In brief

Devers double a first

By VERA FILIPELLI, Times wires
Published February 29, 2004

---

BOSTON - Gail Devers always snaps her head forward at the finish line. That helped her make history Saturday.

Devers won the 60 meters and 60 hurdles at the U.S. Indoor Track and Field Championships, becoming the only American to win both events at this meet.

In the 60, Devers fought Torri Edwards down to the wire. But Devers snapped her head forward at the line, beating Edwards in a photo finish. Though both officially finished in 7.12, Devers timed 7.116 to 7.119 for Edwards.

Devers, 37, won the 60 hurdles in 7.81 seconds, easily beating runnerup Joanna Hayes by .10.

COLLEGES: ACC honors local

Georgia Tech's Ashlee Kidd, a St. Petersburg High grad, was named ACC freshman of the year for the indoor track season. At the conference meet, she finished first in the 400 meters and fifth in the 200. ... The USF women finished second at the C-USA Championships with 97.5 points, 27.5 behind TCU in Houston.

BASEBALL: Eddie Cannon pitched eight innings to lead host Florida State 8-0 over North Carolina-Asheville. ... Brian Jeroloman's ninth-inning grand slam rallied host Florida 5-3 over Northwestern. ... USF fell 4-3 to Virginia Tech at the News-Journal Classic in DeLand. ... Host Tampa swept Florida Tech, winning 9-6 and 3-1.

FOOTBALL: Miami is negotiating a new contract with defensive coordinator Randy Shannon, the result of a lucrative offer from North Carolina State. Though Shannon said he has not spoken with anyone from N.C. State, athletic director Pau Dee confirmed there have been "conversations."

SOFTBALL: South Florida beat Stanford 8-0 in five innings at the Wildcat Invitational, then fell 2-1 to host Arizona. ... Host Florida beat Connecticut 7-0 and Western Michigan 5-0 in the Cox Communications Classic. ... FSU beat Washington 7-1 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, then rallied to top Oklahoma 3-2 to advance to today's semis in Columbus, Ga. SWIMMING AND DIVING: The Florida men (705 points) finished second and women third (680) at the SEC Championships in Athens, Ga. The Auburn men (1,008) and women (846) placed first. ... The host Virginia men won their sixth straight ACC Championships with 848.5 points, while Florida State finished second (537).

WINTER SPORTS: Miller surges to top

Bode Miller won a World Cup giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, overtaking Hermann Maier for the overall standings lead with 1,084 points; Maier has 1,076. Miller also moved to the top of the giant-slalom standings.

SPEED SKATING: Jennifer Rodriguez (1:17.15) of Miami won the overall 1,000-meter World Cup title with a fourth-place finish in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Rodriguez had 540 points over 18 races, 14 points more than Marianne Timmer of the Netherlands.

ET CETERA

BOXING: Erik Morales dropped Jesus Chavez twice in the second round in Las Vegas, then took advantage of the champion's injured right shoulder the rest of the way to win a lopsided decision and the WBC 130-pound title. Morales was scored 118-108, 117-109 and 115-112. ... Markus Beyer defended his WBC super-middleweight title, outpointing Andre Thysse in Dresden, Germany.

GREYHOUNDS: Cayman Went of Bahama Mama kennel notched his 15th win in 17 starts in the Matinee Idol at Derby Lane. It was his fifth stakes victory of the season. Flying Newport was second.

GYMNASTICS: Five-time U.S. champion Blaine Wilson, 29, tore his left biceps muscle at the American Cup in New York, putting his hopes for the Athens Olympics in jeopardy. No timetable for his recovery was given, but most athletes need at least six months. Meanwhile, Carly Patterson won her second straight Cup title and Jason Gatson won his first.

TENNIS: Defending champ Justine Henin-Hardenne won the Dubai Open in the United Arab Emirates, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 and improving to 14-0 this year.

[Last modified February 29, 2004, 01:15:11]

Arena League

Soul satiates Bon Jovi's need

Baseball

New 1B Lee gets three years to help Cubs get over the hump

Phillies letting Bell set own pace

Black History Month

Great obligations

College basketball

Alabama continues to rebound

Pirates pull away from USF

Duke in the way of dream

Spartans' streak at 5

Stanford: 25 in row

UAB tops Golden Eagles

Gators climbing

S.C. St. too much for B-CC

Editorial

Rant: Tired of innuendo? Prove you're clean and we'll move on

Golf

Match Play's final pits Woods vs. Love

Horse racing

Florida-bred victorious in the Baldwin

In brief

Devers double a first

Motorsports

First IRL pole for Rice, Rahal

NBA

Blazerless playoff? Not so fast

McGrady hurts ankle as Magic snaps 2-game skid

NFL

Capologists must wear many caps

Adjustments in cap can change the bill

NHL

Slapshots

Belfour returns from injury to help end Maple Leafs' losing streak

Outdoors

Daily fishing report

Two boat-racing circuits coming

Preps

Brandon better than ever

Countryside trio grabs elusive prize

Leopard, Ram capture crowns

Plant going to state after a great escape

Berkeley Prep claims state title

Encore for Enriquez: tops in state again

For East Lake, it's better late than ever

It's clear sailing for Clearwater

Lecanto wins as a team

Sports in print

Four Times writers rated among the nation's best

Your turn

Letters to the Editor: Pro golf amateurs

Rays

To Gaudin, there is no 'can't'

Tokyo trip may rush Rays' hand

Zambrano gets opening start

Bucs

Concerns go beyond receivers

Keyshawn weekends in Dallas

Lightning

Lightning's late goal puts away energetic Caps

Modin gets back to 20-goal plateau