Mariners extend Ibanez deal for 2 years
PEORIA, Ariz., March 1 (UPI) -- Outfielder Raul Ibanez signed a two-year contract extension through 2008 with the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday for undisclosed terms.
The 33-year-old Ibanez batted .280 with 20 home runs and 89 RBI last season. He was one of six players to appear in all 162 games, playing first base, right field, left field and designated hitter.
The left-handed hitter had nine home runs and 41 runs while batting .291 at Seattle's Safeco Field last season. His .286 career average at Safeco is the third-best average of any player in the ballpark's history.
Ibanez has posted a .283 career average with 105 homers and 456 RBI in 10 seasons with the Kansas City Royals and Mariners.
Agassi, Safin lose at Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 1 (UPI) -- Andre Agassi and the oft-injured Marat Safin Wednesday both lost their second round matches at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Agassi, the fourth seed and an eight-time Grand Slam champion, suffered a stunning 7-5, 7-5 loss to Bjorn Phau, who is No. 80 in the latest world rakings. The unseeded Safin, a two-time Grand Slam champion, who was playing for the first time this week since last August because of a knee injury, was beaten by Olivier Rochus, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
Elsewhere, Tim Henman topped No. 7 Radek Stepanek, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3); Robin Vik beat No. 8 Tomas Berdych, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2; Mikhail Youzhny topped Igor Andreev 6-1, 7-6 (7-4); and Rainer Schuettler beat qualifier Ivo Klec, 7-5, 6-4; and top-seeded Roger Federer was a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 winner over Mohammed Al Ghareeb.
Hingis, Mauresmo advance at Qatar
DOHA, Qatar, March 1 (UPI) -- Amelie Mauresmo and Martina Hingis Wednesday advanced to the third round of the Qatar Total Open tennis tournament at Doha.
Mauresmo, the top seed, blasted Marion Bartoli, 6-0, 6-2, continuing her dominance in the women's division. She rose to 17-2 in matches this season.
Hingis beat third-seeded Francesca Schiavone, 6-1, 6-2 and is 15-5 since re-joining the WTA Tour in January.
Also, Roberta Vinci ousted Maria Vento-Kabchi, 6-2, 6-3; Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Maria Kirilenko, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); Ai Sugiyama outlasted fourth-seeded Anastasia Myskina, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (6-8), 6-4; Na Li topped No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1; and Nadia Petrova beat qualifier Eleni Daniilidou, 6-1, 6-2.
In Thursday's quarterfinals, Mauresmo faces Vinci; Hingis meets Kuznetsova; Petrova goes against Li and Sugiyama plays Julia Schruff. The tournament's winner will claim $95,500.
Deal keeps Indian Wells in United States
INDIAN WELLS, Calif., March 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Tennis Association, a magazine and tennis greats joined to keep a prestigious but money-troubled tournament in Indian Wells, Calif., a report said.
Directors of the Pacific Life Open are poised to announce a financial package to keep the tournament from moving to Qatar or Shanghai, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The USTA is contributing an estimated $3 million to $5 million to the effort that includes the publisher of Tennis Magazine, the City of Indian Wells and tennis stars Pete Sampras, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King.
"I just believed it would be a shame to lose this tournament," Sampras said. "To have it leave the country would have been a big blow."
The Pacific Open is No. 2 in U.S. attendance and No. 3, behind the U.S. Open and Nasdaq tournament in Miami, with $5.2 million in prize money.
The deal will allow 50-percent stakeholder IMG to withdraw from the venture, which ran into problems following construction of a $77 million stadium in 2000.
Two U.S. medalists get Wheaties cover
TORINO, Italy, March 1 (UPI) -- Wheaties has announced two U.S. speed skating medal winners from the Torino Olympic Games will be featured on the cover of special edition boxes.
Joey Cheek, 26, and Apolo Anton Ohno, 23, won a combined five medals in various speed skating events during the recent Olympics.
Cheek took the 500 meter gold and 1,000 meter silver medals to go with his 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games bronze.
He said he will donate the $40,000 medal bonus to Right To Play, an organization that uses youth sports development to help children in developing countries.
Wheaties said it would also make a donation to Right To Play. Their money will go to the genocide-stricken Darfur region of Sudan.
Ohno, the fourth U.S. winter Olympian ever to win three medals, said he was honored to be on the Wheaties cover.
He took the short-track 500 meter gold, the bronze in the 1,000 meter and a team bronze in the 5,000-meter relay.
