CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin will have plenty more chances — better chances, actually — to claim a record-breaking 83rd World Cup victory.

After missing out on the podium on Friday and Saturday in two straight downhills — far from her best event — she’ll expect more for upcoming races in disciplines that she excels in.

The Cortina weekend wraps up with a super-G on Sunday then there are two giant slaloms in nearby San Vigilio di Marebbe on Tuesday and Wednesday before two slaloms in the Czech Republic next weekend.

Of Shiffrin’s 82 wins, 51 have come in slalom, 17 in giant slalom, five in super-G and only three in downhill. She’s also won a combined and a handful of parallel and city races.

“I am enjoying each race and the process is like an opportunity,” Shiffrin said after a seventh-place finish on Saturday. “I don’t feel that I have to win again. Of course I care. I want to win. That’s obvious. But I don’t feel that I have to win; that I’m supposed to win. I’m just here trying to figure out the track like all the other racers on the course and see if I can do my best and if it’s good enough to be close to the top.

“Maybe sometimes it is the fastest run. And that’s that’s the best place to be,” she added. “When I look forward I see opportunity, but I don’t see pressure.”

Having matched former teammate Lindsey Vonn for the women’s record at 82 wins each by claiming a giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, earlier this month, Shiffrin then finished second in a slalom in Flachau, Austria, and fourth in the first of the two Cortina downhills on Friday.

In her latest record attempt, Shiffrin finished 0.39 seconds behind Slovenian winner Ilka Stuhec on the course that will be used for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Season-long downhill leader Sofia Goggia, who won Friday’s race in Cortina, fell midway through her run but avoided injury.

While Shiffrin made a slight error during Friday’s downhill, she didn’t appear to make any significant mistakes in this race but still didn’t have enough speed in a discipline that is far from her best.

Stuhec, the 2017 and 2019 world champion in downhill, finished 0.26 ahead of Kajsa Vickhoff Lie and 0.34 ahead of Elena Curtoni.

Stuhec finished second behind Goggia on Friday but hadn’t won a World Cup race since December 2018.

The Olympia delle Tofane course was shortened due to wind, removing the course’s most characteristic section, the Tofana Schuss or “chute” between two walls of rock.

About a third of the course was eliminated.

Goggia lost control while landing a jump, got twisted around, slammed through a gate and slid down the mountain before quickly getting up and skiing down to the finish, where she waved to the crowd to say she was OK.

The safety air bag under Goggia’s racing suit inflated during her crash, which may have helped soften her crash landing.

“I really just made an error. It wasn’t a concentration lapse,” Goggia said. “It went well in that nothing happened.”

Goggia broke two fingers in her left hand during a downhill in St. Moritz, Switzerland, last month, then returned after a quick surgery to win another downhill a day later. She also crashed nastily in a super-G last weekend in St. Anton, Austria, but avoided injury.

“Blow after blow but tomorrow I’ll race,” Goggia said.

Austrian skier Nina Ortlieb also fell hard while landing a jump and ended up in the safety nets immediately before Goggia’s run.

Meanwhile, reigning world and Olympic champion Corinne Suter didn’t start after falling in Friday’s race. The Swiss team says the decision was a “precautionary” measure and that Suter was not injured but she “didn’t feel 100%.”

Is Bryce Young tall enough? Is he big enough?  

Both those questions relate to size, but they are very different matters to the NFL scouting community, as the former Alabama quarterback will learn all too well over the next few months.

It’s hard to pick apart the game of a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback with Young’s track record for success in college, but some pro team is going to invest a very high first-round draft pick in him, and with that comes an incredible amount of scrutiny. The success or failure of players picked as early as Young will be picked can be the difference between a contract extension and a pink slip for NFL general managers.

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Young’s height, and whatever bias against short quarterbacks might still remain in a league that’s increasingly opened its doors to them for quite a few years now, will be debated ad nauseum in the lead-up to the 2023 NFL draft. But of greater concern for NFL clubs could be his slim frame. Draft analyst Lance Zierlein exhaustively grades more than 500 draft prospects every year for NFL Media, and on Friday he conducted a live YouTube tape evaluation of Young. Zierlein believes Young’s height will measure between 5-10½ and 5-11 at the NFL Scouting Combine next month, which, for an NFL quarterback, would be extra-short. 

But for Zierlein, it’s not the height that clubs might find concerning about Young.

‘It’s the frame. Forget the weight, it’s the frame. He’s slightly built. Kyler Murray is actually pretty thick in his lower half. So is Russell Wilson,’ Zierlein said of two of the NFL’s shortest quarterbacks. ‘It’s frame you worry about. If a 325-pound guy falls on you, how does your body respond to it? How do you take the beatings over the course of a year.’

Indeed, Young is not a physically imposing guy. He can pass strangers on the street who would never guess he’s about to be a prized NFL draft pick. To his credit, however, he plays seemingly with an awareness that he’s among giants. He’s a brilliantly elusive scrambler and uses that skill for more time to throw rather than taking off on his own. NFL clubs will like that about him.

When he does become a rusher, he’s contact-averse − usually sliding, wisely so, to avoid taking any more hits than necessary. Scouts will like that, too, under the timeless NFL adage ‘the best ability is availability.’ That’s not to say he isn’t tough, because Young is utterly fearless about throwing the ball with a pass rusher in his face; he missed seeing plenty of big completions at Alabama because he’d been flattened upon release.

Getting up from hits like that is all the tougher in the NFL. Bigger, faster people will be hitting Young on Sundays, and the physics of that is simple enough: his body will absorb more punishment. He need not worry about falling in the draft. If one club wants a sturdier frame behind center, the next club will be glad to take him. He won’t be waiting long. He proved himself to be a phenomenal passer at the college level.

And hopefully, he’ll prove to be just as durable at the next.

Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline which provides confidential 24/7 support by dialing 9-8-8.

NEWBURY PARK, CALIF. – Katie Meyer would have turned 23 on Friday. If she had been here, this is what the former Stanford goalkeeper who took her own life could have seen:

About 50 people, including Katie’s parents and two sisters, holding hands as they formed a giant circle before a varsity girls soccer game at Newbury Park High School, where Katie Meyer once starred.

That human circle and everyone else in the stadium observing 19 seconds of silence for Meyer, who wore jersey No. 19.

Newbury Park’s players wearing a green butterfly patch on their jerseys to signify mental health awareness and Katie’s love for butterflies.

And on a mostly somber night, laughter breaking out among the Newbury Park players, including Meyer’s younger sister Siena, after a 5-0 loss to Oaks Christian.

“These are the moments I’m grateful for,’’ said Katie’s father, Steve, as he watched Siena and her teammates enjoy each other after losing to one of the top teams in the state. It was Katie whose laughter almost always was the loudest among her teammates at Stanford, where her saves helped lift the team to the national title in 2019.

It’s been almost 10 months since Siena lost the sister with whom she spent countless hours playing soccer.

“You know, now I’ve kind of realized over time that every game is like a privilege,’’ said Siena, a sophomore defender and Division I college prospect. “So this one felt especially special to be able to be on the field. And even though we lost by a lot, I was just grateful to be able to play.’’

In November, Katie Meyer’s family sued the university for wrongful death, according to a copy of the civil lawsuit obtained by USA TODAY Sports. Stanford has not responded in court documents.

But for the Meyers, Friday was not a night to discuss the legal proceedings. Instead, they continued to focus on using tragedy to help save others from the same fate.

At halftime, near the entrance of the stadium, Katie’s mother, Gina, stood behind a table with information about their initiative, Katie’s Save.

It would allow college students the option to choose a designated advocate who would be notified “when the student is involved in challenging circumstances where they may need extra guidance and support.’’

The Meyers say that option would have saved their daughter as she went through her disciplinary proceeding.

A few teenagers approached the table and inspected the piles of Katie’s Save wristbands along with stickers and temporary tattoos.

“Take stuff, take stuff,’’ Gina Meyer said, and the high schoolers did.

This month, Gina Meyer said, she and her husband talked at a half dozen schools about their initiative and continue to get positive feedback. More talks are scheduled as they continue to spread the message.

“You respect them so much for not only what they’re dealing with, but for them to reach out to others and help while they’re dealing with all this,’’ said Tim York, who has two daughters on the Newbury High varsity team.

His wife, Nisha, grew tearful as she reflected on the pregame ceremony.

Before it began, Gina Meyer used flameless tea lights to form her daughter’s old jersey number on the track around the field. She helped organize a large group photo behind the illuminated 19.

On a chilly night, the crowd of about 150 people included three of Katie’s former Stanford teammates, including Sophia Smith, the 2022 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year.

They joined the group of people who formed the circle at midfield before the game as the ceremony began. Captains bands were placed on each goal, as was done at Stanford this season before every game in honor of Katie, who was a team captain.

“A beautiful experience,’’ Nisha York said.

A similar ceremony played out at two other varsity girls soccer games in the area.

“Katie’s story is making a difference,’’ Gina Meyer said. “She’s making an impact. That’s the goal. And we keep saying if we can save one kid, help one kid, start the conversation, it’s all worth it.’’

Familiar, not familial. There is a key distinction while describing the rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. 

They know each other quite well. They have little affection for one another. 

The Eagles will host the Giants in the first NFC divisional round game of the weekend (Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET, Fox), two weeks after they played a Week 18 game in which Philadelphia clinched the No. 1 seed while New York – with no playoff positioning to play for – rested its starters. On Dec. 11, the Eagles throttled the Giants 48-22. 

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The foes have met four times in the playoffs, most recently in the 2008 divisional round, an Eagles upset victory at The Meadowlands. Since then, the Eagles have won 23 of the 30 meetings. Going back to 1990, the Giants are 6-0 against No. 1 seeds in the playoffs.

Here are three keys that will determine who moves on to the NFC championship game:

How healthy are the Eagles? 

Two of Philadelphia’s most important players, quarterback Jalen Hurts and right tackle Lane Johnson, are working their way back from injuries. Both will play. How their health impacts their play will be a deciding factor in the game’s outcome.

Hurts suffered a sprained right shoulder, his throwing arm, on Dec. 18 against the Chicago Bears. He missed two games before returning for the second Giants game; the Eagles called a conservative game for Hurts to not risk further injury. 

‘I’m feeling good,’ he told reporters this week. 

Johnson is playing through a groin injury but pushed surgery required to correct the issue until the offseason. 

The Giants entered the postseason at full health, and edge rusher Azeez Oljulari (quad) could play after getting banged up in the wild-card round victory against the Minnesota Vikings. 

Can Giants survive in the trenches? 

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has constructed one of the most well-rounded teams in the league. The primary reason for their 8-0 start and overall dominance this season is their offensive and defensive lines. 

Philadelphia finished the season first in sack rate, and the pass rush helped them become the top overall defense against the pass. Haason Reddick finished tied for second in the league with 16 sacks and Brandon Graham, Javon Hargrave and Josh Sweat all had 11.

The team had seven sacks against the Giants in the first meeting of the season (Graham had three) and held Giants running back Saquon Barkley to 28 rushing yards on nine attempts.

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles have one of the NFL’s most cohesive offensive lines. Anchored by veteran center Jason Kelce, Johnson and left tackle Jordan Mailata, the line paved the way for the league’s fifth-best rushing offense at 147.6 yards per game. 

Eagles running back Miles Sanders went for 144 yards on the ground during the teams’ first game of the season. Hurts is always a threat to run, particularly in the red zone. New York defensive linemen Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence will have to stand up against the unit for the Giants to contain the run and give their own offense a chance. 

This will be the first playoff matchup in NFL history in which both quarterbacks rushed for more than 600 yards during the regular season. Jones’ rushing prowess was on full display against the Vikings, and he will have to keep the Eagles honest to give Barkley a chance to break bigger gains. 

Which team will benefit more from familiarity? 

The Giants gave the Eagles a decent game in Week 18, a 22-16 loss with third-string quarterback Davis Webb and other backups going head-to-head against the Eagles starters. 

This will be the third meeting in five weeks for the teams. That’s a lot of time spent game-planning for one opponent, and a challenge Eagles coach Nick Sirianni must prepare his team for following the bye week. Surely, they were watching Vikings tight end T.J. Hockeson (10 catches, 129 yards) light up the Giants and will have something in the playbook for tight end Dallas Goedert. 

New York knows that it will have to be close to perfect for this one. Mistakes like the blocked punt the Eagles executed in the first matchup could be fatal. Turnovers, too. 

The Giants are not supposed to be here. The Eagles are. Does that make the underdog more dangerous, or put the favorite at ease? 

What definitely feels right is these two teams playing with everything on the line. 

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.