Canadian skaters to receive gold medal
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, having put intense pressure on figure skating officials to settle an issue that had altered the focus of the Salt Lake City Games, announced Friday Canadian figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier would be awarded the gold medal most felt they deserved to have won last Monday night.
"This is justice," Rogge said as he sought to bring an end to the first major crisis of his tenure as chief of the world's largest athletic organization and to put the focus of the Olympics back on the competition.
As attention did return to the competition, however, Canada found its celebrations over the figure skating decision tempered when that country's beloved national hockey team gave up four goals in the second period and suffered a 5-2 loss to Sweden.
Included in the decision to reward Sale and Pelletier with a gold medal was the announcement by Ottavio Cinquanta, head of the International Skating Union, that French judge Maria-Reine Le Gougne had been suspended for her role in an alleged competition-fixing scandal that is still under investigation.
Le Gougne was part of a 5-4 majority that awarded the pairs skating gold medal to Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze Monday night, even though skating experts felt the Canadians turned in a clearly better performance. Various reports since then have said Le Gougne had admitted being pressured to vote for the Russians.
Russia opens final hockey round with win
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Mats Sundin scored twice and Sweden used the large international ice surface to down Canada Friday night, 5-2, and demonstrate it could be in the running for its second gold medal in three Olympics.
Russia opened the final round-robin portion of the Olympic hockey tournament with a less-than-impressive, 6-4 win over qualifier Belarus.
The defending champion Czech Republic met Germany and the United States faced Finland in the late games.
Chargers name Arnsparger defense chief
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- New San Diego Chargers Coach Marty Schottenheimer returned a favor Friday, naming 75-year-old Bill Arnsparger associate head coach in charge of the defense.
Arnsparger gave Schottenheimer his first NFL coaching job in 1975, when he appointed him linebackers coach of the New York Giants.
One of the most respected defensive coaches in the NFL, Arnsparger has 41 years of experience and is beginning his second stint in San Diego. He served as defensive coordinator from 1992-94.
Arnsparger was the architect of the Miami Dolphins' famed "No-Name" defense in the early 1970s that contributed to three Super Bowl appearances and the perfect 17-0 season in 1972.
Arnsparger left the NFL in 1983 to become the coach at Louisiana State. He guided the Tigers to bowl appearances in his three years at the school before a five-year stint as athletic director at the University of Florida from 1987-92.
Arnsparger returned to the NFL in 1992 with the Chargers and spent two of the past three seasons as a defensive assistant with the Washington Redskins.
Kings coach hurt in icy crash
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Los Angeles Kings Coach Andy Murray suffered four broken ribs and a shoulder injury in a one-vehicdle accident early Friday in Wisconsin, the team announced.
Murray was on his way from his home in Fairbault, Minn., to his son Braden's high school hockey game in Madison, Wis.
About two hours into the trip, Murray's truck went over a sheet of ice and spun out. It went down an embankment and rolled about 300 feet off the highway. He was taken to a hospital, where he was treated for his injuries. He was expected to return to Fairbault, where he will be further evaluated.
Murray, 50, had taken an overnight flight from Los Angeles to Minnesota after Wednesday's night's home game against Phoenix. Due to the Olympic break, the Kings do not practice again until Thursday and do not play again until Feb. 26.
Lapentti rallies again at BellSouth
VINA DEL MAR, Chile,Feb. 15 (UPI) -- For the third straight match,
top seed Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador rallied from a set down to
advance at the $400,000 BellSouth Open.
Lapentti fought back for a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory over
Flavio Saretta of Brazil on Friday, advancing to the semifinals
of the claycourt event.
Lapentti lost the first set in his opening match against Jacobo
Diaz and did so again Thursday against Ramon Delgado of
Paraguay.
It was the first meeting between Lapentti and Saretta, who made
it to the quarterfinals when seventh seed David Nalbandian of
Argentina was disqualified in the eighth game of the first set
for arguing with a linesman.
Lapentti is the only seed still alive in the tournament. His
foe Saturday will be either hometown favorite Nicolas Massu or
Albert Montanes of Spain.
Saturday's other semifinal will pit Chilean wild card Fernando
Gonzalez against qualifier Nicolas Coutelot of France.
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Toru Taniguchi, known as the "Japanese Tiger," emerged as the surprise leader midway through the $3.7 million Nissan Open Friday.
Playing in his first PGA Tour event of the year, the 34-year-old Taniguchi carded a 4-under-par 67 at Riviera Country Club to open a one-stroke lead over a quartet of players with a 36-hole total of 9-under 133.
First-round leader Jesper Parnevik was in a four-way tie for second at 134 with Brad Faxon, Len Mattiace and former UCLA star Scott McCarron, who had a 65, the day's low round.
Bob Tway was alone in sixth at 7-under 135, one shot ahead of another quartet that included David Duval.
While virtually unknown on the PGA Tour, Taniguchi did have some
success on American soil last year, posting four top-10 finishes
in nine events. His best result was a third at the WGC
Accenture Match Play Championship.
