Austrians sweep
Anna Fenninger clinched her second straight overall World Cup title, joining fellow Austrian Marcel Hirscher on the winners’ podium as he celebrated a record fourth straight men’s title. Both won their races in the season-ending event at Meribel, France, Hirscher in the men’s slalom to capture his third straight globe in that discipline, Fenninger in women’s giant slalom, also defending that title in the process.
Hirscher is the first man to win four in a row. Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg is the only man with five overall titles. Austrian great Annemarie Moser-Proell won five straight women’s titles in the 1970s.
Tina Maze of Slovenia finished second in the overall standings and four-time champion Lindsey Vonn was third, having won the downhill and super-G trophies in a stunning comeback season following two career-threatening knee injuries.
Detroit sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez made their Grapefruit League debuts in split-squad games. First baseman Cabrera, who had off-season surgery to remove a bone spur from his right ankle and repair a stress fracture in his right foot, went one for three in a tie against Washington. Designated hitter Martinez, the 2014 AL MVP runner-up who had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee in February, was hitless in a loss to Atlanta.. . . . Colorado released former staff ace righthander Jhoulys Chacin , who went 1-7 with a 5.40 ERA last year and had a 6.52 ERA this spring. . . . New York Yankees prospect Jose Pirela was taken to a hospital after crashing into the center-field wall trying to catch an inside-the-park home run by the Mets’ Juan Lagares .
Seattle’s Clint Dempsey , Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley of Toronto and Galaxy midfielder Gyasi Zardes are among six MLS players chosen by Jurgen Klinsmann for the U.S. team that will play road exhibitions at Denmark on Wednesday and Switzerland on March 31. Real Salt Lake keeper Nick Rimando and Orlando defender Brek Shea are the others.
Heather Richardson of the United States clinched the women’s overall speedskating World Cup title with a fourth-place finish in the mass start at the season finale in Erfurt, Germany. Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic finished second overall and Brittany Bowe of the U.S. was third.
Former NBA All-Star Stephon Marbur y , 38, continued his professional rebirth in China, leading the Beijing Ducks past the Liaoning Leopards, 106-98, for their second consecutive China championship.
Minnesota beat Harvard, 4-1, in Minneapolis to win its third NCAA women’s hockey title in four years.
Ethiopia’s Abebe Degefa and Maseret Tolwalk won Rome marathon men’s and women’s titles.