MOSCOW - The United States needs three straight wins to beat France in the Fed Cup final.
The Americans fell behind 2-0 in the best-of-five series after the French won both singles tennis matches Saturday. Amelie Mauresmo overpowered Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-3, and two-time major champion Mary Pierce outlasted Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3, 3-6, 8-6.
The losses put all the pressure on the Americans today. After the opponents are reversed for two singles matches, Raymond and Martina Navratilova face Pierce and Emilie Loit in doubles.
WINTER SPORTS: Miller wins another slalom
Bode Miller came from behind in Park City, Utah, for his second straight World Cup giant-slalom victory. It was the first win for an American man at an Alpine World Cup event in the United States since 1984. Miller finished the two runs in a combined 2 minutes, 20.84 seconds.
FIGURE SKATING: World champion Evgeni Plushenko of Russia recovered from a rough start to win the Cup of Russia in Moscow. Michael Weiss of the United States was fourth. Elena Liashenko of Ukraine captured her second Grand Prix gold medal of the season despite a free program plagued by falls. Beatrisa Liang, a 15-year-old American, finished fifth. Russians Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin won the pairs. The U.S. team of Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn was seventh. In ice dancing, Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov of Russia maintained their lead after the original dance, followed by Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United States.
TRACK AND FIELD: Two test positive for THG
Two athletes tested positive for the steroid THG out of 402 samples analyzed from the World Championships. Their identities and nationalities were not disclosed. Any athlete found guilty of using THG would face a two-year ban and be stripped of results.
INVESTIGATION: The International Olympic Committee was asked for information on the case of 400-meter world champion Jerome Young. Young tested positive for the steroid nandrolone in 1999 but was cleared on appeal by U.S. officials and won the 1,600 relay at the 2000 Olympics. The International Association of Athletics Federations and IOC are investigating whether Young should have been banned from the Olympics. The U.S. team could lose its gold.
RETIRED: Former hurdle champion Deon Hemmings, the only Jamaican woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal, ended her career. Various muscle injuries, which limited her the past two years, influenced her decision.
WEIGHTLIFTING: U.S. team qualifies
Shane Hamman finished ninth in the super-heavyweight class at the World Championships in Vancouver, helping the U.S. men secure a berth in the 2004 Olympics. Officials initially said the team failed to qualify, but after recalculating the scores, the Americans finished 23rd overall.
HORSES: Frankel breaking records
Bobby Frankel picked up his record 24th Grade 1 stakes victory when Continuously was awarded first place in the $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup after another of his horses, Epicentre, was disqualified. The win moved Frankel past the late Charlie Whittingham as Hollywood Park's leading trainer with 860 victories.
ET CETERA
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL: Florida swept Tennessee 30-23, 30-24, 30-23 to advance to today's SEC tournament championship against Arkansas in Columbia, S.C. ... Miami fell to host Notre Dame 19-30, 23-30, 30-23, 20-30 in its Big East Championship semifinal.
POWERBOATS: Dan DeSantis and Charlie Haimes won the second of three SuperCat class races in the Key West Offshore World Championships, which end today.
SOCCER: Tim Howard and host Manchester United beat Brad Friedel's Blackburn 2-1 in a matchup of U.S. goalies before a Premier League-record crowd of 67,748. ... Damani Ralph won MLS's Rookie and Goal of the Year, two of five major individual awards for Chicago.
