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Sports digest

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 28, 2001

U.S. opens final phase against top soccer rival

The United States opens the final round of World Cup soccer qualifying at 7:30 tonight against rival Mexico in Columbus, Ohio. The forecast is for temperatures in the mid-20s.

"The Mexican players are used to warm weather and a lot of U.S. players are used to the cold weather; the colder, the better," U.S. midfielder Chris Armas said. "If that happens to be an advantage, we'll take it."

The United States gets back captain Claudio Reyna, who was suspended for the last two games of the previous round.

The match is one of three that begins the six-team, 10-game CONCACAF (North and Central American and Caribbean zone) tournament, from which the top three advance to the 2002 World Cup. Elsewhere, Trinidad and Tobago visits Jamaica and Honduras is at Costa Rica.

MORE SOCCER: Tuesday, the U.S. Soccer Federation chose Chicago Fire midfielder Chris Armas and Tiffeny Millbret, who led the national team with 15 goals last season, as its athletes of the year. ... European Union officials were optimistic that a deal was imminent on a new transfer system, though players are threatening to sue. ... Frantisek Chvalovsky, the head of the Czech Soccer Association, was arrested on suspicion of fraud.

TENNIS: Pat Rafter beat defending champ Nicolas Kiefer 6-2, 6-4 and top seed Marat Safin defeated David Prinosil 7-5, 6-2 in the Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Open. ... Former UF player Lisa Raymond beat qualifier Shinobu Asagoe 6-0, 6-1 at the State Farm Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz. ... No. 4 seed Tommy Haas beat Christian Vinck 6-4, 7-5 at the Sybase Open in San Jose, Calif.

BOXING: Juan Carlos Gomez, the unbeaten WBC cruiserweight champ reportedly seeking to evade German tax authorities, is in Miami and probably will be allowed to stay in the United States, immigration officials said. Gomez has been fighting out of Germany since 1995, when he defected.

TRACK: The two-year drug ban of Dieter Baumann will restart because he ran Sunday at the German indoor championship. He was to become eligible Jan. 21.

AUTOS: Late NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt was honored by the House in a resolution. "His skill on the track made him a legend in the racing world, but it was his faith and actions off the track that made him a great man," said Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C., whose district includes Kannapolis, where Earnhardt was born and was buried last week. ... NASCAR fined Jeff Gordon's crew chief, Robbie Loomis, $25,000 for fielding a car that failed to meet the minimum height requirement after Monday's Dura-Lube 400. ... Duke Nalon, pole-sitter for the Indy 500 in 1948 and '51, died Monday in Indianapolis at 87.

COLLEGES: Tampa Bay Tech graduate Maritza Correia won the 100 freestyle for Georgia in last weekend's SEC Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala. HOCKEY: Lou Vairo will coach the United States in the World Championships in April and May in Germany. Atlanta Thrashers general manager Don Waddell will be the general manager.

ETC.: Horse racing in Britain and Ireland was suspended until at least March 7 because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Also, a Six Nations rugby union match between Wales and Ireland in Cardiff, scheduled for Saturday, was postponed until late April or early May.

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