Miller get first win since split with team Newswire

Bode Miller won the grueling Stelvio downhill Saturday for his first World Cup victory since breaking away from the U.S. ski team.

While the other favorites found trouble, Miller had a near-perfect run and covered the 2.03-mile course at Bormio, Italy, in 2 minutes 0.57 seconds. The victory was the 26th of Miller’s career, putting him within one win of matching Phil Mahre’s record of 27 U.S. victories.

“It’s a miracle really,” Miller said. “If you want to make it down you’ve got to take it easy on some of the curves. I just tried to hold on at the end. I was out of gas.”

Andreas Buder of Austria was 0.45 seconds behind, and Jan Hudec of Canada was third, 0.54 back.

After clashing with the U.S. federation over team rules, Miller decided to train and race on his own this season. Complying with International Ski Federation rules, he still wears a U.S. uniform when he skis but puts on his own jacket with his sponsors as soon as he takes off his skis.

Miller calls his breakaway squad “Team America.”

“I think they were getting ready to kill me if I didn’t win soon,” Miller said of his team.

Among the pre-race favorites, Didier Cuche finished fourth. Top challenger Michael Walchhofer got thrown off course midway through his run and nearly crashed into the fence. He finished in a tie for 19th. Marco Buechel also lost control and did not finish.

Walchhofer still holds a 230-204 lead over Cuche in the downhill standings. Miller moved to third with 183 points.

Chiara Costazza of Italy won the slalom at Lienz, Austria, for her first career World Cup victory while Lindsey Vonn of the United States finished 25th and lost her lead in the overall standings.

Costazza, who led after the first leg, finished her second run on the Hochstein course in 57.01 seconds for a combined time of 1 minute, 54.97 seconds.

Hosp leads the World Cup slalom standings with 305 points and the overall standings with 514 points.

Vonn dropped to second overall with 480 points, followed by Maria Riesch of Germany (450) and Mancuso (444).

SOCCER

Scottish league player dies after collapsing

The captain of a Scottish Premier League team died, collapsing during a game just as he was about to leave the field for a substitute.

Phil O’Donnell, a 35-year-old midfielder for Motherwell, fell to the ground at Fir Park and was carried off on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Motherwell said its medical staff and that of Dundee United believed O’Donnell had suffered a seizure but did not elaborate. Club Chairman Bill Dickie said there would be an autopsy.

“This is an unspeakable tragedy for Phil’s family,” Motherwell owner John Boyle said in a statement. “Everyone at Motherwell is shocked to the core and we are sure that everyone involved in Scottish football will feel the same.”

Arsenal won, 4-1, at Everton behind Eduardo Silva’s two goals, moving into first place in the English Premier League ahead of Manchester United.

Defending champion United slipped from the top spot after it lost, 2-1, at West Ham, with Cristiano Ronaldo missing a penalty kick to give West Ham a chance to rally. Ronaldo had put United in front with his 18th goal of the season before Anton Ferdinand and Matthew Upson scored for the Hammers.

TENNIS

Shaughnessy, Fish lead U.S. to Hopman Cup win

Meghann Shaughnessy, filling in for Serena Williams, got the United States off to a winning start, and Mardy Fish clinched the win over India in the opener of the 20th Hopman Cup at Perth, Australia.

Shaughnessy won the last five games against an ailing Sania Mirza for a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory and Fish secured the U.S. lead with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Rohan Bopanna. Mirza and Bopanna won the doubles, 6-4, 6-4.

Australia upset third-seeded Czech Republic, 2-1, when Alicia Molik and Peter Luczak beat Lucie Safarova and Tomas Berdych, 7-5, 6-3, in the decisive mixed doubles match.

MISCELLANY

Sweden puts an end to Canada’s win streak

Sweden ended Canada’s winning streak in the world junior hockey championship at 20, beating the three-time defending champions, 4-3, on Tobias Forsberg’s goal with seven seconds left at Pardubice, Czech Republic.

In Liberec, Tyler Ruegsegger, James vanRiemsdyk and Mike Carman scored to help the United States improve to 3-0 in Group B with a 3-2 victory over Russia.

Eric Moe, Tony Lagerstrom and Oscar Moller also scored goals for Sweden, the Group A leader at 3-0.

American Steve Cunningham successfully defended his International Boxing Federation cruiserweight title, stopping Germany’s Marco Huck late in the 12th round at Bielefeld, Germany.

Cunningham (21-1, 10 knockouts) outpointed Krzysztof Wlodarczyk on May 26 to gain the title after losing against the Pole on his first try to claim the belt.

Huck (19-1, 14 knockouts) was fighting in his hometown.