Marcel Hirscher wins, Ted Ligety struggles in World Cup giant slalom

Two-time defending overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher won the challenging giant slalom on the Gran Risa course at Alta Badia, Italy, with two solid runs Sunday and attributed his victory to a fixed screw in his equipment setup.

Favorite Ted Ligety finished third at the site of one of his most memorable victories and suddenly no longer looks dominant with the Sochi Olympics less than 50 days away.

Hirscher, an Austrian, clocked a two-run combined time of 2 minutes 37.45 seconds for his second consecutive GS win after a victory in Val d’Isere, France, last weekend.

Alexis Pinturault of France finished second, 0.35 of a second behind, and Ligety, the American who won by a massive margin last year, was 0.41 back.

Ligety struggled with the soft conditions — a sharp change from past seasons when the Gran Risa was extremely icy — and dropped 60 points behind Hirscher in the giant slalom standings.

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World Cup leader Tina Wierather of Liechtenstein protected her lead from the first run to win the first giant slalom race of her career, at Val d’Isere, her second victory of the season and third of her fast-improving career.

Wierather leads overall with 595 points, ahead of Lara Gut (568), who finished second, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany (535).

Julia Mancuso

After winning a super-G race at St. Moritz, Switzerland, last weekend, the 24-year-old Wierather secured her 13th podium finish with an overall time of 2 minutes 24.10 seconds.

Wierather was 0.75 of a second clear of Gut, who was third after the first run, and 0.95 ahead of Sweden’s Maria Pietilae-Holmner, who had been second.

ETC.

Notre Dame loses leading scorer Grant

Notre Dame’s basketball team will be without leading scorer Jerian Grant for the rest of the season because of an academic problem.

The university posted a statement from Grant on its website Sunday evening that said he is no longer enrolled in the school because of an academic matter he didn’t handle properly. He says he takes responsibility for his lack of good judgment and the poor decision he made.

Grant, the son of former NBA player Harvey Grant, was averaging 19 points a game. The news comes a day after the Irish (8-4) squandered an eight-point lead in the final 50 seconds in a loss to No. 3 Ohio State.

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Teenage golf star Lydia Ko has split with the only coach she has had since she took up the sport as a 5-year-old.

Guy Wilson, who had worked with the 16-year-old Ko for 11 years, issued a statement saying he was “incredibly disappointed” the partnership is over. Ko has not publicly commented on the decision.

Ko won five professional tournaments — four as an amateur — while coached by Wilson.

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Former Colorado offensive lineman Alex Lewis pleaded guilty to third-degree assault for his role in a fight in May that left an Air Force Academy cadet unconscious.

The Daily Camera of Boulder, Colo., reported that the 21-year-old, who transferred to Nebraska, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor Friday as part of a deal with prosecutors. Four other charges were dropped, including two felony counts of second-degree assault.

Boulder police arrested Lewis and Colorado quarterback Jordan Webb on May 11 after witnesses said the men were involved in a fight with 22-year-old cadet Lee Bussey.

Webb, who originally was charged with second-degree assault, struck a deal in September and pleaded guilty to third-degree assault.

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Former major leaguer Alex Cabrera broke a three-decade-old Venezuelan record for most home runs in a season.

Cabrera hit his 21st home run on Sunday, a grand slam that soared into the left-field bleachers and surpassed the tally set in 1980 by former big league catcher Bo Diaz.