Becky Sullivan

The draw has always played a big role in any team's chances at the World Cup, although with the expanded tournament, it should be easier than ever to reach the knockout stage.

Becky Sullivan, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street, the Dow's up about 180 points.

The U.S.

is the co-host of next summer's World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico.

The tournament is expanding from 32 teams to 48, the most ever.

The draw will sort those teams into 12 groups of four.

Those four teams will all play each other.

Then the top two or three from each group will advance to a knockout round.

The draw has always played a big role in any team's chances at the World Cup, although with the expanded tournament, it should be easier than ever to reach the knockout stage.

The Americans have played well this fall.

They went unbeaten in their last five matches, all of them against top 40-ranked opponents.

But simply reaching the knockout round won't satisfy their ambitions.

They're hoping to reach the quarterfinal or beyond.

Becky Sullivan in PR News, Washington.

Schifrin's 104 World Cup wins are far more than any other skier in history, man or woman.

But the races this weekend at Copper Mountain fell on the anniversary of a freak puncture injury she sustained during a crash at a giant slalom race last year in Vermont.

It took months to recover physically, and she struggled with PTSD.

In slalom, she is back to top form.

She has won every World Cup slalom race so far this season, but a podium in giant slalom has remained elusive.