Norway nips Italy in Olympic classic
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Norway and Italy staged their third consecutive epic Olympic cross-country relay race Sunday.
In the end, it was Thomas Alsgaard nipping Cristian Zorzi by three-tenths of a second to give the Norwegians their eighth gold medal of the Games.
Daniela Ceccarelli helped make up for the Italian disappointment, however, by giving that country an unexpected gold medal in the women's super-giant slalom.
Five gold medals were on the line Sunday as the Olympics finished their middle weekend with finals scheduled later in women's 1,000-meter speed skating, the two-man bobsled and the nordic team combined.
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Feb. 17 (UPI) -- No. 3 Maryland knocked off No. 1 Duke Sunday.
Chris Wilcox collected 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Terrapins took over first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with an 87-73 victory over the Blue Devils, whose 11-game winning streak came to an end.
Maryland (21-3, 11-1 ACC) avenged a 99-78 loss at Duke on Jan. 17 and did it in convincing fashion. The Terrapins used their deeper frontcourt to decimate the defending national champions in a manner that many believed was unfathomable.
It was the sixth time in Maryland's history that it has knocked off a top-ranked team at its 47-year-old facility. The Terrapins are moving to the Comcast Center next season.
Wilcox scored nine points as Maryland built a 38-29 halftime edge. The Terrapins extended the lead with a 9-2 run for a 53-37 bulge on a follow slam by Wilcox with just over 14 minutes remaining.
Juan Dixon's baseline jumper gave the Terrapins a 60-39 advantage with 11:34 remaining and Duke guard Jason Williams followed with a turnover. Dixon added a jumper in the lane and Wilcox two free throws for a 64-39 cushion with 10:42 remaining, the largest deficit faced by the Blue Devils this season.
Duke (23-2, 11-2) used a late rally to climb within 81-70 on a pair of foul shots by Carlos Boozer with 2:09 remaining. Dixon answered with a jumper in the lane and Lonny Baxter made two foul shots for an 85-70 advantage with 1:33 left.
Mattiace wins Nissan Open
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif., Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Len Mattiace watched Scott McCarron bogey Sunday's last hole of the Nissan Open, then tapped in a par putt for his first career PGA Tour victory.
Mattiace and McCarron arrived at the par-4 18th hole of the Riviera Country Club tied at 15-under-par. Both players drove the fairway, but Mattiace's approach found the back of the green while McCarron's landed in the secondary fringe to the left of the cup.
McCarron, who uses the unconventional elongated putter, had a layer of kukuyu grass between his ball and the green. The shot seemed to call for a pitch and run, but McCarron used the putter and pai d for it as the kukuyu slowed his putt to the left of the hole, five feet short.
Mattiace left a 20-foot birdie try about 18 inches short and awaited McCarron's par putt, which rolled past the hole. He tapped in for bogey.
Mattiace spent little time over his putt, knocking it in for his first win in 220 tournaments. He earned $666,000.
Tewell takes Verizon Classic
LUTZ, Fla., Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Doug Tewell overcame a three-shot deficit in the final round Sunday to win the $1.4 million Verizon Classic.
Tewell had been steady in the first two days at the TPC of Tampa Bay course and entered the final round in fourth place at 8-under-par 134 and three shots back of Bruce Fleisher.
But, in his fourth year on the Senior Tour, he 69birdied four of his first seven holes Sunday en route to shooting 2-under 69 for the day to finish at 10-under 203 for the tournament.
Tewell picked up his fifth career win, pocketing the $225,000 first prize. The 52-year-old won four titles on the PGA Tour from 1975-98.
Hale Irwin, a 33-timer winner as a senior, tied for the best round of the day at 5-under 66 to finish in second, one shot back of Tewell.
Fleisher, whose best finish this year was a tie for second at the Carribean Classic, fell apart in the final round with a 4-over 75. He finished tied for third with Dave Stockton, three shots back at 7-under.
Williams captures Diamond Games
ANTWERP, Belgium, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Top seed Venus Williams outlasted local favorite and No. 2 Justine Henin Sunday to win the Proximus Diamond Games.
The two-time defending Wimbledon champion, Williams recorded a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory for her third tournament win of the year and 23rd career title. She earned a paycheck of $93,000.
The 21-year-old California native also defeated Henin in last year's Wimbledon final and again this January in straight sets at the hardcourt championship at Gold Coast, Australia.
The Belgian teen-ager has enjoyed success in Antwerp in the past, becoming the fifth player to win her debut WTA Tour event. As a wild-card entrant, Henin captured the 1999 Flanders Women's Open claycourt event.
Monica Seles wins in Qatar
DOHA, Qatar, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Top seed Monica Seles collected her 52nd career WTA title Sunday, outdueling No. 4 Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, to capture the Qatar Open.
Seles, a former World No. 1, moved within three tournament victories of Britain's Virginia Wade for seventh place on the WTA list of most career titles in the Open era (since 1968).
The 28-year-old earned the $27,000 winner's check and captured her first title in 2002. Seles finished last year with a flourish by capturing three straight WTA crowns.
She won at the Brasil Open in September and the Japan Open and Kiwi Open in October.
Enqvist prevails at Marseille
MARSEILLE, France, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Unseeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden successfully overcame a first set tiebreaker loss Sunday and prevailed over Frenchman Nicolas Escude to win the Marseille Open.
Enqvist won, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-1, to defeat Escude for the third time in career matchups and take home $61,500. He improved to 16-1 at Marseille, where he has now claimed three titles. It was his first tournament win of the year.
Enqvist also beat Escude in two meetings last year as the Swede prevailed at the Tennis Masters Series event in Stuttgart, as well as the TMS -- Paris event.
The 26-year-old Enqvist joins Switzerland's Marc Rosset as the only three-time winners of this event.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 17 (UPI) -- In a week filled with controversy over NASCAR rules changes, it was only fitting that Sunday's 44th Daytona 500 ended in controversy with Ward Burton driving his Dodge to victory.
A wild finish saw Jeff Gordon's third victory snatched from him when he lost the draft and spun out during a multi-car crash on a restart six laps from the finish. A similar fate befell Sterling Marlin, whose chances at a third win were done in by a NASCAR ruling.
"Those last laps were nerve-wracking," said Burton, who gave Dodge its first Daytona 500 since 1974 with Richard Petty. "I can't believe it. A lot of what happens here is luck and we had some luck today."
The furor began when Robby Gordon crashed into the outside wall of the second turn after losing control of his Chevrolet with nine laps remaining. That set up the final dash to the checkered flag, but when the green flag waved with six laps to go, defending race champion Michael Waltrip crashed and slid across the grass at the start-finish line.
Cars went scrambling across the infield, including Jeff Green's Chevrolet, Jeff Burton's Ford and Ricky Craven's Ford. Waltrip's Chevrolet nearly crashed into the pace car as it was rolling down pit road.
Further up the field, Marlin was able to nudge past Gordon before he spun. With the race back to the yellow flag, Marlin was able to barely beat out Ward Burton's Dodge at the start-finish line of lap 195.
Officials red-flagged the race so the track could be cleared of debris, setting up a three-lap dash to the checkered flag. Marlin climbed out of the car during the red-flag period to pull a fender away from the tire, which is against NASCAR rules and was penalized.
