foul shot, making it 67-45. Boozer led a scorching start by Chicago,

Less than two weeks after reconstructive right knee surgery in February 2013, Lindsey Vonn already was sounding a positive note, saying she was "really looking forward to Sochi" and defending her Olympic downhill gold medal. Along the way to the next Winter Games, though, Vonn began facing more setbacks. As shed move past one, another would surface. In the end, it was too much, even for Vonn, the most accomplished U.S. ski racer in history. Expected to be one of the biggest stars at the upcoming Games, Vonn announced Tuesday -- exactly one month before the opening ceremony -- she wont be able to race in Russia. In a Facebook posting, Vonn said she is "devastated" to miss the Olympics, "but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level." Her personal publicist, Lewis Kay, said in a statement the 29-year-old from Vail, Colo., will have knee surgery again "shortly." Like many in her risk-filled sport, Vonn has dealt with injuries often, particularly at major events. She withdrew midway through the 2011 world championships because of a concussion. She raced with a severely bruised shin at the last Olympics. She skipped a race at the 2009 worlds after slicing her thumb open on a champagne bottle. She hurt her knee in training and missed a pair of races at the 2007 worlds. She took a scary fall during training at the 2006 Olympics, then left the hospital to compete. "Shes come back. Shell be back," Vonns father, Alan Kildow, said in a telephone interview. "Youll see a lot of Lindsey Vonn in the future." Vonn left the 2010 Vancouver Games with two medals: the first Olympic downhill gold for an American woman, and a bronze in the super-G. She is also a four-time overall World Cup champion, by far the most recognized name in Alpine skiing at the moment -- and, as it happens, the girlfriend of Tiger Woods. Add it all up, and she would have been the focus of plenty of media coverage in Sochi, certainly a main character in NBCs coverage for a U.S. audience. "Lindsey gives you great promotional value, and shes an amazing athlete and an amazing story," said Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics. "But there are amazing athletes that are going to be in Sochi, many of which we know, some of which we havent identified yet." To those in the world of skiing, theres no doubt about the sports most important athlete of late. "Without Lindsey Vonn, the races are just not the same," Canadian womens Alpine coach Hugues Ansermoz said last month. "She just attracts so much interest. When Lindsey Vonn is here, there are more people coming to watch the race, there is more interest on TV, more journalists are interested. And her relationship with Tiger Woods makes even more people interested." But Vonn has rarely been present on the elite skiing circuit the past 12 months. She tore two ligaments in her right knee and broke a bone in that leg during a high-speed crash at the world championships last February. As Vonn neared a return, she re-tore her surgically repaired ACL in a crash during training in November. After finishing 40th, 11th and fifth in a trio of World Cup races at Lake Louise, Alberta, in early December, Vonn sprained her MCL during a downhill at Val dIsere, France, two weeks later. "I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL," Vonn said Tuesday via Facebook. "Im having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February," she wrote. "On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold." Mikaela Shiffrin, the reigning world champion in slalom, and Julia Mancuso, a three-time Olympic medallist , will now draw extra attention as American women trying to reach the Alpine skiing podium in Sochi. Top skiers from other countries who will be favoured for medals include Germanys Maria Hoefl-Riesch, Switzerlands Lara Gut, Slovenias Tina Maze and Liechtensteins Tina Weirather. Shiffrin, the U.S. teenager labeled the "next Vonn" by some, wrote on Twitter that its "hard to swallow" that Vonn wont be competing in Sochi. Another American racer, Stacey Cook, posted on Facebook: "Our team is not the same without you. You leave big shoes to fill." After skiing in two downhills and a super-G at Lake Louise last month, Vonn sounded optimistic, declaring she would be in Sochi, "fighting for my medal." But shortly thereafter in France -- with Woods watching in the finish area -- Vonn lost her balance. Her left ski lifted, forcing weight onto her right knee. She grimaced, then clutched that leg. Kay said Tuesday an MRI "showed an MCL sprain, which coupled with the torn ACL, has made it impossible to stabilize her knee and be ready to safely ski again next month." Now Vonn will turn her attention to the 2015 world championships in Colorado. Theres also this: She needs three wins to match the World Cup record of 62 race victories set by Annemarie Moser-Proell of Austria. "I have every ounce of confidence that Lindsey will be in the starting gate next World Cup season, ready to compete," said Bill Marolt, the CEO and president of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. "She knows the hard work it takes to get to the top and still has significant goals to achieve in what has been an incredible career." U.S. racers captured eight Alpine medals four years ago, their highest total at any Olympics and twice as many as any other country at Vancouver. That figure may be tough to reach with Vonn sidelined and Bode Miller, who won three medals in 2010, trying to return to form at age 36 after left knee surgery. Whats more, Mancuso has been struggling this season. Off to a poor start in pre-Olympic races, Mancuso recently headed home for a short break. "We have a strong team that is well prepared. ... Now is the time for those athletes to step up," Marolt said. Vonn, meanwhile, will go through another operation, another rehab, another road back. "You need to look at the long run. The problem with the knee is there is not an insignificant risk that youre going to do more long-term damage that cant be repaired," said Kildow, her father. "So have it repaired now. So you can compete in future years. So you can ski and enjoy yourself after you get done competing." nike vapormax Ελλαδα . -- The Anaheim Ducks have signed left wing Dany Heatley to a one-year deal, returning the 33-year-old unrestricted free agent to the Pacific Division. nike vapormax greece . Gauteng High Court Judge Dunstan Mlambo ruled Tuesday that South African media houses will be allowed to install three remote controlled cameras in court for the Olympic athletes trial starting next week to capture images that likely will be seen by millions around the world. http://www.vapormaxgreece.com/ . The CFL will help tackle womens cancers by playing four special "CFL PINK" games this weekend. nike vapormax ανδρικα . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. nike vapormax προς πώληση . - Dolphins safety Louis Delmas has been carted off the field with a right knee injury against the Ravens.CHICAGO -- The way everything was crumbling, the Chicago Bulls sure needed a reprieve. Knocking off the defending champions was a nice one. Carlos Boozer scored 27 points, and the Bulls pounded LeBron James and the Miami Heat 107-87 on Thursday night. Luol Deng had 20 points, Taj Gibson chipped in with 19, and Joakim Noah added 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Bulls had no trouble taking out the Southeast Division leaders. Chicago took control early on and hung on down the stretch after watching a 25-point lead in the third quarter dwindle to 12 late in the game. It was an impressive showing by a team that had dropped six of seven and is once again trying to get by without the injured Derrick Rose. "Our team needed it," Noah said. "We went through a lot the past couple of weeks. Its really hard to play without Derrick. I want to win with Derrick Rose." The Bulls shot 50 per cent and were 10 for 19 on 3-pointers -- four by Deng and three by Kirk Hinrich, who scored 13. They also outrebounded Miami 49-27. James scored 21 points for Miami, but the Heat shot a season low for the second straight game, converting 41.6 per cent from the field after hitting 43.9 per cent in Tuesdays loss to Detroit. "We cant just brush this loss aside," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We have to really own it, to understand what happened. They just got whatever they wanted, right in the paint, at the rim and if they missed those, then theyre just beating us up at the glass." It didnt help that Dwyane Wade stayed back at the hotel with an illness after sitting out the previous game because of knee soreness. Chris Andersen missed this one for personal reasons, but the Heat will get no sympathy from Chicago. After all, the Bulls lost Rose to a torn meniscus in his right knee in a game at Portland on Nov. 22, and although the former MVP left the door slightly open for a playoff return earlier in the day, the team has ruled him out for the rest of the season. "We really got snake-bitten," Gibson said..dddddddddddd "When that happened to Derrick, that was really like, Wow. Were a family in here. When that stuff kind of happens, it was just ... tough. We were on the road, odds were against us." And as if that six-game trip wasnt difficult enough, there was a triple-overtime loss to New Orleans on Monday in their first game back at the United Center. The Bulls did just fine on Thursday, although things got a little tight down the stretch. Miami cut it to 93-81 on Norris Coles runner with 5:38 remaining. But Gibson answered with a jumper and blocked a layup by Udonis Haslem. Deng made a 3 with just under four minutes left to make it 98-81, and Chicago hung on from there. Before that, the only tension came early in the third quarter when Hinrich took a shot to the neck from Cole away from the ball. The result was an angry exchange, a flagrant foul one for Cole and a technical for Hinrich. The Bulls guard hit both free throws after James missed a foul shot, making it 67-45. Boozer led a scorching start by Chicago, scoring 19 points as the Bulls built a 58-44 halftime lead. But in the end, it was the Bulls rebounding and defence that had the Heat shaking their heads. "Weve never been a great rebounding team but weve been able to overcome that," James said. "Teams have done a much better job of rebounding against us. It could be an effort thing, it could be a lot of things but we just got to go out and just go get them. "Im going to do a better job of that, get more rebounds. But its a group thing for a team. We dont have a Kevin Love or Joakim Noah or Dwight Howard, those types of guys who can get you 15-plus, we have to do it as a collective group." NOTES: There was a moment of silence before the game to honour Nelson Mandela, who died Thursday at the age of 95. ... This was the Bulls most lopsided win over the Heat since a 126-96 blowout at Miami on Jan. 16, 2008. ... Andersen expected to rejoin Miami on Friday in Minnesota. The Heat play the Timberwolves on Saturday. ' ' '