In brief

Agassi smashes to win in two sets

By wire services
Published April 20, 2005

HOUSTON - Andre Agassi received a court violation for smashing his racket, then rallied in a second-set tiebreaker to beat Michal Tabara 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) Tuesday night in the first round of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships.

The top three seeds advanced as No. 1 Andy Roddick beat qualifier Matias Boeker 6-2, 6-3, and defending champion and third seed Tommy Haas eliminated Kristof Vliegen 6-3, 7-5.

No. 2 seed Agassi broke his racket after the first point of the tiebreaker when Tabara hit a forehand winner.

"It was probably a healthy combination of reasons," Agassi said of his outburst. "I was really frustrated through most of the middle of the second set."

OPEN SEAT GODO: No. 3 seed Carlos Moya reached the third round in Barcelona, beating Jarkko Nieminen 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. Also, Juan Carlos Ferrero struggled to top Alberto Montanes 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the first round.

The league and players' association returned to the table and met for six hours in New York, hoping to build off of talks that began two weeks earlier.

Negotiations centered around a new, hybrid concept - which addresses the relationship between player costs and league revenues - that was first discussed April 4.

"While we continued to discuss various issues relating to the concept that was introduced at our April 4 meeting, no substantive progress toward a new agreement was made," NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly said in a statement. The NHL board of governors is set to meet today in New York.

Lance Armstrong took a safe approach in the first stage of the Tour de Georgia, riding with his teammates and avoiding risk of injury to come in 15th.

"We didn't go very fast," said Armstrong, who announced Monday he's retiring after this summer's Tour de France. "In fact, we went flat-out slow for most of the day."

Robert Hunter won the 128.8-mile leg in 5 hours, 47 minutes, 52 seconds.

The IOC ethics commission summoned leaders of the five cities vying for the 2012 Games to see if any of them broke bidding rules by offering incentives. The move came after New York and London promised subsidies, free marketing and other benefits to international sports federations and national Olympic committees.

A lawsuit filed by a man who bet on Sweet Catomine in the Santa Anita Derby alleges the track, the filly's owner and trainer and others committed fraud by not disclosing the horse's health problems before the race. The filly, an even-money favorite, was fifth after bleeding during a prerace workout.

Tennessee officials must reconsider former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe's application for a boxing license, a judge ruled. Officials denied him a license in October, citing the testimony of four doctors and a federal judge's ruling that Bowe had brain damage. Bowe, 37, was released from prison last spring after serving an 18-month sentence for kidnapping his then-wife and five children.

JONES SUIT WAITS: Marion Jones' defamation trial against Victor Conte was stayed until after the criminal case against the BALCO founder is completed.

SOCCER: The National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct former U.S. national team and MLS stars Marcelo Balboa, John Harkes and Tab Ramos in a ceremony Aug. 29 in Oneonta, N.Y., the hall's site.

[Last modified April 20, 2005, 02:56:36]