Another bad night for UCLA’s Cronin

Three days after ripping his team following a home loss to Michigan, UCLA coach Mick Cronin turned his disdain toward the officials. Cronin was ejected with 5:11 remaining in a 79-61 loss at Maryland on Friday, and he didn’t hold back afterward, voicing his displeasure with the officiating. He was far gentler on his own players than he was earlier in the week, when he called them “soft” and “delusional” after a 19-point loss to Michigan. This time he felt they were in an unfair situation. “In defense of my guys, I didn’t think we were given any chance to win,” Cronin said. “I let (official) Jeff Anderson know, I hit the showers.” Cronin’s outburst came with UCLA down nine after Maryland came up with a rebound. He was given two quick technicals and sent on his way. “... I’m sending a message. I’m tired of it,” he said. “I know we’re the outsider — us, SC and Oregon — but that was ridiculous. Take nothing away from Maryland, a really good team at home, but you got to defend my players. If you can just mug guys and chop their arms off, throw them out of the way, it’s hard to run any offense.”

Vonn impresses with downhill finish

Six years later it’s “Wow, Lindsey, wow!” The racecourse commentator broadcasting Lindsey Vonn’s first World Cup downhill race since 2019 — the American is age 40 and has a titanium knee — summed up how impressive the ski great’s performance was. Vonn skied into sixth place in what she helped ensure was a race for the ages in the sun-soaked Austrian resort St. Anton. Vonn — the greatest downhill racer in women’s World Cup history — was fastest in the first part of the course touching 77 mph and finished 0.58 seconds behind Italy’s Federica Brignone, who at 34 broke Vonn’s record for oldest skier to win a World Cup downhill. Vonn raised both arms in the air and flashed a big smile when she saw her time. “That was fun,” Vonn told broadcaster Eurosport. “I still made a couple of mistakes, I know I can be faster. ... All things considered it was a great start.” It was the second race of this unexpected new chapter of Vonn’s storied career. She had been 14th in a super-G three weeks ago at St. Moritz, Switzerland. Vonn won a record 43 downhills in her 82-win World Cup career.

Buffs coaching great McCartney dies

Bill McCartney, who coached Colorado to its only football national championship in 1990, died Friday night “after a courageous journey with dementia,” according to a family statement. He was 84. McCartney remains the winningest coach in Colorado history, with a record of 93-55-5. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. McCartney led Colorado to its best season in 1990, when the team finished 11-1-1 and beat Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl to clinch the national title. That season included a win at Missouri where the Buffaloes scored the winning TD on a “fifth down” as time expired — one of the biggest blunders in officiating history. The chain crew didn’t flip the marker from second to third down and the officials failed to notice. On fourth down — fifth in actuality — Charles Johnson scored to keep Colorado’s title hopes afloat. McCartney coached at Colorado from 1982-94, retiring early to spend more time with his wife, Lyndi, who died in 2013. Following his retirement, he worked full time at Promise Keepers, a controversial ministry he started in 1990. —AP