U.S. skiing star could miss Olympics
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Star skier Lindsey Vonn, hoping to become the first American woman ever to win an Olympic downhill gold medal, said Wednesday she might miss the Games.
Vonn revealed this week she had suffered a deep bruise on her right lower leg.
"It's definitely not the place that I want to be," Vonn said in a pre-Olympic news conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, site of the Winter Games. "A week ago I came off having won the last World Cup race of the season before coming into these Games and I was feeling great.
"I was healthy and I had no problems. Now I'm sitting here today questioning whether I'll be able to ski. I have to play it by ear and take it day-to-day."
Dr. Jim Moeller, chief medical officer of the U.S. Olympic team, said Vonn suffered discomfort when she tried to wear her ski boots.
"She is being cared for conservatively with rest and other treatments to reduce her discomfort," he said. "We will continue to monitor her condition to determine if she can train and compete as planned."
Vonn, a two-time overall World Cup champion, said she would take a training run Thursday in hopes of seeing improvement.
"I've tried just putting my boot on in my hotel room and I can tell you it's excruciatingly painful," Vonn said. "I'm hoping tomorrow that when I get on skis, things will be OK, but I honestly have no idea. It happens to be exactly where the boot hits my leg. It's probably the worst place you can have an injury."
Vonn is entered in all five women's alpine events at the Olympics, which open Friday. The women's downhill is scheduled for Jan. 17.
Montreal ends Washington's winning streak
Tomas Plekanec scored with 8 seconds left in overtime Wednesday, giving Montreal a 6-5 victory over Washington that ended the Capitals' 14-game winning streak.
Washington rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period, getting a goal from Brooks Laich with 18 seconds to go that forced overtime.
Plekanec, however, halted Washington's march toward the all-time NHL record for consecutive victories by putting a wrist shot past Michal Neuvirth. The 14 straight wins came up three shy of the league record, set by Pittsburgh 17 years ago.
Neuvirth replaced Jose Theodore in goal after Theodore had allowed four scores on 25 shots.
Plekanec scored with 1:04 to go in the second period, giving Montreal a 5-2 advantage. The Capitals began their comeback 16 seconds into the third on a power-play goal from Mike Green and Laich scored twice to tie it.
Carey Price got the win despite surrendering five goals on 38 shots.
Heat surprises Hawks in Atlanta
ATLANTA, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Daequan Cook touched off a late surge with eight straight points Wednesday and led Miami to a surprising 94-76 win over Atlanta.
The Heat had halted a five-game losing streak Tuesday and backed that up with a victory over a team that had lost at home only five times this season.
Cook broke a 71-71 tie by hitting a 3-pointer with 8:34 to go and quickly followed with another 3-pointer and a jumper that boosted the lead to eight. Miami outscored Atlanta down the stretch 23-5.
Until the late-game domination, neither side had led by more than six points.
Jermaine O'Neal led the Heat with 19 points. Dwyane Wade had 18 and Cook contributed 17, helping move Miami back within a game of the .500 mark.
Atlanta, which had won its previous three games, got 18 from Josh Smith and 16 from Joe Johnson.
Johnson unhurt in wreck at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Four-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson walked away unhurt Wednesday in a wreck during practice at Daytona International Speedway.
Four drivers were involved in the accident, which was touched off when the car of Mike Bliss slammed into the wall. Johnson's car struck the back of the car driven by Denny Hamlin.
"Unfortunately, the only thing I hit was [Hamlin's] car," Johnson said. "When he checked up, I got into him really hard. It did some damage to the front end of the car, and we just can't get it right here."
Johnson will have to drive a backup car Thursday in the qualifying races that will set the field for Sunday's Daytona 500 -- the opening race of the NASCAR season.
"We know we've got a great race car in the truck, and we'll bring it out," Johnson said. "We'll send the [damaged] car back to Charlotte and let it be repaired the right way in case we need it [for Sunday]."
Joey Logano and Bliss also will use backup cars. Hamlin's team will attempt to repair his primary one.
Matt Kenseth, the defending Daytona 500 winner, posted the fastest overall speed in practice at 194.254 miles per hour.
