THE CR7 CONNECTION: INSIDE THE POWERFUL BOND BETWEEN CRISTIANO RONALDO AND LINDSEY VONN TODAY
A miracle recovery: Discover how Lindsey Vonn nearly lost her leg and the emotional message sent by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo reached out to Lindsey Vonn after she shared a raw update about her terrifying crash at the Winter Olympics, a crash that nearly cost her a leg. She’s 41 now. Just 13 seconds into the women’s downhill, she hit a gate and had to be airlifted to the hospital.
Stuck in an Italian hospital bed, Vonn went through four major surgeries, then flew back to the U.S. for a fifth. She just opened up about how close she came to losing her leg, saying Dr Tom Hackett is the reason she still has it. On Monday, she posted a video on Instagram, talking through the details and the surgery that saved her.
“I had a complex tibia fracture, fractured my fibula head, and everything was in pieces,” Vonn explained. “It was so bad because I got compartment syndrome. That’s when trauma causes so much bleeding in an area that the blood gets trapped and just crushes everything: muscles, nerves, and tendons. It all kind of dies. Dr Tom Hackett saved my leg from being amputated.
“He did a fasciotomy cut open on both sides of my leg to let it breathe. That’s what saved me. I always say things happen for a reason. If I hadn’t torn my ACL, which would have happened in this crash anyway, Tom wouldn’t have been there to save my leg. I’m really lucky. He spent six hours rebuilding it, and it went amazingly well. I ended up staying in the hospital longer than I wanted because of low haemoglobin from all the blood loss.
“I struggled a lot. The pain was out of control, and I needed a blood transfusion. That finally helped, and I started to turn the corner. Now I’m out. I’m in a wheelchair, pretty much stuck for a while, because I also broke my right ankle. I hope to move to crutches soon, maybe in a few weeks, and I’ll probably be on them for at least two months. But I’ll get to work on rehab, take it one step at a time, like always.”
Thousands of people flooded Vonn’s post with support, but one message stood out from Cristiano Ronaldo himself. He wrote, “Champions are defined by the moments they win and the moments they refuse to give up. Lindsey Vonn, the mountains you conquered were never bigger than the strength you carry. Keep fighting. Legends always rise.”
Now that she’s finally home after those brutal weeks and multiple surgeries in Italy and the U.S., Vonn says she’s focused on rehab: getting from the wheelchair to crutches, hopefully in a few weeks. Healing all the bones will take about a year. After that, she’ll decide if she wants another surgery to remove the metal and finally fix her ACL.
“It’s a long road, but I’ll get there. At least I’m out of the hospital. Love you all.”
MOTORSPORT WORLD MOURNS AFTER FATAL SEVEN-CAR NüRBURGRING CRASH CLAIMS JUHA MIETTINEN
Juha Miettinen, 66, has died following a seven-car crash at the Nürburgring. Get the latest details on this motorsport tragedy.
Max Verstappen expressed his condolences after the tragic passing of Juha Miettinen, who lost his life in a multi-car accident during qualifying for the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.
The incident occurred early in the weekend’s opening race, a four-hour event that started at 5:30 pm local time. About 25 minutes into the race, seven cars collided at a tight hairpin just before the Karussell section.
The race was immediately stopped with a red flag, and no replays of the crash were shown during the live broadcast. Some onboard footage from the #992 Porsche AT2, driven by Bjorn Griesemann, provided a glimpse of the scene, though technical problems with the cameras limited coverage there.
Misha Charoudin, a driver who was directly behind the crash, mentioned to Viaplay that “someone left fluid behind", causing six or seven cars to pile into each other. He noted, “You come into that stretch at 220 kph, and if you can’t brake…”
Race control later confirmed that Miettinen, 66, succumbed to injuries from the crash. Despite the quick response from emergency teams, paramedics were unable to save him. He was pronounced dead in the medical centre after all efforts to resuscitate him failed.
The other six drivers involved received precautionary medical evaluations, either at the medical centre or nearby hospitals, with none reported to be in critical condition.
Following the accident, the decision was made to halt the race. The FIA, while not the event organiser, was involved in several operational aspects and issued a statement expressing sorrow over Miettinen’s death during the first qualifying race of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring.
“Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and all connected to the event,” the FIA said.
Verstappen, whose teammate Lucas Auer was driving the #3 Mercedes-AMG during the crash, also shared his thoughts that evening.
“Shocked by what happened today,” he wrote. “Motorsport is something we all love, but moments like this serve as a stark reminder of the risks involved. My heartfelt condolences go to Juha’s family and loved ones.”
FERNANDO MENDOZA AIMING TO JOIN RARE ELITE CLUB: HEISMAN AND NATIONAL CHAMPION IN SAME YEAR
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is the consensus No. 1 pick! See why the Raiders are locked in on their future franchise leader.
Everyone’s expecting Fernando Mendoza to go first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in this week’s NFL Draft. The guy’s locked in, with absolutely zero distractions, just chasing his pro football dreams.
Mendoza’s coming off a run with the Indiana Hoosiers that put him on the verge of something rare. If he pulls it off, he’ll join the tiny handful of quarterbacks who’ve won both the Heisman and the National Championship, then gone first overall, all in the same year. He’s determined to do just that, and he’s made it clear nothing’s getting in his way.
He’s even talked openly about skipping out on dating. 'No time for a girlfriend right now,' Mendoza said. He’d end up giving her all his attention when really, he wants to be watching more film and working on football. He laid it out during the National Championship media day: right now, his phone just has LinkedIn and YouTube. No doomscrolling through football takes, and definitely no reading what random fans say about him. He tunes it all out, focusing on feedback from his coach and the other quarterbacks in the room. So far, it’s paid off; he played his best football through the playoffs, staying away from social media and deleting every app that could steal his focus. In the end, it helped him get that National Championship.
Even though the Raiders just brought in Kirk Cousins, Mendoza’s still the favourite to take the starting job as a rookie. Scouts see him as the clear top quarterback in this draft, though ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky has argued that Alabama’s Ty Simpson actually deserves the top spot.
Looking past this year, the 2027 draft is shaping up to be a stronger class for quarterbacks, with guys like Arch Manning, Dante Moore, LaNorris Sellers, Julian Sayin, and DJ Lagway all expected to throw their names in the hat. But right now, the spotlight’s on Mendoza, and he’s making sure nothing shakes his focus.
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