Miller wins, leads 1-2-4 U. S. finish
At his daring best, Bode Miller is back in the victory column.
Off to a much slower start than a year ago, the defending overall World Cup champion picked up his first victory of the season Saturday in Beaver Creek, Colo., leading a 1-2-4 U. S. finish in a giant slalom.
Miller, who tied for the lead after the first run, nearly went down twice in the second, but somehow stayed up and stayed fast, finishing with a total time of 2 minutes, 34. 56 seconds.
Daron Rahlves, who beat Miller in a 1-2 U. S. downhill Friday, wound up in second place in the giant slalom, 0. 49 seconds back.
Kalle Palander of Finland — tied with Miller after the first run — finished third, 1. 23 seconds off the pace. Erik Schlopy of the United States was fourth, just another 0. 01 behind, despite skiing with his left hand taped after smashing it into a gate during the opening run.
Miller, the last to go in the second run, gave Rahlves a hug in the finish area.
Overnight snow left about 9 inches on the course, and more snow during the race brought it to about a foot.
“Everybody needed to fight today,” Palander said. “It was tough visibility, and the snow was so strange — sometimes really clean turns or icy turns, sometimes really small ice balls.”
Schlopy was the fastest to the first time check in the first run, but he lost nearly a full second to Miller over the final interval, skiing with one pole for the last 20 gates.
Last season, Miller won four of the first five races and six of 10 on his way to becoming the first American since 1983 to win the overall World Cup title. FOOTBALL Ex-Panthers cheerleader sued
A woman sued a former Carolina Panthers cheerleader, contending she was punched at a bar and seeking compensation for her injuries. Melissa Holden of Tampa filed the lawsuit Friday. It said Victoria Renee Thomas “intentionally, willfully and maliciously assaulted and battered” her. “I’ve been humiliated,” said Holden, a 26-year-old University of South Florida student and nurse. “People assume I have a boyfriend or a husband who beat me up.” Thomas ’ attorney, William Bunting Jr., declined to comment Friday because neither he nor Thomas had seen the lawsuit. He did not return a phone message left at his office Saturday. Holden was waiting in line in the bathroom of a Tampa bar Nov. 6 when Thomas punched her, police said. Thomas and another cheerleader, Angela Keathley, had emerged from a stall after other patrons yelled at them, police said. Thomas, 20, of Pittsboro, N. C., faces a battery charge and two other charges of using a false name. Keathley, 26, of Belmont, N. C., faces charges of obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct. Some witnesses said Thomas and Keathley were having sex in the stall, but Thomas later denied that. She and Keathley have since been fired from the Topcats cheerleading squad. BASEBALL Gordon passes physical Tom Gordon passed his physical and officially joined the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, agreeing to an $ 18 million, three-year contract to replace Billy Wagner as the closer. The 38-yearold right-hander gets $ 4. 5 million next year, $ 7 million in 2007 and $ 5. 5 million in 2008. Philadelphia has a 2009 option for $ 4. 5 million with a $ 1 million buyout. Gordon agreed to the deal after meeting with General Manager Pat Gillick on Thursday. A two-time All-Star (1998, 2004 ), Gordon went 5-4 with 2 saves and a 2. 57 ERA in 79 games for the Yankees this season. He held opponents to a. 203
2 average, allowing only 59 hits in 80 / 3 innings. In his past five seasons (2001-05 ), Gordon, has a 2. 82 ERA while opponents are batting just. 205 against him in 306 appearances. Gordon has done it all during 17 seasons with six teams. He began his career in Kansas City in 1988 and won 17 games as a starter the following year.
Major League Baseball is close to a tentative agreement with the city that would clear the way for a new stadium for the Washington Nationals and the long-awaited sale of the team. D. C. Council Chair Linda W. Cropp said Saturday on WRC-TV that a deal had been reached with baseball agreeing to contribute $ 20 million to a contingency fund and guarantee rent payments. However, a spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams said talks between city officials and baseball are still being held this weekend in Washington. “We’re just not there yet. There are some people who feel a little more confident in saying,” spokesman Vince Morris said. “I’d rather have it hand before I claim that we’ve got a deal.” Baseball has said it will not sell the Nationals until there is a lease agreement. Eight bidders are ready to pay $ 450 million for the team, which is owned by the other 29 major league teams.
The Houston Astros signed veteran right-handed pitcher Russ Springer to a one-year, $ 750, 000 contract Saturday. Springer, who signed a minor league contract with the team in 2004, was 4-4 with a 4. 73 ERA after being called up in August. He had a 3. 38 ERA in five relief appearances during the playoffs for the NL champions. Springer, who made his major league debut in 1992 with the New York Yankees, has a career record of 24-38 with a 5. 08 ERA. GOLF Three share lead
South Africa’s Tim Clark shot a 5-under 67 and Australia’s Adam Scott had a 68 in windy conditions Saturday to join Argentina’s Angel Cabrera at the top of the leaderboard in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, Africa. Cabrera, who shot a course-record 64 on Friday, had a 74 to match Clark and Scott at 7-under 209 on the Gary Player Country Club course. Defending champion Retief Goosen (71 ) and American Jim Furyk (72 ) were a stroke behind the leaders. South African star Ernie Els, making his first competitive start since tearing ligaments in his left knee in July, was 1 under after a 73. Ai Miyazato shot a 6-under 66 to take a 12-shot lead into the final round of the LPGA Tour qualifying tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla. Miyazato, the 20-year-old who already is a star in Japan, had a 17-under 271 at LPGA International. Kate Golden (69 ) and Katie Futcher (71 ) were tied for second at 5 under, and Morgan Pressel, the 17-year-old who tied for second in the U. S. Women’s Open and won the U. S. Women’s Amateur, was tied for 11 th at 1 under after a 71. The top 24 players will earn full LPGA Tour cards for next season. Bernhard and Stefan Langer birdied the last three holes for a 13-under 59 and a one-stroke lead in the MBNA World-Points Father / Son Challenge in Orlando, Fla. On a perfect day for scoring at ChampionsGate Golf Resort, the Langers had 13 birdies in the first round of the Champions Tour-sanctioned scramble event. Five-time event champion Ray Floyd and son Robert were a stroke back along with Vijay and Qass Singh and 2003 champions Hale and Steve Irwin.
Australia’s Robert Allenby completed a third-round 8-under 64 on Sunday for a share of the Australian PGA lead with countryman Nathan Green in Coolum, Australia. Allenby, the Australian Open winner last week, matched Green (68 ) at 13-under 203 on the Hyatt Regency Coolum Resort course. Australians Nick O’Hern (65 ), Rod Pampling (65 ), Wade Ormsby (69 ) and Steven Bowditch (70 ) were tied for third at 10 under.
Scotland’s Simon Yates shot a 9-under 61 to take a two-stroke lead over Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie and two others in the Hong Kong Open. Yates had an 11-under 199 total. Montgomerie (66 ) was tied for second with South Africa’s James Kingston (64 ) and Sweden’s Martin Erlandsson (68 ). The event is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian tours. TENNIS Croatia takes 2-1 lead
Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic won Saturday’s doubles in straight sets to put Croatia ahead 2-1 against Slovakia and one victory away from its first Davis Cup title in Bratislava, Slovakia. Ljubicic and Ancic won 7-6 (5 ), 6-3, 7-6 (5 ) against Dominik Hrbaty and Michal Mertinak to remain undefeated in Davis Cup doubles play this year. To clinch the title, Croatia needs to win only one of today’s reverse singles in the best-of-five series. Ancic plays Karol Kucera in today’s first singles, with Ljubicic scheduled to meet Hrbaty. Ljubicic and Ancic topped the No. 1-ranked American twins Bob and Mike Bryan to help Croatia beat the United States in the first round of the World Group and launch the country’s march toward the final. Ljubicic moved within one victory of tying John McEnroe’s 1982 record of 12 Davis Cup victories in a single year — eight singles and four doubles.
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