MILAN, Italy — Men’s downhill skiing tops the bill at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Saturday, with the first medals to be handed out hours after the Games officially opened.
The opening ceremony culminated in the lighting of two cauldrons, one at Milan’s Arch of Peace and one in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the chic resort 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Milan that is hosting the women’s alpine skiing.
Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, two Italian skiing Olympic champions of the past, lit an intricate cauldron inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s knots at Milan’s Arch of Peace.
In the freezing mountain air of Cortina, the duty was performed by Sofia Goggia -- an Italian former gold medalist who earlier Friday had taken part in a training run for the women’s downhill event.
A number of sports started before the opening ceremony -- curling, women’s ice hockey, figure skating and snowboarding.
But all eyes will be trained on the blue riband alpine skiing event -- the downhill in Bormio, where the top men will do battle. AFP
SANTA CLARA, California — As the New England Patriots continued to rack up wins late in the regular season, coach Mike Vrabel shied away from mentioning the idea of a Super Bowl run when he spoke to his team after games.
But there were hints of where he felt this team could go.
“We’ve got to keep going because they keep getting bigger and bigger. They get bigger and bigger,” he reminded them after wins late in the season.
Now, those words have manifested themselves into a chance for Vrabel to lead his first Patriots team to the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl title when they meet the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday (Monday in Manila).
While the players have certainly been the engine — a fact the coach has pointed out on virtually every occasion he’s asked about the team’s success — Vrabel’s leadership can’t be discounted.
And after moderate expectations for this group coming off New England’s back-to-back 4-13 finishes over the past two seasons, the Patriots suddenly have an opportunity to become the sixth team to win a Super Bowl after finishing with a losing record the previous season.
Vrabel has also instilled a sense of urgency into a team that entered the postseason with only 18 players who’d even appeared in a playoff game.
“We’re all just locked in because we know what’s at stake,” cornerback Carlton Davis III said. “We know we don’t get too many chances at this. Making a playoff run just being able to advance in the playoffs and get to this point. We’re just giving it our all.... It’s paying off right now.”
Patriots offense
It begins with quarterback Drake Maye, who in just his second season finished second in MVP voting after posting a league-best 72% completion percentage, to go along with 4,394 passing yards and 31 touchdowns.
He is the fourth quarterback since 2000 to win each of his first three career playoff starts, joining Tom Brady (won first 10), Joe Burrow (three) and Jake Delhomme (three). Maye is also the first quarterback in history to win three games against top five defenses in a single playoffs — the Chargers (No. 5), Texans (No. 1) and Broncos (No. 2). AP
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers designated reliever Anthony Banda for assignment on Friday (Saturday in Manila) after the left-hander won two consecutive World Series rings with the team.
The 32-year-old Banda had a 5-1 record with a 3.19 ERA in 71 games last season. He had an 8-3 record with a 3.14 ERA over two seasons.
Banda has been in the majors for parts of nine seasons with Arizona, Tampa Bay, the New York Mets, Pittsburgh, Toronto, the New York Yankees and Washington. He is a combined 15-9 with 4.44 ERA in 209 games.
The Dodgers claimed catcher Ben Rortvedt off waivers after he was designated for assignment by the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old returns to the Dodgers, which he first joined on July 31 via a trade from Tampa Bay. Rortvedt played 18 games, hitting.224 with one home run and four RBI with Los Angeles. He helped the Dodgers’ starting rotation to an MLB-leading 2.17 ERA in September. He appeared in four playoff games last season.
Rortvedt had previous stints with Minnesota, the Yankees and Tampa Bay.
Meanwhile, a jury has found former major league outfielder Yasiel Puig guilty of obstruction of justice and lying to federal officials investigating an illegal gambling operation, the US Attorney’s Office.
The verdict came after a multiweek trial that featured testimony from Major League Baseball officials and Donny Kadokawa, a Hawaii baseball coach that Puig placed bets through. Puig now faces up to 20 years in federal prison and is scheduled to be sentenced May 26.
Puig’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Puig, 35, initially pled guilty to a felony charge of lying to federal agents investigating an illegal gambling operation.
