Muehlegg wins secnd gold medal
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Johann Muehlegg of Spain won his second gold medal of the Olympics Thursday, capturing the men's 10-kilometer, cross-country pursuit race.
Thomas Alsgaard of Norway, who finished the first leg in 16th place, rallied on the second leg and finished in a dead heat with countryman Frode Estil. They both were awarded a silver medal with no bronze being given out.
LSU rewards Saban with new deal
BATON ROUGE, La., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Louisiana State Coach Nick Saban, who guided the Tigers to a Southeastern Conference title and a victory in the Sugar Bowl last season, has been rewarded with a new contract.
Terms of the new deal were not disclosed, but according to the Baton Rouge Advocate, Athletic Director Skip Bertman has said that Saban previously gave an oral acceptance to a $400,000 raise, which would hike his yearly salary to $1.6 million, plus a trust fund.
After a slow start, Louisiana State worked its way into the SEC title game last season, where it upset Tennessee. The Tigers completed a 9-3 season with a 47-34 victory over Big Ten champion Illinois in the Sugar Bowl.
LSU also announced the retirement of long-time defensive line coach Pete Jenkins, who spent 13 years with the Tigers in two different stints.
ChiSox, Rockies in Hall of Fame game
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies on Thursday were named as the participants in the 56th annual Hall of Fame Game on July 29.
The White Sox are 1-6-1 in the Hall of Fame Game and last played in 1992, when they lost to the New York Mets, 3-0. The Rockies will appear for the first time.
The game will take place one day after the induction ceremony in which former San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith will be enshrined.
Irwin seeks to extend Florida mastery
LUTZ, Fla., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The Senior PGA Tour concludes its three-week stay in Florida, and Hale Irwin should be among those reluctant to leave the Sunshine State.
Irwin will seek his seventh Senior Tour win in Florida at the Verizon Classic, a $1.5 million event that begins Friday at the Tournament Players Club of Tampa Bay.
Irwin won for a whopping 33rd time on the Senior Tour with a one-stroke victory last week at the ACE Group Classic. His 54-hole total of 16-under 200 was a shot better than Tom Watson.
A winner of 20 events on the regular PGA Tour, Irwin ranks fourth on the Senior money list and went over the $20 million mark in career earnings last week.
Seles advances in Qatar Open
DOHA, Qatar, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Top seed Monica Seles of the United States advanced, but second-seeded Sandrine Testud of France was upset in the second round of the $170,000 Qatar Open hardcourt tennis event Thursday.
Seles, coming off Saturday's semifinal loss to Jelena Dokic in an indoor event at Paris, recorded a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi. Seles also was a semifinalist at the Australian Open last month and runner-up at the Pan Pacific Open two weeks ago. She faces Australian eighth seed Nicole Pratt in the quarterfinals.
Slovakia's Janette Husarova knocked off Testud, 7-6 (7-5), 0-6, 6-2, and faces Russian Anastasia Myskina in the quarterfinals. Testud, who was seeking her fourth career title, received a first-round bye. She reached the final here last year and had to pull out of last week's tournament in Paris with a neck injury.
Pratt cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Selima Sfar of Tunisia and Italy's Tathiana Garbin moved on with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Eleni Daniilidou of Greece.
Gonzalez upsets Mantilla
VINA DEL MAR, Chile, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Chilean Fernando Gonzalez gave the fans something to cheer about Wednesday as he upset second seeded Felix Mantilla of Spain.
Gonzalez, who reached the fourth round as a qualifier at the Australian Open, posted a 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Mantilla in the second round at the $400,000 BellSouth Open claycourt event. He will face Argentina's Jose Acasuso in the quarterfinals.
On Monday, the crowd was disappointed as Argentine Mariano Zabaleta upset Chilean fourth seed Marcelo Rios. But Gonzalez and his countryman Nicola Massu both were victorious Wednesday. Massu defeated Julio Silva of Brazil, 6-0, 6-3 to also advance to the quarterfinals.
