pass catcher in this years draft. The battle is for the second best receiver with USCs Marqise Lee losing his spot to Texas A&Ms Mike Evans in 80% of mock drafts gathered. The receiver class is very deep this year with good pass catchers still likely to be available midway through the second round and if Lee finds himself engulfed in the second tier of receivers, hes no lock to hear his name on the first day of the NFL Draft. The true battle could be between Evans and North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron. The difference between their ADP is currently only a couple of picks (Evans: 13.8 to Ebron:16.0). ' ' '