American skier Breezy Johnson won gold in the women’s downhill at the Alpine skiing world championships on Saturday.

Johnson finished 0.15 seconds ahead of silver medalist Mirjam Puchner of Austria. Czech skier Ester Ledecka came 0.21 behind in third to take bronze.

It’s Johnson first medal from a major event and came two months after she returned from a 14-month ban for three violations of anti-doping rules.

Johnson has yet to win a World Cup race. The Jackson, Wyoming native got seven podium results, but none since December 2021.

Vonn places 15th in downhill race >> Lindsey Vonn finished 15th in the downhill at the Alpine skiing world championships, 1.96 seconds behind American teammate Breezy Johnson.

The 40-year-old Vonn recently returned to competition with a new titanium knee after nearly six years of retirement.

It was an improvement for Vonn after she hooked a gate with her right arm early in her super-G run on Thursday and didn’t finish.

NFL

Longtime player and coach Jauron dies at 74 >> Longtime NFL player and coach Dick Jauron, who led the Chicago Bears to the playoffs and was voted AP coach of the year in 2001, died Saturday. He was 74.

The Bears confirmed his death, which came one day before Philadelphia — where Jauron briefly served as an assistant to current Chiefs coach Andy Reid — played Kansas City in the Super Bowl in New Orleans.Men’s Basketball

No. 6 Florida beats No. 1 Auburn >> Walter Clayton Jr. scored 19 points and Alex Condon added 17 as No. 6 Florida rallied from an early deficit and beat No. 1 Auburn 90-81, ending the Tigers’ 14-game winning streak.

Florida (20-3, 7-3 Southeastern Conference), down by 10 points early, built a 10-point advantage by the end of the first half and held off Auburn in the second half for its second victory over a top-ranked team this season. Florida beat then-No. 1 Tennessee 73-43 on Jan. 7.

Michigan State coach Izzo ties record for Big Ten wins >> Michigan State coach Tom Izzo tied Bob Knight’s Big Ten record for wins, leading the ninth-ranked Spartans to a comeback 86-74 victory over Oregon.

Perhaps fittingly, Izzo matched the mark with conference win No. 353 on the day of the program’s annual reunion of former players and celebration of the 2000 national championship team.

Knight, who died in 2023, led the Hoosiers to three NCAA titles from 1971 to 2000 and was one of Izzo’s mentors during his first season as Jud Heathcote’s successor in 1995.

Golf

Detry takes 5-shot lead into final round of Phoenix open >> Thomas Detry shot a 6-under 65 to take a five-shot lead into the final round of the Phoenix Open as he chases his first PGA Tour victory.

Detry had a two-shot lead to start the round after a 64 on Friday and kept rolling with four birdies over his first five holes in ideal conditions at TPC Scottsdale.

The two-time Belgian Olympian made a 19-foot par putt on the par-4 18th to finish at 18-under 195 on the Stadium Course.

NBA

Simmons waived by Nets, to sign with Clippers >> Ben Simmons was waived by the Brooklyn Nets after the team agreed to a buyout with the last remaining link to a failed era of building around All-Stars.

The No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft was not with the Nets for their victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night as the sides worked on completing the deal.

Simmons is making $40 million this season and would be a free agent afterward. ESPN reported that he intends to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers for the rest of this season.

Boxing

Northern Ireland boxer Cooney dies a week after fight >> Irish boxer John Cooney has died a week after being taken into intensive care following his Celtic super-featherweight title defeat to Nathan Howells in Belfast.

The death of the 28-year-old Cooney was announced in a statement published by his promoter Mark Dunlop on behalf of the Cooney family and his fiancee Emmaleen.

“After a week of battling for his life John Cooney has sadly passed away,” the statement said. “He was a much loved son, brother and partner and it will take us all a lifetime to forget how special he was. RIP John ‘the Kid’ Cooney.”

Cooney’s fight with Howells was stopped in the ninth round at Ulster Hall.