In Sports from United Press International

FLUSHNG, N.Y., Aug. 28 -- In Sports from United Press International

Sampras, Clijsters advance at Flushing Meadow Because the number of seeds has been expanded from 16 to 32, many of the apparent favorites are falling in the early going at the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament. Pete Sampras and Kim Clijsters are not among them.

Sampras didn't have as easy a time as might have been expected, but was able to bang out a 6-4, 7-6, (7-4), 7-6 (8-6) victory over unheralded Julien Boutter of France Tuesday afternoon. The Grand Slam tournament record-holder with 13 championships has not won a tournament this year and has not claimed a title since winning the 2000 Wimbledon Championship last July, a span of 17 tournament appearances. He is seeded 10th this year, his lowest seeding since the 1990 U.S. Open, which he won as the 12th seed and literally burst onto the men's scene.

Other early men's winners Tuesday were Roger Federer, the 13th seed, No. 14 Thomas Johansson, No. 20 Jan-Michael Gambill, and the 30th-seed, Greg Rusedski.

In a major upset, eighth-seeded Sebastien Grosjean of France was beaten by unseeded Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

On the women's side, Clijsters, the fifth seed, was an easy 6-1, 6-1 winner over Pavlina Nola of New Zealand. Also winning were No. 15 Magdalena Maleeva, 17th-seeded Anke Huber, the 18th seed, Sandrine Testud, and No. 30 Lisa Raymond.

Losing was No. 16 Sylvia Farina Elia, who was lost to Maja Matevzic of Slovenia, 6-2, 6-4.

Scheduled for matches later in the day were Andy Roddick, Alex Corretja, Lleyton Hewitt, Jennifer Capriati, and women's defending champion Venus Williams.

Falcons' Tuggle retires After being told he was no longer wanted by the Atlanta Falcons and would be released, 14-year veteran linebacker Jesse Tuggle Tuesday decided to leave the NFL on his own terms and announced his retirement.

Tuggle was given an ultimatum Sunday to retire or be released. He was the leading active tackler (1,830) in the NFL and ranked first on the Falcons' all-time list. He had 100-plus tackles in 12 of his 14 seasons, which were all spent in Atlanta after he signed with the franchise as a free agent in May 1987.

The former Valdosta State star missed half of the 2000 season because of a torn MCL in his left knee. A broken thumb had sidelined him for all three of Atlanta's preseason games thus far this year.

With 1998 first-round draft pick Keith Brooking ready to slide into the middle, Tuggle became expendable, despite working with the first-team defense through most of training camp. Brooking is expected to start when the Falcons conclude the preseason on Friday against Tampa Bay.

The five-time Pro Bowl selection, most recently in 1998, holds the NFL record for most touchdowns by fumble recovery (5). He has played in 189 regular-season games for the Falcons, third on the franchise list behind Mike Kenn (251) and Jeff Van Note (225).

The 36-year-old Tuggle had a career-high 207 tackles in 1991 and a career-best five sacks the previous season. He set a franchise playoff record with 11 tackles in the 1999 NFC Championship game as the Falcons upset the Minnesota Vikings to reach the Super Bowl for the only time in franchise history.

"Good things come from hard work,' said Tuggle, an undrafted free agent who signed with the Falcons for a mere $500 bonus in 1987. 'When I look back on my career, it's all been great.'

NCAA suspends two Kentucky football players The NCAA Tuesday suspended two University of Kentucky players as part of its investigation into violations by the school's football program.

Jamal White, a starting linebacker, and Brad Pyatt, a backup receiver, each were suspended for the first four games of the season. Kentucky originally withdrew the eligibility of nine players, but the other seven have been were reinstated by the NCAA.

Earlier this year, Kentucky admitted to numerous violations following the forced resignation of coach Hal Mumme. School officials announced a series of self-imposed sanctions for the violations, which date to February 1999.

The report was turned over to the NCAA's Committee on Infractions. The suspensions announced Tuesday addressed only the eligibility of players. The NCAA has yet to rule on any of the violations that could result in additional sanctions. A school official was unaware of when the NCAA will make a final decision on the matter.

Among the self-imposed sanctions announced earlier this year were a reduction in the number of scholarships and official recruiting visits.

The most serious violations involve former recruiting coordinator Claude Bassett, who resigned in November and has admitted to at least one of the violations, sending $1,400 in money orders to a high school coach in Tennessee. Bassett also admitted cashing a $500 check donated by a booster to help fund Mumme's summer football camp.

Mumme resigned Feb. 6 after posting a 20-26 record in four seasons. After advancing to bowl games in back-to-back seasons for just the third time in school history, Kentucky fell to 2-9 last season, losing all eight of its Southeastern Conference games.

Associate coach Guy Morriss was promoted to replace Mumme and will guide Kentucky in the season opener Saturday against Louisville.

Rangers, McKenna come to terms The New York Rangers Tuesday agreed to terms with veteran forward Steve McKenna, who will be joining his fourth time in three seasons.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 28-year-old McKenna split last season between the Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins, totaling one goal and one assist with 119 penalty minutes in 54 games. He was selected by the Wild in the 2000 expansion draft.

McKenna has also played for the Los Angeles Kings (1996-2000) during his career and has participated in 191 career NHL contests, accumulating six goals, 10 assists and 467 penalty minutes.

On Tuesday's Sports Calendar

All Times Eastern

Baseball

American League

Oakland (Mike Mulder 15-7) at Baltimore (Sidney Ponson 5-9), 7:05 p.m.

Boston (David Cone 8-2) at Cleveland (Dave Burba 9-8), 7:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (Rocky Biddle 5-8) at Detroit (Jose Lima 4-5), 7:05 p.m.

Toronto (Esteban Loaiza 9-10) at NY Yankees (Mike Mussina 12-11), 7:05 p.m.

Seattle (Joe Pineiro 3-0) at Tampa Bay (Paul Wilson 5-8), 7:15 p.m.

Anaheim (Ramon Ortiz 11-7) at Kansas City (Chris George 1-4), 8:05 p.m.

Texas (Darren Oliver 10-8) at Minnesota (Rick Reed 2-2), 8:05 p.m.

National League