Sports

In brief

Miller leads first 1-2 American finish at world championships

By wire services
Published February 6, 2005

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BORMIO, Italy - Bode Miller became the first American to win the men's downhill at a world championships Saturday, and teammate Daron Rahlves was runnerup in skiing's signature event.

Miller, winner of last weekend's super-giant slalom and the overall World Cup leader, finished in 1 minute, 56.22 seconds, beating Rahlves by 0.44 seconds. It was the first 1-2 U.S. finish at worlds in any event, men's or women's.

ELSEWHERE: Former Colorado football player Jeremy Bloom won a World Cup moguls event in Inawashiro, Japan, and held the World Cup lead. ... Americans Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick topped the men's overall standings after two races at the World Speedskating Championships in Moscow.

TENNIS: Davenport, Sharapova in final

Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport beat U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) to reach the final of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. Davenport, the defending and four-time champion, faces Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova today for the title after the No. 2 seed, who trains in Bradenton, beat Shinobu Asagoe 6-1, 7-6 (7-3).

MILLENNIUM CHAMPIONSHIPS: Second seed Jiri Novak beat Wesley Moodie 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final in Delray Beach.

ELSEWHERE: No. 5 seed Robin Soderling rallied to beat Max Mirnyi 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4 and faces Radek Stepanek in today's final of the Milan Indoors in Italy. ... Top seed Gaston Gaudio beat David Ferrer 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the semifinals of the BellSouth Open in Vina Del Mar, Chile. ... Conchita Martinez reached the Volvo Open final in Pattaya, Thailand, when Evgenia Linetskaya quit in the second set because of heat exhaustion. Martinez faces Anna Lena Groenefeld today.

HORSES: Saint Liam blocks distractions

Saint Liam, fitted with a hood to combat his tendency to drift out, beat favorite Roses in May to win the $500,000 Donn Handicap by 31/4 lengths at Gulfstream Park in Miami. In two races for Triple Crown aspirants, Closing Argument held off previously unbeaten High Fly to win the Holy Bull Stakes and Proud Accolade took the Hutcheson Stakes.

TAMPA BAY DOWNS: In the $60,000 Gasparilla Stakes, Cool Spell led early and held on to win by 2 lengths. The 7-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies was the first U.S. stakes victory for jockey Daniel Centeno.

SANTA ANITA: Rock Hard Ten edged Imperialism by a nose in the $300,000 Strub Stakes for 4-year-olds. The 4-5 favorite covered 11/8 miles in 1:49.24. In the $102,300 Sham Stakes for 3-year-olds, Going Wild jumped into the Kentucky Derby picture with a 1-length victory over Papi Chullo, covering 11/8 miles in 1:50.18.

SOCCER; Teams protest suspected fixes

German teams appealed the outcome of 13 games they believe were fixed in a scandal that has hit the country 16 months before it hosts the World Cup. The appeals exceed the 10 games prosecutors have identified as suspicious. Twenty-five people, including 14 players and four referees, are suspected.

COLLEGES: USF baseball rallies to beat B-CC

South Florida scored five in the sixth and seventh innings to pull out a 6-5 baseball victory over visiting Bethune-Cookman. Jeff Baisley's sacrifice fly in the seventh drove in Bryan Hierlmeier with the winning run. ... Florida State defeated VMI 6-5 on Brant Peacher's two-out double and Bryan Henry's walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth. ... Ryan Braun had three RBIs as Miami defeated visiting High Point 12-5 late Friday. ... Host Tampa swept Georgia College 11-1 and 4-3 as Orlando Rosales totaled four hits and five RBIs.

BROOKS ON BOARD: Gov. Jeb Bush announced that Derrick Brooks has been reappointed to the FSU Board of Trustees. The Bucs linebacker originally was appointed March 5, 2003.

ELSEWHERE: In softball, Tiffany Stewart had two hits and two RBIs to lead USF past Illinois State 4-1 in the FIU Diamond Fun and Sun Classic in Miami. ... In track, Tampa Bay Tech grad LaToya Williams finished fourth in the 400 meters for Central Florida at the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C. ... In swimming, host Tampa's men and women won a tri-meet against Rollins and Saint Leo. UT's Kyle Merritt won two individual races and was part of a winning relay. ... Florida's men and women closed their regular season by defeating visiting Indian River Community College. ... In men's golf, UCF shot 3-over-par 283 to take the lead, UF (287) was third and FSU (291) seventh after the first day of the SunTrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville.

ET CETERA

ARENA FOOTBALL: John Dutton threw a franchise-record eight touchdowns and Colorado set a franchise mark for scoring in a 72-56 win over visiting Grand Rapids.

[Last modified February 6, 2005, 00:23:11]

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