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SPORTS Saturday 16 February 2019
Kristoffersen topples Hirscher to win giant slalom at worlds

By STEVE DOUGLAS course being doused with
AP Sports Writer salt to maintain the snow
ARE, Sweden (AP) — Norwe- surface amid unseason-
gian skiing is in safe hands, ably warm weather. The
even with its beloved king temperature in Are for the
now in retirement. first leg was 8 C (46 F).
Henrik Kristoffersen gave "There's no one that skis on
Norway its second individu- salt as much as Norwegians
al gold medal of the world do," he said. "Even though
championships by toppling I haven't trained on salt in
an under-the-weather Mar- GS in a long, long time, I
cel Hirscher to win the giant have it from childhood."
slalom on Friday. Hirscher's preparations for
With Kjetil Jansrud also vic- the race were affected
torious in the downhill last by a bout of flu that kept
week, Norway appears in him in bed for much of the
great shape heading into past two days. He acknowl-
the post-Aksel Lund Svindal edged after the race that
era. the likelihood of him lining
Svindal signed off his illus- up on the starting gate
trious career with a silver wasn't high on Thursday.
medal behind Jansrud "Normally," Hirscher said, "if
in the downhill, and said you have regular work on
he was leaving behind a Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen celebrates after winning the men's giant slalom, at the alpine ski those days, you normally
strong generation of Nor- World Championships in Are, Sweden, Friday, Feb. 15, 2019. tell your boss I'm done for
wegian skiing talent. Associated Press the day."
Kristoffersen is at the fore- Yet he managed to be only
front of that — especially of the GS in third place be- over Hirscher. Pinturault Hirscher, the seven-time 0.10 seconds behind Pin-
now that he has ended his hind leader Alexis Pinturault won the bronze medal, overall World Cup winner turault after an error-free
long wait for a medal at a and Hirscher, the favorite 0.42 seconds back. and defending Olympic first run, keeping Hirscher on
world championship. and one of skiing's all-time "It was about time to get a and world GS champion. course for a record-tying
The 24-year-old Kristoffer- greats. medal," said Kristoffersen, He finished second to seventh gold medal at the
sen had finished fourth in However, Kristoffersen pro- who wasn't necessarily ex- Hirscher at last year's Olym- worlds. But he went wide at
his last three races at the duced an aggressive run pecting it to come in GS. pics in Pyeongchang. two gates in the top section
worlds — the giant slalom under the lights, his speed Kristoffersen's last win in Kristoffersen was without of his second run, causing
and slalom in 2017 and and flow particularly ap- the discipline came at a win in any discipline for him to lose 0.41 seconds on
the slalom in 2015 — and parent in the bottom sec- Meribel in 2015 and he has a year but said he gained Kristoffersen in the middle
headed into his second run tion, to win by 0.20 seconds been consistently behind confidence from the section.q

Judge: Hernandez's child can't sue NFL over brain disease

By MARYCLAIRE DALE U.S. District Judge Anita Bro- cide in April 2017. He took
Associated Press dy in Philadelphia — where his life days later in prison.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The lawsuits were consolidated His conviction was later
6-year-old daughter of alleging the NFL hid what overturned because he
the late NFL player Aaron it knew about the risks of died before exhausting his
Hernandez missed a 2014 concussion injuries — ruled appeals.
deadline to opt out of the Thursday that he was ef- Doctors later found the
league's concussion settle- fectively retired and there- 27-year-old Hernandez
ment and can't separately fore, along with his family, had advanced CTE on a
pursue a $20 million suit bound by the class action level not previously seen in
over his diagnosis of a de- settlement for NFL retirees. someone that young.
generative brain disease, a Under terms of the concus- Sohn, in a brief in the case,
judge ruled. sion settlement, the judge called Hernandez "a gen-
Yet Hernandez's death in said, "The crux of the issue erational talent" but said
2017 came too late for his is whether Hernandez was he "entered the NFL in 2010,
family to seek up to $4 mil- 'seeking active employ- even though (and amidst
lion in compensation for ment' as an NFL football In this Jan. 26, 2012, file photo, New England Patriots tight end everyone's full knowledge
Aaron Hernandez speaks to reporters at his locker at the NFL
suicides related to chronic player as of July 7, 2014. He football stadium in Foxborough, Mass. that) he had been inves-
traumatic encephalopa- was not. On this date, Her- Associated Press tigated for ties to a bru-
thy under the class action nandez had been impris- tal 2007 shooting. The NFL
settlement. oned — without bail — for of consortium" lawsuit in her said Friday. "It remains our paid no mind to this and let
Hernandez spent three nearly a year." home state of Massachu- position that the NFL is re- him play." The daughter in-
years with the New Eng- Family lawyer Brad Sohn ar- setts. sponsible for the damages volved in the lawsuit is the
land Patriots before his 2013 gued that Hernandez had "No matter what anybody that she has because of his child of Hernandez's fian-
arrest on the first of three not retired but hoped to be wants to say about Aaron CTE." cee, Shayanna Jenkins.
homicide charges. The Pa- exonerated and return to Hernandez . she will have Hernandez was convicted "A.H., a child, committed no
triots terminated his $40 mil- the league. His daughter, to live with the fact that in the first homicide case crime nor asked to be born
lion contract, and he never Sohn said, should therefore she doesn't have a parent in 2015 but acquitted of into such tragic circum-
returned to the NFL. be able to pursue her "loss for the rest of her life," Sohn an unrelated double homi- stances," Sohn wrote.q