Two prospects from the U. Tim McCarver .S. Ski Team were killed in an avalanche Monday while skiing near their European training base in the Austrian Alps.The team said Ronnie Berlack, 20, and Bryce Astle, 19, died in the incident near the Rettenbach glacier in the mountains over Soelden, the venue for the annual season-opening World Cup races.Berlack, from Franconia, New Hampshire, and Astle, from Sandy, Utah, were part of a group of six skiers who were descending from the 3,056-meter Gaislachkogel when they left the prepared slope and apparently set off the avalanche. The other four skied out of the slide and escaped unhurt.Officials in the Tyrolean region said an avalanche alert had been declared for the area after days of heavy snowfall and mild temperatures.Ronnie and Bryce were both outstanding ski racers who were passionate about their sport — both on the race course and skiing the mountain, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and CEO Tiger Shaw said. Our hearts go out to the Berlack and Astle families, as well as to their extended sport family. Both of them loved what they did and conveyed that to those around them.The tragedy has left the U.S. Ski Team in shock, Alpine director Patrick Riml told The Associated Press in Croatia, Zagreb, where the American slalom team was preparing for a World Cup race on Tuesday.Head coach Sascha Rearick left Zagreb shortly after being informed and travelled back to Austria to be with the so-called development team Berlack and Astle were part of.Riml said the athletes were free to decide whether they still wanted to compete in Tuesdays night race, adding the team planned to wear mourning bands.We are all very close, said Riml, an Austrian who was born and grew up in Soelden. We train a lot in Park City. Well see how they handle the whole thing and how they react.Riml added its a shock for everybody. Two great boys, great athletes, good skiers. They were fun to have around. We are all in shock, still. Its very tragic.Berlack and Astle were part of a group of 10 skiers on the development team who gained experience in the Europa Cup and were preparing to race on the top-level World Cup.They all have the potential (to be on the World Cup), Riml said. These two boys were among the other eight boys who are our future. We believed in these guys, thats why we selected them.Berlack was a member of the Franconia Ski Club who recently trained at Vermonts Burke Mountain Academy. He had earned a spot on the development team in 2013 and finished 11th in downhill and 17th in super-G at the National championships that year in Squaw Valley.Berlack grew up in Franconia, the small town in the White Mountains that also produced U.S., world and Olympic champion Bode Miller. Rich Smith, program director at the Franconia Ski Club, said he had known Berlack since he was 7.Theres not enough words to say what a great guy Ronnie Berlack was and always will be, Smith said.In a statement, Burke Mountain Academy said it was devastated by Berlacks death. His father, Steve Berlack, is a coach at the academy. His mother, Cindy, is also a ski coach.Only last week Ronnie was here at BMA training with us, the school said. Ronnie was someone we all loved and deeply respected. He had a huge spirit. There is no one who better represents our core values than Ronnie. Our hearts go out to his parents Steve and Cindy, and his sister Carolyn.At the Dec. 5 World Cup downhill in Beaver Creek, Berlack was one of the five forerunners, who test a course before the actual race starts. Berlack was also set to be a forerunner during the world championships on the same course next month, U.S ski team spokeswoman Megan Harrod told the AP.Astle was invited to train with the development team this season after strong early season results, including two top-10 results at NorAm Cup races last month in Canada.He was hoping ... to be in the next Olympics, that was his goal, his mother Laura Astle said, and he was pretty much on his way.___Associated Press reporters Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City and Rik Stevens in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report. Vince Coleman . TSN Hockey Insiders Pierre LeBrun and Bob McKenzie both reported Thursday that there have been ongoing trade discussions between the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings over forward Sam Gagner. Dizzy Dean . The first of the three games will be played in Week 4, when the Oakland Raiders will take on the Miami Dolphins on Sept. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/custom-roger-maris-jersey-large-521q.html . James Jones got his turn Sunday. And the lift he brought, combined with the expected playoff showings from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have the Heat off and running in these playoffs.MAMMOTH LAKE, Calif. -- Shaun White skipped the Friday morning Olympic snowboarding qualifier to get some needed rest, a calculated risk considering the two-time Olympic gold medallist still wasnt assured of a spot in Sochi for his signature event. Two thrilling trips down Mammoth Mountain later in the afternoon all but solved that problem. Oh, and they sent a message too. The sports greatest ever is still on top of his game. In fact, hes building on it. Soaring through the California air looking very much like someone intent on making history, White dominated the afternoon session, posting a score of 98.6 to move closer to one of the four spots on the U.S. Olympic halfpipe team. Even better, he did it while landing the latest wrinkle in his ever-expanding repertoire. White nailed a frontside double-cork 1440 in competition for the first time during his second run, a trick he spent the run-up to Sochi obsessing over. The payoff came in the middle of his run as he packed four full twists and two flips inside in one physics-defying leap. Not bad considering a needed win was already assured. White posted a 97 during his first run, which included his usual double McTwist 1260. The new skill adds half a rotation, which he says changes it completely. Maybe, but the results havent changed a bit. White pumped his fists when his score was posted in a mixture of relief and joy. "I was treating it like an Olympic event, which it is," White said. "I wanted to up my score. I wanted to do something under pressure ... Im happy I landed it." It also avoided any second-guessing after White decided to skip the morning event after a busy Thursday in which he wiped out during a slopestyle qualifying event to return to the top of the hill hours later and win, securing a berth on the U.S. Olympic slopestyle team in the process. "I just figured if I could pull it out yesterday I should be able to do it today and that inspired me to get up and make it happen," White said. "Taking the morning off was the best call I think Ive made." LLooked like it. Michael Wacha. Scotty Lago, who won bronze behind White in Vancouver in 2010, thrust himself back into the mix for Sochi by finishing second. Taylor Gold wrapped up his seat in Sochi by finishing third. The U.S. is so stacked in the halfpipe making the Olympic team could be even more difficult than reaching the podium in Russia. Yet White left little doubt the chasm hes created between himself and the rest of the world hasnt moved much in the last four years. "I was really on the edge of my physical abilities," White said. "I was so fatigued from slopestyle. But I did a run that Ive never ever in my career done, so Im happy. Ive got to push through all the way to Sochi. Ive just got to keep going." The field behind Gold, White and Greg Bretz is a jumbled mess, with a half-dozen jockeying for the one spot that remains up for grabs. Its a field that now includes enigmatic Danny Davis after Davis pulled out a stunning win during the morning session. The 25-year-old was considered the snowboarder with the best shot at challenging White in Vancouver. Davis even beat White in a qualifying event barely a month before the games only to have his pelvis crushed in an all-terrain vehicle accident. Hes spent most of the last quadrennial trying to stay healthy. During a dynamic run, he looked more than healthy. He looked competitive. His 95.20 was enough to edge Gold by 1.2 points and give Davis hope of joining White in Sochi. "Ive had a rough four years of getting hurt and this year was about getting good at snowboarding again," Davis said. "If I make the Olympic team, its cool because its another accomplishment in my life Ive yet to make." Kelly Clark, who took gold in Salt Lake City in 2002, remained perfect by sweeping both womens events on Friday. The two-time Olympic medallist is guaranteed a spot on the team. The other three spots are a toss-up, though 2006 Olympic champion and 2010 silver medallist Hannah Teter bolstered her bid by finishing third and now has two straight top-four finishes. ' ' '