Lindsey Vonn understands how it goes. Sometimes victory vanishes by the barest of margins. She was beaten in a World Cup super-G Sunday in Are, Sweden, by 0.01 seconds, losing to good friend and rival Maria Riesch of Germany.
"I thought I skied a good race," Vonn said. "I was happy with my run, and unfortunately I lost by one-hundredth of a second, which is a snap of your finger. That's life."
Vonn was racing this weekend for the first time since withdrawing during the world championships because of a concussion. She won Saturday's downhill.
Riesch leads Vonn in the overall standings by 196 points as she closes in on her first title.
Vonn was followed by U.S. teammate Julia Mancuso, who was 0.79 off the lead. The Americans also had a strong showing from Leanne Smith in 12th place.
BASEBALL
Marlins' Stanton hurt in opener Florida Marlins slugger Mike Stanton left the team's exhibition opener after straining his right quadriceps while trying to beat out a ground ball.
Stanton fell to his knees after crossing first base, then rose and limped off the field before riding a cart from the dugout to the clubhouse.
Stanton hit a two-run homer in the first inning. Last year, as a rookie, he hit 22 home runs with 59 RBI in 100 games.
COLLEGE HOCKEY
UND clinches share of WCHA title Senior defenseman Jake Marto had a goal and two assists as top-ranked North Dakota beat Bemidji State 5-1 in Grand Forks, N.D., and clinched a share of the McNaughton Cup, given to the WCHA regular-season champion.
The Fighting Sioux (24-8-3, 19-6-1) scored four times in the second period to erase a 1-0 deficit against the Beavers (12-16-4, 8-14-4).
North Dakota plays two games at last-place Michigan Tech next weekend. A win or tie would give North Dakota the outright championship.
AROUND THE HORN
NFL: Miami nose tackle Paul Soliai signed a franchise-tag contract that guarantees him about $12.5 million for the 2011 season. The deal is an increase from Soliai's salary of $550,000 in 2010.
Auto racing: Morgan Lucas defeated Shawn Langdon in a matchup of former high school classmates in the Top Fuel final at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. Lucas and Langdon are Lucas Oil Racing teammates who graduated in 2001 from Jurupa Valley High School in nearby Mira Loma, Calif.
Track and field: Granted a fourth attempt in her American-record bid in the pole vault, 2008 Olympic silver medalist Jenn Suhr cleared 15 feet, 11¼ inches in the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. Officials determined the bar was improperly set on her third try, so Suhr got another try and raised her own record set two years ago by an inch.
Tennis: Juan Martin del Potro won his first title in his first final since winning the 2009 U.S. Open, beating Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 6-4 in Delray Beach, Fla. ... Top-seeded David Ferrer defeated Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-2 in defending his Mexican Open title in Acapulco. On the women's side of the joint ATP-WTA event, Gisela Dulko defeated Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the final.
NEWS SERVICES
