Malinin wins 1st US men's skating title, Brown 2nd
Ilia Malinin won his first national men's title on Sunday, delivering a 177.38 free skate for a total score of 287.74 on the final day of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Malinin landed three quadruple jumps and retained his 10-point lead over second-place finisher Jason Brown. Andrew Torgashev topped a strong weekend with a bronze medal, recording the highest segment score of the event with 177.78.
But Malinin gold-medal free skate was not without flaws. He did doubles on two planned quads midway through his program, then recovered with a triple lutz-triple axel-triple toe loop sequence for his final jumping pass. He also fell on his signature quad axel; he is the only skater in history to cleanly land the 4 1/2-revolution jump in competition.
“It's hard to be a pioneer,” said Olympic champion Brian Boitano, who was the first U.S. skater to land a triple axel. “When there's nobody else doing it, it's a really hard situation. You have to push yourself.”
Brown's 177.06 in the free skate gave him the silver medal. The 28-year-old veteran, who performed a routine to Josh Groban's “The Impossible Dream,” had not competed since finishing sixth at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
College football
GEORGIA'S BENNETT ARRESTED >> Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, who led the Bulldogs to their second straight national championship, was arrested early Sunday after police said he was intoxicated and banging on doors.
Bennett, 25, was charged with public intoxication and taken to the city detention center, Dallas police said.
Police said that at about 6:10 a.m., officers responded to reports of a man banging on doors. The location given by police was a community of townhomes near downtown Dallas.
NBA REFS' UNION SAYS JAMES WAS FOULED >>
The National Basketball Referees Association said that LeBron James was fouled on the last play of regulation in the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Boston Celtics.
The NBA office also confirmed for the second time that a foul should have been called.
“Like everyone else, referees make mistakes,” the union wrote in its tweet. “We made one at the end of last night's game and that is gut-wrenching for us. This play will weigh heavily and cause sleepless nights as we strive to be the best referees we can be.”
Golf
MCILROY LEADS IN DUBAI >> Rory McIlroy delivered an exhibition of short iron play to shoot 7-under 65 in his third round and build a three-stroke lead at the Dubai Desert Classic.
The top-ranked McIlroy made eight birdies at Emirates Golf Club — four in a row from No. 1, three straight from No. 13, and another at No. 17 — and none of the birdie putts were from more than 7 feet.
McIlroy did, though, give the chasers some hope by making bogey at the par-5 No. 18, for his only dropped shot of the round, after hitting a fairway wood from around 250 yards into the water in front of the green. After missing a par putt from 8 feet, McIlroy had a look of disappointment across his face as he walked off the green, despite holding a commanding lead.
NFL
DOLPHINS REPORTEDLY HIRE FANGIO >> The Miami Dolphins have reached a deal with former Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio to become their defensive coordinator, a person familiar with the hire told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to The AP on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized.
Fangio, who had been one of the most sought-after defensive coordinator candidates this offseason,
was Denver's head coach from 2019-21, going 19-30.
The Dolphins fired defensive coordinator Josh Boyer after three seasons with the team.
CHARGERS' HERBERT HAS SURGERY >>
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder last week.
However he is expected to be ready for the offseason program in the spring.
The team announced that Herbert had surgery on the labrum in his left shoulder on Jan. 25. The Chargers' offseason program will begin in midApril.
Motor sports
HYBRID ERA BEGINS >> Acura dominated the debut of hybrid engines in North American sports car racing with a 1-2 finish at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, where Helio Castroneves and the automaker won the prestigious endurance race for a third consecutive year.
Castroneves won the Rolex in 2021 in an Acura with Wayne Taylor Racing and won with Meyer Shank Racing the last two seasons. Castroneves, who turns 48 in May, was overcome with emotion after Tom Blomqvist closed out the victory.
Skiing
SHIFFRIN HAS TO WAIT >> Mikaela Shiffrin will have to wait for at least five more weeks before tying the World Cup record for most career wins with 86.
The American skier finished second in a slalom and remained one victory short of Ingemar Stenmark's total on the all-time overall winners list among men and women. The Swede competed in the 1970s and `80s.
Shiffrin's next chance
will be in March when she resumes World Cup racing after the Feb. 6-19 world championships in France. World championship races do not count toward World Cup wins.
ODERMATT WINS AGAIN
>> Swiss skier Marco Odermatt overcame a tricky course setting to win a men's World Cup super-G for his second victory in two days, just over a week before the start of the world championships.
Odermatt extended his lead in both the overall and super-G standings, as his closest challenger, Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, was among the 10 racers in the top 30 who failed to finish.
Bobsled GERMANY DOMINATES
>> Germany has captured the first two bobsled gold medals of this year's world championships, with Laura Nolte driving to the win in women's monobob and Johannes Lochner winning the two-man championship.
Kaillie Humphries of the U.S. was second in monobob, the lone U.S. medal so far at the championships that continue in St. Moritz next weekend.
Germany's Francesco Friedrich drove to second in two-man, ending a run of seven consecutive world championships for him in that event. He also is the two-time defending Olympic champion in both twoman and four-man.
The championships continue next weekend with women's bobsled and the four-man competition.
In luge, Germany won gold medals in eight of the nine events at the luge world championships that concluded in Oberhof, Germany.