"It's definitely a different feeling going in there, having a little bit of a knee problem and trying to make sure I'm resting as much as I can instead of training as hard as I can," the 24-year-old Vonn said.

This weekend's Winternational, an annual U.S. tour stop for the women's World Cup, starts today with the giant slalom and concludes Sunday with a slalom race.

Vonn, the downhill and overall World Cup champion last season, won her first World Cup slalom event in Levi, Finland, on Nov. 15.

Four days later, during a super-giant-slalom training run at Colorado's Copper Mountain, Vonn bruised her left knee when she lost a ski and crashed after hitting a bump.

Doctors initially were concerned she might have damaged cartilage, but an MRI found no structural damage, easing fears she might need surgery. Vonn already had offseason surgery on the same knee for an unrelated problem.

Baseball

Tazawa reportedly moves closer to joining Red Sox: Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa moved a step closer to signing with the Boston Red Sox after rejecting offers from the Mariners and two other major-league teams.

The 22-year-old right-hander contacted the Mariners, Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves to reject their offers, Kyodo News Agency reported.

Tazawa is expected to hold a news conference early next week to announce his decision. He reportedly received offers from the Red Sox, Mariners, Rangers and Braves.

The hard-throwing Tazawa is a standout in Japan's corporate leagues. He asked Japan's professional teams not to select him in November's amateur draft so he can pursue a career in the major leagues in North America.

Rangers trade Littleton to Red Sox: The Texas Rangers have traded relief pitcher Wes Littleton, 26, to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash. Littleton has pitched in 80 major-league games, with a 5-3 record and a 3.69 earned-run average.

Nationals pitcher Redding has surgery on left foot: Washington Nationals right-hander Tim Redding, 30, had surgery to repair a bone in a joint on his left foot and is expected to be ready for the start of spring training. He was 10-11 with a 4.95 ERA this year.

Boston hires Bogar: Boston has hired Tim Bogar, 44, a former major-league player and Tampa Bay Rays coach, as its first-base coach.

Bogar replaces Luis Alicea, 43.

Scout dies: John Robert "Red" Murff, a New York Mets scout credited with discovering Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, died in Tyler, Texas. He was 87.

Olympics

WADA cites five sports for falling short on testing: Olympic sports gymnastics, wrestling, volleyball, handball and modern pentathlon have been cited by the World Anti-Doping Agency for failing to implement consistent out-of-competition testing programs.

Horse racing

T. Baze rides Hyperbaric to victory at Hollywood Park: Hyperbaric, ridden by Seattle native Tyler Baze, led all the way to win the Grade I Citation Handicap by three-quarters of a length over Formal Decree on a firm turf course at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.

Hyperbaric, trained by Julio Canani, ran 1-1/16 miles in 1 minute, 41-1/5 seconds. The 5-year-old gelding paid $13 to win in the $400,000 race.

Smart money is on Einstein at Churchill Downs: Brazil-bred Einstein beat 14-1 shot Delightful Kiss by 1- lengths to take the Grade II Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Commentator, sent off at 2-5, finished third in the field of seven.

Einstein, ridden by Julien Leparoux and trained by Helen Pitts, ran 1-1/8 miles on dirt in 1:49-3/5. The 6-year-old paid $11.80 to win as the second wagering choice in the $440,400 race.

Leparoux rode five winners on the card, giving him a record 59 for the Churchill fall meeting that ends today. Hall of Famer Pat Day set the previous fall record of 55 victories in 1985.

Seattle Times news services