ARE, Sweden - Having waited nearly four years for a World Cup win, Maria Pietilae-Holmner was lost for words when it finally came.The Swede beat overall leader Tina Maze by just .06 seconds to clinch victory in Saturdays slalom, with home fans given extra reason to cheer as Frida Hansdotter finished third on her 29th birthday.Talking to the media proved more difficult for Pietilae-Holmner than taming the rock-hard Olympia course in freezing conditions that dropped to minus 17 degrees Celsius (1 degree Fahrenheit) in the mornings first run.Im getting emotional again, Pietilae-Holmner said as she tried to describe what it meant to win her first race since a City Event in Munich in January, 2011.For a long moment, no words came out, as she sat hunched forward, wiping tears away from her eyes.It was a ninth career podium for the 28-year-old Pietilae-Holmner and first since finishing second here in a slalom race in March.Her only other career victory was also in slalom — at Aspen, Colorado two months before Munich.This means so much, said Pietilae-Holmner , who won in a combined time of 1 minute, 43.65 seconds. Its really big to prove I can be the best one again and to do it at home is even bigger.After crossing the finish line, she paused, looked at the giant screen and then held her hands over her head as she saw the winners light.Emotional is the right word, she said. I decided to just enjoy it. Sometimes its easy to get a little bit stressed. I was trying to enjoy the nice view. Im a skier who hears everything, I can see my coaches on the way down, and for sure I heard the crowd.Hansdotter finished .32 behind in third for her 13th career podium.Its nice to share the podium with Maria, Hansdotter said.Sixth fastest after the first run, Olympic slalom champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States just missed out on another podium, finishing fourth after a brilliant second run full of her trademark aggression. Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., was 11th and Erin Mielzynski of Collingwood, Ont., was 21st.Shiffrin, who won the season-opening giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, in October, posted 51.65 and was just .02 behind a relieved Hansdotter, who clinched her third podium this season, all of them in slalom.Another learning experience, said the 19-year-old Shiffrin, who was a disappointing 10th in Fridays giant slalom. Im much happier to be fourth and two hundredths off the podium (than 10th).The 31-year-old Maze was aiming for her fourth victory of the season and second in slalom, after winning in Levi, Finland, last month.Maze is right back where she was two years ago and looks like shes hammering, Shiffrin said. With the world championships coming up (in late March) everyones really gunning for the podium and Im trying to do the same. I have to learn to have that fighting spirit, not just a winning spirit.After complaining of jet lag on Friday, having made the switch from North America to Europe earlier this week, Maze is looking forward to much-needed rest before heading to the French Alpine resort of Val dIsere for next weeks speed races.Now its two days of sleeping, Im really happy about that, Maze said. The body needs some time to get used to it. Michael A. Taylor Jersey . As Valanciunas was whistled for a rare technical toward the end of the third quarter - a result of waving his hand at an official after being called for a foul - Lowry pulled the Raptors sophomore aside, corralling him by his jersey and patting him on the back. Erick Fedde Nationals Jersey . 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Erick Fedde Jersey . -- Oakland Athletics third baseman Scott Sizemore has undergone surgery on his left knee to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.Handing Johnny Football a clipboard and baseball cap has worked out nicely for the Cleveland Browns.Rookie coach Mike Pettines decision to start Brian Hoyer instead of first-round pick Johnny Manziel wasnt popular among fans, but the Browns are 5-3 and in the mix in the AFC North.Hoyer has rebounded from knee surgery to put his hometown team in position to make a run at its first playoff appearance since 2002 and post only its second winning season in the last 12 years.Were doing a good job of finding ways to win, Browns four-time All-Pro tackle Joe Thomas said. Part of that is having a quarterback whos making the clutch throws.For picking Hoyer over Manziel, Pettine gets our vote for best coaching decision in the first half.Here are more unofficial, offbeat awards at midseason.WORST COACHING DECISIONRex Ryan sticking with Geno Smith after benching him at halftime of the New York Jets 31-0 loss to San Diego in Week 5. The Jets were 1-4 and Ryan couldve given Michael Vick a chance to rescue the season at that point. Instead, he gave Smith three more starts before pulling him against Buffalo on Oct. 26.BEST FREE-AGENT SIGNINGDenver signing four-time All-Pro DeMarcus Ware after he was cut by Dallas. Ware already has eight sacks, and has improved the run defence along with the pass rush.HonourablE MENTIONS: Wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. (Baltimore); cornerback Brandon Flowers (San Diego); wide receiver Brandon LaFell (New England); safety Malcolm Jenkins (Philadelphia).WORST FREE-AGENT SIGNINGDetroit signing kicker Alex Henery to replace rookie Nate Freese, who missed four of seven attempts in three games. Henery lasted two games, missing all three of his field-goal attempts in a 17-14 loss to Buffalo on Oct. 5. Freese, Henery and new Lions kicker Matt Prater are 3 for 13 from beyond 40 yards. David Akers was 7 for 10 from that distance for Detroit in 2013 but didnt get a contract offer.HonourablE MENTIONS: Offensive tackle Michael Oher (Tennessee); running back Maurice Jones-Drew and defensive end LaMarr Woodley (Oakland); running back Toby Gerhart (Jacksonville).BEST TRADEPhiladelphia acquiring running back Darren Sproles from New Orleans for a fifth-round pick. Sproles has 472 yards rushing and receiving and three TDs. He also has a punt return for a TD.WORST TRADESeattle received only a conditional pick from the Jets for wide receivver Percy Harvin after trading a 2013 first-round and seventh-round draft choices and a 2014 third-rounder to get him two years ago.ddddddddddddBEST PLAYCALLSt. Louis coach Jeff Fisher called a fake punt on a 4th-and-3 from the Rams 18 with a 28-26 lead and 2:55 left in the game. Punter Johnny Hekker tossed an 18-yard pass to Benny Cunningham and the Rams upset Seattle.WORST PLAYCALLPhiladelphia coach Chip Kelly calling a run out of the shotgun formation on 3rd-and-inches from the Cardinals 2 in a tie game late in the fourth quarter. LeSean McCoy was stopped for no gain and the Eagles kicked a go-ahead field goal. Arizona answered with a 75-yard TD pass to win it.BEST PLAYSt. Louis returner Stedman Bailey had a 90-yard touchdown on a trick punt return that had the Seahawks thinking another player was going to field the punt. Tavon Austin drew most defenders to the opposite side of the field by staggering under the imaginary ball. That allowed Bailey a clear path down the sideline after fielding the punt across the field.WORST PLAYSan Franciscos Colin Kaepernick fumbling on a quarterback sneak at the goal line on the final play in a 13-10 loss to the Rams.BEST GAMEIn a Super Bowl rematch, the Seahawks again beat the Broncos but needed overtime to do it. Marshawn Lynchs 6-yard run gave Seattle a 26-20 win and prevented Peyton Manning from touching the ball in OT.WORST GAMETampa Bay trailed Atlanta 56-0 going into the fourth quarter of a 56-14 loss. The Buccaneers have five losses by less than a touchdown but two losses by a 104-31 margin.BEST PERFORMANCEPittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had 522 yards passing, 40 completions, and six touchdowns to help the Steelers beat Indianapolis 51-34.WORST PERFORMANCESmith tossing three interceptions on three straight series before getting yanked against the Bills.BEST COMEBACK PERFORMANCEJeremy Maclin returning from ACL surgery to lead the Eagles with 45 catches, 790 yards receiving and eight TDs.WORST COMEBACK PERFORMANCEMatt Schaub hasnt rejuvenated his career in Oakland. He couldnt beat out rookie Derek Carr in training camp and has thrown one pass for the winless Raiders.___AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_RobMaaddi ' ' '