Roddick to third round at Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Second-seeded Andy Roddick of the United States moved into the third round at the Australian Open with a three-set triumph over South African Wesley Moodie.
Roddick posted a 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, triumph in less than two hours and had just nine unforced errors.
Seventh-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic and eighth-seeded Argentine Gaston Gaudio both posted straight-set wins over German opponents, but 13th-seeded American Robby Ginepri was not as fortunate.
Ljubicic breezed by Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1, while Gaudio disposed of Lars Burgsmuller, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
However, the big surprise on Day 3 came when Ginepri blew a two-set lead before falling to Denis Gremelmayr. The little-known German qualifier roared back for a 2-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, win over Ginepri.
Davenport advances in Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Lindsay Davenport of the United States posted a straight-set victory over Karolina Sprem, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, in second-round play of the Australian Open.
The match lasted 85 minutes, while the 2004 champion, eighth-seeded Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne needed 99 minutes to post a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, win over Czech Hana Sromova.
The 13th-seeded American Serena Williams had no trouble with France's Camille Pin. The 24-year-old Williams moved into the third round with a routine 6-3, 6-1, win in a match that lasted only 49 minutes.
Sixth-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova was also a straight-set winner, as she pasted Martina Muller of Germany, 6-4, 6-1, in 76 minutes.
Also winning second-round matches were Ukrainian Olga Savchuk, Russian Elena Vesnina, Croat Jelena Kostanic and Italian Mara Santangelo.
Raiders talking to Louisville's Petrino
OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 18 (UPI) -- The Oakland Raiders have met with University of Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino about their vacant head coaching position.
The Oakland Tribune reports an NFL source confirmed Petrino was in Oakland Tuesday night for an interview. The Raiders haven't commented except to confirm they have interviewed Al Saunders, James Lofton and Rod Marinelli for the job.
Petrino's 21-4 record with the Cardinals the past two years may have caught Raiders owner Al Davis' eye. The 2004 Louisville team put more points on the board than anyone else, which may bode well for Petrino.
The Raiders have hired offense-linked coaches for 27 years, since linebackers coach turned head coach John Madden retired.
Unnamed sources within the organization dispelled rumors that Fresno State Coach Pat Hill was a potential candidate. Hill set a Tuesday night deadline for any offers from professional teams. He is reported to have met with St. Louis and Houston and was talking with New Orleans.
Hill told the Fresno Bee if no pro offer panned out, he planned to stay with the Bulldogs, "building this program to where it should be."
Bigger Olympic ticket sales, snow needed
TURIN, Italy, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- All is set for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin but organizers can use a little more snow on the Italian Alps and improved ticket sales.
With the games less than a month away, the city and the venues up in the mountains still look more like construction sites than shimmering stages for the amateur sports, reports The International Herald Tribune.
Only 600,000 tickets had been sold at end of last week against a target of 830,000, blamed partly on the downturn in Italy's economy.
"We are not satisfied with this number," said Alberto Acciari, head of marketing for the Turin Olympic Organizing Committee.
Italian skier Giorgio Rocca's winning his fifth world cup slalom this week is expected to lift sagging ticket sales in Italy, says the report.
Meanwhile, machines remained busy pumping artificial snow after the International Ski Federation complained last week about a dangerous lack of snow cover at the top of the downhill run in Sestriere, the main Olympic site in the Italian Alps.
Long-injured Penguins' Palffy retires
PITTSBURGH, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Zigmund Palffy made a surprise announcement Wednesday that he is retiring from hockey because of a lingering shoulder injury.
Palffy, 33, has been plagued with shoulder problems since the 2003-04 season, but still has recorded 11 goals and 31 assists in 42 games with Pittsburgh this year. His last goal was on Dec. 16.
He was injured while playing for the Los Angeles Kings at Anaheim in January 2004, and has had two surgeries on his right shoulder.
The Slovakian native is a two-time NHL all-star, and has scored 329 goals and 713 points over 684 career games with the New York Islanders, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. He signed a multi-year contract with the Penguins in August.
Fake Super Bowl ticket seller charged
DETROIT, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A Detroit woman who claimed she worked at Ford Field has been charged with stealing $42,000 in return for promising 105 Super Bowl tickets.
Karen Reed was arraigned Thursday and released after posting $5,000 bail.
The 48-year-old was charged with three counts of obtaining money under false pretenses after claiming she worked at Ford Field -- where Super Bowl XL is to be held Feb. 5 -- and scamming money out of people paying $400 apiece for good seats to the game.
After taking the money between October and November 2004, she disappeared and stopped returning phone calls.
Detroit police's Major Crimes unit found Reed living with a relative in Highland Park, Mich., last month.
She faces a preliminary hearing in District Court in Detroit on Jan. 24.
