skiing
Vonn spends Thanksgiving back on the ski slopes
BEAVER CREEK, Colo. – Lindsey Vonn squeezed in a little freeskiing on Thanksgiving morning, a step in the right direction for a return to racing after reinjuring her right knee in a recent training crash.
The reigning Olympic downhill champion posted on her Facebook page Thursday: “First day back on snow since my crash, and it was awesome!” She also attached a picture of herself – grinning – on an empty slope in Vail.
Although she’s skipping the races in Beaver Creek this weekend, the 29-year-old Vonn hasn’t ruled out a return to competition in Lake Louise, Alberta, next week. Good friend and rival Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany told The Associated Press on Thursday after a downhill training run that the two are planning to travel together to Lake Louise on Monday.
Vonn had a training mishap in Copper Mountain nine days ago and partially tore a reconstructed ligament in her right knee. At the time on Facebook, she called it a “temporary setback” and that “nothing will keep me from picking myself back up and continuing to fight for my dreams.”
The Sochi Olympics are in February.
Vonn hasn’t raced since tearing ligaments in her right knee during a high-speed accident at the world championships in February. She was well ahead of schedule for a World Cup return – with her first competition scheduled to be this weekend in Beaver Creek – before her crash at the U.S. speed center in Copper.
college football
Illinois staffer arrested for pointing unloaded gun at car
URBANA, Ill. – Authorities said University of Illinois football staff member and former player Matt Sinclair has been charged after allegedly pointing an unloaded handgun at a vehicle carrying other staff members.
Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said Sinclair was arraigned Monday on two felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon. He was arrested Saturday after Illinois played Purdue.
Rietz said someone called police to report a driver pointing a gun out of a truck on Interstate 74. Police said Sinclair said he pointed the gun as a joke.
A phone listed for Sinclair is disconnected. He does not have a lawyer.
Illinois football coach Tim Beckman said Sinclair had a “lapse in judgment.”
Sinclair is Illinois’ assistant director of player personnel and relations. He played at Illinois from 2001-2004.
soccer
Engineer: Supervisor warned of problems with stadium
SAO PAULO – A safety engineer at the World Cup stadium where a giant crane collapse killed two workers allegedly warned his supervisor of possible problems with the operation, only to have his concerns brushed aside, a labor union leader charged Thursday, as sniping over the accident heated up.
The incident has fed worries about Brazil’s capacity to host next year’s showcase tournament, as well as the 2016 Olympics, though authorities insist they will be ready for both.
Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians was slated to be completed by the end of December, and workers have suggested that speed was a top priority on the construction site, with many working 12-hour shifts and skipping vacations.
The stadium initially was scheduled to be part of the Confederations Cup earlier this year, but world football’s governing body FIFA scrapped the venue from the warm-up tournament because of financing problems before construction even started.
Antonio de Sousa Ramalho, president of Sao Paulo’s civil industry workers’ association, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that supervisors pressed ahead with the operation to finish the roof despite several rainy days that soaked the soil. He said the engineer warned his supervisor that it appeared the ground was not stable enough to support the 500-ton piece of roofing.
Associated Press
