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U.S. team emerges as champion

By TIMES WIRES
Published July 18, 2006

OKLAHOMA CITY - Stacey Nuveman and Lovieanne Jung homered off nemesis Yukiko Ueno to power the United States to the World Cup of Softball title Monday night with a 5-2 win over Japan.

Andrea Duran also homered and Cat Osterman struck out 11 in a two-hitter as the U.S. took the first big step toward re-establishing itself as the best softball team in the world after losing three times to Japan last year, including the World Cup final.

The U.S. finished the tournament with a 59-3 scoring advantage over its opponents.

CANADA 2, AUSTRALIA 0: Canada scored twice on Alison Bradley's third-inning single and an ensuing error to claim third place.

CHINA 1, BRITAIN 0: Zhang Ai had two of her team's three hits, including an RBI single, to help China win the fifth-place game.

HORSES

Barbaro exhibiting encouraging signs

Barbaro has a little spring in his sling and is in stable condition.

The Kentucky Derby winner squirms in his safety device and even sits on his damaged hind legs.

Those are encouraging signs for the 3-year-old colt, who at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals in Kennett Square, Pa. But the odds of Barbaro's full recovery from a severe case of laminitis and a reconstructed right hind leg are no better than they were a week ago.

SALES: The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority approved the sale of the 85-year-old Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., to Ron Geary.

ARLINGTON PARK: The Illinois Racing Board said that Charles E. Coon & Sons, an independent consultant hired to examine the track surface, could find no explanation for a cluster of fatal breakdowns.

JURISPRUDENCE: Six-time champion jockey Kieren Fallon appeared in court in London on race-fixing charges. He appeared with 10 others on charges of conspiracy to defraud.

TENNIS

U.S. Open Series debuts instant replay

American Paul Goldstein tried out instant replay technology at the RCA Championships, hitting a practice serve that hugged the line. Within seconds, two video boards showed it was out of bounds.

The U.S. Open will be the first Grand Slam event to review disputed calls electronically.

RCA CHAMPIONSHIP: Danai Udaomchoke beat Tomas Cako 6-2, 6-2 to set up a second-round match against James Blake in Indianapolis.

CINCINNATI WOMEN'S OPEN: Emma Laine pulled off the first upset, beating Sybille Bammer 6-3, 6-1 in the first round.

PALERMO INTERNATIONAL: Third-seeded Michaella Krajicek beat wild card Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 in the first round in Sicily.

GERMAN OPEN: Qualifier Diego Junqueira defeated No. 25 Christophe Rochus 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5) in the first round in Stuttgart, Germany.

PRIORITY TELECOM OPEN: Paul Henri Mathieu beat Alessio de Mauro 6-0, 6-3 in the opening round in Amersfoort, Netherlands.

NBA

Bobcats hire new team president

Fred Whitfield was hired as the new president and chief operating officer of Bobcats Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns the Bobcats, the WNBA's Charlotte Sting and the teams' home arena in downtown Charlotte.

CELTICS: Paul Pierce signed a three-year, $59-million contract extension that would keep him in Boston through the 2010-11 season.

PISTONS: Ronald Dupree agreed to a two-year contract, adding depth to one of his former teams.

ET CETERA

SOCCER: Juventus will challenge the addition of a 30-point penalty to its demotion from Italian soccer's first division, while the three other clubs convicted of match-fixing - Fiorentina FCA, SS Lazio and AC Milan - will seek to overturn the verdicts against them. ... Midfielder Freddy Adu and defenders Josh Gros and Bobby Boswell were added to the MLS All-Star roster, giving D.C. United seven players on the 18-man team. ... Adu wasn't hurt after getting into a minor car accident while driving home from a game in Washington.

SWIMMING: Natalie Coughlin won the 100-meter backstroke in 1 minutes, .19 seconds, the second-fastest time in the world, on Sunday at the Janet Evans Invitational.

TRACK AND FIELD: Christian Cantwell won the shot put at the Madrid Athletics Meeting to lead an American sweep in the event in Spain.

[Last modified July 18, 2006, 02:14:01]