In Sports from United Press International
USA snowboarders sweep medals
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The Olympic winning streak of George Hackl came to an end at three Monday, which was exactly the same number of medals added to the United States' total by athletes from a sport that grew so quickly in popularity that it was invited to become a part of the Winter Games.
While other sports have lobbied to gain entry into the Summer and Winter Olympics, the IOC brought a relatively new form of athletic expression into the Games four years ago and on a bright afternoon in the Utah mountains, snowboarding became America's pride and joy.
Snowboarders from Vermont, California and Colorado created the first Winter Olympics medal sweep for the United States in 46 years when they claimed all the prizes in the men's halfpipe competition.
The gold went to Ross Powers, the silver to Danny Kass and the bronze to Jarret "J.J." Thomas. Prior to their achievement, the only medal sweep for the United States in the Winter Games had come when Hayes Jenkins, Ronald Robertson and David Jenkins won the three medals in figure skating at the 1956 Olympics in Italy.
In addition, the snowboarders boosted the United States medal total to six. The American record for medals at a Winter Games is 13 and United States athletes have 13 days left to set a new standard.
Germany also had six medals, equaling the American total with two gold, three silver and one bronze. Austria had six medals as well, but just one was gold.
Hackl, meanwhile, was unable to set a new standard for consecutive gold medal victories, although he did become the first competitor to win a medal in the same event in five straight Winter Olympics. The legendary luger from Germany had to settle for the silver medal Monday behind Italy's Amim Zoeggeler. Hackl won the silver in Calgary and the gold in Albertville, Lillihammer and Nagano. He is one of six Winter athletes to have won the same event three straight times.
Although the weather was decent around most of the Olympic venues Monday, winds of more than 20 miles per hour forced a one-day postponement of the women's downhill.
Jazz guard gets two years probation
FRESNO, Calif., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Utah Jazz guard DeShawn Stevenson was sentenced to two years probation on Monday after pleading no contest to a charge of having sex with a minor.
Stevenson, a 20-year-old who went from high school directly to the NBA last season, was not present for a hearing in Fresno County Superior Count.
According to court records, Stevenson allegedly admitted to the mother of a 14-year-old girl in a tape-recorded telephone call that he had sex with her daughter.
Police reports stated that Stevenson and two friends took the 14-year-old and a 15-year-old female friend to a motel in July and that Stevenson and one of his friends gave the girls alcohol and had sex with them.
During Monday's hearing, Stevenson's attorney, Roger Litman, also entered a guilty plea for his client on a lesser charge of disturbing the peace. On the night he was drafted, Stevenson was involved in a brawl at a high school basketball game.
The 23rd overall pick in the 2000 draft after starring at Washington Union High School in California, Stevenson has played in 43 games for the Jazz, averaging 5.0 points and 1.8 assists.
Qualifying continues for Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Only four cars took to the track in Monday's final round of time trials for Sunday's Daytona 500, including three cars that did not make a qualification run on Saturday.
The fastest in second-round qualifying was Kyle Petty in a Dodge with a speed of 183.061 miles per hour. Other drivers participating in second-round qualifying were Mike Skinner's 181.786 in a Chevrolet, Kirk Shelmerdine's 178.246 mph in a Ford and Norm Benning's 168.429 mph in a Chevrolet.
Petty's lap placed him 27th fastest among the 53 cars that attempted qualifying laps, but he likely will have to race his way into the top 14 in Thursday's first Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying race to make the field for the Daytona 500.
While Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick have secured spots in the Daytona 500 front row, everybody is else still fighting for a position in the 43-car field.
The top-14 finishers in each Gatorade 125 (with the exception of the already qualified pole winner and outside pole winner) earn positions 3-30 on the starting grid. The rest of the 43-car field is filled based on qualifying speeds and car owner provisional points.
Lewis headed to Redskins
WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Marvin Lewis, who was rejected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their potential head coach and who said 24 hours earlier that he would remain as defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, has decided to join the Washington Redskins.
Terms were not disclosed, but there reports in Washington that the Redskins, seeking a top-flight defensive coordinator to work under new offensive-minded coach Steve Spurrier, will sign Lewis to a three-year deal worth $850,000 annually. Incentives could push the yearly income to $1 million.
Lewis changed his mind after apparently reaching an agreement in principle on Saturday to remain with the Ravens.
Lewis has been in Baltimore for the last six years and is best known for running a defense that set the NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game season in 2000.
It was believed that Lewis was going to get his first head coaching job when Buccaneers general manager Rich McKay recommended him as the best choice after the team failed to land Bill Parcells and Jon Gruden.
But McKay's pursuit of Lewis was rejected by vice presidents Joel, Ed and Bryan Glazer, the sons of Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer.
Lewis has been coaching for 21 season, beginning in 1981 as linebackers coach at Idaho State. He jumped to the NFL in 1990 as outside linebackers coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kuba out six weeks with broken hand
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Minnesota Wild defenseman Filip Kuba will be sidelined up to six weeks after breaking his right hand in Sunday's victory over the New York Islanders.
Minnesota's leading scorer among defensemen, Kuba suffered the injury in the third period of the 4-3 win when he was struck on the hand by Roman Hamrlik's slap shot.
In his second season with the Wild, the 25-year-old native of the Czech Republic has five goals and 18 assists in 58 games.
Last season, Kuba recorded nine goals and 21 assists. The 6-3, 205-pounder led the Wild in game-winning goals (4), power-play assists (10) and power-play points (14).
Auburn, Georgia players out for fighting
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- The Southeastern Conference on Monday upheld the one-game suspensions handed to Georgia's Steve Thomas and Auburn's Kyle Davis for fighting in Saturday's game at Auburn.
With 2:01 left in a game won by Auburn, 75-72, the two centers were ejected after getting involved in an incident near the Tigers' bench. Thomas will sit out Tuesday's game against sixth-ranked Florida, while Davis will miss Wednesday's contest against Mississippi.
Video replays showed Davis punched Thomas in the back of the head before Thomas chased Davis to the Auburn bench.
Two hours after the contest, SEC commissioner Roy Kramer said the players would be suspended for one game.
Since the game was not televised and there were no courtside monitors at Auburn's Memorial Coliseum, the referees never saw a replay of the fight.
Georgia coach Jim Harrick said after the game that Thomas did not throw a punch, but Kramer confirmed the suspension for both players after watching video replays of the incident for the first time on Monday.
Thomas is Georgia's fourth-leading scorer (8.5 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (5.9 rpg). Davis is averaging 5.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for Auburn.
Davis Cup players at Marseille Open
MARSEILLE, France, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Davis Cup players return to ATP action this week at the Marseille Open.
Top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero went 1-1 in his singles matches last weekend as Spain defeated Morocco in the first round of Davis Cup competition. Ferrero has played only one tournament the Milan Indoor--due to injury and lost in the second round.
Ferrero's first-round opponent on Tuesday will be Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland, who went 0-2 in singles in his country's loss to Russia.
Kratochvil lost one of his matches to Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the second seed and defending champion here.
Third seed Sebastien Grosjean won both his singles matches, including the clincher, as France beat the Netherlands over the weekend. Grosjean, who lost to Kafelnikov in last year's final here, suffered early-round defeats in his only two tournaments this season.
In Monday's only main-draw match, Tommy Robredo of Spain defeated French wild card Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4, 6-4.
Venus Wiliams tops Antwerp field
ANTWERP, Belgium, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- American Venus Williams and Belgium's Justine Henin of Belgium headline the field for the inaugural $585,000 Proximus Diamond Games, which began on Monday.
Williams received a wild card berth into the tournament and is the top seed in the 32-player event. She captured her 23rd career title and second of 2002 on Sunday at the Open Gaz de France when Yugoslavia's Jelena Dokic was forced to retire in the first set with a right abductor strain.
Williams also took the Australian Women's Hardcourts title in early January, defeating Henin, 7-5, 6-2, in the finals. Henin is the No. 2 seed here.
No. 6 Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria was the only seed in action Monday and advanced with an easy 6-1, 6-1 victory over Martina Sucha of Slovakia.
Swizterland's Patty Schnyder posted a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Belgium's Elke Clijsters, the younger sister of Kim Clijsters.
In other first-round matches involving unseeded players, Daja Bedanova of the Czech Republic outlasted American Lilia Osterloh, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), and Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova ousted Spain's Cristina Torrens Valero, 6-3, 6-2.
Montolio upset at Qatar Open
DOHA, Qatar, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Anastasia Myskina of Russia added to the struggles of fifth seed Angeles Montolio of Spain on Monday by pulling away for a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 upset victory in the opening round of the Qatar Open.
Montolio watched her losing streak grow to nine matches. She has not won since the first round at Leipzig, Austria last September. The 26-year-old finished 2001 with a four-match skid and went winless in her first four events this year.
The slide is in sharp contrast to earlier last season, when Montolio captured her first career WTA title at Estoril in April and her second at Bol, Croatia in May. Later that month, the Barcelona native reached the final at the Madrid Open in Spain.
Tatiana Panova of Russia, the seventh seed, also crashed out of the tournament in the first round as she suffered a 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) defeat at the hands of Maja Matevzic of Slovenia.
In Monday's only other main-draw match, Hungary's Petra Mandula posted a 6-2, 6-3 win over Belarus' Tatiana Poutchek.
