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LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland - Marcel Hirscher beat Felix Neureuther in a testy Austria vs. Germany duel for the World Cup slalom title on Sunday. Racing last as the controversial first-run leader, Hirscher finished 0.76 seconds inside Neureuthers time to overtake his rival in the standings. Hirscher then circled the finish area in a wide sweep, pounding his chest with his right fist in celebration. Earlier, Austrian and German team bosses had traded barbs before the decisive run over a first-run gate-setting design by one of Hirschers coaches. "At the end, everything is fine," said Hirscher, who added his second straight slalom trophy to the third straight overall title he clinched Saturday. Neureuther said he had been "quite mad" after his first run, but acknowledged Hirscher as a worthy winner. "A very, very tough end," said Neureuther, who was denied his first season-long title. "The last race was maybe the most difficult of the whole year. The best won and it was Marcel." Olympic champion Mario Matt was third, trailing 1.08 behind his Austrian teammates two-run time of 2 minutes, 7.74 seconds. Hirscher had led by 0.06 on the morning course. He raced first on the best snow through a gate-setting by an Austria coach that was branded unfair and ugly by Neureuthers team director, Wolfgang Maier, and ridiculous by American racer Ted Ligety. Austria team director Hans Pum defended its right to set any course within the rules. "I can understand it a bit," said Hirscher, of the anger also expressed by the France team. "The course setter will always try to set for his athlete." Still, Hirscher fully earned his third slalom victory this season on a less challenging second-run course set by the Sweden team. Neureuther stood hunched resting on his ski poles in the finish area to watch Hirscher race for the title. They were locked on the same time at the final check point, but Neureuther had lost speed through the last six gates and Hirschers smoother run carried him to a clear winning margin. The new champion first greeted Matt, who beat him to the Olympic title last month, before going to console Neureuther. "Its fine," between us, Neureuther said, "because Marcel wasnt setting the first run today." On Saturday, Neureuther had denied Hirscher the season-long giant slalom title by the minimum 0.01 margin. Then, the Germans third-place finish as the final racer knocked the Austrian down to fourth and into a points tie with Ligety. The American got that title on a tiebreaker — 5-2 on race wins — over Hirscher. Germanys Maier earlier revealed that Austria considered a formal protest Saturday against Neureuthers skis. Had he been disqualified, Hirscher would have taken Ligetys title. "When they win everything, everything is fine," Maier said, describing the Austria team as "the most unfair nation. 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Andrew Wiggins Jersey . -- Coyotes coach Dave Tippett thinks of one thing when he watches Eastern Conference teams struggle against Western opponents before they get to Phoenix: His team must keep pace. Jerryd Bayless Jersey . The Twins announced Thursday the 28-year-old Albers cleared waivers. He will join the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization.This Fourth of July for the Minnesota Wild was a little less eventful than the last. Still, the Wild made another holiday splash by bringing in more help for their blue line. The Wild announced Thursday they agreed to terms on a two-year contract with defenceman Keith Ballard, who was available after being let go by Vancouver earlier this week with a compliance buyout to clear space under the salary cap. The Wild said paperwork for Ballards deal would be filed Friday, when the free agent market opens. The Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported Ballards contract is worth $3 million. He was scheduled to make $4.2 million in each of the final two seasons of his previous deal with the Canucks. The 30-year-old Ballard managed just two assists in 36 games for Vancouver in 2013. Over three seasons there since being acquired in a draft-day trade in 2010 with Florida, Ballard had only 16 points in 148 games. He was hindered by several injuries. Before that, though, the former Univeersity of Minnesota star was far more productive.dddddddddddd Over five seasons with Phoenix and Florida, he averaged nearly 30 points while playing in 97 per cent of the games. As a rookie with the Coyotes in 2005-06, Ballard had eight goals and 31 assists and played in all 82 games. In his first year with the Panthers in 2008-09, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Ballard had six goals and 28 goals with a plus-14 rating while again playing all 82 games. Ballard will essentially replace defenceman Tom Gilbert, another local guy, who was dumped by the Wild with a compliance buyout this week. Ballard is from Baudette, Minn., on the Canadian border. He won two NCAA championships in his career with the Gophers. Another Minnesotan, centre Matt Cullen, will be moving on as the Wilds most prominent unrestricted free agent. Cullen told the Star Tribune that Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher informed him he couldnt offer him a fair contract given the teams cap constraints. ' ' '