In Sports from United Press International
Games end in celebration and controversy
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The closing day of the world's largest winter sports carnival produced wild celebration and additional controversy Sunday as the International Olympic Committee stepped up its crackdown on performance enhancing drugs.
Three of the brighest stars of the Winter Olympics--cross-country skiers Johann Muehlegg of Spain and Larissa Lazutina and Olga Danilova, both of Russia--were found to have a new blood boosting drug in their system. Two of them had a gold medal taken away.
Announcement of the failed drug tests was likely to add to the bitterness in Russia over what is perceived to have been a deliberate attempt to reduce that country's medal total at these Games.
The drug findings were being announced by IOC Director General Francois Carrard as the final competition of the Games was taking place, one that saw Canada defeat the United States in the championship hockey game, 5-2. It had been 50 years to the day since Canada had won Olympic hockey gold.
Canada used an all-out attacking style to carry the play to the United States and that plan backfired early when the Americans scored the opening goal on a two-on-one counterattack. But Paul Kariya and Jerome Iginla put the Canadians in front after one period, 2-1, and Canada still owned a 3-2 lead as the game's final five minutes approached. American Brett Hull had an excellent chance to tie the contest only to see Canadian goaltender Martin Brodeur make a tremendous save and seconds later Iginla scored at the other end to give his team breathing room.
The only other gold medal event on the final day of the 19th Winter Games was the women's 30-kilometer cross-country race and Lazutina crossed the line first.
Lietzke posts one-stroke victory
NAUCALPAN, Mexico, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Bruce Lietzke carded a bogey-free 5-under-par 67 Sunday, including a clutch birdie at the par-3 17th, to capture the $255,000 first-place prize at the Audi Senior Classic.
The 50-year-old Lietzke, who has won three times since joining the Senior Tour last July, began the day five strokes behind second-round leader Ed Dougherty, but played nearly error-free golf.
Birdies at four of the first 12 holes got him to the top of the leaderboard and, while Dougherty struggled, Lietzke gave himself some breathing room with his birdie at the next-to-last hole.
A 13-time champion on the PGA Tour, including a pair of Canadian Open titles, Lietzke has performed well on the senior circuit. He captured the 2001 3M Championship in August and the SAS Championship in late September.
Hale Irwin also carded a 67 Sunday and finished tied with Gary McCord one stroke off the pace. Dougherty, Jose Maria Canizares, Danny Edwards, first-round leader Dana Quigley and Bruce Fleisher finished tied for fourth--two shots behind Lietzke.
This is the first official PGA Senior Tour event to be played in Mexico. The tour now heads to California for its next three events.
Kenseth wins NASCAR Subway 400
ROCKINGHAM, N.C., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Matt Kenseth went from third to first in less than a lap to take the lead with five laps remaining en route to victory at Sunday's NASCAR Winston Cup Subway 400.
Kenseth, who dominated the race past the halfway point, lost the lead during the final round of pit stops on lap 366. That was during a caution period after the engine in Mike Skinner's car blew up. Kenseth, who earned his second career Winston Cup title, led the leaders down pit road but Ricky Craven decided to stay on the track to assume the lead.
Craven, the pole-winner, was in the lead when the green flag waved on lap 369. Kenseth had the fresher tires but went high up the track. That allowed Sterling Marlin to get in position to battle Craven for the lead. Marlin took the lead when he went under Craven on lap 374.
Kenseth won the race by 0.418-seconds over Marlin's Dodge because the race ended under the yellow flag. Bobby Labonte's Pontiac was third followed by his teammate, Tony Stewart. Craven's Ford was fifth.
David Bryant, the front tire carrier for Jimmie Johnson's Chevrolet, sustained a broken right leg during the first series of pit stops. He was transported to First Health Richmond Memorial Hospital in Rockingham for X-rays and later was transported to the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte for treatment.
Leggatt wins Tucson Open, first PGA title
TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Ian Leggatt, a 36-year-old Arizona resident, shot an 8-under-par 64 Sunday and captured his first career PGA Tour victory with a two-stroke triumph at the Tucson Open.
Leggatt started the day four shots off the lead but came out scorching, posting birdies at six of the first eight holes. He added a birdie at No. 10 and more than offset a bogey at No. 13 by picking up strokes at Nos. 15 and 17 to finish at 20-under for 72 holes.
Leggatt, who won the Buy.Com Dayton Open in 2000, had never finished higher than fifth in a PGA Tour event. But with the world's top 64 players entered in the Match Play Championship, Leggatt walked away with the $540,000 first-place prize.
A golf pro since 1990, Leggatt earned his PGA Tour Card for 2002 by finishing fifth at Q-School.
Loren Roberts and David Peoples tied for second at 18-under with Kennth Staton and Fred Funk tied for fourth, three shots off the lead.
Escude successfully defends at Rotterdam
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Nicolas Escude of France successfully defended his title Sunday with a come-from-behind victory against sixth seeded Tim Henman of Britain at the $713,000 ABN/AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Escude, one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour, rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 victory to earn the first prize of $128,400. A day earlier, he saved three match points in a semifinal victory over countryman and No. 4 Sebastien Grosjean.
Henman slipped to 1-5 against the 25-year-old Escude, including a loss in the round of 16 in this tournament last year. Escude went on to capture his lone title of the year against Roger Federer of Switzerland.
Escude was a finalist last week at the Marseille Open, but despite a partisan crowd he fell to Thomas Enqvist of Sweden.
Henman lost a final at Rotterdam for the third time in his career. He previously lost to Frenchman Cedric Pioline in 2000 after coming up short against Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia a year earlier.
