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Sam tweeted congratulations to Gordon after the ann
The most overused word in sports is star. Cheap Joe Theismann Jersey . It should be reserved only for the deserving few, those who constantly brighten our horizons with their exploits, who dont wax, wane and flame out in a season or two and, most importantly, who dont cheat, dope, act like idiots and otherwise prove that sports are too quick to build pedestals for athletes.Lindsey Vonn is a bona fide star.In simple numerical terms, its hard to gauge the relative value of the Americans new record in Alpine skiing. Vonns 63rd win in World Cup ski racing, in Italy on Monday, moved her ahead of Annemarie Moser-Proell, the womens previous record-holder from Austria with 62 World Cup victories from 1970-1980.But with fewer races back then, Moser-Proell had fewer opportunities than Vonn to make her mark and she won more frequently and from a younger age than Vonn.The technology of skiing has changed, too. Perhaps not as drastically as in tennis, where Rod Lavers wooden rackets frustrate comparisons with Roger Federer. In winning gold at the 1980 Olympics, Moser-Proell sped downhill as fast as Vonn did 30 years later for her gold in Vancouver in 2010.Still, how would Vonn and Moser-Proell have fared against each other with the same boots and skis? The differing eras make that impossible to answer with certainty.Fairer to both, then, not to play one off against the other. Its how and why Vonn has reached this milestone, not the record alone or eclipsing Moser-Proell, which make her special.TALENTS NOT ENOUGH: Vonns brain is missing the alarm bells that tell the rest of us to slow down or she has learned to ignore them. Speed simply doesnt scare her. Thats why I have so many speeding tickets in my car, she has said. For her, an icy corner on a precipitous mountain slope is an opportunity to go quicker than others who apply the brakes. Not crashing occasionally, she figures, must mean that she isnt pushing hard enough. Im just not afraid.But she also was smart in realizing long ago, early in her career, that natural hard-wiring for speed wouldnt alone be sufficient. She became the dominant woman skier not simply by being quick but by training and working hard enough to exploit that talent.NOT A QUITTER: There were plenty of points along the way when Vonn could have said, enough. At 16, after failing to finish most of her races. At 21, when a back-crunching, cart-wheeling crash in training at the Turin Olympics made her realize, for the first time, that at any second I could be done, not just in skiing, but in life. In 2013, when she tore two right-knee ligaments, the ACL and MCL, that keep our thighbones attached to our shinbones. Or again in November that year, when she re-tore one of those ligaments that had been rebuilt with a graft from her hamstring, eventually forcing her out of the 2014 Sochi Olympics and back into surgery.Pain is as much a part of competitive skiing as snow. What is astounding about Vonn isnt her high tolerance for it but that shes winning again so soon after sweating her way back to health — not once but twice — from surgeries that emaciated her leg muscles. Only in September did her surgeon clear her to ski again. World Cup wins 60, 61, 62 and 63 have come in eight races since December. She has scars on her knee but her confidence and fearlessness seem remarkably intact.Im not dead; Im still here, Vonn says in a forthcoming TV documentary about her recovery. One day, that would make a fitting headstone.OFF-PISTE PERSONA: Given that they have people who manage their public personas, who tweet and post for them, and otherwise make them sound and look good, its silly to assume that the athlete on your cereal box is a model citizen in private, too. Michael Phelps drunken driving, the revelation in 2009 of Tiger Woods serial adultery or Lance Armstrongs doping — to name just those three — showed how success in sports is sometimes only half the story.Vonn does the public side extremely well. All sports could do with more women like her, to balance out and end the undeserved dominance of men. She is articulate about skiing, making the sport easier to understand and so more attractive. She seems to understand and deal graciously with media curiosity about her personal relationship with Woods, helping rehabilitate his image somewhat. Hes a catch. Hes a good boyfriend, Vonn said on the Today show after Woods sprang the surprise of turning up for her 63rd victory.For the most part, shes been remarkably scandal-free for her career, six-time Olympic medallist Bode Miller said this month of Vonn. She does the right stuff all the time. Shes a very clean-cut American superstar and thats an amazing title.A true star.___John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester@ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester ;Cheap Vernon Davis Jersey . The 155th edition of the Plate for Canadian-foaled three-year-olds, the oldest continuously run stakes race in North America, will be televised live on TSN in HD (High Definition) in a special presentation from 4:30 – 6:00 pm ET. Post time is 5:38 pm. Cheap DaRon Payne Jersey .J. - Several people have collapsed in an overcrowded New Jersey train station while waiting in long lines to get to the Super Bowl.UMass guard Derrick Gordon hopes his decision to become the first openly gay player in Division I mens basketball will inspire others. "There are a lot of kids out there in my situation, probably far worse situations," he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "Maybe I can give a lot of kids that confidence that they need to get over that hump." Earlier Wednesday, Gordon made the announcement in interviews with ESPN and Outsports. He said he gained confidence by seeing an NBA team sign Jason Collins, who became the leagues first openly gay player when he joined the Brooklyn Nets this season. "Right now Im happy. Im free just to live my life," Gordon told the AP. The sophomore was the Minutemens fourth-leading scorer with 9.4 points per game last season. UMass reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998 and lost in its first game to Tennessee. He sat out the previous season after transferring from Western Kentucky to be closer to his family in New Jersey, where he played at high school powerhouse St. Patrick. Gordon said he told his parents he was gay March 30, informed UMass coach Derek Kellogg the next day and told his teammates two days later, which was last Wednesday. He said some of them probably have known since last summer. "They could sense it because I kind of separated myself from the team," Gordon said. "I didnt really hang out with them as far as going to parties and stuff. I really kind of kept to myself, kept quiet. We went on road trips -- Id sit by myself and they were always wondering why. I did it because I didnt want to put myself in a situation where maybe something happens and they end up finding out. Then what? Im not going to know how to handle thee situation. Cheap Fabian Moreau Jersey. " He said he appreciated the support hes received from his teammates since making his announcement. "Theyre ready to get back in the gym just as much as I am," Gordon said. "I cant wait to get back with them and get ready for this upcoming season." In the Outsports interview, Gordon said he considered quitting basketball last fall and isolated himself from teammates because of teasing. Over the summer, he had "liked" a photo on Instagram of him and his then-boyfriend in front of a gay bar. Gordon said Wednesday that he had talked several times with Collins, who made a trailblazing announcement last April when he came out in an interview with Sports Illustrated. In February, he became the first openly gay male athlete in the four major North American pro sports leagues. Collins tweeted that he was "so proud" of Gordon: "Another brave young man who is going to make it easier for so many others to live an authentic life." Michael Sam, an All-American defensive end at Missouri, came out in interviews with ESPN, The New York Times and Outsports in February after his college career ended. He is projected as a middle-round prospect in next months NFL draft. Sam tweeted congratulations to Gordon after the announcement: "You have so many in your corner and were all proud and rooting for you." Kellogg and UMass director of athletics John McCutcheon offered their support in statements from the school. The coach said that "I have the most profound respect for Derrick and the decision he has made to come out publicly." He called Gordon "a model student, a terrific competitor, but most importantly, he is a wonderful human being." 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