Alphand Wins Cup Overall

Luc Alphand became the first downhill skier to win the men’s World Cup overall title Sunday and the first Frenchman since Jean-Claude Killy won 29 years ago.

Finn Christian Jagge of Norway won the men’s slalom at Vail, Colo., in the final event of the World Cup season. Kjetil Andre Aamodt, the 1994 World Cup champion who needed to finish no worse than second to catch Alphand for the overall title, finished seventh.

Alphand had built a lead over Aamodt based solely on downhill and super-G results, then watched from the finish line when Aamodt closed the deficit but couldn’t overtake him.

Aamodt, a four-event skier from Norway, trailed Alphand by 70 points entering the men’s slalom.

Killy was the last Frenchman to win the title, in 1968.

Figure Skating

Despite falling, world champion Todd Eldredge out-skated his top competitor--Elvis Stojko of Canada--in the first qualifying round of the World Figure Skating Championships at Lausanne, Switzerland.

Eldredge, the U.S. champion, completed seven clean triple jumps, including two triple-triple combinations, to top Stojko and qualify to defend his 1996 title.

Auto Racing

NASCAR truck series driver John Nemechek suffered a severe brain injury in a crash during the Florida Dodge Dealers 400, a race won by rookie Kenny Irwin.

Nemechek was listed in extremely critical condition after being admitted to the neurological intensive care unit at Jackson Hospital Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.

Irwin, last year’s U.S. Auto Club national midget champion, held off Mike Bliss’ Ford to win the race by 0.289 seconds.

But the center of attention was Nemechek’s welfare.

Stephen Olvey, the Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex medical director, said Nemechek of Lakeland, Fla., had a severe hemorrhage. He underwent a minor procedure to relieve pressure to his brain.

Nemechek was injured when his truck crashed into the wall in Turn 1 on the 144th lap at the 1.57-mile track.

Jay Sauter also crashed and was taken to the hospital.

Nemechek is the 27-year-old brother of Winston Cup driver Joe Nemechek, who was involved in a multi-car accident Sunday in a race at Las Vegas.

Jeff Green passed Tim Steele with 14 laps remaining for his first Grand National victory in the inaugural race of that NASCAR series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Green, who started from the pole in a Chevrolet, led 70 of the 200 laps on the 1 1/2-mile oval. He earned $89,250, the second-highest amount ever won by a driver in the 16-year history of the series.

Joe Nemechek, the brother of John Nemechek, led the first 38 laps of the Las Vegas race before being sidelined because of an accident on lap 122.

Miscellany

The 10-round main event at the Forum tonight has junior welterweights Hector Lopez (34-5-1, 17 knockouts) and Carlos Gonzalez (45-3-1, 40 knockouts) squaring off.

The North American Boxing Organization junior middleweight title will be at stake in the semi-main event, which matches Rodney Jones (15-2, eight knockouts) against Oscar Gonzalez (17-2, 14 knockouts). The card begins at 7:15 p.m.

Thomas Johansson of Sweden won his first ATP Tour title, beating Martin Damm of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, in the Copenhagen Open in Denmark.

The Kansas City Chiefs have scheduled a news conference for today, apparently to announce the signing of former San Francisco 49er backup quarterback Elvis Grbac to a contract.

Gary Neiwand of Australia, the 1993 world sprint champion, was fined $800 by the Australian Cycling Federation after testing positive for a banned substance.

Benjamin P. Nathan, the 27-year old Maori protester who allegedly used a sledgehammer on the America’s Cup, has been charged with criminal damage and trespass at Auckland, New Zealand.

Eighteen people, including four jockeys and two trainers, were arrested for allegedly fixing horse races, Hong Kong’s chief anti-corruption agency reported.