SCHLADMING, Austria — Reinfried Herbst led an Austrian 1-2 finish in a World Cup night slalom Tuesday, while Bode Miller finished eighth.
Herbst, who led after the opening leg, won in a combined time of 1 minute, 37.32 seconds. He beat Manfred Pranger by 1.16 seconds for his second victory of the season and fifth overall.
Ivica Kostelic of Croatia was third and extended his lead in the overall standings to 75 points over compatriot Benjamin Raich, who went out in his second run.
Miller, the defending overall champion, finished in 1:39.34. Ted Ligety of the United States was ninth.
LeDoux facing new challenge
MINNEAPOLIS — Former boxer Scott LeDoux, who faced several heavyweight greats during a resilient, if unspectacular, career in the ring in the late 1970s and early ’80s, has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, attacks nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord and robs from people who have it the ability to move and speak. The majority of patients die from respiratory failure within five years of the progression of symptoms, though there are exceptions. There is no cure, however, and few options for treatment.
“You’ve got to look at it as a fight in the main event,” said LeDoux, nicknamed “The Fighting Frenchman” who finished with a 33-13-4 record, according to the website .
Give me a “C-O-N-T-A-C-T” sport
MADISON, Wis. — High school cheerleading is a contact sport and therefore its participants cannot be sued for accidentally causing injuries, the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The court ruled a former high school cheerleader cannot sue a teammate who failed to stop her fall while she was practicing a stunt. The court also said the injured cheerleader cannot sue her school district.
The National Cheer Safety Foundation said the decision is the first of its kind in the nation.
Footnotes.
Washington Wizards center Andray Blatche, who wound up on the wrong end of a collision with Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal on Monday night, will be sidelined two to four weeks with a strained left knee.
• The Memphis Grizzlies waived three-time all-star guard Steve Francis.
• New York Islanders center Mike Sillinger underwent hip surgery for the second time in a year and will miss the remainder of the NHL season.
• Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke has been suspended two games without pay for a blow to the head of Carolina Hurricanes forward Scott Walker on Jan. 20.
• The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to a contract extension with left wing Henrik Zetterberg that could pay him more than $7 million a year for 10 years, according to The Ann Arbor (Mich.) News.
• Mark Johnson, a member of the “Miracle on Ice” team who assisted on the gold-medal winning goal against Finland in the 1980 Olympics, was appointed coach of the U.S. women’s hockey team for the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The Associated Press
