'Law & Order' scene won't push Vonn from slippery slope

 Lindsey Vonn as Alicia and Jeremy Sisto as Det. Cyrus Lupo on the upcoming May 24 episode of NBC's "Law & Order." (Eric Leibowitz / NBC)

By Philip Hersh

Lindsey Vonn has a scene on Law & Order's 20th season finale May 24.

Sometime earlier that day, the 2010 Olympic alpine skiing champion intends to put a little law and order back in a schedule that has been a whirlwind of celebrity appearances since she returned from Europe in mid-March after winning four World Cup season titles: Overall, downhill, Super-G, combined.

 Since then, she has walked the red carpet at the Academy of Country Music awards in Las Vegas, attended the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, sat with Eli Manning and designer Tory Burch at the Met Costume Institute Gala in New York and starred at the Race to Erase MS Gala in Los Angeles.

And, following up on her Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue appearance, Vonn was ranked No. 59 on the 2010 Maxim Hot 100  in an issue that came out this week.  She and Danica Patrick (No. 25) are the only athletes on the list.

But the time has come to start preparing for the next ski season.

``I'm going to start working out the same day my episode airs,'' Vonn said Thursday.  ``I'll hit the gym and begin my six-day-a-week, six-hour-a-day training program.  We start on-snow training in the beginning of August in New Zealand.''

Vonn, still just 25 years old, has not pushed skiing from  the center of her life.  

``I can't imagine myself doing anything else but skiing, at least for the moment,'' she said.  ``Skiing is my passion.''

Even after the highs -- and injury angst -- at the Olympics, there was no question of her not going back for the final two weeks of the World Cup circuit, despite the difficulty of shifting her mind from celebration mode to competition mode.

 ``It was a little anti-climactic to finish off the season,'' she said.  ``I'm really thankful I was able to do it well.''

Vonn said she was more nervous about being on the TV set with her favorite actors than in the start house about to tear down a downhill course at 70 miles per hour.

``I was completely shaking, but I had a grin from ear-to-ear,'' she said. ``I was supposed to be a serious character that is ratting out her boss, and I just couldn't stop smiling.  I think the producer was scratching his head a little bit.

``All the other actors were able to joke around between takes and then as soon as they called, `Action,' they were serious.  I was still just smiling.  I don't know if I did a great job.''  

Vonn is such a fan of "Law & Order" she had said she was willing to play a corpse just to get on the show.  ``My role was a little more fun that that,'' she said.

If you see her on the street, Vonn might be wearing the "Law & Order" robe that was part of her swag for doing the scene.  ``I've pretty much had it on since it came to the house,'' she said.

Ironically, even as she was talking about how much she loves the show, the entertainment website deadline.com was reporting that "Law & Order" will not be renewed next year.  An NBC spokesperson declined to comment.

``I really hope it's not cancelled,'' she said.  ``I would be devastated.''

She got her biggest kick from being on the show after the filming ended, when the other actors started trying on her Vancouver medals -- gold from the downhill and bronze from the Super-G. 

``I was standing there with my favorite characters,  hanging out with my Olympic medals,'' she said.  ``It was definitely a surreal moment.''

When she is home, Vonn keeps the medals close to her bed and doesn't leave home without them.

``They are kind of part of me now,'' she said.

(Photo: Lindsey Vonn and country singer Joe Nichols presenting the record of the year award at the Academy of Country Music Awards last month in Las Vegas.  Ethan Miller / Getty Images.)

Lindsey Vonn clinches third straight World Cup overall title

American alpine superstar Lindsey Vonn added to her growing legacy Friday by following up her Olympic gold medal in Vancouver with her third straight World Cup overall title.

Vonn, the first American woman to win the Olympic downhill, edged out German Maria Riesch, a double gold winner in Vancouver, for the overall title at the World Cup finals in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Vonn had already clinched the overall title when Riesch, who needed to finish in the top two of the super giant slalom to stay in points contention, was knocked into third place before Vonn ran.

Just for good measure, though, the 25-year-old Vonn won the super-G race to record her American-record 33rd World Cup victory, one more than teammate Bode Miller.

"I knew what place Maria was in, so I knew the World Cup overall was already secured," Vonn said. "But I still wanted to go out there and have a good end to the season, I'm just really happy I had a good run and was able to end the season well."

American Ted Ligety, who failed to medal at the Olympics, clinched his second World Cup giant slalom event title with a third-place finish on Friday.

Lindsey Vonn finishes second in World Cup downhill race

Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn finished second in the final World Cup downhill race of the season, maintaining a comfortable lead in the overall title point standings with three races remaining.

Maria Riesch of Germany won the event, completing the 2,920-meter Kandahar course in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in 1 minute, 34.82 seconds. Vonn finished nearly half a second behind her close friend and rival. Anja Paerson of Sweden finished third, and American Julia Mancuso was fifth.

Vonn maintains a 225-point lead over Riesch in the World Cup standings and stands a good chance of claiming the title at the next event.

"I haven't won it yet," Vonn told the Associated Press. "It's not finished yet. It's still possible [for Riesch to win]. It's unlikely, but it's not finished."

Vonn, who won the gold medal in downhill at the Vancouver Games, clinched the World Cup downhill title Saturday. She is still recovering from a broken finger she suffered while crashing out of the Olympic giant slalom.

Vonn could break the American record for most career World Cup wins with a victory in the giant slalom on Thursday. She is tied with Bode Miller with 32 career victories.

-- Austin Knoblauch

Photo: Lindsey Vonn, left, Maria Riesch, center and Anja Paerson celebrate following their runs in a World Cup downhill event Wednesday. Credit: Stephan Jansen / EPA

For Lindsey Vonn and Shani Davis, a championship season continues apace

I know it's not an exact analogy, but imagine winning the World Series and then going back to make up some regular-season rainouts.

That's what Olympic champions like Lindsey Vonn and Shani Davis are doing.

And that's what makes the way they are doing it even more impressive.

World Cup seasons in several Olympic sports resumed a week after the torch went out in Vancouver, Canada.

Alpine skiing downhill gold medalist Vonn and speedskating 1,000-meter gold medalist Davis picked up right where each had left off.

Vonn won Saturday's World Cup downhill in Crans Montana, Switzerland, her 10th win on the circuit this winter, which set a U.S. single-season record and tied her with Bode Miller for most career victories (32) by a U.S. skier. She also finished second in Sunday's super-G.

(Julia Mancuso, surprise double medalist at the Olympics, was third in the super-G, the first podium finish in the last two seasons by a U.S. woman other than Vonn.)

Davis, meanwhile, won both 1,000-meter races at the World Cup in Erfurt, Germany. He is six for six at that distance this season.

Both Vonn and Davis have World Cup finals on tap this week.

A few other post-Olympic matters:

-- Barring a change of plans, Kim Yuna of South Korea will be the first newly minted women's figure skating gold medalist to compete at the ensuing world championships since Kristi Yamaguchi in 1992. 

And Kim's celebrity has reached even higher levels in South Korea, to the point that heads of major corporations are using her as the exemplar of success, according to the Korea Times.

Lindsey Vonn appears on 'The Tonight Show'

The Olympics may be over, but the ratings bonanza never ends.

American skier Lindsey Vonn appeared on "The Tonight Show" on Monday and talked about her experience at the Vancouver Games.

Jay Leno's hard-hitting questions covered several topics, including Vonn's relationship with her husband, her knack for cheese therapy and how her Sports Illustrated cover shot turned out better than Leno's.

-- Austin Knoblauch

Germany's Maria Riesch wins gold in women's slalom

Maria Riesch of Germany won the slalom title for her second gold medal of the Winter Olympics on Friday, as Lindsey Vonn skied out chasing her second victory.

 Riesch led after the first leg and had a combined two-run time of 1 minute, 42.89 seconds through the snow and fog on Friday.
   

Marlies Schild of Austria was 0.43 seconds back to take silver, adding to her bronze in the same event at the 2006 Turin Games.
   

Sarka Zahrobska of the Czech Republic trailed by 1.01 to get bronze.

Sarah Schleper of the U.S., ninth after the morning run, finished 16th.
   

 Downhill champion Vonn straddled a gate early in her first run and did not finish for the third time in five races.

In the morning run, Vonn could not correct her line after her right, outside ski slid away coming out of a left-hand turn.

 “I went out there fighting and it just wasn't my day,” Vonn said. “I'm totally satisfied with everything I have done here. I have the gold medal I came here for.”
   

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

Photo: Maria Riesch reacts after completing her second run. Credit: Sergey Ponomarev / Associated Press.

Vonn thinks tireless Billy Demong may be two tacos short of a Nordic combination

American ski queen Lindsey Vonn, who thinks she worked hard to earn her gold medal in the downhill, says she is in awe of nordic combined long hill gold medalist Billy Demong.

"I love Billy," Vonn said Friday after she failed to finish her first run of slalom. "He's such a hard worker. I've never seen anyone like him before. I think he truly loves pain. He pushes himself to the limit every day of his life."

Vonn remembers once filming a commercial during training in Chile.

"I was up shooting on the hill and he just hiked up the whole mountain, and around the mountain, up and down," she said. "In the summer when I'm in the gym, he's off doing cycling tours with Lance Armstrong and almost beating them. I'm always shocked by the physical excursion he puts himself through. I think he honestly enjoys it."

-- Chris Dufresne

Maria Riesch leads after first run of women's slalom; Lindsey Vonn is out

Maria Riesch of Germany skied through steady snow and led the first run of the woman's slalom Friday, as Lindsey Vonn skied out in her final race of the Winter Olympics. The second run is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PST.

Riesch finished in 50.75 seconds.

Vonn straddled a gate when she could not correct her line after her right, outside ski slid away coming out of a left-hand turn.

“I went out there fighting and it just wasn't my day,” Vonn said. “I'm totally satisfied with everything I have done here. I have the gold medal I came here for.”

Sarka Zahrobska of the Czech Republic was second, 0.40 second behind, and Marlies Schild of Austria trailed Riesch by 0.65 in third. Schild got bronze in slalom at the 2006 Turin Games.

Sarah Schleper of the U.S. was ninth, 1.08 back, despite starting No. 26. 

Lindsey Vonn's Olympics are over

Lindsey Vonn's Olympics are over after she skied out of the women's slalom, her last Alpine event in Vancouver. She won two medals in Vancouver: gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G.

Vonn straddled a gate in the first half of her run Friday. She could not correct her line after her right, outside ski slid away coming out of a left-hand turn.

"I came out of the starting gate charging. But I haven't been skiing a lot of slalom and hit some mashed potato snow and it was over before I knew it," Vonn said.
 
She skied with a broken right pinkie that was protected by a hard plastic casing.

“Even though today and the GS wasn't a success, I'm happy with the way my Olympics has gone. I have a gold in the downhill and super-G and I couldn't ask for any more, ” Vonn said
 
“I know I could have had more medals like in the super combined where I went out. But you have to attack and you have to take risks. I'm happy to get the gold medal I came here for. There are variables in ski racing and all I can do is give it my all.”

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

Photo: Lindsey Vonn reacts after missing a gate in her first slalom run. Credit: George Frey, EPA.

Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany wins gold in women's giant slalom

Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany earned a surprise victory in the women's giant slalom at the Vancouver Winter Olympics on Thursday.

 Rebensburg, who has never won a major race, finished her two runs in 2 minutes, 27.11 seconds.

Tina Maze of Slovenia was second, 0.12 seconds behind, matching her result in super-G, and first-run leader Elisabeth Goergl of Austria added another bronze, 0.49 back, duplicating her downhill finish.

U.S. skier and defending Olympic women's giant slalom champion Julia Mancuso, who was 18th after the first run, finished eighth.

The first run of the race was held Wednesday, but dense fog forced organizers to postpone the second leg for a day.

Like the first leg Wednesday, organizers again rushed to get the race in, sending racers down at 60- and 75-second intervals — meaning there were often two skiers on the course at a time.

The short intervals created problems in the first leg, with Mancuso's first trip down interrupted because teammate Lindsey Vonn crashed out immediately ahead of her — breaking her right pinkie.

Mancuso had to be brought back up for another try but couldn't match the speed of her aborted run. She had the third-fastest second run, to move up 10 spots in the final standings.  

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

Photo: Viktoria Rebensburg competes in the women's giant slalom on Thursday. Credit: Oliver Morin, AFP/Getty Images.