Americans win two Olympic medals
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- An unlikely American put at least a partial dent in Dutch speed skating supremacy Saturday, halping make the opening day of competition at the Winter Olympics a successful one for the host country.
With the residents of Salt Lake City bursting with pride over a spectacular opening ceremony that drew record television ratings, the competition quickly warmed up just as the temperatures did.
The first gold medal wound up in the hands of a veteran Italian cross-country skiier who had to rally after breaking a ski pole, a German turned Spaniard blitzed the field in another cross-country race and the Norwegian favorite won the women's moguls in freestyle skiing.
The biggest drama on opening day, however, came at the Utah Olympic Oval, a lightning-fast speed skating track that produced two world records in the span of a half hour.
American Derek Parra, skating in his first Olympic race and hoping to just tune up for the 1,500-meter event that comes later in the Games, shockingly broke the world record over 5,000 meters by turning in a time of 6:17.98. It was 15 seconds better than his previous personal best.
Five more pairs were left to skate when Parra set the record and it withstood a series of challenges. But Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands, skating in the next-to-last pairing, broke it with a time of 6:14.66 to capture the gold medal.
Parra, however, claimed a very unexpected silver medal, one of two captured by the United States Saturday.
American Shannon Bahrke finished second to Norwegian favorite Kari Traa in the women's moguls competition.
The United States, therefore, became one of just two countries to capture more than one medal Saturday. Austria won both a silver and bronze in the men's 30-kilometer cross-country race. The 12 medals awarded Saturday were distributed among 10 nations.
The perfect Winter Olympics weather, chilled in the mountains, mild in the metropolitan area and clear everywhere, allowed traffic to flow relatively smoothly to and from the venues. And there were no major security issues reported as the competition was carried out under a massive blanket of protection.
As the first day of competition came to a close, two-time world champions Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze captured the figure skating pairs short program, making them solid favorites to continue a Russian winning streak in the event that dates back almost four decades.
And in the first major hockey upset of the Olympics, Germany stunned Slovakia, 3-0. Slovakia had been favored to win its group and advance to the final round.
Rookie wins Daytona pole
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Jimmie Johnson became just the third rookie in NASCAR Winston Cup history to win the pole for the Daytona 500 Saturday.
Johnson, the fastest driver in January testing and both practice sessions on Friday, was one of the first drivers to qualify Saturday and took the top spot at 184.831 miles per hour in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
None of the other 52 drivers could better that speed, giving the Hendrick Motoports driver the prime starting position for the Feb. 17 race.
Johnson joins Loy Allen Jr. in 1994 and Mike Skinner in 1997 as rookies to capture the Daytona 500 pole.
It will be an all-California front row for the race the 26-year-old rookie from El Cajon will start alongside Kevin Harvick of Bakersfield. Harvick, the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup rookie of the year, qualified at 185.770 mph.
Only the front row is locked into starting position for next Sunday's race. The remaining speeds posted in time trials Saturday, Monday and Tuesday will determine the starting lineup for Thursday's Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying races.
Positions 3-30 will be determined by the finishing positions in those races. Positions 31-36 will be determined by qualifying speeds posted in the three rounds of qualifications. Positions 37-43 reserved for provisional starting positions based on last year's Winston Cup point standings.
United States advances in Davis Cup
OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- An inexperienced duo clinched a first-round Davis Cup victory for the United States Saturday as the American tandem of James Blake and Mardy Fish combined to produce 10 aces and 19 service winners to outduel Slovakia's Karol Beck and Jan Kroslak, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4.
That gave the United States an unbeatable 3-0 lead, moving them into the second round against the Spain-Morocco winner.
Spain's Juan Balcells and Alex Corretja rallied past Morocco's Karim Alami and Hicham Arazi, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (10-8), 6-4, giving the Spaniards a 2-1 advantage.
U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe chose to leave hard-serving veteran Todd Martin on the bench. Instead, he paired the 21-year-old Blake and 20-year-old Fish and they responded to the challenge.
Despite dropping the second set, Blake and Fish were buoyed by the partisan crowd at the Myriad Center. They broke the Slovakian team's serve three times on the way to their win.
Blake was participating in just his second Davis Cup tie, while Fish was making his debut in the competition. But they still managed to halt the Americans' losing streak in Davis Cup doubles matches at five -- the longest in U.S. history.
Duke coasts to another win
ATLANTA, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy combined for 51 points Saturday as the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils posted their second Atlantic Coast Conference rout over Georgia Tech, 95-63.
Duke (22-1, 10-1 ACC) has won 12 straight meetings with the Yellow Jackets, including a 104-79 victory on Jan. 10. While the Blue Devils make an annual trip here to face Georgia Tech, they are clearly focused on returning to the Final Four, which will be played at the Georgia Dome.
The Blue Devils broke open the game after taking a 48-34 lead at halftime. Williams and Dunleavy drained back-to-back three-pointers as the lead expanded to 55-37 and the rout was son on.
A 13-4 burst establised an 81-51 advantage and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski quickly went to his bench and gave his stars, Williams and Dunleavy, the rest of the day off. They combined to make 16 of 23 shots.
Other winners among the top 10 Saturday included No. 2 Kansas, 108-81 over Texas Tech; No. 4 Oklahoma, 68-64 over exas A&M; No. 5 Cincinnati, 103-94 over Wake Forest; No. 7 Florida, 80-54 over Vanderbilt; No. 9 Kentucky, 68-56 over LSU; and No. 10 Gonzaga, 77-76 over San Diego. The only setback suffered by a top 10 team was No. 6 Alabama's 76-62 loss to Mississippi St.
Fedorov scores 350th career goal
OTTAWA, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Sergei Fedorov scored a pair of goals, including the 350th of his career, as the league-leading Detroit Red Wings rebounded Saturday night from a rare home loss to post a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Fedorov deflected a centering pass from Brendan Shanahan past goaltender Jani Hurme with 1:45 left in the second period after the Senators twice erased one-goal deficits.
The Red Wings, who were surprised by Columbus on Friday night, 3-2, recorded their 39th win, six more than any team in the NHL. Detroit opened a 15-point lead over Chicago in the Central Division.
Goaltender Dominik Hasek recorded 20 saves to improve to 6
2 in his last eight outings. He did not play against the Blue Jackets.
Other NHL results: Boston 4, Florida 1; New Jersey 2, Pittsburgh 1 in overtime; Toronto 4, Montreal 1; Nashville 1, Columbus 0 in overtime; Philadelphia 5, St. Louis 0; Washington 4, Tampa Bay 2; Calgary 4, Vancouver 3; Chicago 3, Columbus 2.
Daly contending for victory
LA JOLLA, Calif., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- John Daly carded a 4-under 68 Saturday -- his third straight sub-par round -- leaving him just one shot behind co-leaders Jerry Kelly, J.L. Lewis and former Masters champion Mark O'Meara after three rounds of the Buick Invitational.
Daly, who tied for fourth at last week's Phoenix Open, has a three-round total of 9-under 207 as he chases his first victory since the 1995 British Open.
Tiger Woods, who barely made the cut after shooting a 77 on Friday, rebounded to card a 3-under 69 Saturday. He climbed from a tie for a 69th to a tie for 20th, but was still six shots off the pace and will need a low score Sunday to have a chance for his first win of the year.
Kelly started the day tied for 23rd, but surged to the top of the leaderboard by posting a 6-under 66, the lowest score of the round.
Lewis, whose only career victory came at the 1999 John Deere Classic, started the day tied for first with Kent Jones and maintained a share of the lead with a 1-under 71.
AFC wins Pro Bowl
HONOLULU, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Rich Gannon threw a pair of touchdown passes and Ray Lewis finished off a defensive touchdown by rambling 13 yards as the AFC posted a 38-30 triumph over the NFC Saturday in the 32nd Pro Bowl.
Curtis Martin and Priest Holmes added first-quarter scoring runs for the AFC, which led 21-10 just over 10 minutes into the contest.
Gannon, the starting quarterback for the Oakland Radiers, finished eight of 10 and captured Most Valuable Player honors for the second straight season. He connected with Indianapolis' Marvin Harrison for a 55-yard score 4:28 into the contest and Harrison's teammate, tight end Ken Dilger, with an 18-yard scoring strike early in the second quarter.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes for the NFC.
NBA All-Star Game set for Sunday
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- It will be old man Michael Jordan and a bunch of youngsters when the 51st NBA All-Star Game tips off today at the First Union Center.
Coming out of a three-year retirement, Jordan has exceeded almost everyone's expectations while lifting the Washington Wizards into contention in the Eastern Conference.
In his last three All-Star Games prior to his retirement, Jordan won Most Valuable Player awards in 1996 and 1998 around the All-Star Game's only triple-double in 1997 in Cleveland. He also scored 40 points in the 1988 game and has won three All-Star MVPs, matching Bob Pettit and Oscar Robertson for the most in history.
Jordan should not be expected to win another one. Although he will start at forward for the East, he does not want to play extended minutes, preferring to provide valuable rest for a body that turns 39 in a week.
Coinciding with Jordan's return to the All-Star stage is a record 10 first-time All-Stars, matching the record set in 1994. Many of them are extremely excited to have the opportunity to play alongside or against the man many consider the greatest player of all time.
"It's a great feeling, being here and playing against one of the greatest players in the NBA," said Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand, one of three first-time All-Stars on the Western Conference.
