Shiffrin now stands alone as top skier

Mikaela Shiffrin broke Ingemar Stenmark’s Alpine skiing record for career World Cup victories Saturday, claiming her 87th win in a slalom event in Are, Sweden, Stenmark’s home country.

Shiffrin, who broke Lindsey Vonn’s women’s record in January with her 83rd career victory, entered this week’s competition with 85, one win shy of tying Stenmark, a slalom and giant slalom star in the 1970s and ’80s. Shiffrin tied the record by winning Friday’s giant slalom event, then broke it Saturday in the slalom.

“When you have these special moments ... seeing my brother and (sister-in-law) Kristi and my mom (and coach, Eileen) in the finish today, that’s what makes it memorable,” Shiffrin said.

The 66-year-old Stenmark has described Shiffrin as being a “much better” skier than he was.

“You cannot compare,” he said recently. “She has everything. She has good physical strength, she has a good technique, strong head. I think it’s the combination of everything makes her so good. And I’m also impressed that she can ski good both in slalom and in super-G and downhill also. I could never have been so good in all disciplines.”

NFL: Bud Grant, the stoic and demanding Hall of Fame coach who took the Minnesota Vikings and their mighty Purple People Eaters defense to four Super Bowls in eight years and lost all of them, died Saturday. He was 95.

“We are absolutely devastated to announce legendary Minnesota Vikings head coach and Hall of Famer Bud Grant has passed away this morning at age 95,” the team posted on social media. “We, like all Vikings and NFL fans, are shocked and saddened by this terrible news.”

Wearing his trademark purple Vikings cap and a stonefaced demeanor, Grant’s steely sideline gaze became synonymous with his teams. He was a mainstay among coaches of his era, a decorated group that included Don Shula, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, John Madden and Hank Stram. Grant, however, had little interest in accolades.

“The only reason I can see for a head coach getting credit for something good is that he gets so much blame when something is bad,” Grant once said. “The whole secret, I think, is to not react to either the good or the bad.”

College basketball: Dylan Penn scored 21 points and Matt Veretto scored 15 and ignited a game-breaking run, leading Vermont to a 72-59 victory over UMass Lowell in the America East title game Saturday.

Vermont will be making its ninth NCAA appearance. UMass Lowell, in its sixth year of eligibility, finished as the runner-up for the second time in three years.

Quinesha Lockett scored 17 points and Jessica Cook had 16 as the Toledo women led wireto-wire Saturday to capture their ninth NCAA Tournament berth with a 73-58 win over Bowling Green in the MidAmerican Conference Tournament.

The Rockets (28-4) scored the first 12 points of the game and pulled away in the fourth quarter to secure their first trip to the NCAAs since 2017 and match the 2000-01 team’s school-record 16-game winning streak.

NHL: The Washington Capitals have re-signed defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to a threeyear, $9 million deal.

General manager Brian MacLellan announced the extension Saturday, hours before his team took on the New York Islanders. The deal through the 2025-26 season carries a $3 million annual salary cap hit.