Lindsey Vonn posts landmark downhill win
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- American Lindsey Vonn nearly wiped out Saturday but held on to win the World Cup women's downhill in Germany over Nadja Kamer of Switzerland.
Vonn battled bitter cold and bumpy snow conditions to post her 50th career World Cup victory and pad her lead in the overall season standings this season to 482 points.
Tina Weirather of Lichtenstein came in third and Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany placed fourth.
Vonn nearly crashed on the bumpy Ice Hang portion of the course at Garmisch but stayed upright and flew across the finish line in 1 minute, 44.86 seconds. Kamer finished in 1:45.27.
"I hit a bump and lost the inside edge of my ski and went onto my hip," said Vonn. "From that point until the finish I skied well and was able to make up some time, but it was a tough race."
The super-G will close out the weekend racing at Garmisch Sunday.
Cubs sign Matt Garza to 1-year contract
CHICAGO, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The Chicago Cubs said they signed starting pitcher Matt Garza to a one-year contract Friday night, avoiding arbitration with the right-hander.
The Chicago Sun-Times said the team struck a deal with Garza worth $7.95 million, which is $2 million more than he made last season.
Garza was 10-10 in 31 starts for the Cubs after being a centerpiece of an eight-player trade with Tampa Bay. He led the Chicago with 197 strikeouts and finished with a 3.32. ERA.
"He's a top-of-the-rotation-type starter," said Cubs General Manager Theo Epstein. "He has proven it in the American League East and he proved it here last year in the National League Central."
The newspaper said the deal kept alive Epstein's streak of never going to arbitration with a player. Garza will be eligible for arbitration next season but won't be able to turn free agent until after the 2013 campaign.
Parcells fails to make Hall of Fame cut
INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Former New York Giants Coach Bill Parcells failed to make this year's cut in balloting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The results of this year's vote were revealed Saturday in Indianapolis on the eve of the 2012 Super Bowl pitting the Giants against the New England Patriots.
Parcells won two Super Bowls as the Giants' mentor, in 1986 and 1990. He also coached the Patriots, Jets and Cowboys. His career record was 183-138-1.
He and wide receivers Cris Carter and Andre Reed made the first cut but were not among the finalists in the voting.
Curtis Martin, Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf and senior nominee Jack Butler were all elected by the selection committee.
Martin surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in 10 of his 11 NFL seasons with the Patriots and Jets; Dawson was a center for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1988-2000; Doleman was an eight-time Pro Bowl defender for the Vikings, Falcons and 49ers; Kennedy was a defensive tackle for the Seahawks; and Roaf was a tackle for the Saints and Chiefs.
Super Bowl ticket scam costs woman $2,000
INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- An Indianapolis woman says she was scammed out of $2,000 when she tried to buy four Super Bowl tickets through Craigslist.
Tracy Copeland, 51, told police she answered two ads for tickets Wednesday, paying one seller $500 for two tickets and another seller $1,500 for two tickets, The Indianapolis Star reported.
She said the first two tickets were supposed to be delivered overnight by FedEx, an Indianapolis police report said. But the service told her it had no deliveries for her.
The other seller told the scam victim her tickets were at the post office but the U.S. Postal Service said no packages were there for her, police said.
