SAN CANDIDO, Italy - Canadian Dave Duncan is hitting his stride just in time for the Winter Olympics. Michael Jordan USA Jersey . Duncan of London, Ont., won his second skicross World Cup in as many days on Sunday, rocketing him to the top of the mens overall rankings and qualifying him for the Sochi Games in February. "From the outhouse to the penthouse," said Duncan, who skied on the international circuit for five years before winning his first World Cup on Saturday. "Its pretty hard to sum up everything thats happened this weekend. Its an incredible feeling. "I know thats a troublesome word, but the truth of it is that describes how much this means to me to get that first win and not even have to wait 24 hours to get a second one. I mean, this is the stuff you dream of." Duncan finished ahead of Austrias Andreas Matt and Germanys Daniel Bohnacker. Calgarys Brady Leman was fourth in the final after a mid-air collision knocked him off course. "In the final I was battling, trying to move up," said Leman. "I was fourth for a bit, third for a bit, I was really battling with Andy Matt and in the end we kind of got tangled up and then I missed a gate and that was it." In womens competition, Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., finished second behind Switzerlands Katrin Mueller. German teammates Heidi Zacher and Anna Woerner were third and fourth, respectively. The silver medal kept Thompson atop the overall womens rankings. "Today was just awesome," said Thompson. "I just won every start and really showed where my skiings at. Im really excited to have the leader bib back again. It just goes to show that all that training I did this summer is paying off. "Im just feeling really great." Kelsey Serwa of Kelowna, B.C., won the small final, placing fifth overall. "Id much rather be in the final, but when I get in the small final I get all fired up and tell myself OK, this is my shot at the podium so youd better churn out a fifth-place finish," said Serwa. Canadas skicross team made the podium fives times over the weekend, bumping several of its members into contention for spots at the Olympics. Duncan and Leman are guaranteed spots in the mens skicross event at Sochi, while Thompson is a lock for the women. Serwa will likely make it as a "Tier 2" skier, while Vancouvers Georgia Simmerling is "Tier 3" and considered very close to making the Olympics. Montreals Chris Del Bosco and Tristan Tafel of Canmore, Alta., havent yet made the minimum points to lock into Tier 3, although a World Cup podium finish would put either one into the second tier. "Training with the top guys in the world, it just creates an environment of excellence and I know that if Im able to beat (Leman) or (Del Bosco) in a training run you can feel pretty good leaving that camp, knowing that youre on pace to have a good year," said Duncan. "I think theyll probably say the same thing about their training. "It just helps training with the guys that we do. We all push each other, we all cheer for each other, we all strive for the top. So well just keep on doing that and hopefully itll take us to some pretty cool results in Sochi." Reggie Miller Jersey . -- The Anaheim Ducks realize theyre in for plenty of tight defensive games in the next seven weeks while the rest of the NHL attempts to catch them atop the standings.James Harden Jersey . But in the aftermath a 115-91 pounding of the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey insisted it was still invaluable for evaluating the depth of his team early in the season.ATLANTA -- After an unbeaten run through the Southeastern Conference, top-ranked Florida reaped its rewards Monday. Scottie Wilbekin was picked as The Associated Press Southeastern Conference player of the year, while Billy Donovan took the coaching honour for the second season in a row. Kentucky freshman Julius Randle was selected as newcomer of the year. The AP awards were announced one day after Florida defeated Kentucky 61-60 in the championship game of the SEC tournament. The Gators (32-2) were named top overall seed in the NCAAs and will open against either Albany or Mount St. Marys in the South Regional. Wilbekin and Randle were unanimous choices to the All-SEC first team, joined by Tennessee forward Jarnell Stokes, Florida forward Casey Prather and Missouri guard Jabari Brown. Wilbekin averaged 13 points and 3.8 assists a game. More important, the 6-foot-2 senior guard was the unquestioned leader for the Gators at both ends of the court, making amends from two suspensions that threatened his future with the program. He missed the first five games this season for an undisclosed violation of team rules, after behind held out the first three games the previous year. "I think when he went through that, our guys were like, OK, it happened one time, blah, blah, blah. But now it happens again, guys start pulling back, saying, OK, man, is this guy about us? Does this guy even care about us or our team?" Donovan said. Wilbekin worked hard to rebuild the relationship with his teammates, and it showed on the court. "He had to go through a long process of showing these guys that he cares and hes committed to them," Donovan said. "I think once he got through the end of that process, I think our guys kind of put their arms around him and were like, Wow, coach made this guy go through a lot. A lot of that had to do with me wanting to help him restore his credibility inside the team, and he had to do that and hes grown from that on and off the court." Wilbekin was named MVP of the SEC tournament. During hard-fought wins in both the semifinals and final, he would gather the team around him when things werent going Floridas way. "Coach cant talk to us all the time," he said, "so we try to huddle ourselves and say the right things amonng ourselves. Ricky Rubio jersey. ." Donovan repeated as coach of the year with Florida becoming the first team to go 18-0 in SEC games during the regular season. The Gators won three more games at the Georgia Dome this past weekend for their first tournament title since 2007. "Anytime you get those coaching honours or coaching awards, a lot of it is because youve got a good group and theyve done a great job," Donovan said. "I do think that when individual awards come out, its much, much more of a reflection of the people around you. Even with Scotties award, Id say the same thing. Its more of a reflection of the people around him. I think for me, its the players and the coaching staff, the people I have around me." Randle emerged as the top player from Kentuckys latest group of heralded freshmen. While some thought the Wildcats (24-10) underachieved -- after all, they started the season No. 1 and there was even speculation about whether they could go unbeaten -- the 6-foot-9 Randle led the conference in rebounding (10.5 a game) and ranked 10th in scoring (15.0). Kentucky was seeded eighth in the NCAAs and will open Friday against Kansas State in the Midwest Regional. "I feel like our chemistry is getting better," Randle said. "Were becoming a better team, getting better every game." Stokes, a 6-8 junior forward, helped Tennessee (21-12) join Florida and Kentucky as the only SEC schools in the 68-team NCAA field, ranking second to Randle in rebounding (10.3) and 12th in scoring (14.7). The Vols will face Iowa on Wednesday in a first-round game at Dayton. Prather was another of Floridas senior leaders. The 6-6 forward paced the Gators in scoring at 14.2 points per game. Brown, a 6-5 junior guard, led the SEC in scoring with an average of 19.8 points. Florida landed another player on the All-SEC second team: senior centre Patric Young. He was joined by Tennessee forward Jordan McRae, Alabama guard Trevor Releford and a pair of LSU forwards, Johnny OBryant III and Jordan Mickey. McRae and Releford both slipped to the second team after making the top squad in 2013. The 66th annual AP All-SEC team was selected by a 12-member regional media panel. AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Gainesville, Fla., contributed to this report. ' ' '
