Lindsey Vonn clinches 3rd World Cup overall title

(AP) Lindsey Vonn finished with a fitting flourish, the perfect way to cap a nearly perfect season, one chock full of victories, medals, trophies – and injuries.

Now the American is looking forward to some well-earned time away from the slopes.

A day after bruising her right knee in a crash, and skiing with her broken right pinkie protected by a green molded cast, Vonn clinched her third consecutive World Cup overall title Friday with a U.S.-record 33rd career race win in a super-G at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

“My body is completely – pretty much completely – broken,” she said.

Vonn described the pep talk she gave herself Friday this way: “I said, ‘OK, you’ve done this before. You’ve dealt with this pain. Just go out there and do your best.’ It was, for me, the best way to end such an amazing season.”

Amazing, indeed.

The list of accomplishments goes on and on:

-11 World Cup race victories in 2009-10, breaking Vonn’s own American record of nine, set last season;

-her downhill, super-G and super-combined championships make Vonn the first American to win three World Cup discipline titles in a single season;

-Bode Miller held the U.S. mark of 32 career World Cup wins until Vonn tied it in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, last weekend, then surpassed it Friday, and she is still only 25 years old;

-Vonn is only the fifth woman in World Cup history with three overall titles in a row, and the first to do it since Petra Kronberger of Austria in 1990-92.

“To dominantly win three in a row is pretty impressive,” said Ted Ligety of Park City, Utah, who claimed the World Cup giant slalom season title by tying for third in the men’s race Friday in Germany.

Oh, and let’s not forget the downhill gold medal and super-G bronze Vonn won at the Vancouver Games last month, despite a badly bruised right shin she feared might keep her out of the Olympics altogether.

Add that to her litany of recent injuries, including a banged-up arm in December, a battered back and that broken finger from a crash at the Olympics, and the leg she hurt in a fall Thursday.

“I’m happy to be done with the year and finally get a chance to heal my body,” Vonn said, “because I’m definitely hurting after this long season.”

She’ll skip Saturday’s World Cup slalom and head home to Vail, Colo., to get everything checked out by a doctor and start resting her right knee, which needs about four to six weeks to get better.

Vonn was told to stay off skis for the next several months, but she might allow herself the treat of trying out the trail on Vail Mountain that was recently renamed in her honor.

“I can walk,” she said, “but I can’t do much else.”

Well, except ski – and do so better than any other woman in the world right now.

Yet Vonn is already thinking about how she can improve, how she can “keep trying to ski fast; ski faster and faster.”

For one thing, there are the two events in which she did not win the World Cup discipline title this season: giant slalom and slalom.

“There’s a lot that still motivates me. I always try to improve upon every season. It’s going to be definitely hard to improve on this season, but looking forward, I’m going to try and improve my GS and slalom,” she said. “That definitely lacked this year, and I know I can pick up some slack on those two.”

There is time for that later in 2010.

For the moment, though, Vonn is entertaining other plans.

“We’re going to go on vacation for a long, long time,” she said with a snicker. “I’m not sure where, but someplace with a beach.”

LeBron ready to return against 76ers Friday

(AP) Cavaliers star LeBron James is tired of watching basketball and ready to start playing again.

James missed two games after twisting his right ankle last Friday against Detroit, but is likely to play at Philadelphia on Friday night.

“I’m always a guy who wants to play every game, but I think now looking back it was definitely the right decision to give the injuries I had some rest,” James said Thursday after practicing for the first time. “It’s not often you can look in the schedule and get a week off and only miss two games, so we took advantage of it.”

He says he would have played through the injury had it been the playoffs, but instead the team chose to be cautious. While sidelined, James watched his alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary, win an Ohio high school playoff game on Wednesday.

He also watched NBA games on a wall of televisions in the basement of his 35,000-square foot house.

“I’m very excited,” James said about playing the 76ers. “It’s going to be a good, fun night.”

The news isn’t as good for teammate Antawn Jamison. Cavs coach Mike Brown says there is a good chance that Jamison will miss Friday’s game because of a cyst behind his left knee. He sat out the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s win Monday against San Antonio.

NASCAR puts Carl Edwards on probation for 3 races

(AP) Sticking with its “boys, have at it” attitude, NASCAR placed Carl Edwards on probation for three races Tuesday for deliberately wrecking Brad Keselowski’s car last weekend in Atlanta.

Edwards will be monitored by NASCAR through the April 10 race at Phoenix but may drive in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.

NASCAR president Mike Helton said Edwards acted unacceptably Sunday but did not cross the line in what the sanctioning body will allow this season. NASCAR promised in January to give the drivers more leeway in policing themselves and settling scores in an effort to energize the sport.

“We made it very clear to (Edwards) that these actions were not acceptable and did go beyond what we said back in January about putting the driving back in the hands of the drivers,” Helton said. “We believe (Edwards) understands our position at this point.”

There had been a strong call from fans and analysts for NASCAR to suspend Edwards, who returned to the track down 153 laps from an earlier accident with Keselowski and intent on wrecking his car. He tried for at least one lap before succeeding with three laps to go, nudging Keselowski’s car and sending it airborne. The car banged hood-first off a retaining wall before flipping back onto its wheels. No one was hurt.

Keselowski supported NASCAR’s decision.

“They are not in an enviable position when it comes to these matters, but they do an outstanding job,” he said in a statement, adding it was unfortunate the accident overshadowed Penske Racing teammate Kurt Busch’s victory.

Edwards acknowledged his action was intentional but said he was surprised by Keselowski’s car taking flight. Because NASCAR approved greater driver leeway before the season, a severe punishment for Edwards most likely would have quashed the “have at it” attitude after the first test.

The decision to lighten up after years of penalizing drivers for minor infractions – Dale Earnhardt Jr. was once punished for cursing on TV; Jeff Gordon was placed on probation for shoving Matt Kenseth – was in large part due to increased fan excitement created by some 2009 feuds.

Denny Hamlin had a monthslong dispute with Keselowski, an aggressive young driver who has made no apologies for banging fenders with established veterans. Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya played retaliatory bumper-cars in the season finale at Homestead.

Helton said the day after the finale that NASCAR had perhaps gone too far in sterilizing the competition and acknowledged that more emotion and personality could benefit the sport. The “have at it” era was announced less than two months later, and Helton was not backing down Tuesday.

“The clear message, I think, we sent in January was that we were willing to put more responsibility in the hands of the driver,” he said. “But there is a line you can cross and we’ll step in to maintain law and order when we think that line’s crossed.”

Just what is that line?

“I think we see it when we see it,” he replied.

Clint Bowyer, participating in a Goodyear tire test at Darlington, disagreed with NASCAR’s assessment.

“I think there’s a too far in everything and that was too far. Bottom line. Simple as that,” Bowyer said. “That was a pretty scary incident that could’ve been a lot worse.”

The fairly lenient punishment – many view probation as a slap on the wrist – drew swift and mixed reaction from drivers who jumped to their Twitter accounts during Helton’s 20-minute announcement.

“Huh!” wrote Kevin Harvick, who was suspended one race in 2002 for insubordination – he parked his truck at the door of the NASCAR hauler when he was summoned to discuss rough driving at Martinsville.

“I’m thinking about asking for a refund for all of my penalties!!!!”

But Scott Speed and Michael Waltrip applauded NASCAR’s decision.

“You can’t ask the driver to take their gloves off one week and then tell em to put ‘em back on the next,” Waltrip wrote.

Helton said NASCAR saw two distinct parts to the accident: Edwards’ action; Keselowski’s car going airborne. The more serious of the two, in NASCAR’s opinion, is figuring out why Keselowski’s car acted as it did.

“That’s something that is very important to us, and we want to study very closely to figure out things that we can do to help prevent this very quickly in the future,” Helton said. “This is a very important element of all of this, that I would ask all of us to be reminded of the fact of the car getting airborne was a very serious issue.”

Roethlisberger attorney: ‘No sexual assault’

(AP)  The high-profile attorney representing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is disputing a woman’s claim that the two-time Super Bowl winner sexually assaulted her at a Georgia nightclub.

Police are investigating the 20-year-old college student’s claim that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her early Friday. Roethlisberger has not been charged.

In a statement Monday, high-profile Atlanta attorney Ed Garland says there was “no criminal activity” and Roethlisberger is “completely innocent of any crime.” Garland also says no sexual assault occurred.

Also Monday, the police chief of the Georgia college town where the investigation is under way says detectives hope to interview Roethlisberger in the next several days.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (AP) – The high-profile attorney representing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is disputing a woman’s claim that the Super Bowl MVP sexually assaulted her at a Georgia nightclub.

Police are investigating the 20-year-old college student’s claim that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her early Friday. Roethlisberger has not been charged.

In a statement Monday, high-profile Atlanta attorney Ed Garland says there was “no criminal activity” and Roethlisberger is “completely innocent of any crime.” Garland also says no sexual assault occurred.

Also Monday, the police chief of the Georgia college town where the investigation is under way says detectives hope to interview Roethlisberger in the next several days.

(This version CORRECTS that Roethlisberger was two-time Super Bowl winner sted MVP.)

Mets SS Jose Reyes to return to New York for tests

(AP)  Mets shortstop Jose Reyes plans to undergo tests in New York after doctors in Florida discovered a thyroid imbalance, the team said Friday.

Reyes will have tests on Monday and it could take up to 48 after for doctors to receive the results. Reyes is not expected to take part in any physical activity while he is gone.

“We’re going to be conservative,” said Mets general manager Omar Minaya.

The thyroid is a gland in the neck that produces hormones that help control metabolism.

Doctors cleared Reyes to play Friday after he took a follow-up blood test to one conducted during his physical. However, Minaya said team doctors in New York wanted to take a closer look at the speedy infielder and pulled him out of pre-game stretching.

Reyes appeared in only 36 games last season because of a hamstring injury, which Reyes said has healed. The Mets have discussed moving him from the leadoff spot to third in the lineup while outfielder Carlos Beltran recovers from offseason knee surgery.

Reyes said he felt fine and has not experienced any dizziness, fatigue or any other symptoms of a thyroid problem. He said he was anxious to find out what is happening.

“We’re not talking about my leg, nothing like that, we’re talking about my health,” he said, “so I have to be concerned about it.”

Reyes said this is the first time an imbalance was found in a blood test, and maintained that he does not feel “haunted” by injuries after being summoned to New York.

“I don’t want to say unlucky because leg-wise everything feels good,” he said. “But this is different. We’re not talking about an injury on the field.”

Armstrong feels physical demands of cycling

(AP) Lance Armstrong is feeling the physical demands of his second year back in cycling.

The 38-year-old Armstrong said Thursday that he “suffered a little bit” at the start of the Vuelta of Murcia, his first race in five weeks. Nerves even came into play.

“It’s just the tempo,” he said. “It was a windy day, it’s nervous and at the end we’re doing (35-45 miles) an hour, and you can’t simulate that in training. So you’re a little bit out of element.”

Team RadioShack boss Johan Bruyneel said Armstrong, who moved up to 32nd from 46th after two stages Thursday, was “still a long way off from being in good shape right now.”

“He’s a bit better than last year, but he’s different,” Bruyneel said. “Last year everything was new, we had lost all of the references. The whole time we lived with doubt – doubt whether he would reach a certain level, how would that level be, what do we have to do. Now we know he can reach a competitive level.”

Armstrong said memories of last year’s crash in the first stage of the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon did not resurface even if it was his first trip back to Spain since the accident. He suffered a broken collarbone that required surgery.

“The key there is don’t be in the back,” the seven-time Tour de France champion said. “I was at the back and you get caught behind the crashes and stupid stuff happens.”

Bruyneel attributed the crash to qualities one never would have associated with the American: “Uncertainty, doubts, not having the same reflexes as before – he had lost everything.”

Armstrong is making up for lost training time in Murcia, where Saturday’s 13.7-mile time trial will provide a big boost for his hopes of winning the Tour. Robert Hunter of Garmin-Transitions leads with an overall time of 8 hours, 35 minutes, 52 seconds. Armstrong is five seconds back.

“We didn’t have time to focus on specific things,” Bruyneel said. “Last year was more general training without an idea of where it would go.

“Until 2005 we knew that if things went well – the preparation, if there were no crashes, no one got sick, no mechanical problems on the course and if the team worked well – we had certain guarantees to win the Tour. Now, that’s not the case.”

Former teammate Alberto Contador won last year’s Tour de France when the two riders were at Astana. After a drop from favorite to front-runner, Armstrong finished third.

“He tries to win, but it’s not like in 2005 when it started to become an obligation. There was a lot more distractions and negatives and now we’re trying to cut all the negative and to enjoy what we do,” Bruyneel said.

“It feels like 2004-05. There’s super ambiance, everyone enjoys what they’re doing. It’s a little bit better than last year.”

Brees gets a Super perk: Golf with Jack Nicklaus

(AP) For his first round of golf since becoming a Super Bowl champion, Drew Brees wore a slightly mismatched outfit.

Blue pullover with a Golden Bear logo. And a beige Purdue cap.

Jack Nicklaus – remember,  the Golden Bear is an Ohio State man – noticed.

“Brees had a great year this year,” Nicklaus said, “even if he was a Purdue guy.”

With plenty of barbs like that expected to go his way over the 18-hole jaunt, Brees played in a Pro-Am on Wednesday before the Honda Classic with Nicklaus, Dan Marino and saxophonist Kenny G – a trip that brought the New Orleans quarterback back to South Florida about a month after leading the Saints over the Indianapolis Colts for the Super Bowl title.

Brees, who can play to a 3 handicap, said it was the first time he’d gotten on the course since June, and acknowledged that he was nervous to play alongside the 18-time major winner.

“I have a signed Masters flag in my office with his signature on it,” said Brees, who wanted to pick Nicklaus’ brain about course design and other golf-related topics. “Obviously, you know what he’s meant for the game of golf. Just to have the opportunity to not only meet him but then play with him, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The weeks since the 31-17 win over the Colts have largely felt the same way.

Calling the whirlwind that’s followed “nuts and mayhem,” Brees peeled off some of the highlights of his still-going victory tour: A parade at Disney … television chats with Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and David Letterman … Mardi Gras parade … Super Bowl parade … team celebrations … the list goes on and on.

And the latest Super perk came Wednesday: Golf with Nicklaus.

“He’s been able to revolutionize the sport,” Brees said. “He was one of the guys who made golf popular, made it, I guess, what it is today. To play for the length of time that he’s played and the number of championships that he’s won, major championships especially, you just have to sit back and say ‘Wow.’ That’s so difficult to do.”

Nicklaus said he found that humbling, and added that his game – while lauding Marino and Kenny G, both of whom he played with previously – was no longer “for public consumption.”

Wednesday was the first time Brees and Nicklaus played together, and Nicklaus saw a silver lining in Brees winning a Super Bowl.

“He was a Big Ten guy,” Nicklaus said. “So that’s good.”

Brees said he intends to take maybe up to another month off to rest and recover, before starting to gear up for the 2010 season and hopes of a Saints repeat.

More golf, he vowed, will get played before football takes priority again.

“I think it’s important to take time away and kind of recharge your battery both physically and mentally, emotionally, because that was quite a ride,” Brees said. “It doesn’t seem like it’s slowed down at all here over the last three weeks, but I’m certainly going to take some time with my family and just relax and try to get away and not think about football for a while. Play some golf.”

Jets to release RB Thomas Jones this week

(AP) The New York Jets will release running back Thomas Jones this week, allowing the leader of the NFL’s top-ranked rushing offense to become a free agent.

General manager Mike Tannenbaum said Monday that the team told Jones it will cut ties with him when the league’s free agency period begins Friday.

“Thomas joined us three years ago and has been a productive, passionate leader both on and off the field who has served as a positive influence for our younger players,” Tannenbaum said in a statement. “We were fortunate to acquire Thomas and wish him the best.”

Jones was due a $3 million roster bonus on top of a $2.8 million base salary this season. He and the Jets failed to reach a compromise on restructuring his contract; the team wanted him to take a pay cut.

Drew Rosenhaus, Jones’ agent, didn’t immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment.

Jones sat out voluntary activities last offseason while trying unsuccessfully to renegotiate his deal, which was front-loaded with $13.1 million over the first two seasons. He made only $900,000 in base salary last season, but didn’t allow it to affect his play.

The 31-year-old is coming off a season in which he set career highs by rushing for 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns while helping the Jets reach the AFC championship game against Indianapolis. He was also a popular presence in the locker room, twice being voted the team’s most inspirational player by his teammates.

Jones had a career-high 331 carries in the regular season and appeared to wear down a bit down the stretch as rookie Shonn Greene got the majority of carries. Still, with the game on the line against San Diego and the Jets facing fourth-and-1 late, coach Rex Ryan put the ball in Jones’ hands to make a first down that clinched a trip to Indianapolis.

“When I got here, Thomas immediately became one of my guys,” Ryan said in a statement. “He had one of his best years last season, might have been his best. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him as a player and a person. This is one of the tough decisions we had to make for our organization.”

Jones’ departure leaves Greene, the team’s third-round pick last year, as the likely starter in the backfield. The Jets also anticipate having a healthy Leon Washington, who’s recovering from a broken right leg that sidelined him for the last nine games of the regular season and the playoffs.

New York might also consider adding a veteran free-agent backup, perhaps Chester Taylor or Mike Bell, to add some depth.

Jones is the latest big-name running back to hit the free agent market after San Diego recently released LaDainian Tomlinson, Philadelphia let go of Brian Westbrook and Cleveland cut ties with Jamal Lewis.

Jones was acquired from Chicago three years ago, and rushed for 3,833 yards and 28 touchdowns for the Jets. He finished third in the NFL in rushing, a year after leading the AFC and making his first Pro Bowl. Jones ranks second only to Tomlinson in yards rushing since 2005.

While he’s at an age – Jones turns 32 in August – when many NFL running backs start to slow down and, in some cases, break down, he said earlier in the season that he thinks he can play another four or five years.

“Whoever came up with that rule obviously didn’t play running back in this league, didn’t prepare like I prepare, didn’t watch film like I watch film, didn’t take care of their body like I take care of my body,” Jones said last October. “Physically, I feel like a rookie.”

He keeps himself in terrific shape with a strict workout routine and also doesn’t have the wear and tear that perhaps other running backs his age have. He never had more than 138 carries until his fifth season.

After being drafted seventh overall by Arizona in 2000, he was traded to Tampa Bay in 2002 and signed with the Bears as a free agent in 2004. Jones ranks 28th on the career list with 9,217 yards, 190 behind Earl Campbell.

Canadian women blank US 2-0 to win hockey gold

(AP)  Canada is halfway there in its bid to win two gold medals in hockey at home. The Canadian women beat the United States 2-0 on Thursday for their third straight Olympic title. In a showdown between the sport’s two powers, Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice and Shannon Szabados made 28 saves as the Canadian women extended their Olympic winning streak to 15.

The streak dates to the 1998 Nagano Games, when the United States beat Canada for the gold medal.

Thursday’s game was played before a sea of red and white-adorned, cowbell-ringing, maple leaf flag-waving fans who packed Canadacanda Hockey Place. Also in attendance were Wayne Gretzky, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and members of the Canadian men’s team, which faces Slovakia on Friday in a semifinal.

Earlier in the day, Finland beat Sweden 3-2 in overtime to win the bronze. Finland hadn’t won a medal since taking bronze when women’s hockey debuted at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

The Finns celebrated as if they’d won gold, throwing their gear and sharing a hug. Finland President Tarja Halonen, sporting a team jersey, happily looked down from a luxury box.

Still, there’s such a drop in quality after the top two teams that there’s beenpeculation about cutting women’s hockey from the Olympics. Unlikely, says IOC president Jacques Rogge, who added that the sport will get another Winter Games or two for the rest of the world to catch up.

“Women’s hockey is a growing sport,” Rogge said. “There is no doubt that in the future women’s hockey will be a hit.”

US bobsledder detained, released by police

(AP)  A person with direct knowledge of the investigation tells The Associated Press that American bobsledder Bill Schuffenhauer has been questioned by Canadian police after an argument with his fiancee.

Schuffenhauer’s fiancee, Ruthann Savage, arrived at the Vancouver Games this week. The person says they began arguing for unspecified reasons Wednesday night, and police released Schuffenhauer after finding no evidence of a crime.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Schuffenhauer is a pushman for one of the three U.S. bobsled teams and is expected to compete in Friday’s four-man bob. He was not available to reporters after Thursday’s final training session.