giant slalom on Sunday.Val dIsere hosted a World Cup down

CHICAGO -- Robin Ventura doesnt expect any more hoopla or controversy as Chicago White Sox left-hander Chris Sale returns to the lineup Thursday.Whether the White Sox manager is just looking at a best case scenario remains to be seen. But Ventura says there shouldnt be any issues from Sales teammates.I think its going to be fine, said Ventura on Wednesday, prior to the start of the two-game Wrigley Field leg of the White Sox-Cubs inter league crosstown clash.Players always have their teammates backs and thats no different with our clubhouse, Ventura said. I think its going to be fairly normal when he comes in as fair as hes going to be prepared to pitch and our guys are going to get prepared to play and its going to go from there.Sale (14-3) was the first big league pitcher to 14 wins this season but hasnt pitched since July 18. He was yanked from his last start on July 23 and suspended for five games following a clubhouse incident where he reportedly damaged 1976 throwback jerseys intended to be worn that night.(The uniforms were) uncomfortable and unorthodox, Sale said in an interview this week with MLB.com. I didnt want to go out there and not be at the top of my game in every aspect that I need to be in.In the same interview, Sale also apologized to fans who had come out that night to see him pitch against the Detroit Tigers.Ventura said Sale is not required to say anything to his teammates about the incident, but expects there will be some discussion.Theyre going to talk on their own Im sure, Ventura said. Over the course of the year theyve had meetings amongst themselves -- clubhouse meeting son their own. Some of thats going to happen but its not going to be a full team meeting.Sale will make only his second start in three weeks while facing the Cubs for the first time.He might have a little more on it than in the past because hes probably going to come out a little strong, Ventura said. Hes had these situations before hes had a long layoff and hes always been pretty good when hes had a long layoff.Sale goes against Cubs right-hander John Lackey (7-7) on Thursday. Lackey is 0-4 in his last six starts and 3-7 lifetime against the White Sox.Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he felt more upbeat heading into the showdown with Sale after his offense woke up in Wednesdays 8-1 victory.In a game like tomorrow we have to pitch well to beat them because you really anticipate theyre going to pitch well, hes going to pitch well, Maddon said. To go into tomorrows game with a defeat and not swinging the bats well would have been much more difficult.The Cubs are 7-5 since the All-Star break and wins in three straight series. But as they regain health and sharpness, Maddon said they could return to a similar for that saw 25 wins in their first 31 games.I believe we have another really good run in us, Maddon said.The Cubs stick with mostly American League opposition after the White Sox leave Wrigley Field. Seattle comes in for three games starting Friday and the Cubs travel to Oakland for three games starting Aug. 5. The Angels visit Chicago for a pair on Aug. 9-10.Vans Old Skool Sale Vans Old Skool Schweiz .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. http://www.oldskoolschweiz.ch/ . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Vans Old Skool Günstig .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Vans Old Skool Billig . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside.VAL DISERE, France -- Norway dominated, Kjetil Jansrud won, Austria struggled.The first downhill of the mens World Cup season on Saturday traced the same path down the sun-soaked Val dIsere course as the super-G one day earlier.Jansrud has gone 2-for-2 in the first speed races with teammate Aksel Lund Svindal defying expectations after a 10-month injury absence to join him again on the podium.Relying on technical skills ahead of pure speed, Jansrud was 0.26 seconds faster than Peter Fill of Italy, the defending World Cup downhill champion, down the 3.4-kilometer (2-mile) Oreiller-Killy course.Its an amazing beginning, said Jansrud, who won the season-long downhill title in 2015. You never know, but I hoped for sure for a start like this.Svindal, who was runner-up on Friday, placed third, trailing 0.33 behind his fellow Norwegian. Only the top three finished in under two minutes.Im very satisfied, said Svindal, who lacked stamina after limited top-level training since rupturing his right ligaments in January. Its a very hard landing (on the jumps) and I took a second before I got my breath.For the second straight day, Norway and Italy filled the podium and the traditionally powerful Austria team was never in contention.The best placed Austrian, in 17th, was Olympic champion Matthias Mayer who came down 1.45 slower than Jansrud.It was a terrible day, Austria team director Hans Pum told The Associated Press. In the last 40 years I cant remember many like this. We have to analyze exactly what has happened.Austrias winless streak in the marquee downhill discipline extended to 13 races since Hannes Reichelt won at Kvitfjell, Norway, in March 2015.Norway has now won eight of those 13 downhills, with Svindal, Jansrud and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde all taking victories for a small but high-class team.ddddddddddddEveryone will start screaming in the Austrian media, for sure, said Jansrud, adding he was not surprised at the rival teams result, citing Mayer returning from a back injury and Reichelt slowed by knee pains.We need to have fast Austrians to keep the entertainment coming and the spectators coming, said Jansrud, who took downhill bronze behind Mayer at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.Jansruds win on Saturday was keyed by skiing well through a turning middle section in the shadows where rivals typically lost at least a half-second to him.The lead was threatened by Steven Nyman before the United States racer strayed wide into rough snow midway down. Nyman placed 15th, ending his streak of four straight top-three finishes in downhill.While Jansrud was only 18th fastest at either of the two speed checks, Fill was the only racer to hit 122 kph (76 mph).Im surprised for my performance, said Fill, who took the downhill crystal trophy last season by edging ahead of Svindal, who missed the last five races after crashing at Kitzbuehel, Austria.Austrias slow start is not really my problem, Fill said. They have good skiers. For me, its better that they dont go too fast.Marcel Hirscher, the five-time defending overall World Cup winner, will seek to restore Austrian pride in a giant slalom on Sunday.Val dIsere hosted a World Cup downhill for the first time in 10 seasons.The French resort took over a three-race weekend meeting which was cancelled at Beaver Creek, Colorado, because of lack of snow. ' ' '