Off the wire

MOTOR SPORTS Schumacher in critical

Michael Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One world champion, required emergency brain surgery after sustaining a serious head injury while skiing in the French Alps on Sunday, his manager said. When Schumacher arrived at a hospital in Grenoble, “he suffered from a head injury and was in a coma” requiring the surgery, his manager Sabine Kehm said in a statement Sunday. Local police said earlier on Sunday the 44-year-old German had suffered a “serious” concussion after falling, that he was conscious and his life wasn’t in danger. The former race driver was wearing a helmet and the crash involved no one else, a spokesman for the Peleton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne said by telephone. “It was a fall on the slope between the Biche and Chamois slopes in Meribel,” the spokesman said. “The shock was quite violent.” Kehm issued an update on his condition late Sunday, saying he remained critical. She had earlier said that the ex-world champion wasn’t alone when the accident happened. Schumacher, who won titles with the Benetton team in 1994 and 1995 and took five consecutive championships with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004, left Formula One after last year following a three-season comeback.

SPEED SKATING Davis takes 1,000 again

Shani Davis, the two-time defending Olympic champion captured another title in his signature event, edging Brian Hansen by a hundredth of a second at the U.S. speed skating trials Sunday in the 1,000 meters on Sunday in Kearns, Utah. At age 31 and likely preparing for his final Winter Games, Davis is already assured of being remembered as one of the greats of the sport. He’s not ready to slow down just yet. “I’m the older brother to all these young guys,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep them at bay. They’re nipping at me.” Davis has locked up at least two events in Sochi, also claiming a spot in the 500, and is favored in the still-to-come 1,500, a race in which he won silver medals in Turin and Vancouver. In addition, there’s a chance he’ll take part in the team pursuit, a race he passed on at previous Olympics because he didn’t want to affect preparations for his individual events. After gliding along patiently on the backstretch, hands clasped behind his back during a two-minute television commercial break that delayed the start of the next-to-last pairing, Davis powered around the final turn for a time of 1 minute, 7.52 seconds. Hansen came up just short in the final group, crossing the stripe in 1:07.53. On the women’s side, Heather Richardson beat Brittany Bowe in the 1,000 - a repeat of their 1-2 finish in the 500 on Saturday. The other two projected spots on the Olympic team went to Sugar Todd and Kelly Gunther, the latter completing her comeback from a gruesome ankle injury shortly after she just missed making the Vancouver Olympics. Bowe is the world-record holder in the 1,000, setting the mark of 1:12.58 at the oval in suburban Salt Lake City last month. Shedidn’t come close to that time at the trials, settling for the second spot in 1:13.93 and conceding she was worn down a bit after the grueling World Cup schedule. Richardson’s winning time was 1:13.23. She and Bowe will go to Sochi as the favorites in the 1,000.

SKIING

Svindal wins for fourth time

Overall World Cup leader Aksel Lund Svindal mastered the fresh snow conditions on the Stelvio course Sunday in Bormio, Italy to win a downhill for his fourth victory of the Olympic season. The Norwegian clocked 1 minute, 54.08 seconds to finish 0.39 seconds ahead of Hannes Reichelt of Austria. Erik Guay of Canada placed third, 0.51 back, for a strong follow-up to his downhill victory in Val Gardena a week ago. Bode Miller struggled with the conditions and finished outside the top 30. The start of the race was delayed for 40 minutes due to fog and low visibility, and overnight snow provided a much softer surface than during the two training sessions Friday and Saturday. Svindal extended his overall lead ahead of two-time defending champion Marcel Hirscher to 195 points.

Marlies Schild set a World Cup record by earning her 35th slalom victory Sunday, overtaking Switzerland’s Vreni Schneider on top of the all-time list in the discipline in Lienz, Austria. Schild was sixth after the opening leg but used a blistering second run to finish in 1 minute, 55.63 seconds and beat American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin, who led the competition after the first run. Shiffrin finished 0.41 seconds behind. Olympic slalom champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany was third, 0.63 behind Schild. Many racers struggled with the rainy conditions, with Maria Pietilae-Holmner of Sweden and Kathrin Zettel of Austria, who were second and third respectively after the opening run, failing to finish.

FOOTBALL UCF hires Ferraro

Central Florida has hired longtime NFL assistant Paul Ferraro to be defensive coordinator next season. Ferraro has been defensive coordinator at Maine in the FCS the last two years. He worked with the Panthers, Vikings and Rams from 2005-2011, and was an assistant for UCF Coach George O’Leary at Georgia Tech from 1995-2001. He replaces Jim Flemming, who left to become head coach at Rhode Island. Neither Flemming nor Ferraro will coach the 15th-ranked Knights in the Fiesta Bowl against No. 6 Baylor on New Year’s Day.

Vernon “Bud” Lyons, a lineman on Tennessee’s 1951 national championship team, has died. He was 84. Edward Boling, the director of Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home in Dallas, confirmed Sunday that Lyons died of cancer Tuesday at his home in Corinth, Texas. Services were held Saturday. Tennessee had an item on its website Sunday announcing Lyons’ death. Lyons lettered at guard for Tennessee in 1950 and 1951. Tennessee’s 1950 team went 11-1 and beat Texas 20-14 in the Cotton Bowl. The 1951 team was 10-1 and won the national title.

MOTOR SPORTS

Granatelli, Indy 500-winning car owner, dies at 90

Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died. He was 90.

Granatelli’s son, Vince, said his father died Sunday of congestive heart failure at a Santa Barbara hospital. Granatelli is a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

“Everything he did was bigger than life,” Vince Granatelli said. “The thing that gave him the most gratification in his life was what he did at the Indianapolis 500.”

Granatelli’s cars nearly won at Indianapolis in 1967 and 1968 with turbine engines. He broke through in 1969 with Mario Andretti driving a car with a conventional engine.

Granatelli kissing Andretti on the cheek in Victory Lane is one of the most famous images in Indy history. In 1973, Gordon Johncock gave Granatelli another Indy 500 victory.

“Andy Granatelli - known appropriately as ‘Mr. 500’ - understood better than anyone the spirit and challenge of the Indianapolis 500 and had a remarkable ability to combine innovative technologies with talented race car drivers to make his cars a threat to win at Indianapolis every year,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles said in a statement. “Andy leaves a legacy of historic moments that will live forever in Indianapolis 500 lore.”

Granatelli was born in Dallas. He gained fame during World War II as a promoter of racing events, such as the Hurricane Racing Association.

He is survived by his wife, Dolly, and sons Vince and Anthony.