Mores sports

Clearwater boxer closer to Olympics

By TIMES WIRES
Published October 9, 2006

Clearwater's Keith Thurman's dream of fighting for gold in Beijing in 2008 came into clearer vision Saturday night as the 152-pounder scored a 16-14 win over Charles Hatley to take the National Police Athletic League championship in Oxnard, Calif.

The victory clinches a spot in the 2007 Olympic Trials for Thurman, ranked No. 5 by USA Boxing, and establishes him as one of the country's rising boxing stars. The bronze medalist at the U.S. Championships this year, Thurman, 17, took a 4-1 edge over Hatley, then held on against the No. 2-ranked welterweight in a slugfest.

"His strength was the difference," his trainer Ben Getty said. "Keith was just stronger than everybody here."

still the champ: Nikolai Valuev retained the WBA heavyweight championship Saturday night in Rosemont, Ill., stopping Monte Barrett in the 11th round to remain undefeated. The largest heavyweight champion ever, the 7-foot, 328-pound Valuev (45-0, 33 knockouts) knocked down Barrett (31-5) twice in the 11th.

TENNIS

A first for Federer

Top-ranked Roger Federer coasted to a 6-3, 6-3 win Sunday over Tim Henman in Tokyo to capture his first Japan Open title. Federer took control early, taking advantage of a double fault to break the 10th-seeded Henman and go up 4-2 before closing out the first set with an ace. In the women's final, top-seeded Marion Bartoli rallied to defeat Aiko Nakamura 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Horses

Breeders' field shapes up

A duel at the Downs is set for next month's Breeders' Cup Classic - East Coast sensation Bernardini vs. West Coast star Lava Man. Preakness winner Bernardini produced another overpowering victory in Saturday's $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park, a 6-length romp that ran the 3-year-old colt's win streak to six.

About 20 minutes later at Santa Anita, Lava Man easily put away the competition for a 2¼-length victory in the $500,000 Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap that ran the 5-year-old gelding's win streak to seven.

When the horses meet in the $5-million Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4, Horse of the Year honors will be on the line.

Asi Siempre also is headed to the Breeders' Cup after drawing away to a 2¼-length victory in the $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes at Keeneland on Sunday.

IN THE MONEY: Trainer Todd Pletcher is having a year to remember, and there are still three months to go. When Fleet Indian won the Beldame Stakes at Belmont on Saturday, the winner's share of $360,000 pushed Pletcher past his 2005 record of $20,867,842. Fletcher won three more races and his earnings stood at $22,425,194 through Saturday, according to the New York Racing Association.

NBA

Spurs at home in Paris

Tony Parker scored 27 in front of his home fans in Paris to lead the Spurs over Maccabi Tel Aviv 97-84 in an exhibition game in France. Parker, who missed playing for France at the World Championship because of a broken finger, has recovered, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

MAGIC: Still suffering from symptoms of a concussion after colliding with a teammate in practice, point guard Jameer Nelson will miss the club's opening exhibition game Tuesday against the Bobcats and might miss all three games this week.

RUNNING

Road race record falls

Lornah Kiplagat set a world record in the women's 20-kilometer road race, winning in 1 hour, 3 minutes, 21 seconds at the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Kiplagat, who moved to the Netherlands from Kenya in 2003, topped the previous mark of 1:03.26 set by England's Paula Radcliffe on Oct. 6, 2001, in Bristol, England.

ROCK ON: Kenya's Duncan Kibet won the Rock 'n' Roll half-marathon in San Jose, Calif., in 1 hour, 22 seconds, the second-fastest time in the 13.1-mile event in the United States.

ET CETERA

Field hockey: Netherlands won the women's World Cup for the seventh time with a 3-1 victory over Australia in Madrid.

Women's soccer: Former Gator Abby Wambach scored her second goal two minutes into second-half injury time, giving the United States a 2-1 victory over Iceland in an exhibition game in Richmond, Va.

OBIT: Frank Dolson, a longtime Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist who later was a New York Yankees special assistant, died Sunday in Philadelphia. He was 73. Mr. Dolson died in his sleep at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, hours after his beloved Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs, a family friend said.

[Last modified October 9, 2006, 02:14:17]