Capriati rallies past Hingis
MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Jennifer Capriati staged a remarkable rally today, fighting off four match points to outlast Martina Hingis of Switzerland and capture the Australian Open for the second straight year.
Capriati, who won her first Grand Slam title at this event last year to complete a decade-long comeback from personal problems, overcame Hingis in near 100-degree heat, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2.
The match was filled with highlights, including a lack of sportsmanship from both players as the tension built. But at the end of the grueling duel, Capriati and Hingis hugged each other as the sellout crowd at Rod Laver Arena expressed their appreciation with a standing ovation.
"I really don't know how I won," Capriati told the fans during the trophy presentation ceremony.
Capriati, ranked No. 1 in the world and seeded No. 1 in this tournament, defeated Hingis last year to take the title, 6-4, 6-3. This marked the first time in 20 years that the same two players fought for the Australian Open crown two years in a row.
Capriati won her third Grand Slam title, having also captured the French Open last year.
It was the sixth straight year Hingis had played for the Australian Open championship. She won the title three years in a row beginning in 1997, then lost to Lindsay Davenport in the 1999 final and now has dropped two finals in a row to Capriati.
Hingis seemed headed toward another championship Saturday when she raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set, only to have Capriati break serve and draw even. But Hingis promptly broke back and took the set.
Capriati, frustrated at her struggles early in the match, used an obscenity during the first set while arguing a line call with the chair umpire.
Hingis again stormed into the lead in the second set, taking a 4-0 advantage. But Capriati survived two match points at 5-4 and worked her way into a tiebreak. Hingis again had a match point at 7-6 in the tiebreak, but Capriati won the next three points to capture the set.
When the second set slipped away, Hingis showed her disgust by hurling her racquet across the court, for which she drew a warning from the umpire.
Hingis broke in the third game of the deciding set, but Capriati broke right back and then rallied from a 0-30 deficit to hold serve for a 3-2 lead. Hingis then took an injury time out as she apparently began to suffer from leg cramps. When she returned, Capriati quickly closed out the match by winning the next three games.
Stars fire Ken Hitchcock
DALLAS, Jan. 26 (UPI) - Dallas Stars Coach Ken Hitchcock was fired Friday, despite leading the franchise to five straight division titles and a Stanley Cup.
The Stars dismissed Hitchcock as part of a front-office overhaul and replaced him on an interim basis with assistant Rick Wilson, who coached the team Friday night in what turned out to be the team's worst setback of the season -- 6-1 to Anaheim.
In addition, general manager Bob Gainey reassigned himself to a role as consultant with assistant Doug Armstrong taking his place. Gainey had previously announced he would resign as general manager at the end of the current season.
"It isn't something that was arrived at in a flash," Gainey said. "It has been the ongoing sputtering of our team. It was not only on games won and lost but the ability to operate with a common purpose."
Gainey refused to say that the players had quit on Hitchcock, but still felt it was time for a change.
"A sputter is a sputter, but sometimes things don't want to start up again. We're looking to find that rhythm," Gainey said.
Panthers hire John Fox as new coach
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Coming off a season in which they finished with an NFL-worst 1-15 record, the Carolina Panthers Friday named New York Giants defensive coordinator John Fox as their new head coach.
Fox signed a five-year contract worth $1 million a season.
The Panthers also interviewed Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis and New York Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell for their coaching vacancy.
Carolina also had been interested in Steve Spurrier, who resigned as coach at the University of Florida before he was hired as coach of the Washington Redskins.
Fox, 46, succeeds George Seifert, who was fired the day after a disastrous season in which the Panthers set an NFL single-season record with 15 straight losses following a victory over Minnesota on the opening weekend of the campaign.
"I'm real, real anxious to get this thing turned around," Fox said. "I'm not going to make any guarantees, but you'll be happy with what you see on the field."
Under Seifert, who guided San Francisco to two Super Bowl victories, the Panthers went 16-32 in three seasons.
Iverson sets arena record with 47
BOSTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Allen Iverson set an arena record with 47 points Friday night to power the Philadelphia 76ers past the Boston Celtics, 106-90.
Antoine Walker set the old Fleet Center record with 43 points for the Celtics four years ago against New Jersey. But Iverson had 40 points after three quarters and broke Walker's record with a 17-foot jumper from the right side with 8:26 left. His final basket was a jumper from the left corner with 83 seconds remaining, giving the Sixers a 100-90 lead.
The Sixers have won the last eight meetings in the rivalry, including two this season. Philadelphia led from start to finish Friday night, racing to a 12-2 lead and increasing the advantage to 15 by halftime.
Boston pulled within 94-90 on a basket by Kenny Anderson with 4:02 left, but failed to score the rest of the way as the Sixers closed with 12 straight points.
Other NBA results: Indiana 90, Charlotte 81; Toronto 107, Minnesota 100; Detroit 107, Atlanta 90; Los Angeles Lakers 94, San Antonio 91.
St. Louis winning streak halted
CHICAGO, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The Chicago Blackhawks avoided what could have been their first two-game losing skid of the season Friday night and ended the St. Louis Blues' franchise-record 10-game winning streak with a 2-1 triumph.
Defenseman Jon Klemm and Peter White scored for the Blackhawks, who moved four points ahead of the second-place Blues in the Central Division.
The win was the Chicago's eighth in their last nine home games and snapped St. Louis' five-game road winning streak.
Klemm opened the scoring with 4:49 left in the first period. He picked up a loose puck at the left boards and floated a wrist shot that hit a skate in front of goaltender Brent Johnson and rolled in. It was Klemm's fourth goal of the season.
White made it 2-0 with just under nine minutes left in the second period. Tony Amonte centered the puck to White at the blue line and skated up the middle, from where he backhanded the puck under the crossbar for his third goal of the season.
Chicago goaltender Jocelyn Thibault made 25 saves and established a career high with his 28th victory of the season.
Other NHL results: Florida 1, Carolina 1; Buffalo 4, Tampa Bay 1; Detroit 4, Phoenix 1; Anaheim 6, Dallas 1; Vancouver 6, Toronto 1.
Zoeller to play in Senior Skins Game
WAILEA, Hawaii, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Fuzzy Zoeller will play in his first Senior Skins Game today, although he is familiar with the routine.
Zoeller, who turned 50 in November and will make his Senior Tour debut, won the Skins Game on the PGA Tour in 1986 and 1987.
Defending champion Hale Irwin, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer will join Zoeller in the competition for the $600,000 purse.
All 18 holes will be played today at the Wailea Golf Club.
Brewers sign Matt Stairs
MILWAUKEE, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Just four days after acquiring three players in a three-team trade, the Milwaukee Brewers Friday signed outfielder Matt Stairs to a one-year contract.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Stairs, 33, batted .250 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI in 128 games with the Chicago Cubs last season. He had a .358 on-base percentage and split time between first base and outfield.
Originally signed by the Montreal Expos in 1989, the native of Canada averaged 28 homers and 91 RBI with the Oakland Athletics from 1997-00.
On Monday, Milwaukee acquired pitcher Glendon Rusch, outfielder Alex Ochoa and infielder Lenny Harris in a three-team trade involving the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets. Milwaukee parted with outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, who had 34 homers and 100 RBI, as well as pitcher Jeff D'Amico, outfielder Mark Sweeney and infielder Lou Collier.
Picabo Street misses out on Olympic berth
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, May 26 (UPI) -- Picabo Street will not be able to defend her Olympic gold medal in the super-G after finishing 33rd in a women's World Cup race Friday.
Street finished 2.61 seconds behind race winner Hilde Gerg of Germany and needed to finish among the top 30 to qualify for the United States team at the Salt Lake City games next month.
The 30-year-old Street already has qualified for the downhill race at Salt Lake, but still was left frustrated by the result. She remained in the finish area crying for about 10 minutes.
Gerg zipped over soft snow to overtake Austrian Renate Goetschl by one-hundredth of a second Friday for the 14th win of her career and her third in the last two weeks.
Gerg, the 1998 Olympic slalom gold medalist who no longer skis slalom except in a combined event, had a time of 1 minute, 17.20 seconds. She won downhill races the last two weeks.
Texans receive expansion list
HOUSTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The Houston Texans could wind up with perennial Pro Bowlers Tony Boselli and Willie Roaf at the tackle positions or have Jermaine Lewis returning kicks since all three of those players were left unprotected by their teams Friday for next month's expansion draft.
The NFL released the list of 135 players available to be selected by the Texans in the draft, which will be held Feb. 18.
A total of 19 of the players players who have been selected to 60 Pro Bowls, including the likes of Boselli, Roaf, and linebackers Jessie Armstead and Bill Romanowski.
Among the standout players left unprotected were quarterbacks Chris Chandler and Jeff Blake, running back Jamal Anderson, wide receivers Keenan McCardell and Rob Moore, cornerback Aaron Glenn, defensive end Michael Sinclair, defensive tackles Tim Bowens and Sean Gilbert, cornerback Aaron Glenn, linebacker Ed McDaniel, guard Randall McDaniel, centers Bruce Matthews and Mark Stepnoski.
But many of them are either coming off major injuries, have high salary cap figures for 2002 or slipped drastically in production this past season.
