Sports in brief: Holland boosts Olympic chances

Snowboarding: Americans Nate Holland and Lindsey Jacobellis won World Cup snowboardcross races Sunday at Bad Gastein, Austria, to improve their chances of making the U.S. Olympic team.

Jacobellis beat Helene Olafsen of Norway for her 20th overall win, but her first this season.

“I’m stoked. I definitely needed that. I’ve been in kind of a little slump lately, and this felt great,” Jacobellis said. “It takes off a lot of the pressure that this has happened.”

Jacobellis won the silver medal at the 2006 Olympics, and the World Cup victory should guarantee a return trip. The American team will be named at the end of the month.

Holland, a Sandpoint native, earned his third career World Cup victory, and first of the season, by defeating Pierre Vaultier of France in the final. Mario Fuchs took third ahead of fellow Austrian Markus Schairer.

Vaultier leads the standings with 2,800 points. Robert Fagan of Canada is second with 1,490 points, followed by Holland with 1,480.

Maelle Ricker of Canada, who finished seventh, leads the standings with 2,360 points. Jacobellis climbed to second place, 830 points behind. Dominique Maltais of Canada is third with 1,460.

Associated Press

A message for Arenas

Basketball: While the Washington Wizards have removed virtually all traces of Gilbert Arenas from the Verizon Center, one teammate found a way to get his suspended teammate’s nickname visible Sunday when the team played the visiting New Orleans Hornets.

DeShawn Stevenson took to the court during pregame warmups with the words “AGENT” and “ZERO” written in red capital letters on tape wrapped just above his ankles.

“He’s still a part of the team, right?” Stevenson said. “He’s still part of the team, he’s my brother, so I’m going to stick to him through rough times. It’s like my little tribute.”

Associated Press