Dein erstes Forum » part of the reason the Tar Heels climbed one

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Tucker West and his sled were too heavy last week.This week, they were too good.West won his second career World Cup luge gold medal Friday, edging Russias Semen Pavlichenko by the smallest margin of victory on the circuit in nearly four years. West finished two runs on his home Mount Van Hoevenberg track in 1 minute, 43.088 seconds -- a mere 0.006 seconds faster than Pavlichenko, who was in position to win until the very last curve of the competition.Luckily, I showed up today, West said.His win was part of a big day for USA Luge. Earlier Friday, Toni Eggert and Sascha Benecken of Germany won the doubles race, narrowly beating Matt Mortensen and Jayson Terdiman -- the first Americans doubles sled to medal in a World Cup since 2010.Put another way, Germany went five days without winning a World Cup doubles medal. The U.S. went six years without one.Its been a long journey, for sure, Terdiman said.It was a long week for West, who was in second place at the midpoint of last weekends season opener in Winterberg when he was disqualified for being overweight.He more than atoned for that Friday, adding this gold to the one he won at Lake Placid in 2014.It was disappointing last week, sitting in second and having that taken away from you by a technicality, West said. Obviously, thats going to be disappointing. But I saw the speed was there and I was looking forward to this week, being on home ice and in front of friends and family. I was angry, I was determined to do better and I was hungry to do it.Wolfgang Kindl of Austria was third, 0.094 seconds behind West. Chris Mazdzer of the U.S. took fourth.In the doubles race, Eggert and Benecken finished their two runs in 1:28.382. Mortensen and Terdiman took the silver in 1:28.545, and Robin Johannes Geueke and David Gamm of Germany were third in 1:28.726.Eggert and Benecken are now 3-for-3 this season, having swept the doubles season-openers at Winterberg last weekend.The last U.S. World Cup doubles medal was a bronze for Terdiman and Christian Niccum on Dec. 4, 2010. American doubles teams had not reached the podium in 60 World Cup races since, including sprint competitions.This one will taste better, I think, Terdiman said.The Americans didnt even have to wait to see the scoreboard at the finish line. From the roar of the crowd as they made their way out of the final turn, they knew a medal was theirs.Im really hoping this is the stepping stone for a brighter future, Mortensen said. This shows we can get in there. This was part of our four-year plan, to get a medal this season, and now weve done it early and this is fantastic.U.S. womens luge star Erin Hamlin said Mortensen and Terdiman knew after last weekends World Cup opener, where they finished fourth in the sprint race and sixth in the doubles, they were sliding well enough to compete.Coming to home ice apparently was the final piece of the puzzle.This years been really good for them, Hamlin said. Theyve had really solid training. I think theyre finally at a point where theyre pretty comfortable on their sled, really enjoying sliding and feeling good about sliding. So I think its exciting to see.The World Cup resumes Saturday with the womens race and team relay. USA Luge swept the podium in the womens race at Mount Van Hoevenberg last year. Paul George Pacers Jersey . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. 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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina keeps sharing the ball and putting up big numbers, proving the fifth-ranked Tar Heels still have plenty of offensive punch despite losing a lot of production from last year.Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is more focused on getting more consistency from his team on the defensive end, and maybe a little more attention to detail, too.Joel Berry II scored 23 points and UNC shot 53 percent to beat Long Beach State 93-67 on Tuesday night for a third straight lopsided win to open the season.Kennedy Meeks added 15 points for the Tar Heels (3-0), who scored the games first 14 points and led by 23 points by halftime. That dominating start was enough to erase any doubt about the outcome, though Williams was aggravated enough at one sloppy second-half stretch that he angrily punched a clipboard to the court during a timeout.That first 10 minutes of the second half ... that was about as bad offensively as Ive seen us in 31 practices and three games and one exhibition, Williams said, adding he also wants more from his team defensively.Still, that stretch was little more than a blip, the kind of moment that will give Williams something to focus on in coming practices. The Tar Heels -- who shot 59 percent in the opening half -- never let the 49ers closer than 16 after halftime.Gabe Levin scored 17 points for Long Beach State (1-2), who never recovered from an awful start that included making 8 of 31 shots (26 percent) in the first half. The 49ers finished at 36 percent and missed 20 of 26 3-pointers.Im disappointed that we didnt take advantage of the opportunity to come out here and play a little better early, Long Beach State coach Dan Monson said.BIG PICTURELong Beach State: This game came roughly 48 hours after a loss at Wichita State as part of a demanding opening stretch that includes a stop at No. 12 Louisville on Thursday as well as visits to UCLA, Washingtoon and Kansas before the end of November.ddddddddddddSo far, at least, Long Beach State is struggling to keep up, losing the past two games by a combined 63 points.This game will help us get better, Monson said. Hopefully Thursday will too.UNC: Williams angst aside, the Tar Heels offense has gotten off to a quick start. They had 20 assists on 32 baskets after assisting on 72 percent of their made shots through the first two games. They have also scored at least 93 points in all three games -- so far, so good for an offense with new people inheriting key roles from last years NCAA finalist.POLL IMPLICATIONSUNCs three wins have come by an average of nearly 29 points per game, part of the reason the Tar Heels climbed one spot in this weeks AP Top 25 poll.BERRYS STARTBerry is off to a fast start in his development as UNCs No. 1 threat. He matched his career-high scoring total set in the opening win against Tulane to go with six rebounds, four assists and two turnovers in 21 minutes.The junior is shooting 60 percent from the floor so far this season.Im just taking open shots, Berry said. Im not trying to force anything, not trying to play outside of my game and trying to do what I have to do to help this team.THEY SAID ITA lot of curse words, just telling us to get our stuff together because we were playing bad. -- Meeks on Williams angry timeout message.UP NEXTLong Beach State: The 49ers continue their nationwide trek at No. 12 Louisville.UNC: The Tar Heels head west for an extended trip, first to play Hawaii on Friday before beginning play in the Maui Invitational over the Thanksgiving holiday.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/APTop-25 ' ' '