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In brief
L.A. wins MLS title in OT
By wire services
Published November 14, 2005
FRISCO, Texas - Guillermo Ramirez scored during stoppage time of the first overtime, giving Los Angeles a 1-0 victory over New England and the MLS title Sunday.
Ramirez's ratio of 62 shots to one goal this season was the worst in the league's 10-year history, and his one goal came on a penalty kick that hit the post and went in off the goalkeeper's back.
The Galaxy won its second title in five MLS Cup appearances. The other, in 2002, also was 1-0 over the Revolution in overtime.
Los Angeles, 13-13-7 in the regular season, had the fewest wins of any champion and was the lowest-seeded winner at No.8. It joined the 1996 D.C. United as the only clubs to win the title without a winning record.
The lone goal began with Landon Donovan taking a corner kick. Goalkeeper Matt Reis punched it directly to Ramirez, who replaced Ned Grabavoy in the 66th minute. With no defender near him, Ramirez leaped and kicked the ball out of the air and into the net.
"You can't really describe what you're feeling when you score a goal like that," Ramirez said through an interpreter. "It was a beautiful moment."
MORE MLS: The board of governors approved an expansion application from a Toronto-based group with only a few details to finalize for it to become the 13th team starting next season.
TENNIS
Mauresmo edges Pierce
Amelie Mauresmo beat Mary Pierce 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in a match that lasted more than three hours to win the WTA Championships in Los Angeles. Mauresmo, who has never won a major despite reaching the Australian Open final once, Wimbledon semifinals three times and U.S. Open semifinals once, double-faulted to trail love-40 in the final game. But she rallied on five consecutive errors by Pierce and will rise to No.3 when the year-end world rankings are released today, behind No.1 Lindsay Davenport and No.2 Kim Clijsters .
MASTERS CUP: Two-time defending champion Roger Federer opened play with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win over David Nalbandian in Shanghai, China. Federer, playing his first match in seven weeks after a sprained ankle, won 14 of 18 points to build a 5-3 lead in the third. Ivan Ljubicic beat Guillermo Coria 6-2, 6-3 in the other match of the round-robin tournament.
SPEED SKATING
American sets record
American Chad Hedrick shattered the world record in the 5,000 meters at a World Cup event in Calgary. He finished in 6:09.68, 4.98 faster than the Netherland's Jochem Uytdehaage at the 2002 Olympics. Germany set a world record in the women's 2,400 pursuit. Its 2:56.04 was 7.03 faster than Canada last season.
SHORT TRACK: American Apolo Anton Ohno won the 3,000 at a World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, finishing in 5:44.636. South Korea's Jin Sun-yu set a world record in the 1,000. Her 1:30.037 was .134 faster than the record set last month by China's Wang Meng .
ET CETERA
BASEBALL: Pitcher Livan Hernandez can play for Puerto Rico in next year's World Baseball Classic, Major League Baseball said. Hernandez, who defected from Cuba to the United States in 1995, owns a house and pro women's volleyball team in Puerto Rico.
WEIGHTLIFTING: Russia's Zarema Kasaeva set a world record to win the 152-pound world title in Doha, Qatar. After a 260-pound snatch, Kasaeva, 18, lifted 346 in the clean and jerk, 6 more than the record China's Liu Haixia set a few minutes earlier. Kasaeva's total of 606 pounds tied the world record of China's Liu Chunhong .
SAILING: Movistar, Premier Challenge and a yacht sponsored by Disney sustained storm damage near Madrid, Spain, during the first day of the around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. Movistar and Disney expect to make repairs in port while Premier Challenge will try to make repairs as it sails.
TRACK: The 2007 cross-country world championships will be in Mombasa, Kenya, the 2007 road running world championships in Udine, Italy, and the 2008 indoor world championships in Valencia, Spain, the IAAF said. ... Kenya's Francis Kamau won the Beirut International Marathon in Lebanon in 2:19:20, 18 seconds faster than Ethiopia's Eshetu Bekele .
[Last modified November 14, 2005, 01:04:15]
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