Sports

(BEIJING) — For the second straight competition, Mikaela Shiffrin has busted out of the competition just seconds into the first run.

Shiffrin missed the fourth gate in her slalom run, the event where she won her first Olympic gold in 2014, and will not contend for a medal.

The skier, who was expected to challenge for several medals in Beijing, sat on the side of the hill, with her head in her hands, for minutes after the accident.

The second run will come later in the evening.

The 26-year-old also fell during her first run in the giant slalom on Monday, disqualifying her from the event.

“Could blame it on a lot of things…and we’ll analyze it till the cows come home, but not today,” Shiffrin said on Instagram following that crash. “Today I chalk it up to really awful timing of a really frustrating mistake. Moving focus to slalom now, AND cheering for my teammates in the second run of the GS and the DH!”

Sweden’s Sara Hector took the gold with a time of 1:55:68, followed by Italy’s Federica Brignone with a time of 1:55.97 and Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami with a time of 1:56:41.

Shiffrin is one medal away from tying the record for most Olympic medals by a female American Alpine skier, four. She is two gold medals away from holding the record for most golds ever by a female Alpine skier, also four.

Shiffrin aims to have many chances to attempt those feats during the games as she plans on competing in three other Alpine events over the next two weeks.

She is still expected to compete in the super-G on Thursday, the downhill on Valentine’s Day and the combined on Feb. 17.

Shiffrin, a Colorado native, has been competing since she was 16 and quickly became one of the sport’s all-time greatest skiers with her record-setting performances. She is the most decorated Alpine skier in the world circuit, having won 11 World Championship medals, six gold.

At 18 years old she became the youngest slalom champion when she won a gold medal in the 2014 Sochi Games. Shiffrin won a gold medal in the giant slalom competition and a silver medal in the combined competition during the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

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(NEW YORK) — After months of relatively cooler weather throughout Southern California, temperatures are beginning to spike heading into Super Bowl weekend.

An excessive heat watch has been issued for Southern California including Los Angeles, with temperatures close to 90 degrees starting Wednesday and into this weekend.

The Los Angeles Rams will host the Cincinnati Bengals for Super Bowl LVI on Sunday. The game will take place at SoFi stadium in Inglewood, in the heart of Los Angeles County.

The temperature could be in the mid to upper 80s on game day.

This would not be the first time a Super Bowl took place during extreme heat. The hottest game was played on Jan. 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the second time the Super Bowl was played in LA. At kickoff, the temperature was 84 degrees, making it the warmest Super Bowl.

The National Weather Service is warning that the unseasonable heat will increase the potential for heat-related illnesses for visitors from other parts of the country.

For those visiting Los Angeles for the game, wearing light clothing, drinking plenty of water and avoiding strenuous activity during the hottest parts of the day is advised.

SoFi stadium has a capacity of 70,000 and Los Angeles County has agreed to not limit the number of attendees for the game. This will be a huge jump from last year’s attendance of 25,000.

The weather is not the only thing bringing heat to Super Bowl weekend; the halftime show stars Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Enimem, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige.

The game will air on CBS on Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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(NEW YORK) — As American athletes competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing this weekend, a quartet of Summer Olympic athletes scored their own victories at home in the United States.

Four gymnasts who competed in the Tokyo Olympics for Team USA last summer each scored a perfect 10 at college meets this weekend.

The athletes — Auburn’s Suni Lee, UCLA’s Jordan Chiles, Oregon State’s Jade Carey and Utah’s Grace McCallum — all earned the perfect scores within a span of 48 hours, and it was each athlete’s first perfect score at the collegiate level, according to ESPN.

The accomplishment was first noted on Twitter by Nico Edgar, a sports reporter for the Daily Bruin, UCLA’s campus newspaper, and quickly went viral.

That makes it four Olympians who scored their first NCAA 10 this weekend: Jade Carey (bars), Sunisa Lee (bars), Jordan Chiles (floor) and Grace McCallum (bars)

— Nico Edgar (@NicoEdgarDB1) February 6, 2022

Lee, Chiles and McCallum, along with Biles, took home a silver medal in the women’s gymnastics team competition at the Tokyo Olympics.

Biles, who withdrew from the team final in Tokyo, took to Twitter to congratulate each of her teammates on their perfect 10s.

Lee, who won gold in the all-around competition and bronze in the uneven bars in Tokyo, scored a 10 on the uneven bars, prompting Biles to write on Twitter, “forever & always will be a bar queen,” alongside a video of Lee celebrating her score.

forever & always will be a bar queen !!!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩 @sunisalee_ https://t.co/qlCqgbSZUK

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) February 6, 2022

After McCallum scored a perfect 10, also on the uneven bars, in a meet Friday, Biles wrote she was “so proud.”

GO GRACE 🤩🤩🤩🤩 so proud!!!! @grace_mccallum2 https://t.co/F79mPAICOn

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) February 6, 2022

Biles called Chiles a “superstar” in a tweet celebrating the UCLA gymnast’s perfect 10 for her floor routine.

superstar🤩🤩🤩 so proud!!! @ChilesJordan https://t.co/40GM7Hj05P

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) February 6, 2022

Carey, who won gold in the women’s individual floor exercise final in Tokyo, also received a congratulations tweet from Biles after scoring a 10 on the uneven bars Saturday.

“Love seeing you thrive,” Biles wrote. “You deserve the world & more.”

LOVE SEEING YOU THRIVE. YOU DESERVE THE WORLD & MORE @jadeacarey 🤩🤩🤩 https://t.co/6MpLQaPwZw

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) February 6, 2022

Carey, a freshman, also earned the meet’s highest scores on every single event, helping to lift Oregon State to victory over Arizona State, according to ESPN.

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(NEW YORK) — Considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time, gold medal winner Simone Biles stunned fans last year when she withdrew from the team final at the Toyko Olympics.

The athlete drew praise from fans, famous friends and fellow athletes, including tennis great Naomi Osaka, who herself had pulled out of the French Open to focus on her mental health.

“I do believe everything happens for a reason,” Biles recently shared with NET-A-PORTER’s digital title PORTER in a cover story about her decision and her life both in and out of the spotlight.

The athlete explained she began suffering from a disorienting condition gymnasts call “the twisties,” when an acrobat’s mind and body feel dangerously out of sync.

“I felt scared,” she recalled of telling her coaches about her decision to sit out three major events during the Games.

Biles explained that while her coaches were “100% supportive,” there were some seeds of doubt. She said they asked her, “‘Are you sure you want to do this? Because, a couple of years from now, you don’t want to have any regrets.'”

The athlete instead said she’d regret it if she didn’t withdraw.

Biles’ decision was hailed by the likes of Michelle Obama, Justin Bieber and even her “idol,” Osaka.

“I definitely felt all those messages,” Biles said, adding, “I want people to know that they were heard and they were seen — even if I didn’t get to respond.”

The athlete explained that she’s putting her downtime to good use with a “self-care” regimen she describes as, “taking baths, going to the spa, having movie nights with my boyfriend and spending time at the pool with my dogs,” French bulldogs Lilo and Rambo.

“There’s no timeline, and there’s nothing that’s really urgent from me right now,” she said. “My whole life has been go, go, go … So it’s kind of nice to take a step back and relax.”

She got Lilo in 2017 to give her much-needed emotional support to deal with the events surrounding the arrest of former U.S. Olympics doctor Larry Nassar on charges he sexually abused the athletes in his care, including Biles and her teammates.

Biles later spoke out about it on social media, and last year joined her team on Capitol Hill to testify against the “entire system that enabled and perpetuated” the abuse and the FBI’s inaction after complaints were filed.

“That’s when I realized the power that I had,” she said, adding, “I’ll always continue to be a voice for the voiceless. Gymnastics can be a safe place.”

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(BEIJING) — Karen Chen was lovely in lavender during day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games for this year’s Women’s Single Skating Free Skating Team event.

While she wowed spectators with her performance and look, the Olympian also revealed that her costume was crafted by her mother.

Her free skate dress was embellished with glowing gems, crystals and jewels, and, on Team USA’s Instagram, she shared more details on the origins of how her latest ensemble came to be.

Alongside the short clip, Chen said that her mother probably does 90% of the work in creating her costumes, while she does about 10%.

“I just tell her that looks good, or that doesn’t look good, and she does all the hard work, and she puts in blood sweat and tears into it,” she added.

Chen said her favorite part of the look was a cluster of dazzling stones in the shape of a butterfly near midriff.

“She strategically picked the stones and arranged them in a way so it looks like a butterfly because my free program I’m skating to a ‘Butterfly Lovers’ Concerto’ and so I just want to be a pretty butterfly on the ice,” she continued.

While incorporating head-turning combinations while gracefully gliding across the ice, the Team USA figure skater ended with a total overall score of 65, placing fourth and winning a silver medal for this season’s free skate event.

Chen shared her gratitude on Instagram, saying, “truly hat a journey of so many emotions these past few days.”

She continued, “so proud & thankful to be a part of this team.”

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Toronto 116, Charlotte 101
Miami 121, Washington 100
Golden State 110, Oklahoma City 98
Phoenix 127, Chicago 124
Utah 113, New York 104

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Ottawa 4, New Jersey 1
Toronto 4, Carolina 3 (OT)

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arizona 91, Arizona St. 79
Virginia 69, Duke 68
Texas 79, Kansas 76

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(BEIJING) — Team USA figure skater Vincent Zhou has withdrawn from Tuesday’s individual competition after testing positive for COVID-19 for a second time.

U.S. Figure Skating announced Sunday night that Zhou had tested positive for the virus amid a regular screening and that he would be able to compete in the men’s short program, which begins Tuesday.

The 21-year-old shared the news about the second positive result on Instagram Monday morning.

“This absolutely does not define me as an athlete, as a person,” Zhou said. “I am more than just another positive COVID test. I am more than just another face in the crowd.”

Zhou said he’s done everything in his power to stay free of the virus since the start of the pandemic and has isolated himself so much in recent months that the loneliness has been crushing at times.

He was absent from the podium Sunday after Team USA took home its first silver medal in the teams competition.

Despite withdrawing from the competition, Zhou said he was proud of his achievements.

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(BEIJING) — U.S. Olympic alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin’s quest to make Olympic history will have to wait for another day after she didn’t land a medal in the Giant Slalom competition Monday.

The 26-year-old fell during her first run, disqualifying her from the event.

“Could blame it on a lot of things…and we’ll analyze it till the cows come home, but not today,” Shiffrin said on Instagram. “Today I chalk it up to really awful timing of a really frustrating mistake. Moving focus to slalom now, AND cheering for my teammates in the second run of the GS and the DH!”

Sweden’s Sara Hector took the gold with a time of 1:55:68, followed by Italy’s Federica Brignone with a time of 1:55.97 and Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami with a time of 1:56:41.

Shiffrin is one medal away from tying the record for most Olympic medals by a female American Alpine skier, four. She is two gold medals away from holding the record for most golds ever by a female Alpine skier, also four.

Shiffrin aims to have many chances to attempt those feats during the games as she plans on competing in four other Alpine events over the next two weeks.

She is expected to compete in the Slalom on Wednesday, the Super-G on Thursday, the Downhill on Valentine’s Day and the Combined on Feb. 17.

Shiffrin, a Colorado native, has been competing since she was 16, and quickly became one of the sport’s all-time greatest skiers with her record-setting performances. She is the most decorated Alpine skier in the world circuit having won 11 World Championship medals, six gold.

At 18 years old she became the youngest Slalom champion when she won a gold medal in the 2014 Sochi games. Shiffrin won a gold medal in the Giant Slalom competition and a silver medal in the Combined competition during the 2018 Pyeongchang games.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LAS VEGAS) — New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara was arrested in Las Vegas Sunday, police said.

The arrest happened shortly after the 26-year-old played in the Pro Bowl on Sunday.

The Las Vegas Police Department confirmed that at around 5:50 p.m. local time on Saturday, LVMPD was dispatched to a casino, where they found a victim who was beaten at a nightclub by Kamara.

Police said they located Kamara on Sunday and arrested him.

He has been booked into the Clark County Detention Center for battery resulting in substantial bodily harm.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Denver 124, Brooklyn 104
Minnesota 118, Detroit 105
Philadelphia 119, Chicago 108
Boston 116, Orlando 83
Dallas 103, Atlanta 94
Cleveland 98, Indiana 85
New Orleans 120, Houston 107
Milwaukee 137, LA Clippers 113

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Houston 80, Cincinnati 58
Providence 71, Georgetown 52
Ohio St. 82, Maryland 67

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