Shiffrin wins record 83rd race
SAN VIGILIO DI MAREBBE, ITALY >> Exhaustion. Relief. Satisfaction.
American skier Mikaela Shiffrin felt all that and more after winning a record 83rd World Cup race Tuesday.
Shiffrin's giant slalom victory broke a tie on the all-time women's list with former American teammate Lindsey Vonn, who retired four years ago when injuries cut her career short.
“I don't think there are words to explain all the feelings,” Shiffrin said. “In the end of it, it's like there's too much excitement to feel. I don't know if that makes sense. So it's something you can't explain. So I just try to breathe a bit and enjoy it.”
Shiffrin now needs only three more wins to match Ingemar Stenmark's overall record — between men and women — of 86 victories. Stenmark competed in the 1970s and 80s.
Shiffrin led from start to finish at the Kronplatz resort in the Italian Dolomites, crossing 0.45 seconds ahead of world champion Lara Gut-Behrami and 1.43 ahead of home favorite and former overall champion Federica Brignone.
Shiffrin posted the fastest first run and was therefore the last skier to race in the second run.
“I was a bit nervous for the second run, but mostly, I hate waiting,” Shiffrin said. “Finally, when it was time to go, then it was like everything went quiet, and I just pushed as hard as I could every turn. It was pretty amazing to come through the finish and see that I was quite fast. Because I could hear that the other athletes were skiing well. I thought, `I could lose this, so I better try to ski a really good run.' And it was.”
MLB
ROYALS GET LHP TAYLOR FROM BOSTON FOR SS MONDESI >> The Royals acquired left-hander Josh Taylor from the Boston Red Sox for injury-prone shortstop Adalberto Mondesi and an additional player, the second straight day that Kansas City dealt one of its surplus position players in a bid to upgraded its lackluster bullpen.
The 30-year-old Taylor missed all of last season with a back injury, but he was stellar over the previous three seasons in Boston, with a 3.69 ERA and 129 strikeouts over 121 appearances. At one point during the 2021 season, he had a streak of 26 consecutive scoreless outings, the longest streak for a lefthander in franchise history.
Mondesi made his big league debut in the 2015 World Series, when it seemed as if his future was limitless. But despite elite speed and defense, and showing flashes at the plate, Mondesi was never able to stay healthy, appearing in just 109 games over the past three seasons.
Tennis
LINETTE KEEPS GETTING BETTER; INTO OPEN SEMIS >> Two days after advancing to her first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal, unseeded Magda Linette has gone one better and is into the Australian Open semifinals.
The 30-year-old Linette beat Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday, adding the former No. 1 to the list of top players she has beaten at Melbourne Park during this tournament.
Linette will play the winner of the second women's quarterfinal between No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Donna Vekic. They meet in Thursday night's semifinals.
The other women's semifinalists were determined on Tuesday. Two-time former Australian champion Victoria Azarenka will play Wimbledon titleholder Elena Rybakina for a chance to play in Saturday night's final.
NBA
ALL-STAR ROSTERS WON'T BE PICKED UNTIL GAME NIGHT >> The NBA All-Star Game is Feb. 19. And nobody will know the All-Star rosters until that night.
Not even the players themselves.
The team captains — probably LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and either Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo or Brooklyn's Kevin Durant — will make their picks in a live, televised pregame segment shortly before the game begins in Salt Lake City.
This will be the sixth time that the league has used the format where captains choose their teams, but in each of the first five instances the rosters were selected several days before the game.
College football
TENNESSEE GIVES HEUPEL BIG PAY RAISE TO $9 MILLION >> Tennessee gave coach Josh Heupel a big raise that puts him among the highest-paid coaches in college football after he led the Volunteers
to their best season in more than 20 years.
Heupel will make $9 million per year through the 2028 football season under the contract extension announced by the school Tuesday and signed Jan. 19. That's an increase from the $5 million extension signed last July that pushed his deal through 2027.
Athletic director Danny White said Heupel's results speak for themselves with an 18-8 record, including 11-2 last season, capped by a win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl. White said Heupel and his staff have energized the program and fans with his aggressive style of football.
Track
JAMAICA: FBI TO HELP PROBE MASSIVE FRAUD CASE TARGETING BOLT >> Jamaica's government has turned to the FBI for help as it investigates a massive fraud case involving a private investment firm where $12.7 million belonging to renowned sprinter Usain Bolt has gone missing. The fraud lasted 13 years and also ensnared elderly clients and government agencies. Authorities don't yet know how much was stolen.
Attorneys for Bolt, who said the star athlete's account has dwindled to just $12,000, have given the investment firm until Friday to return the money before going to court.