His greatest Houdini act may have come

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VAIL, Colo. -- For six months, Lindsey Vonn has thought about little else other than her reunion with skiing. She spent four hours a day in the gym trying to get her surgically repaired right knee healthy enough to step back into her ski boots. She spent even more hours sitting by a river bank with a fly-fishing rod in her hands, peacefully pondering what it would feel like to return. A thought she would quickly stifle -- too painful with her knee still mending. "Because I feel like Im claustrophobic when Im not skiing," Vonn said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I just want to go fast." And very soon, that will happen again. Vonn is way, way, way ahead of schedule in her return to the slopes. She wasnt supposed to be back on snow until around November. But shes planning to ski this weekend in Portillo, Chile. Nothing too aggressive, of course, just a few easy runs with the U.S. team to test out her knee. But later at the camp, shes hoping to navigate through some slalom gates and maybe, just maybe -- knee willing, of course -- even open it up on the course. "But my expectations are sometimes a little bit out of whack," said Vonn, who announced in March shes dating golfer Tiger Woods. The four-time overall World Cup champion is eyeing a possible return to competition in late November at a stop in Beaver Creek, Colo., which is near her hometown of Vail. Thats about three months ahead of the Sochi Olympics in February, where she will defend her downhill title. As for her expectations in Sochi, well, they remain as lofty as ever. "I wouldnt change my odds, just because I was injured," Vonn said. "Im going to be back just as good, if not better, than I was before." First, it starts with taking a few easy turns on snow. Her surgeon, Dr. Bill Sterett, has already put some restrictions on the return. Namely, she must wear a brace. "Were negotiating," Vonn said. "Hed rather I wear it to have a little bit more stability." After all, she is coming off a major knee injury. Vonn shredded her ACL and MCL ligaments during a bad crash at the world championships in Schladming, Austria, more than six months ago. Shes viewed that wipeout dozens of times, just to figure out what happened (she hit a patch of softer snow, causing her right ski to stop and then buckle as she flipped over her ski tips). "Ive had crashes that were honestly much worse than this one," Vonn said. At the time, it looked as if the Sochi Games might be in jeopardy for her. That no longer appears to be the case. She said her knee is feeling so good these days that she no longer needs to ice it after workouts. "Its about 98 per cent equal (to the good knee)," said Vonn, the scar on her knee barely visible. To build up her knee, Vonn has been vigorously working under the supervision of trainer Martin Hager. On Wednesday, in a gym at the base of a ski lift, she warmed up on the treadmill and then went through a series of stretching exercises, most of which designed to increase her balance. "Light workout," she said, with a laugh. Listening to everything from Selena Gomez to rapper Wiz Khalifa, Vonn breezed through the workout, hardly even needing a break. "Were happy with her progress from her knee injury," Hager said. "Were very happy." So is her doctor. "The ACL is great. The knee feels great. Everything is looking good," Sterett said. "And I know shes chomping at the bit." To take her mind off skiing as she recovered, Vonn picked up some new hobbies. She discovered a love of fly fishing -- "Ive got my own gear," she proudly said -- and of all things water related, including jet-skiing, scuba diving and snorkeling. "Im really relaxed and happy and kind of at peace with my life," she said. "Im in a good place." Part of that, she said, is due to Woods, whos been "a great supporter," Vonn said, especially as she recovers from the ACL injury. Woods can relate having gone through major knee surgery a few years ago. "It was great to have him help me through it," said Vonn, who followed Woods around the golf course at tournaments this season. "Its been a slow process. Im not very good at being patient, either. But he helped me with that." Just be careful when asking her thoughts on marriage -- its a sticky subject. She insisted shes never getting married again after her divorce from Thomas Vonn. "Im done with that. The box is checked," Lindsey Vonn said. "I dont really believe that you need to be married to someone to be their life partner." Someday down the road, though, Vonn would like to start a family -- after skiing has run its course. "I want to make sure that Ive done what I want to do in my sport. I dont want to leave skiing early," she said. "I want to feel like Ive done everything I can do. So, well see." She laughed, as she stretched on a couch inside a ritzy hotel room. "Im just really excited to go skiing," Vonn said. Tony Scheffler Jersey ." The two middleweight finalists, both from coach Chael Sonnens team, will meet Saturday night in Las Vegas in the live finale of the reality TV show. Ziggy Ansah Jersey .C. -- Carolina Hurricanes backup goalie Brian Boucher is expected to miss 4-6 months with an unspecified shoulder injury. www.shopdetroitlionsjerseys.com/official-joseph-fauria-authentic-jersey/ . After ending December on an 0-2-1 slide, the Maple Leafs have opened 2012 with three consecutive victories to match their longest winning streak of the season. Toronto hasnt strung together four straight victories since Jan. Nate Burleson Jersey . Unlike the boos that regularly rain down on former Toronto stars Chris Bosh or Vince Carter, Calderon was showered with adulation prior to the Detroit Pistons 108-98 comeback victory over Toronto on Monday. Kevin Ogletree Jersey .J. -- Providing a highlight reminiscent of his heyday, Jaromir Jagr showed he still has the ability to win games. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Ervin Santana kept the Kansas City Royals in the game, wiggling out of every jam that the Toronto Blue Jays created. Alex Gordon made all the work pay off. The hot-hitting Gordon drove home Chris Getz with a single in the ninth inning, and the Royals beat the Blue Jays 3-2 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. "Erv gave us a chance and we just persevered at the end," said Gordon, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a pair of base hits. "It felt good." Santana pitched eight sharp innings, and Kelvin Herrera (1-0) kept the Blue Jays off the board in the ninth. Toronto brought in Darren Oliver to face three straight left-handed hitters, even though left-handed bats have been 5 for 8 against the reliever this season. Oliver (0-1) retired Jarrod Dyson to start the ninth, but Getz doubled to right to bring up Gordon, whose single allowed Getz to slide home easily in front of the tag. "To get a win like that, a walkoff, its a nice boost of energy," Getz said. "You dont want to get swept, so to scratch out a game like that is nice." Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain also drove in runs for Kansas City. Edwin Encarnacion homered and drove in both runs for the Blue Jays, who had won six straight and eight of 10 against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. That included a four-game sweep in their only series in Kansas City last season. "Theyre scrappy. They battle you," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "The thing that stands out is their defence. They take away hits. In tight ball games, that makes a difference." The Blue Jays struck in the first inning when Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista delivered back-to-back base hits. Dyson bobbled Bautistas routine single in centre, and that sent Cabrera to third base. He scored moments later on Encarnacions groundout. Dyson atoned for his miscue with a leadoff triple in the third inning. After Gordon extended his hitting streak a check-swing single that went about 15 feet, Escobar hit a deep ssacrifice fly to right field that knotted the game 1-all.dddddddddddd Encarnacion, whod been 5 for 44 on the season, gave Toronto the lead back in the sixth. He sent the first pitch of the inning skimming over the wall in left field for a homer. "Thats huge," Gibbons said. "Thats a good sign for Eddie." Kansas City matched him in the bottom half, though, when Billy Butler sent a blooper to right field, reached second on a two-out single by Eric Hosmer, and then managed to chug home on Cains base hit to left field -- the big DH looked as if he needed oxygen when he got back to the dugout. The fact that the game was 2-all at that point was a testament to some nice defence. And some fairly clutch pitching. Torontos Brandon Morrow allowed just the two runs in six innings, at one point retiring eight straight batters. He struck out three and only issued an intentional watch. "I didnt have my best stuff," he said, "but I made a lot of good pitches and kept us in it." So did Santana, who put the leadoff runner aboard in the second and third innings but got some help from a pair of inning-ending double-plays. Santana also left two stranded in the fifth, thanks to a nice play by Dyson of tracking down Emilio Bonifacios fly ball in centre field. His greatest Houdini act may have come in the eighth, when Santana walked Encarnacion to put runners on first and second with two outs. He struck out J.P. Arencibia to escape the inning. That gave Getz and Gordon the opportunity to win the game. "I have confidence in my offence," Santana said. "We have a lot of young talent. I know they can get the job done." NOTES: Royals RHP Jeremy Guthrie, who turns 34 on Monday, will start Tuesdays interleague game at Atlanta. RHP Gavin Floyd will start Monday against the Blue Jays. ... Blue Jays 3B Brett Lawrie (ribs) made a rehab start for Class A Dunedin at 2B on Sunday. ... Royals 3B Mike Moustakas got the day off from the starting lineup. He was 1 for 17 on the homestand. ' ' '