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Buffalo Bills GM to step down

BUFFALO, N.Y., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Buffalo Bills General Manager Marv Levy was expected to step down from his post after a meeting with other team executives in January.

Levy, 82, reportedly made his own decision not to carry on in his role as the head of the Bills' football operations, citing the demanding 12-hour days of the job as reason enough to step down, the Buffalo (N.Y.) News reported Monday.

The move came after the Bills finished a second consecutive 7-9 season with Sunday's 17-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Levy has been general manager since the firing of Tom Donahoe, the team's president, two years ago.

His official resignation will likely be announced after Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. comes to Buffalo in early January for meetings with the team's front office.

Levy was the Bills' head coach from 1986-97, leading the team to four consecutive Super Bowls 1990-93. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and was UPI NFL Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1993.

Adriano involved in four-car pileup

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Brazilian soccer superstar Adriano Leite Ribeiro was unhurt Monday after crashing his car in Rio De Janeiro.

Adriano, 25, allegedly lost control of his Audi TT while passing another car and hit a guardrail before striking three other vehicles, ANSA reported.

Adriano allegedly left the scene of the accident in a taxi while friends came to agreements with the owners of the other cars, the report said.

The Inter Milan striker is on loan to Brazilian giants Sao Paulo for six months to recover physical and mental sharpness.

Sao Paulo called Adriano's playboy lifestyle "OK" because the player is ''still on holiday'' but said things would change when the season starts next month, ANSA said.

Ljubicic opens tournament defense with win

DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Defending champion Ivan Ljubicic collected a straight-set win Monday in the opening round of the Qatar Open.

Ljubicic, seeded fourth, swept out Stefan Koubek 6-4, 6-4 at Doha's Khalifa Tennis Complex to open his play in the Australian Open tuneup event. Ljubicic improved to 14-2 at the Qatar Open. He defeated Andy Murray in last year's final after finishing second in 2004 and 2005.

Sixth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber knocked out Oscar Hernandez 6-3, 6-1 and Thomas Johansson posted an upset with a 6-1, 6-0 rout of No. 7-seeded Igor Andreev.

Also notching victories Monday were: Fabrice Santoro, Michael Berrer, Filippo Volandri and Lee Hyung-taik Lee.

Winds may stir up Rose Bowl

PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Southern California's Rose Parade and Rose Bowl may be interrupted by heavy winds and rain Tuesday.

The National Weather Service said a high-pressure system, which will cause the winds, is descending on the area, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

The system could bring gusts of at least 50 mph, with 25 mph sustained winds, though Pasadena itself will probably be sheltered from the worst of the wind.

"It's that time of year," Bill Hoffer, a spokesman for the National Weather Service, told the Times, adding that rain also will most likely persist until the end of the week.

The wind was expected to hit the area Monday, with initial gusts up to 40 mph and then on Tuesday morning during the parade northeast winds sustained between 20 and 35 mph are expected.

The weather is expected to start clearing up by the time the game between Illinois and Southern Cal starts at 4:30 p.m. EST.