ST. MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. Poor visibility on the middle section of the course forced World Cup officials to call off a mens downhill on Saturday, the last speed race before the Sochi Olympics. A womens giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, was also cancelled because of poor weather. The start of the race was postponed several times and pushed back more than two hours before officials finally gave up. "It was the right decision," overall and downhill World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway said. The fog never lifted around the middle of the already shortened Corviglia course. The downhill on Feb. 9 is the first Alpine event of the Sochi Games. A giant slalom is scheduled for Sunday in St. Moritz. The races in St. Moritz replaced the ones that had been scheduled for Garmisch-Partenkirchen but had to be called off for lack of snow in the German resort. Too much snow and fog were the problem in St. Moritz. Heavy snowfall forced the cancellation of downhill training on Friday. It still snowed on Saturday, although not that heavily, but this time fog descended on the course to force another cancellation. Svindal said the Olympics were not on his mind as he waited, in vain, for the start. "You want to win a World Cup race, you are not thinking of Sochi. Its exciting to win a World Cup race," Svindal said. With race officials constantly inspecting the course, Svindal said, they were in a better position to judge the conditions. "Its too bad but thats the way it is. The fog is moving in and out and maybe you can have one or two racers on the course and then it would have to be stopped," he said. "It wouldnt be safe and it wouldnt be fair." Wholesale USA Soccer Jerseys . With the results, North America claimed 2.5 of the three available points, opening up a 17.5-12.5 lead in the overall standings. A total of 60 points are available, meaning the first team to 30.5 points will win the Continental Cup. USA Soccer Shirts . - The Carolina Panthers believe Steve Smith lost "top-end" speed, a big reason the franchise parted ways with its all-time leading receiver. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/. If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles. USA Soccer Store . Ramon, 30, played in a career-high 97 games with the Goldeyes in 2013. He also matched a career-high eight home runs and posted 52 RBI. USA Soccer Jerseys China . McCutchen hit his first home run in over a month, doubled twice and scored two runs to help the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Sunday and take three of four from the defending NL West champions.LOS ANGELES -- When Blake Griffin soared past Stephen Curry and hammered home his one-handed rebound of Danny Grangers missed jumper, the slam emphasized everything thats so impressive about the Los Angeles Clippers nine-game winning streak. The Clippers are on this roll against good teams, at a perfect time for their playoff preparations -- and just like Griffins mind-blowing dunk, theyre doing it with style. Griffin had 30 points and 15 rebounds, Granger added 18 points off the bench, and the Clippers surged past the Golden State Warriors 111-98 Wednesday night. Chris Paul had 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Clippers, who split their four-game season series against their Pacific Division rivals with an impressive finish to a tight game. "This is the time of year when you want to be playing your best," Griffin said. "Our fight has been great. Whoever is on the court ... up 10 or down 10, I think weve come to a point where it doesnt really matter. We stick together and try to pull it out." Griffin was in top form on both ends of the court, punctuating his latest monster performance with that rebound slam with 8:18 to play. The four-time All-Star has scored 20 points in 24 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in the NBA this season. Los Angeles has the third-longest winning streak in club history and the teams best record after 66 games (46-20), but the Clippers dont seem satisfied by their five-game lead over Golden State in the division standings. "Its impressive, because for the most part, weve been playing good teams," Granger said after his fifth game with the Clippers. "You really want to peak at this time going into the playoffs, because if a team is hitting on all cylinders, you look up and youre in the finals." Klay Thompson scored 26 points and David Lee had 20 for the Warriors, whose five-game winning streak ended with their fourth straight loss to the Clippers at Staples Center. Curry had just 13 points and 11 assists before sitting out the final minutes. Golden State got an impressive game from Thompson, but its normally reliable bench went 3 for 25, struggling mightily for most of the second half. "WWeve been playing great basketball against some good teams, and we thought we could come in here and play very well and get a win," Curry said.dddddddddddd "It didnt turn out that way, but one loss isnt going to stop us. Were going to continue that momentum, that rhythm." Los Angeles held Golden State to just one field goal in a 9:40 stretch spanning the final two quarters. The Warriors stayed in it with defence and free throws, but Darren Collison scored six quick points down the stretch in the fourth quarter, and Matt Barnes 3-pointer with 1:25 to play essentially sealed the win. The California clubs completed their series with another demonstration of the reasons they might have the West Coasts best current rivalry, although both teams agree they need playoff stakes to develop true enmity. "All four games this year have been very competitive games," Lee said. "Both teams took care of their homecourt. I think were two pretty evenly matched teams that have big plans for the post-season, so we look forward to seeing what happens the rest of the season. These last three games weve played felt like playoff-style games." Granger kept the Clippers in it during a rocky first-half stretch, making his first six shots without a miss in about 11 minutes. Los Angeles rolled off a 15-3 run to close the third quarter with an 84-79 lead, scoring nine straight points capped by Pauls 3-pointer on a crosscourt assist from Griffin with 0.1 seconds left. NOTES: Paul missed eight of his first nine shots and struggled all night under tight defence from Thompson. Paul went back out on the Staples Center court after the game with an assistant coach to work on his shot after his 5-for-15 effort. ... Clippers G Jamal Crawford sat out for the fifth time in six games with a strained left calf. Jared Dudley returned from a three-game absence with back spasms, but played just one minute. ... Griffin grabbed his 3,000th career rebound late in the first half. He is the third player in NBA history to have 6,000 points, 3,000 boards and 1,000 assists in his first four full NBA seasons while also making 50 per cent of his shots, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Charles Barkley. ' ' '