Kostelic Makes History as U.S. Skiers Struggle

On a day when American skiers fared no better than 11th place, Janica Kostelic left a powerful impression before the Olympics.

Fighting flu, she won the final World Cup slalom before the Turin Games in Ofterschwang, Germany, and became the second woman to win five different disciplines in a season.

The performance by Croatia’s triple Olympic champion Sunday came one day after she missed out on qualifying for the second run of a giant slalom for only the sixth time in her career.

Kostelic finished in 1 minute 42.22 seconds for her 26th World Cup victory. She beat Austrians Kathrin Zettel by 1.33 seconds and Marlies Schild by 1.45.

The U.S. contingent didn’t come close, with Lindsey Kildow 11th and Resi Stiegler 13th in an event that is one of the American team’s weakest disciplines this year.

Still, the U.S. squad heads to Turin confident after a season with many highlights. Kildow won two downhills and Julia Mancuso, a double bronze winner from the 2005 world championships, climbed the podium three times in the last two weeks.

Kostelic joined Austria’s Petra Kronberger, who won five different disciplines in a season in 1990-91. She considered skipping the slalom because of flu and high fever.

“I’m better, but I’m still pretty weak,” said Kostelic, who will head to a beach in Croatia to rest for the Olympics.

Kostelic leads in the overall standings with 1,382 points to Anja Paerson’s 1,121. She also took over the slalom lead after being tied with Schild, 460 to 420 points.

Jens Arne Svartedal of Norway won a men’s World Cup cross country 15-kilometer classic at Davos, Switzerland, the final race before the Winter Games.

Svartedal completed the course in 37 minutes 54.9 seconds, beating Martin Tauber of Austria by 20.9 seconds. Vincent Vittoz of France was third.

Germany’s Tobias Angerer finished sixth but retained the overall lead with 725 points.

Virpi Kuitunen of Finland won the women’s 10-kilometer classic in 27:58.8, 31.8 ahead of Canadian Sara Renner. Petra Majdic of Slovenia was third.

OLYMPICS

Demonstrators Force Torch to Skip a Stop

The Olympic torch relay was surrounded by the shouts of protesters, prompting organizers to skip the valley stretch near the town of Susa, Italy and instead head straight to the next stop of Bordonecchia.

A police car was kicked by demonstrators, who tried in vain to put out the flame by throwing a protest banner on it, Stefano Coscia, media director for the torch relay, told the Associated Press.

The crowd was protesting the development of a rail system.

New York Ranger rookie Petr Prucha will not play hockey for the Czech Republic at the Olympics because of a knee injury that will sideline him three to four weeks.

The right wing sprained his right knee Saturday.

PRO FOOTBALL

Saints Set to Return to Superdome on Sept. 24

The New Orleans Saints, driven away by Hurricane Katrina last August, will return to the Superdome sooner than expected, on Sept. 24, to play the Atlanta Falcons, the NFL said.

The game will be the third of the season for the Saints.

The Saints were previously not expected to return to the hurricane-damaged Superdome until November. The Falcon-Saint game will be the first sporting event at the Superdome since Katrina.

Former New York Giant linebacker Harry Carson, who once asked to be taken out of consideration for the Hall of Fame, is now ready for the induction ceremony.

“I was never disenchanted with the Hall of Fame,” Carson said. “I was always disenchanted with the process. Obviously, I will show up. The whole process sort of being sour, but you look at the support I had, for me not to show up would be disrespecting those people who really went to bat for me.”

Carson sent a letter to Hall of Fame officials several years ago criticizing the selection methods, believing former players and Hall members should vote rather than the media.

The Oakland Raiders plan to interview Pittsburgh Steeler offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt this week for their coaching vacancy.

Nick Holt, who left as USC linebackers coach in 2003 to become the head coach at Idaho, will leave the Vandals to join the St. Louis Rams as defensive line coach.

Holt, 42, had a 5-18 record at Idaho.

TENNIS

Germany’s Haas Wins First Title Since 2004

Tommy Haas of Germany beat defending champion Xavier Malisse of Belgium, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5), to win the International Tennis Championships at Delray Beach, Fla..

Haas, improving to 11-2 with his only losses this year to top-ranked Roger Federer, earned his first title since 2004.

Top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia beat Austrian qualifier Stefan Koubek, 6-3, 6-4, to improve to 14-1 this season in winning his second title of the year at the Zagreb Indoors in Croatia.

BASEBALL

Cabrera’s Hit Keeps Venezuela Undefeated

Alex Cabrera’s 10th-inning RBI single with the bases loaded lifted Venezuela (4-0) to a 4-3 victory over Mexico (0-4) as the Caracas Lions remained undefeated at Valencia, Venezuela, and moved one step closer to winning the Caribbean Series.

In Maracay, Napoleon Calzado drove in two runs as the Dominican Republic’s Licey Tigers (3-1) defeated the Carolina Giants (1-3) of Puerto Rico, 9-2.