Venus, Hewitt easy winners at Wimbledon
LONDON, June 25 (UPI) -- The top two seeds, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Venus Williams of the United States, Tuesday eased into the second round at Wimbledon.
Hewitt converted six break points on the way to a 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden.Tim Henman, the fourth seed and British hope for a winner of the Wimbledon men's title, also had an easy opener, rolling over France's Jean-Francois Bachelot, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
On the women's side, Williams needed just 45 minutes to post a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Jane O'Donoghue of Britain. Williams recorded her 15th straight win at the All-England Club as the two-time defending champion allowed her opponent to win just 24 points.
Monica Seles, the fourth seed, registered the shortest match in that draw so far. The former world No. 1 needed just 37 minutes to whitewash Eva Bes of Spain, 6-0, 6-0.
Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, the fifth and sixth seeds, respectively, defeated a couple of Americans, Clijsters holding off Samantha Reeves, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), and Henin outlasting Brie Rippner, 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1.
There were a couple of key upsets on the men's side. Seventh seeded Roger Federer crashed out in the opening round, losing 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 to 18-year-old qualifier Mario Ancic of Croatia. And, No. 8 Thomas Johansson of Sweden, the reigning Australian Open champion, fell to Flavio Saretta of Brazil, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 12-10.
Also, Irakli Labadze of Georgia knocked off No. 13 Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
Germany reaches World Cup final
SEOUL, South Korea, June 25 (UPI) -- Michael Ballack, who moments earlier had committed a foul that will force him to miss what would have been the biggest game of his life, scored on a rebound of his own shot in the 75th minute Tuesday to put Germany in the World Cup final with a 1-0 win over South Korea.
Ballack finally stopped the historic run of the co-hosting nation and gave Germany a chance for a record-equaling fourth World Cup title. Germany will take on either Brazil or Turkey next Sunday night in Yokohama.
Brazil and Turkey square off Wednesday in Saitama, Japan.
"I think we were the deserved winners of this match," German Coach Rudi Voeller said. "Nobody really expected us to even go to the round of 16."
"The German team was a little more experienced on more occasions," South Korean Coach Guus Hiddink said. "But I think we can be proud of the boys."
After becoming the first Asian nation to reach the World Cup semifinals, South Korea battled Germany on close-to-even terms in the first half. But Germany began to find small gaps in the second half as the South Koreans, who had been so strong in the latter stages of their games throughout the tournament, appeared to slowly wilt.
West again making NBA draft impact
NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- It didn't take long for Jerry West to restore his standing as a major player among NBA executives.
West, who has taken over the basketball operations of the woeful Memphis Grizzlies, is in position to dramatically affect Wednesday's NBA draft -- and hopefully reverse the fortunes of his new team.
The Grizzlies have the fourth overall pick, and, unlike the
teams holding the top three selections, West has not tipped
his hand.
He may simply take local favorite Dajuan Wagner to shore up an erratic point guard position. Or he may take Drew Gooden to add some frontcourt muscle that would help protect cornerstone Pau Gasol.
Or he may take European import Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who has been billed as this year's Gasol and is coveted by a handful of teams selecting below the Grizzlies, with Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers reportedly among them.
The Houston Rockets have this year's top pick and have made no secret of their desire to select Chinese 7-5 center Yao Ming, who would be the first pure international player selected first overall -- and the tallest.
At 296 pounds with the ability to run the floor and hit jumpers, Yao would fit nicely with the Rockets, who are loaded at guard and not really considering Duke point guard Jay Williams, the top American collegian available.
That would leave Williams to the Chicago Bulls, who pick second. The Golden State Warriors also covet Williams but pick third and likely will select forward Mike Dunleavy Jr., Williams' teammate at Duke.
Next is Memphis, followed by Denver, Cleveland, New York, the
Clippers, Phoenix, Miami, Washington, the Clippers again and
Milwaukee.
Beleaguered BCS making changes
NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- Officials for the controversial Bowl Championship Series Tuesday announced alterations to its selection process for the upcoming college football season. The changes include the elimination of the margin of victory component.
Responding to mounting criticism, the BCS was prompted to make changes that it hopes will insure that a qualified team is not left out of the national championship game.
"By eliminating margin of victory, it takes the idea of how you win and puts it in a proper perspective," said Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese, who is serving as BCS Coordinator this season.
In another move, the BCS has narrowed its quality win component from wins over teams in the top 15 of the BCS to teams in the top 10.
The format calls for the championship game to be rotated among the Orange, Rose, Sugar and Fiesta Bowls. On Jan. 3, 2003, the Fiesta Bowl will host the BCS title game.
Yankees activate closer Rivera
BALTIMORE, June 25 (UPI) -- Finally in first place, the New York Yankees Tuesday activated closer Mariano Rivera from the 15-day disabled list.
Rivera had been shelved since June 10 with a strained right
groin muscle. The Yankees went 8-5 without him and took over
first place from the struggling Boston Red Sox in the American
League East.
Rivera pulled his groin muscle on June 8 while pitching in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss to San Francisco, aggravating an injury he suffered in May, when he missed four days.
Rivera has been baseball's premier closer for the last five
years, but his aura of invincibility was tarnished when he
allowed two ninth-inning runs in New York's 3-2 loss to the
Diamondbacks in Game Seven of the World Series last November.
The 32-year-old righthander has 18 saves in 19 opportunities
this season and is 1-3 with a 1.69 ERA. He recorded the 225th
save of his career on May 9 at Tampa Bay.
Griffey back on DL
CHICAGO, June 25 (UPI) -- Cincinnati Reds centerfielder Ken Griffey Jr., who has missed more games than he has played this season, is back on the disabled list for the third time in two years.
The Reds Tuesday placed Griffey on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Monday, with a strained right hamstring. They recalled rookie outfielder Austin Kearns from Triple-A Louisville of the International League.
Griffey is batting just .243 with two home runs and four RBI in 26 games, including 20 starts. His first stint on the DL this season was from April 8-May 23 with a torn patella tendon in his right knee. He also missed eight games from June 8-16 with his current injury.
The 32-year-old Cincinnati native was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in February 2000, and is signed to a contract through the 2008 season.
After hitting 40 home runs and driving in 118 runs in his first season with the Reds, Griffey was limited to 111 games and had 22 homers and 65 RBI last year.
Griffey was named to Major League Baseball's All-Century Team, and voted Player of the Decade for the 1990s. He has 462 career homers and 1,339 RBI.
Dominik Hasek retires from NHL
DETROIT, June 25 (UPI) -- Dominik Hasek, who captured the first Stanley Cup of his illustrious career earlier this month, Tuesday announced his retirement and plans to return to his native Czech Republic.
Many believed Hasek would retire after he refused to commit to another season at the Stanley Cup championship celebration in downtown Detroit last week. Fans chanted "One more year," and several teammates said they were trying to coax Hasek into returning to the Red Wings.
"Winning the Cup was everything I thought it would be. During the celebration I just wanted to have fun. I didn't want to talk about it," said Hasek at a news conference Tuesday.
Nuggets waive Tim Hardaway
DENVER, June 25 (UPI) -- The Denver Nuggets on Tuesday waived veteran point guard Tim Hardaway.
Acquired from Dallas in a blockbuster seven-player deal prior to last season's trade deadline, Hardaway appeared in 14 games for the Nuggets before suffering a broken left foot on March 13.
A 12-year veteran, the 35-year-old averaged 9.6 points and 4.1 assists in 68 games last season. A five-time All-Star, Hardaway amassed 5,000 points and 2,500 assists faster than any player in NBA history, except for Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.
