From Chuck Schilken: Lindsey Vonn says her left leg almost needed to be amputated following her horrific crash while competing at the Milan-Cortina Olympics this month.
In a video posted to Instagram on Monday, the U.S. ski racing legend said she has been released from the hospital more than two weeks after suffering a complex tibia fracture and other damage that led to compartment syndrome in the leg.
Vonn credited Dr. Tom Hackett, an orthopedic surgeon who works for Vonn and Team USA, for saving the leg. She also gave indirect credit to the complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee that occurred during another crash on Jan. 30, just a week before the start of the Winter Olympics.
“I always talk about everything happens for a reason,” Vonn said. “If I hadn’t torn my ACL … Tom wouldn’t have been there. He wouldn’t have been able to save my leg.”
Vonn has won 84 World Cup races and three Olympic medals, including gold in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games. She returned to competitive skiing last year after a six-year hiatus. Vonn did not allow the torn ACL to prevent her from competing in what she has called her “fifth and final Olympics.”
Despite completing multiple test runs, Vonn lasted 13 seconds in the Feb. 8 downhill race before she crashed. She was airlifted from the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
U.S. Olympics hockey hero Jack Hughes’ immediate future includes dental implants
Kyle Tucker is ready to contribute
From Jack Vita: There are expectations surrounding new Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker — not surprising for someone with a four-year, $240-million contract.
But first things first.
“Last year I got one hit in spring, so hopefully I get more than that,” Tucker said, sharing a laugh with reporters after grounding out and walking in two plate appearances in his Cactus League debut Sunday. “So, that’s the goal. But I mean, just feeling comfortable.”
In a clubhouse full of superstar players, the feeling seems mutual with his teammates.
“I’m glad he’s with us,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said, adding: “There might be other superstars on this team, but it’s not really anyone’s focus here. It’s all about getting in every day, working hard, helping us win a ballgame that day and working toward the ultimate goal of winning the World Series.”
Mayweather-Pacquiao II
From Chuck Schilken: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao made boxing history in 2015. More than a decade later, the two legends are hoping to do it again.
The aging greats will have their rematch Sept. 19 live on Netflix in the first boxing match held at the Las Vegas Sphere.
Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision on May 2, 2015 in the “Fight of the Century” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That fight generated 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and a live gate of $72 million, both of which are records.
It was a long-awaited matchup between two of the biggest names in the boxing world that ultimately earned Mayweather the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Assn. and World Boxing Organization welterweight titles.
“I already fought and beat Manny once,” Mayweather said in a statement released by Netflix. “This time will be the same result.”
This day in sports history
1960 — Bill Cleary’s four goals lead the United States to a 9-1 victory over West Germany in the hockey championship round of the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif.
1967 — Wilt Chamberlain of Philadelphia shoots 18-for-18 from the field against the Baltimore Bullets, an NBA record for field goals in a game without a miss.
1978 — Kevin Porter of the New Jersey Nets sets an NBA record with 29 assists in a 126-112 victory over the Houston Rockets.
1980 — The United States hockey team wins the gold medal with a 4-2 victory over Finland at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
1982 — Wayne Gretzky scores NHL-record 78th goal of season en route to 92.
1985 — Jim Kelly of the Houston Gamblers passes for a USFL-record 574 yards and five touchdowns in a 34-33 comeback-win over the Los Angeles Express. Kelly completes 35 of 54 passes, including three for touchdowns in the final 10 minutes.
1988 — An unprecedented winner of the 90-and 70-meter individual events, Matti Nykanen becomes the Winter Olympics’ first triple gold medalist in Nordic skiing when Finland wins the new 90-meter team ski jumping event.
1993 — Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings scores his career point with two goals and two assists in a 10-7 loss to Buffalo Sabres.
1994 — Lipscomb’s John Pierce becomes college basketball’s career scoring leader with 33 points in his regular-season finale, a 119-102 win over Cumberland. Pierce’s 4,110 points break former roommate Phil Hutcheson’s record of 4,106.
2002 — Svetlana Feofanova breaks the pole vault indoor world record for the fourth time this month, clearing 15 feet, 6 1/2 inches at the Gaz de France meet.
2002 — Canada beats the United States 5-2 for the gold medal in men’s hockey at the Winter Olympics. It’s the seventh time Canada has won the gold in its national sport, but the first since 1952.
2006 — Julia Mancuso earns a stunning victory in the giant slalom to salvage a disappointing Olympics for the U.S. women in their final Alpine event of the Turin Games. Mancuso gives the American women their first Olympic Alpine medal since Picabo Street’s gold in the super-G at the 1998 Nagano Games.
2012 — Missy Parkin becomes the first woman to reach the match play finals in the 69th U.S Open at Brunswick Zone-Carolier. Shafer, a 25-year Professional Bowlers Assn. Tour veteran, completes the 26-game qualifying portion of the U.S. Open with a total of 5,825 pins, averaging at a 224.04 pace.
2018 — Ester Ledecka wins the second leg of an unheard-of Olympic double, taking the gold medal in snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom to go with her surprise skiing victory in the Alpine super-G earlier in the games. The Czech star is the first to win gold medals in both sports.
2018 — The United States wins the Olympic gold medal in men’s curling in a decisive upset of Sweden. John Shuster skips the United States to a 10-7 victory for only the second curling medal in U.S. history.
2020 — Memorial service for NBA star Kobe Byrant held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.