Bloom, Kearney, Cook Win Spots

Jeremy Bloom and Hannah Kearney had to overcome poor preliminary performances on Friday to clinch berths on the U.S. Olympic freestyle ski team.

Emily Cook, however, had to overcome a lot more to earn her ticket to the Turin Games.

Capping her recovery from a mishap that prevented her from competing at Salt Lake City, Cook won the aerials competition at Steamboat Springs, Colo., and a place on the formidable U.S. team.

Cook, of Belmont, Mass., suffered torn ligaments and broken bones in both feet while landing a practice jump three weeks before the 2002 Games. She sat out nearly 2 1/2 years of competition on the World Cup circuit.

Cook, 26, won the one-day event by performing a double-twisting, double-flip full-full, and a single-twisting, single-flip lay-full. She had 169.59 points, to 154.39 for runner-up Kate Reed of Montrose, Colo.

“These were two of my best jumps all year,” said Cook, who was seventh at the 2005 world championships. “It was so exciting, and now my next step is to get ready for all of my opportunities to improve my training.”

Hometown favorite Ryan St. Onge won the men’s aerials event and a Turin berth by performing a pair of quad-twisting, triple-somersault jumps under the lights at Howelsen Hill.

He earned 240.93 points, to 197.56 for World Cup champion Jeret Peterson of Boise, Idaho. Salt Lake City silver medalist Joe Pack was third with 195.96.

Earlier, Bloom and Kearney won the men’s and women’s moguls titles and Olympic spots. Bloom, of Loveland, Colo., rebounded from a 10th-place performance in qualifying to beat 2002 Olympic silver medalist Travis Mayer, 27.82 points to 27.57. Bloom performed a 720-heli-X, which is two rotations with his skis tucked under him in an X-shape, and an off-axis 720 off the bottom jump.

Kearney, of Norwich, Vt., was eighth in qualifying but in the finals pulled off a heli-X and a back flip off the bottom jump to earn 26.66 points. Jillian Vogtli of Ellicottvillle, N.Y., was second with 26.40.

Jana Lindsey of Black Hawk, S.D., suffered a concussion when she fell and hit her head during the aerials event. A U.S. ski team spokesman said she was hospitalized for observation.

-- Helene Elliott

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Hannu Manninen of Finland relied on his cross-country skiing skill at Oberhof, Germany, to win his fourth World Cup Nordic combined event of the season and extend his overall lead in the point standings.

Manninen beat Ronny Ackermann of Germany by 7.2 seconds in the 15-kilometer race.

Manninen now has 519 points. Magnus Moan of Norway is second with 350 points. Ackermann is third at 337.

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U.S. Olympic women’s skeleton Coach Tim Nardiello has been accused of sexual harassment since 2002 by some members of the team, the New York Times reported on its website Friday night.

The athletes said Nardiello made sexual advances, sexually explicit comments and barged into hotel rooms while women were undressing, according to athletes interviewed by the Times and e-mails sent to the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and shared with the newspaper.

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Caroline Ouellette scored two goals to help Canada beat the United States, 4-2, at St. Paul, Minn., for its eighth victory in nine games in the 10-game pre-Olympic series between the women’s hockey powers.

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Ice dancing champion Tanith Belbin will become an American citizen today, one day after President Bush signed an appropriations bill speeding up the process. A provision of the bill allows Belbin, who is from Canada, to immediately gain citizenship.

BASEBALL

Byrnes Signs One-Year Deal With Arizona

Outfielder Eric Byrnes has signed a one-year, $2.25-million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Byrnes, 29, slumped to a .226 batting average in a 2005 season in which he played for Oakland, Colorado and Baltimore.

The Diamondbacks signed Byrnes to play center field, the position he prefers.

MOTOR RACING

CART Decides It’s Best to Liquidate Its Assets

Two years after its racing assets were sold to Champ Car in federal bankruptcy court, the stockholders of Championship Auto Racing Teams Inc. approved the company’s plan to dissolve and liquidate its assets.

HORSE RACING

NYRA and State Reach Agreement on Bailout

State leaders and racing officials agreed to a $30-million bailout of the New York Racing Assn., keeping the operator of New York’s three premier thoroughbred tracks from seeking bankruptcy protection.

The announcement comes as the NYRA, a private organization that operates the Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct tracks on a state franchise, was preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

MISCELLANY

Ram Broadcaster Snow Ill With Staph Infection

Jack Snow, a longtime wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams who has been part of the team’s radio broadcasts since before it moved to St. Louis 10 years ago, is listed in critical condition because of a staph infection.

Snow, 62, was hospitalized at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Hospital spokesman Jason Merrill said he could not discuss details of Snow’s illness.