In Sports from United Press International
Ohlund to play in Olympics
ZURICH, Switzerland, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Vancouver Canucks defenseman Mattias Ohlund will play for Sweden at next month's Winter Olympics, despite testing positive for a substance banned by the International Olympic Committee.
The International Ice Hockey Federation on Monday agreed to send Ohlund a warning letter but allowed him to play for Sweden at the Salt Lake City Games.
Ohlund, 25, was given the drug Diamox, which contains the banned substance acetazolamide, following eye surgery on December 3. He came up positive six days later in a test administered by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
But the IIHF disciplinary committee, after meeting Friday, agreed unanimously that "this was a positive test but not a doping infraction," adding, "that sports bodies must be very careful not to interfere with the good and proper treatment of injured athletes by competent medical specialists."
IIHF chief medical officer Dr. Mark Aubrey of Canada told the committee that Diamox was the best diuretic medication to safeguard against a build-up of pressure in Ohlund's damaged eye.
In a statement, the IIHF said, "At all times, we must be fair and reasonable in dealing with our athletes so that they can support our efforts to keep our sport drug-free."
Since suffering a career-threatening eye injury in 1999, Ohlund has undergone a series of surgical procedures. He is second among Canucks' defensemen in scoring this season with six goals and 16 assists in 49 games.
Bure returns despite broken hand
SUNRISE, Fla., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Superstar right wing Pavel Bure, expected to miss at least a month with a broken left hand suffered in a game at Dallas less than two weeks ago, has returned for the Florida Panthers.
Bure, who led the NHL in goals in each of the past two seasons, fractured the hand when he was slashed in Florida's 3-2 loss to the Stars on January 9, but was playing in Monday afternoon's game against the Montreal Canadiens.
Bure was given clearance by doctors to return after participating in practice on Sunday and was wearing a protective orthroplast coating, which creates a hard but moveable shell around the hand. It was believed he would be out four-to-six weeks, but instead missed just five games. Without Bure, the Panthers lost four of the five games.
Bure had played in 169 consecutive games before missing seven this season with a concussion, suffered November 19 on a face-first hit to the glass from Toronto's Darcy Tucker. The Panthers went 2-5 in his concussion-related absence and fired coach Duane Sutter, replacing him with Mike Keenan.
Bure is expected to give his country a chance at a medal at the Salt Lake City Games. The Russian team opens play February 15 against a qualifier.
Despite playing in just 36 games, Bure leads the Panthers in scoring with 13 goals and 18 assists. He also has a minus-12 rating for Florida, which has the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference at 15-27-3-3. Bure scored 58 goals in the 1999-2000 season and 59 in 2000-01.
Capriati advances, Sampras loses
MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Defending champion and top-seeded Jennifer Capriati defeated Rita Grande ot Italy Monday to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. But, Pete Sampras was ousted by Russia's Marat Safin.
The quarterfinals will get under way Tuesday with the top attraction being the match between Monica Seles and Venus Williams.
Safin, the No. 9 seed, fired 22 aces and committed almost half as many unforced errors as Sampras for a grueling 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 victory. Safin will next take on South African Wayne Ferreira, who won a five-set thriller over Spain's Albert Costa, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 9-7.
Capriati withstood an exhausting 62-minute second set in defeating the 20th seeded Grande, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) , eventually prevailing on her third match point.
In the quarterfinals, Capriati will take on eighth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France, who also had a difficult time of it before ousting Marlene Weingartner of Germany, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5.
Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters and sixth-seeded Justine Henin won to set up an all-Belgium quarterfinal match. Clijsters needed only 45 minutes to demolish Janette Husarova of Slovakia 6-0, 6-2. Henin notched a 6-0, 6-3 victory over No. 11 Elena Dementieva of Russia.
Flyers goalie NHL player of week
NEW YORK, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Roman Cechmanek, who won all four starts while posting a 1.20 goals-against average, was named NHL Player of the Week, for the period ending Sunday.
A member of the Czech Republic team that will compete in the Winter Olympics next month in Salt Lake City, Cechmanek also registered a .958 save percentage and capped the week with his 12th career shutout.
Cechmanek recorded 31 saves in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs as Philadelphia extended its longest winning streak in more than six years to eight games. The Flyers lead the Eastern Conference with 64 points in 47 games.
In his second NHL season, the 30-year-old Cechmanek has an 18-8-4 record and a 2.21 GAA. He was Dominik Hasek's backup on the Czech team that captured the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics.
Cechmanek earned his second Player of the Week honor, edging out teammate Jeremy Roenick, Atlanta right wing Ilya Kovalchuk and Chicago goaltender Jocelyn Thibault.
Cavaliers' top scorer out with injury
CLEVELAND, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Forward Lamond Murray, the Cleveland Cavaliers' leading scorer this season,was placed on the injured list Monday following surgery to repair a broken nose.
Murray, who is averaging 16.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Friday's contest at the Los Angeles Clippers when he was elbowed by Clippers forward Darius Miles.
He had surgery Monday morning at the Cleveland Clinic and is expected to be sidelined for two weeks. When he returns, Murray will wear a facial shield to protect the nose.
The injury is another blow for the Cavaliers (13-27), who suffered a 109-103 defeat to the Clippers for their ninth straight defeat.
To take Murray's roster spot, Cleveland activated guard Trajan Langdon, who missed nine games after being placed on the injured list Jan. 4 with a right ankle sprain. Langdon is averaging 2.6 points in 16 contests this season.
U.S. facing dangerous Cuban soccer foe
PASADENA, Calif.,Jan. 20 (UPI) -- The United States soccer team faced a dangerous Cuban squad Monday NIGHT in CONCACAF Gold Cup competition.
Mexico meanwhile takes on Guatemala in what should be an easy match for the Mexicans.
Cuba is not considered a good team but is one the U.S. cannot afford to underestimate. Further, the Cubans brought the best their country has to offer, and that includes two very fine strikers in Alberto Delgado and Ariel Betancourt. Also, Lazaro Dalcourt, widely considered the finest Cuban player of all-time, will anchor the defense and trigger the counterattack.
The U.S. does not have anything close to a full-strength team.
