Hall Earns Dream Victory

Doctors told Tanner Hall he might never ski again after he broke both of his heels and ankles last year.

It only made him more determined.

Hall won his first race since the accident and got the prize he wanted most, winning the skier superpipe Tuesday night at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo.

“When I did get hurt, it was crazy to hear a doctor say that I might never ski again,” said Hall, injured attempting a jump in the Utah backcountry in March. “It really made me take my rehab seriously and take everything more seriously. I couldn’t be more stoked.”

Hall won three gold medals in slopestyle and one in the 2001 big-air competition but had never won the superpipe, the event he covets the most.

Defending champion Simon Dumont finished third behind Laurent Favre of France.

Canadian Blair Morgan set a Winter X Games record with his eighth consecutive medal, winning his fifth snocross gold after Levi LaVallee fell off his snowmobile and couldn’t find his key on the final lap.

Norwegian Grete Eliassen repeated her superpipe title. Canadian Sarah Burke finished second, and Marie Martinod-Routin of France was third..

WINTER OLYMPICS

USOC Announces 211-Person Team

The U.S. Olympic Committee announced its 211-athlete roster for the Turin Games. California has contributed 24 athletes, more than any other state.

The U.S. will send 89 women and 122 men to compete in 10 sports.

The oldest will be 54-year-old curler Scott Baird of Bemidji, Minn., and the youngest will be figure skater Kimmie Meissner of Bel Air, Md., who will be 16 years 4 1/2 months old. Speedskater Chris Witty is returning for her fifth Olympics, and seven other athletes will participate in their fourth Games.

Defenseman Chris Chelios, preparing to play for his fourth U.S. Olympic hockey team, will be appointed captain at a news conference today in Detroit. Chelios, 44, was a member of the 1984, 1998 and 2002 teams.

-- Helene Elliott

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BASEBALL

Dodgers Sign Three to Minor League Deals

Infielder Ramon Martinez, 33, and pitchers Kurt Ainsworth, 27, and Brian Meadows, 30, signed minor league contracts with the Dodgers and were invited to spring training. Martinez and Ainsworth broke into the major leagues with San Francisco when current Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti was assistant GM there.

Martinez, 33, who has batted .269 with 27 home runs in eight seasons, is expected to compete with Oscar Robles and Willy Aybar to become the Dodger utility infielder. Ainsworth, 27, was a first-round draft pick of the Giants in 1999 but had elbow surgery in 2004 and spent last season on the Baltimore Oriole disabled list. He is 8-10 in 38 games, including 29 starts. The Dodgers will pay him $400,000 if he makes the team.

Meadows, 30, made 135 relief appearances with Pittsburgh the last two seasons. He also has made 122 starts and is 44-56 with a 5.04 earned-run average in eight seasons.

Steve Henson

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Reliever Felix Rodriguez, 33, agreed to a $600,000, one-year contract with the Washington Nationals.... Reliever Rick White, 37, and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a $600,000, one-year contract.... Ruben Sierra, 40, agreed to a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.

PRO FOOTBALL

NFL to Pay $20 Million on Superdome Repairs

The NFL will contribute as much as $20 million to the effort to repair the hurricane-battered Superdome in time for New Orleans Saints’ games next season.

Total repair costs are estimated at about $140 million.

Officials say the facility will be ready to reopen for games by Nov. 1.

MISCELLANY

NASCAR Publicist Held on Child Sex Charges

Richard “Chip” Williams Jr., a NASCAR publicist, was charged with statutory rape and soliciting a minor for sex over the Internet, authorities said in Charlotte, N.C.

Williams handles media and public relations for Kyle Petty, Bobby Labonte, Derrike Cope and John Andretti, among others. He was being held on a bond of $1 million.

The University of Illinois filed its second appeal of an NCAA decision that would require the school to drop its Chief Illiniwek athletic mascot and logo before it could play host to any postseason competition.