Lindsey Vonn won her third straight World Cup downhill title Saturday with a narrow victory in her first race since the Vancouver Olympics.
She beat Johanna Schnarf of Italy by a mere 0.01 seconds, and tied Bode Miller for the most career World Cup victories by an American at 32.
Vonn finished the Nationale downhill course in 1 minute, 35.26 seconds. Marianne Abderhalden of Switzerland was third, 0.38 seconds behind.
Vonn, whose only gold at the Olympics came in the downhill, clinched the Crystal Globe for the title by increasing her lead to …

The NFL has begun the final season of its contract with the players union by eliminating the salary cap. Free agency started Friday with no ceiling on spending for teams, and no floor, either.
Predictions on how free agency without a salary cap will turn out are pointless. Will teams go on wild spending sprees? Will some operate on the cheap because there is no payroll minimum? Will players who became unrestricted this year find lots of bidders or few?
Might the union scream collusion if teams shy away from big-money deals …

Victorious players emerged from the dressing room, still in their uniforms and with gold medals hanging from their necks, more than half an hour after beating the United States 2-0.
During their impromptu celebration on the Vancouver ice rink Haley Irwin was pictured pouring champagne into the mouth of team-mate Tessa Bonhomme, while another player tried to drive the ice-resurfacing machine and honked the horn.
Others lay stretched out on the ice drinking from champagne bottles and beer cans.
Marie-Philip Poulin, 18, who scored both goals, is still under the legal drinking age …

A Wisconsin senator criticized NBC Friday for its handling of online access to the Vancouver Olympics, calling it unfair and restrictive.
Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, wrote NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker to complain about an NBC policy that he said appears to restrict online access to people who subscribe to a pay TV service or who have a provider that is partnered with NBC. Kohl said the policy unfairly prevents everyone else from seeing Olympic events.
Kohl said he doesn’t understand why NBC doesn’t offer …

So these won’t be remembered as the Vonn-couver Olympics after all. It’s looking like they will belong to the entire U.S. delegation instead.
With 32 medals already won, and two more guaranteed, the Americans already have matched their most medals at any Winter Olympics, and there are 26 events left to add to their collection.
How’s this for fitting: The record could be brought down by the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian of all-time, Apolo Anton Ohno, who was competing in two short-track speedskating events later Friday.
The U.S. didn’t actually win any …