Sam Morse of Carrabassett Valley Academy finished 17th overall in downhill and second among skiers 18-and-under at the Alpine junior world championships in Jansa, Slovakia.

Morse, 17, completed the course in 1 minute, 18.16 seconds – just .85 seconds behind winner Adrian Smiseth Sejersted of Norway. He was the second U.S. finisher, one spot after Brian McLaughlin of Topsfield, Mass.

• WORLD CUP: Andrea Fischbacher of Austria was the surprise winner of the delayed women’s downhill in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, claiming her first victory in four years.

Fischbacher skied down the new Mont-Lachaux slope in 1:34, beating compatriot Anna Fenninger.

• Olympic champion Kjetil Jansrud of Norway overcame tricky racing conditions on his favorite home course in Kvitfjell, Norway, to win a super-G race ahead of Switzerland’s Patrick Kueng.

Jansrud, who won gold in super-G at the Sochi Olympics last month, finished 0.26 seconds ahead of Kueng and 0.33 clear of Olympic downhill champion Matthias Mayer of Austria.

• Norway’s triple Olympic gold medalist Marit Bjoergen and Olympic bronze medalist Martin Sundby dominated cross-country races in Lahti, Finland.

Bjoergen completed the women’s 10-kilometer race in 25 minutes, 5.3 seconds, beating Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla by 26.9 seconds.

• Kamil Stoch of Poland won the ski jumping event at the Lahti (Finland) Ski Games to reclaim the lead in the overall World Cup standings.

Stoch scored 281 points from his two jumps, beating Severin Freund of Germany in second place with 277.4 points. Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer was third with 270.2.

TENNIS

BRAZIL OPEN: Argentine Federico Delbonis won his first ATP title by defeating Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final at Sao Paulo.

Delbonis broke Lorenzi’s serve to start the decisive set and held on to close the match in 2 hours, 6 minutes after converting on his second match point.

DOG SLEDDING

IDITAROD: Sixty-nine mushers left Willow, just north of Anchorage, with the intent of becoming the first to reach the finish line in Nome. Between them and the finish line are about 1,000 miles of unforgiving Alaska terrain.

The race normally takes about 10 days, but warm weather this winter in Alaska has prompted concerns about the trail.

SOCCER

LEAGUE CUP: Starved of success for decades before the influx of Abu Dhabi cash in 2008, Manchester City collected a third trophy inside three years. Goals from Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri in the space of two minutes during the second half enabled City to come from behind to beat Sunderland, 3-1.

FOOTBALL

NFL: New Miami Dolphins General Manager Dennis Hickey’s first and probably most important decision of the offseason should take place before 4 p.m., Monday – the deadline for the Dolphins to decide whether to franchise tag Pro Bowl cornerback Brent Grimes.

Hickey claims retaining Grimes, who had 60 tackles and four interceptions, is a priority.

• Contract talks between the Bills and safety Jairus Byrd were at a standstill as Buffalo faces a Monday deadline to apply the franchise tag on the three-time Pro Bowl selection.

RODEO

THE AMERICAN: Texas cowboy Richmond Champion earned $1.1 million in The American in Arlington, Texas, the richest one-day rodeo ever with a $2 million purse.

The 21-year-old Tarleton State junior won the bareback at AT&T Stadium to earn $100,000 and took the $1 million bonus offered to a qualifier who won an event against the top 10 in the National Finals Rodeo or Professional Bull Riding World Finals.

– From staff and news services

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