SHIFFRIN WINS RECORD 47TH SLALOM RACE, BUT NOT TITLE

Mikaela Shiffrin impressed with a come-from-behind win in a night race Tuesday to send a strong signal to her Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova in the last women’s World Cup slalom before the Beijing Olympics.

Racing on the challenging Planai course, the American improved from fifth place, posting the fastest time with an all-attacking run to beat firstrun leader Vlhova by 0.15 seconds.

Vlhova has been dominating women’s slalom this season, winning five of the seven races and locking up the season title with two races to spare.

But Shiffrin was back to her best Tuesday, two days after failing to finish the previous slalom.

“It’s such a privilege to race on this slope and all I wanted to do today was earn that, like deserve it,” said Shiffrin, who called the Planai “an iconic hill.”

The American cried and buried her face on an advertisement banner in the finish area after her leading time still stood after all four racers after her had finished.

“Last time I skied slalom in Schladming (Austria) was world champs, also emotional,” said the American, referring to the championships in 2013, when she won her first world title as a 17-year-old.

Tuesday’s victory marked Shiffrin’s 47th career slalom win, making her the first skier in World Cup history to win that many races in a single discipline. She previously shared the best mark with Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark, who won 46 giant slaloms in the 1970s and 80s.

Her win did not prevent Vlhova from securing the season title in the discipline.

More winter sports

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White has made a last-minute decision to compete in a World Cup event in Switzerland later this week.

The 35-year-old White pulled out of the final of an Olympic qualifying event in Mammoth Mountain last weekend, feeling lingering effects from COVID-19.

He is currently ranked 14th on the World Snowboarding Points List and is the fourth-best American on the list, which would be enough to land one of the four men’s halfpipe spots on the U.S. Olympic team.

A strong finish at the Laax Open, which starts Thursday with qualifying, would solidify that standing. U.S. team coaches can also use a discretionary pick to give White a spot.

Baseball

Major League Baseball and the players’ association are scheduled to meet Thursday, ending a 42-day break in negotiations that began when management started a lockout, the sport’s first work stoppage since 1995.

With the scheduled start of spring training five weeks away, management was planning to make a new proposal to players, several people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Keith Hernandez will have his No. 17 retired by the New York Mets this summer to honor his seven seasons as a player and nearly three decades as a beloved broadcaster with the franchise.

Horse racing

The California Horse Racing Board’s equine medical director, Dr. Jeff Blea, has been placed on administrative leave by UC Davis pending further review of his veterinary license. Blea has not been performing the functions of EMD since Thursday after state attorneys indicated he needed a veterinary license.

The board was informed on Wednesday night that its interpretation that the equine medical director did not need a veterinarian’s license was not entirely accurate. Blea had his license suspended last Monday at the request of the California Veterinary Medical Board after an emergency hearing on Dec. 24.

Blea has been charged with eight violations, mostly minor including inadequate bookkeeping. Two other veterinarians charged at the same time did not have an emergency license review even though they are still practicing veterinarians while Blea has moved to a regulatory role and does not see patients.

Soccer

Midfielder Ben Bender out of Maryland was the first pick in Major League Soccer’s SuperDraft by expansion club Charlotte FC.

Bender, a Baltimore native, was named the 2021 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year after scoring seven goals with five assists over 18 games with the Terrapins as a sophomore.

He is one of eight young players who were part of the MLS Generation Adidas class this year, so he won’t count against Charlotte’s salary budget.

The unions for the U.S. women’s and men’s national teams have not committed to agreeing to a single pay structure proposed by the U.S. Soccer Federation, the head of the federation said in a letter to fans.

Golf

Six years after Tom Watson played the Masters for the 43rd time, the twotime champion returns in April to hit the ceremonial tee shot alongside Jack Nicklaus and