Lindsey Vonn is just getting started on her comeback to ski racing at age 40 with her new titanium knee. She already has an endpoint in mind, though.

If she can make it to next year’s Olympics, when women’s races will be held on one of her favorite courses in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, that would be the perfect place to wrap up this portion of her career.

“I would never go past that,” Vonn told The AP Thursday in Cortina. “It would be a great way to end things — for once and for all.”

First, though, Vonn wants to get herself back into podium contention.

She’s heading in that direction after returning to the circuit last month after nearly six years of retirement. She finished 14th in her comeback race in St. Moritz, Switzerland, then improved to sixth and fourth in her last two races last weekend in St. Anton, Austria.

But she fell in downhill training in Cortina on Thursday — narrowly avoiding major injury.

“I’m good,” Vonn said. “I just caught a lot of air off the second-to-last jump and I just landed and my ski kind of caught funny.

“My bum is sore but otherwise I’m good,” she added, indicating that she still plans to race this weekend.

“I don’t know if it’s possible (to qualify for next year’s Olympics). I have to stay on my feet, unlike today,” Vonn said. “I have to keep thing’s going and if I can make it, it would be a thrilling and a great way to kind of close the loop on my career — I guess the second chapter of my career. But I’m really trying not to think that far ahead. I have to stick with what’s on today and tomorrow and just kind of building and getting everything dialed in.”

Vonn holds the record with 12 World Cup wins in Cortina — divided evenly between downhill (6) and super-G (6).

GOLF

J.T. Poston shot a 10-under 62 to take a one-stroke lead over Justin Lower in the opening round of The American Express in La Quinta.

Poston carded nine birdies and an eagle on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West in the Palm Springs-area desert. Lower was one stroke ahead of an 8-under pack that included Jason Day, Joel Dahmen, Chris Kirk, J.J. Spaun and Matti Schmid.

Poston excels on the three mostly generous courses used for this event, finishing tied for sixth at The American Express in 2023 and tied for 11th last year. The North Carolina native has also done well in other deserts, winning in Las Vegas last fall.

Lower shot a bogey-free 63 at La Quinta that included consecutive eagles.

A 22-year-old American amateur making his debut on the DP World Tour upstaged Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and many of the world’s top players at the Dubai (UAE) Desert Classic for a share of the first-round lead.

David Ford, a senior at the University of North Carolina, holed a 40-foot eagle putt at his first hole, ran off five straight birdies midway through the round and signed for a 7-under 65 at Emirates Golf Club.

Ford is a lefty, a triplet, No. 6 in the world amateur rankings and playing outside the United States for the first time. He earned an exemption for the Dubai Desert Classic, one of the most prestigious events on the European tour, as a reward for finishing the autumn section of the collegiate golf schedule at No. 1 in the PGA Tour’s university ranking.

Ford was tied for the lead with Ricardo Gouveia of Portugal and David Micheluzzi of Australia — and five shots clear of defending champ McIlroy, who said he felt “a little uncomfortable” in shooting 70 in his first competitive round of 2025.

COLLEGES

Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham is getting a raise following the Sun Devils’ unexpected trip to the College Football Playoff. The Arizona Board of Regents approved a contract extension for Dillingham through 2029 and a salary increase to $5.8 million starting this year, with a $100,000 increase each Jan. 1 for the duration of the term. He made $4.1 million last season.

Plans for colleges to pay athletes directly for their name, image and likeness deals would run afoul of Title IX, the Department of Education said in guidance that adds more confusion to the shifting landscape in college sports.

The nine-page memo from the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights said NIL money that goes to athletes should be treated the same as athletic financial aid — i.e., scholarships. It’s a position that, if it remains in place after president-elect Donald Trump takes office, could upend plans that many schools are making for next school year.

MLB

Kyle Tucker and the Chicago Cubs settled the largest of the 17 salary arbitration cases in which proposed figures were exchanged, agreeing to a $16.5 million, one-year contract, multiple sources reported.