USA TODAY WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2015
Vonn feels bad about Woods’ tooth Race official disputes account of incident Brian Pinelli Special for USA TODAY Sports
A day after breaking the World Cup record for victories, Lindsey Vonn said she felt bad that Tiger Woods’ tooth was knocked out during his trip but that it was no big deal. “I didn’t see it happen, but I guess some photographer hit him in the face with a camera and it totally knocked his tooth out,” Vonn told USA TODAY Sports during a phone interview Tuesday from St. Moritz, Switzerland. “I felt so bad, because he flew all the way over there for a matter of hours, and someone manages to deck him with a camera and knock his tooth out.” Vonn added of her boyfriend’s condition: “The nerve is showing, so he will definitely get it replaced ASAP. This pain is really nothing when he has had as many injuries as he’s had. It’s not a big
Lindsey Vonn, celebrating her victory Monday, says losing a tooth was not a big deal for boyfriend Tiger Woods. ANDREA SOLERO, AP
deal. He was in good spirits.” Woods traveled to Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, before Monday’s ski race, jetting on his private plane to Venice and taking a helicopter to the ski resort. His timing was impeccable as it turned out to be a historic super-G victory for Vonn, who surpassed Annemarie Moser-Proell’s record of 62. According to Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, the 14-time major tournament winner had his tooth knocked out by a videogra-
pher toting a shoulder-mounted camera at the awards podium. The incident occurred as the cameraman surged toward the stage and turned toward Woods, hitting him in the mouth, Steinberg said in a statement. Vonn said she and Woods parted ways shortly after the race as he returned to Florida and she traveled to Salzburg, Austria, to appear on a Red Bull TV show. According to the Cortina race organizing committee, there was no report filed on the incident.
Race secretary general Nicola Colli disputed that Woods was near the awards ceremony when the incident reportedly occurred. “During the (awards) ceremony, Tiger Woods was in the operations tent, the tent just outside the exit gate,” Colli told USA TODAY Sports. “He was looking on from there and he was not in the finish area.” Colli said race organizers made “every effort that we could to guarantee him with the necessary privacy and necessary security.” Accompanied by police officers, Colli said he personally escorted Woods for about 50 feet from the tent to a snowmobile after the awards ceremony. “If you look at the pictures, there was no blood, nothing of pain in his face,” Colli said. “He was calm; he was quiet.” Woods is expected to play next week in the PGA Tour’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. Vonn continues her World Cup season with races in St. Moritz this weekend before February’s world championships in Vail/ Beaver Creek, Colo.
HEIGHTENED PROSPECTS Cavs expect big things from new center Mozgov Jeff Zillgitt @JeffZillgitt USA TODAY Sports
Timofey Mozgov has trust issues. But when trusted, the Russian center can be an issue for opponents. In desperate need of a big man, the Cleveland Cavaliers put their trust in 7-1 Mozgov. The Cavaliers gave up two protected first-round draft picks for Mozgov in a Jan. 7 trade with the Denver Nuggets, and he has rewarded Cleveland in short time with 9.3 points and 9.0 rebounds a game and 53.5% shooting from the field. Cavaliers coach David Blatt knows what Mozgov can do. Mozgov, 28, played for Blatt on the Russian national team in 2009, 2010 and 2012. “I had the pleasure and honor to coach him for a number of years on the Russian national team, and we had a lot of great success together. ... Obviously, he was a big part of that,” Blatt said. It wasn’t always that way for Mozgov in the NBA. For most of the Russian’s first three seasons, then-Denver Nuggets coach George Karl didn’t have that trust. And it showed in Mozgov’s performance. He played in only half of Denver’s games under Karl, averaging 3.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11.7 minutes a game. When Brian Shaw took over the Nuggets in 2013, Mozgov’s playing time increased. The new coach saw the Russian big man’s skills, and Mozgov’s numbers jumped. He doubled his rebounding totals and tripled his scoring. Now, Mozgov is reunited with another coach whom he trusts. Mozgov had his best game for the Cavaliers with 15 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots in a 108-94 win Monday against the Chicago Bulls. “I’ve got a very, very soft spot in my heart for him. Great kid.
JAY LAPRETE, AP
Kosta Karageorge was going through a breakup at the time of his death.
Police records show an Ohio State athlete who had gone through a breakup texted suicidal messages to his ex-girlfriend before he was found dead of a selfinflicted gunshot wound to the head. Wrestler and football scoutteam member Kosta Karageorge, 22, was found in a Columbus trash bin not far from his campus-area apartment Nov. 30. A handgun was found near his right hand. Investigators concluded that Karageorge and his girlfriend broke up around the time he went missing Nov. 26. Records show he texted his girlfriend on the morning he disappeared, saying he loved her and wanted to talk, and when he received responses indicating rejection he replied he was going to kill himself. Texts later sent to his mother said concussions were affecting his mind and he hoped he wasn’t an embarrassment. Karageorge’s mother told police he previously had several concussions and spells of confusion.
JORDAN STEAD, AP
Jerramy Stevens, right, played nine seasons in the NFL.
MORE LEGAL TROUBLE FOR SOLO AND HUSBAND DAVID RICHARD, USA TODAY SPORTS
Center Timofey Mozgov had 15 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots Monday in a win vs. the Bulls, his best game since being traded to the Cavaliers for two first-round picks Jan. 7.
“One day, people started talking about me — good player, can move.” Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov, on scouts’ perceptions of him after the 2009 EuroBasket tournament
Great kid,” Blatt said. “He had to work long and hard to get to where he is today. It’s a wonderful story. You guys should do a documentary. I’m telling you, it’s a great story.” Asked about his story, Mozgov said, “I don’t think we have time for it.” Mozgov — his friends and teammates call him Timo (pronounced Teem-O) — was born in St. Petersburg, the youngest of three brothers, each one taller than his older sibling. His 6-8 father, Pavel, was a professional handball player. But after he suf-
fered a serious injury, doctors encouraged him to move to a more moderate climate. The family moved to Enem, a town of about 18,000 in southern Russia, nearly 80 miles from the Black Sea. But the basketball competition wasn’t very good and, Mozgov said, “To be honest, I was not that good. All my life I had bad coordination, slow feet.” But basketball coaches rarely give up on a big man with potential, and Mozgov moved back to St. Petersburg when he was 16 to attend a sports academy. He joined a second-level Russian pro league two years later, and in 2006 he joined first-division club Khimki, playing limited minutes. But playing for Blatt in the 2009 EuroBasket tournament, Mozgov averaged 11 points and 4.6 rebounds a game, and U.S. scouts became more interested. “One day, people started talking about me — good player, can move,” Mozgov said. “I work a lot on my basketball. When you have
some talent, you have to work.” Mozgov said he sometimes slept at the gym and practiced three times a day in Russia. In the summer of 2010, he moved to the USA and worked with Dallasbased trainer and former college player Fess Irvin. “There were a lot of areas, small areas, that he didn’t understand. But he was willing to learn and had a strong desire to work and get better,” Irvin said. “The more and more he worked, I could see that he would end up being a good big man. I truly believe his best basketball is ahead of him.” The Cavaliers sure hope so. Nine Russian-born players have played in the NBA, according to Basketball-reference.com, and four are on NBA rosters this season. “It was not a miracle, but I didn’t imagine it,” Mozgov said. “It’s the best basketball in the world, and you want to be a part of that.”
Nationals poised to fill bad-guy role Mark Whicker @MWhicker03LANG Special for USA TODAY Sports
What baseball needs is another great team, a 105-win machine so ruthless that it starts getting booed when it lands at the airport. Can the Washington Nationals be that? They took a step when they signed Max Scherzer, the 2013 American League Cy Young Award winner, to a seven-year, $210 million contract. He gives the Nationals the most credentialed starting rotation in baseball and a season-long bull’s-eye. The Nationals were pretty good anyway, having won 96 games in 2014. But, as they did in 2012, they lost the National League Division Series, this time to the San Francisco Giants. So it was time for a grand gesture.
SPORTS 3C UPDATE Athlete sent suicidal texts
COMMENTARY
H. DARR BEISER, USA TODAY SPORTS
Injuries limited Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper to 100 games last season. He had 13 home runs and 32 RBI. The rotation already was the best thing about Washington. All five starters from last season had a WHIP (walks plus hits allowed per inning pitched) below 1.20, and all were 30 or younger. Tanner Roark is the logical starter to go to the bullpen. Last year Roark went 15-10 with a 2.85 ERA. Offensively, the Nats expect Bryce Harper, 22, to stay healthy
and put up a season to match his hype. They plan to move third baseman Ryan Zimmerman to first, replacing departed Adam LaRoche, and give third to Anthony Rendon (83 RBI in 2014). But the Nationals have not checked all the boxes. With the trade of Tyler Clippard to the Oakland Athletics, they will need someone to seal up whatever sev-
Soccer star Hope Solo and her husband, former NFL player Jerramy Stevens, are having a hard time avoiding headlines about alleged criminal activity. A week ago, Solo had charges of domestic violence against her dismissed. She had faced two counts of fourth-degree assault based on a claim that she drunkenly attacked her half-sister and nephew. Early Monday, Stevens was pulled over by Manhattan Beach (Calif.) police for driving without his headlights on. He was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence. Police said Solo was in the car but was not arrested or detained. Stevens was released with a citation to appear at Los Angeles Superior Court on March 19. — David Leon Moore
ROB FOLDY, GETTY IMAGES
Memphis’ Miami Beach Bowl victory was marred by a postgame fight.
REVIEW FINDS 12 TO BE PUNISHED FOR BRAWL
enth and eighth innings. Clippard is a two-time All-Star who has posted a sub-1.000 WHIP in three of the last four years, which is outstanding. In the year he didn’t, he saved 32 games as the impromptu closer. Beginning in 2010, Clippard has made 78, 72, 74, 72 and 75 appearances. He might be due for a surgical procedure, but the Nationals are probably taking a bigger risk by trading him. The Philadelphia Phillies did not get to the World Series with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt. Same for the Detroit Tigers last season, with Scherzer, David Price, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez. Washington’s bullpen was victimized in clinching games in 2012 and 2014. Ask the Atlanta Braves how many title runs were torpedoed by a leaky bullpen. If the Nats bullpen betrays them again, there will be a lot of asking.
Memphis will punish 12 football players for their role in the brawl after their double-overtime win in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl following an internal review by the university. Officials announced Tuesday that they had identified 12 players who took part in the brawl that followed the 55-48 win against BYU on Dec. 22. BYU did not say how many Cougars could face punishment. Memphis punishment includes being suspended from practices and scrimmages and up to two games, though which players would be suspended from games would not be announced until the start of the 2015 season. Other penalties include mandatory anger-management counseling, community service and unspecified punishment from Memphis coach Justin Fuente. BYU and Memphis players also will formally apologize in a conference call.
Whicker is a columnist for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.
Compiled by John Tkach from staff and wire reports