Miller second, but still king of hills

Bode Miller increased his lead in the overall World Cup standings yesterday, finishing second in a super-G in Kvitfjell, Norway. Georg Streitberger of Austria held off Miller for his first World Cup victory, edging the American by two-10ths of a second. Streitberger went down the 2,574-meter Olympic course in 1 minute 26.68 seconds. Miller's result matched his previous best in the super-G this season. The 30-year-old did not ski aggressively. "I wanted to make sure that I didn't take too much risk today," Miller said. "I didn't take a lot of risk at all. I still made a mistake on the bottom that cost me some time, but I don't think I would have won anyway. Miller increased his lead in the overall standings ahead of Didier Cuche of Switzerland, who finished in third place, .32 seconds behind Streitberger. Miller now has 1,363 points. Cuche is 185 points behind . . . Lindsey Vonn got a boost in her bid for the overall World Cup title with the cancellation of the women's slalom in Zwiesel, Germany, because of heavy winds. The American leads Nicole Hosp of Austria by 54 points in the overall standings, 1,103 to 1,049 . . . Norway's Jorgen Aukland beat his brother Anders to win the 56-mile Vasaloppet cross-country marathon in Sweden, the world's oldest and longest ski race. Aukland won in 4 hours 13 minutes 45 seconds, beating his brother by 3:29.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano will miss up to five days after he fractured his right middle finger during practice. The team said the righthanded Soriano broke the finger while working on fly ball drills . . . Milwaukee Brewers slugger Prince Fielder renewed his contract for $670,000 after finishing third in NL MVP voting last season and said: "I'm not happy about it at all. The fact I've had to be renewed two years in a row, I'm not happy about it because there's a lot of guys who have the same amount of time that I do who have done a lot less and are getting paid a lot more." The first baseman will be eligible for arbitration after this season . . . . . . Hanley Ramirez was given a modest raise by the Marlins. Florida renewed its star shortstop's contract for 2008 at $439,000. He made $402,000 in 2007 when he hit .332 with 29 home runs, 81 RBIs, and 51 stolen bases . . . Troy Patton ended his side session after throwing just 10 pitches, a setback that forced the Baltimore Orioles to schedule another examination on the lefthander's ailing shoulder to determine if he should be shut down . . . Overwhelmed with regret and pained by a shortsighted decision he wishes he could take back, Tim Laker, a former major league catcher who admitted in the Mitchell Report that he injected himself with steroids to gain an edge, expressed sadness and deep remorse as he discussed cheating the game he loves. Laker, 38, is now a roving catching instructor for Cleveland.

Colorado Avalanche forwards Ryan Smyth and Marek Svatos will be out indefinitely with injuries suffered in the second period of Saturday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings. Smyth was hurt soon after scoring his second goal of the game when Los Angeles defenseman Jack Johnson checked him into a padded partition at the end of the Avalanche bench. He lay motionless on the ice for several minutes but was walking before he was sent to a hospital for a CT scan. He was released from the hospital Saturday night. Svatos, who had an assist, hurt his right knee when he collided awkwardly with the boards in the corner of the Kings' zone. The team said both players would undergo further examination with medical staff over the next few days . . . Byron Bitz scored the Providence Bruins' only goal in their 4-1 loss to the host Chicago Wolves. Tuukka Rask stopped 29 shots for the P-Bruins.

Steve Darcis is 2 for 2 in ATP finals. The Belgian beat Robin Soderling, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), in the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis and moved to a career-best No. 45. Soderling, seeded eighth and playing in his second straight ATP final, was going for his third career title. He upset top-seeded Andy Roddick to reach the semifinals and fell to 2-5 for his career in finals - all indoors. Soderling credited Darcis with serving better than he expected.

Russia's Tatiana Aryasova made a smashing marathon debut, getting a head start on the male runners in a battle-of-the sexes race to capture the Los Angeles Marathon. She held off a group of Kenyan men and finished in an unofficial time of 2 hours 29 minutes. Aryasova won a $100,000 bonus as part of "The Challenge," the men-vs.-women format that gave the top female runners a lead of nearly 20 minutes over the men. The time differential was chosen by race officials in hopes of creating a close finish. Kenya's Laban Moiben won the men's division with an unofficial time of 2:13:51 . . . Adam Nickel, 27, of Madison, Wis., collapsed and died after completing the Little Rock Marathon . . . John Wooden had the cast on his arm cut open because of swelling, but was otherwise in good health and high spirits on his third day in the hospital, the former UCLA basketball coach's daughter said. The 97-year-old Wooden broke two bones when he fell at his condo Thursday and underwent blood transfusions at an undisclosed hospital over the weekend . . . Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin had surgery on his right knee and will miss the Sooners' final two regular-season basketball games . . . Liverpool improved its chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League by beating Bolton, 3-1, in the English Premier League. Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen deflected a shot by Steven Gerrard into his own net in the first half and Ryan Babel and Fabio Aurelio scored in the second to give Liverpool 50 points. Liverpool needed the victory to boost its chances of finishing in the top four and securing a spot in next season's Champions League. Liverpool can move into fourth place on goal difference over Everton if its beats West Ham Wednesday.