In brief

Venus: Dad can't make my deals

By wire services
Published December 8, 2005

WEST PALM BEACH - Tennis star Venus Williams testified Wednesday that her father, Richard Williams, played a role in negotiating endorsement deals when she was a young rising star but could not commit her to play in a proposed "Battle of the Sexes" in 2001 against male players.

"I sign my own agreements. I make my own decisions. No one can for me," Venus testified, noting with a laugh that her father didn't even know beforehand that she planned to move out of her parents' home six years ago.

Venus, her sister Serena and their father are defendants in a lawsuit contending that Richard Williams committed them to playing in the proposed tournament and that they are in breach of contract. Unspecified damages are sought.

Carol Clarke and Keith Rhodes, owners of a company called CCKR, said the event could have made about $45-million, of which 80 percent was to go to Richard Williams Tennis & Associates.

IMG issued a "cease and desist" letter to CCKR in March 2001.

AGASSI AILS: Andre Agassi's plans to play next month's Australian Open are in jeopardy because of a severe left ankle sprain that hasn't healed and has affected his training. He sprained his ankle Oct. 12 while playing racquetball, then aggravated it during the Tennis Masters Cup last month.

Tiger Woods won the PGA Tour player of the year award for the seventh time in his nine full seasons. It also was the fifth time he has swept the three major awards - the Jack Nicklaus Trophy as player of the year, the Arnold Palmer Award for leading the money list, and the Byron Nelson Award for having the lowest scoring average. Woods previously won player of the year from the PGA of America, which is based on points. The tour's award is a vote of the players. Dana Quigley was voted Champions Tour player of the year and Jason Gore won the Nationwide Tour honor. Other honorees were Sean O'Hair, PGA Tour rookie of the year; Olin Browne, PGA comeback player of the year; Jay Haas, Champions Tour rookie of the year, and Peter Jacobsen, Champions comeback player of the year.

Two-time champion Manchester United lost 2-1 at Benfica to exit the Champions League at the group stage for the first time in 10 seasons, while its Portuguese opponent advanced to the last 16 with Villarreal, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Arsenal, Ajax, Barcelona, Lyon, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Inter Milan, A.C. Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Rangers.

BIG MONEY: Chelsea's Jose Mourinho ($34.7-million) has overtaken Manchester United's Alex Ferguson ($31.3-million) as the game's richest coach in the United Kingdom, the magazine FourFourTwo reported.

HORSES: The prestigious $500,000 Woodward Stakes will be run at Saratoga for the first time next year, the most significant change in the 2006 racing schedule proposed by the New York Racing Association. Since 1968, the 11/8-mile Woodward has been held at Belmont Park.

BIATHLON: Anna Carin Olofsson of Sweden got her first World Cup victory, completing the nine-mile course at Hochfilzen, Austria in 49 minutes, 6.3 seconds.

OLYMPICS: Wales has joined Scotland in refusing to be part of a unified British soccer team at the 2012 London Games, choosing to keep its independence. ... Three-time Olympic weightlifting champion Halil Mutlu of Turkey has been banned for two years for steroid use. Another Turkish lifter, Sedat Artuc, a 2004 bronze medalist, also was banned for two years for failing to submit a sample for testing.

[Last modified December 8, 2005, 00:50:19]