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Mikaela Shiffrin skis through illness to win slalom at world championship

Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates with her national flag after struggling through adversity to win the women's slalom at the Alpine Ski World Championships in Sweden.JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images/AFP/Getty Images

Fighting off a lung infection, Mikaela Shiffrin delivered her most resilient performance yet to capture the slalom title at the world championships in Are, Sweden, and become the first Alpine skier — male or female — to win the same event at four straight worlds. Shiffrin was suffering with a chest cold, her team said, and her energy levels were low. She complained about trouble breathing. On the first run of the slalom she finished in third place, but her second run was close to perfection. It was the fastest by 0.62 seconds. ‘‘A testament to her grittiness,’’ Shiffrin’s coach, Jeff Lackie, told the Associated Press, ‘‘and what she was able to accomplish in that second run was nothing short of incredible.” . . . Olympic champion John Shuster won his seventh US curling title when his team beat Rich Ruohonen’s, 8-4, in Kalamazoo, Mich. Shuster led the US team to a gold medal at last year’s Olympics . . . Canada’s Justin Kripps drove to the win in a World Cup four-man bobsled race in Lake Placid, N.Y. The top US sled was piloted by Hunter Church, who placed eighth on the Americans' home track . . . Russia’s Alexander Tretiakov had the fastest time in both heats and won a World Cup men’s skeleton race in Lake Placid. He finished in 1 minute, 47.19 seconds. Greg West was the top US finisher, placing eighth. The Americans put all three sleds in the top 10 on home ice, with Kyle Brown finishing ninth and Austin Florian grabbing 10th.

Colleges

Kentucky tops No. 1 Tenn.

PJ Washington scored 23 points, Keldon Johnson added 19 and host No. 5 Kentucky (21-4, 10-2 SEC) upset No. 1 Tennessee (23-2, 11-1), 86-69, to end the Volunteers’ 19-game winning streak in men’s college basketball . . . Bryce Aiken had 25 points and coach Tommy Amaker earned his 400th career victory as Harvard (13-8, 6-2 Ivy) defeated Penn, 75-68, in overtime in Philadelphia. Aiken nailed a 3-pointer to tie it with five seconds left in regulation and the Crimson opened the overtime period on a 10-2 run. AJ Brodeur had 23 points for the Quakers (15-9, 3-5) . . . Grant Riller scored 10 of his 33 points in overtime as Charleston (21-7, 10-5 CAC) rallied to top visiting Northeastern (16-10, 10-4), 88-79, ending the Huskies’ five-game winning streak. Vasa Pusica led Northeastern with 25 points. Bolden Brace added 13 points . . . Kyle Leufroy posted 18 points as Lehigh (17-8, 10-4 Patriot) dealt Boston University its fourth straight loss, 84-79, at Case Gym. Tyler Scanlon had 19 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals for the Terriers (11-16, 4-10) . . . In men’s hockey, forward Josh Dunne scored two goals as Clarkson (20-10-0, 11-7-0) snapped Harvard’s (14-8-3, 10-6-2) six-game ECAC winning streak, 5-3; Jake Oettinger posted his 11th career shutout and Boston University (11-15-3, 9-8-2 Hockey East) got third-period goals from Ty Amonte and Joel Farabee to earn a 2-0 home victory over UConn (10-18-2, 5-13-2); UMass (23-6-0, 15-4-0 HE) used a three-goal second period to defeat Boston College (10-16-3, 9-7-3), 4-2, at Kelley Rink; and Cayden Primeau stopped 23 shots to help Northeastern (19-9-1, 11-7-1 HE) earn a 2-1 victory over Vermont (12-16-2, 5-13-1) at Matthews Arena . . . In women’s hockey, Northeastern’s Skylar Fontaine scored two goals to lift the Huskies (22-4-4, 20-2-2 HE) over Providence (19-10-2, 13-9-2); and Boston University (17-6-8, 13-5-6 HE) skated to a 3-3 tie with New Hampshire (13-14-5, 10-13-2).

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NFL

WR Thomas crashes vehicle

Veteran NFL wide receiver Demaryius Thomas crashed his vehicle near downtown Denver. Denver police said Thomas’s vehicle rolled over and ended up on a grassy median after he apparently lost control at around 12:20 a.m. early Saturday. A female passenger sustained possible serious injuries that weren’t believed to be life-threatening. Thomas and a male passenger suffered minor injuries. Police spokesman Jay Casillas said the cause of the crash was being investigated, though it doesn’t appear that drugs or alcohol played a role. The former Denver Bronco was released by the Houston Texans on Tuesday . . . Cincinnati Bengals running back Mark Walton is facing a battery charge after police say he got into an argument with a couple in Miami over a request to move a parked vehicle. The Miami Herald reported the 21-year-old football player posted bond and was released from Miami-Dade County jail. According to police, Walton’s car was blocking the entrance to the parking garage for his condo building, and an argument ensued when a couple in another car asked Walton to move his vehicle. Police said Walton became angry when a woman in the other car began filming with her cellphone camera and grabbed the phone from her. According to police, Walton and the woman each suffered scratches in the altercation . . . Before picking football over baseball, Kyler Murray got some advice from another famous two-sport star. One Heisman Trophy winner to another. Tim Tebow says he told Murray to follow his heart when deciding between the Oakland Athletics and pursuing an NFL career. Murray, who won the Heisman last year in his lone season as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback, announced Monday he was fully committing to the gridiron despite being selected ninth overall in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft.

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Miscellany

Pro league to start in Africa

The NBA announced that it is bringing a pro league to Africa. The Basketball Africa League, a new collaboration between the NBA and the sport's global governing body, FIBA, has yet to determine which existing club teams will be part of the league. Qualification tournaments will be held later this year to determine those clubs . . . Gene Littler, whose fluid swing carried him to 29 victories on the PGA Tour and a US Open title at Oakland Hills, died Friday, He was 88. His most productive year was in 1959 when Littler won five times . . . Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka reached his first final since his comeback a year ago from left knee surgeries. The unseeded Wawrinka beat top-seeded Kei Nishikori, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, in the ABN AMRO World Tournament semifinals in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to face Gael Monfils for the title on Sunday . . . Unseeded Elise Mertens came from a set and a break down to beat recent No. 1 Simona Halep, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, in the Qatar Open final in Doha and capture the biggest title of her career.

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