Capriati beaten at Wimbledon
LONDON, July 3 (UPI) -- Amelie Mauresmo upset third-seeded Jennifer Capriati Wednesday, 6-3, 6-2, to reach her first Wimbledon semifinal.
Mauresmo, wearing a tattoo of an angel on her upper left arm, was clearly guided by her huge service game, with serves over 100 miles-per-hour.
Capriati, a semifinalist last year, was troubled by a left shoulder problem. The fact they needed to re-start the match three times because of rain could have aggravated the problem.
Mauresmo, the former world number five and current No. 9, remained focused throughout the match.
Her game plan was to stick to the baseline and come in only when it was safe, respecting the reputation of Capriati for producing some of the biggest groundstrokes in women's tennis.
She broke Capriati for a 4-2 lead in the opening set. Her serve and groundstrokes were aided by her upper body strength and her accuracy, all of which kept her American opponent on her back feet.
Mauresmo, 22, last grabbed major headlines when she was the beaten finalist against Martina Hingis in the Australian Open final three years ago.
She broke Capriati twice as she opened up a 5-1 advantage in the second set, remained calm and finished off the job in style.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams has joined her older sister, Venus, in the semifinals after beating Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
With a match wrought with rain delays, Williams managed to maintain her concentration throughout. She claimed a late break in the first set and, in the second, seemed to just overpower Hantuchova for a convincing win.
Urbina replaces Pedro as AL All-Star
NEW YORK, July 3 (UPI) -- Boston Red Sox closer Ugueth Urbina Wednesday was added to the American League All-Star team by New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre, replacing teammate Pedro Martinez.
Urbina is second in the AL with 21 saves in 22 opportunities. He was named to the All-Star team one time previously, in 1998 when he was with the Montreal Expos.
The 28-year-old Urbina has been a large part of the success for Boston (49-31), which is one game behind the Yankees for the lead in the AL East.
Urbina was acquired from the Expos at the trade deadline last year, and was 0-1 with nine saves and a 2.25 ERA in 19 appearances.
Ironically, Urbina took the closer's role from Derek Lowe, who is tied for the AL lead in wins and was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career.
Lowe, who broke into the major leagues as a starter with the Seattle Mariners and tied for the AL lead with 42 saves in 2000, has given the Red Sox a strong No. 2 starter behind Martinez. He is 11-4 with a league-leading 2.18 ERA.
Martinez, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, declined his invitation to the All-Star game for personal reasons and to get some rest. The
hard-throwing righthander, who was limited to 18 starts last season because of shoulder problems, is 10-2 with a 2.85 ERA.
It's the second time in as many days a member of the Red Sox was added to the All-Star team. Centerfielder Johnny Damon was voted the 30th member of the AL club by fans on Tuesday.
Mets place Trachsel on DL
PHILADELPHIA, July 3 (UPI) -- The New York Mets late Tuesday placed veteran righthander Steve Trachsel on the 15-day disabled list with a strained shoulder muscle.
Trachsel suffered the injury, which is located in the back of his right shoulder, in Sunday's loss to the New York Yankees. It marks his first trip to the DL list since July 20-Aug. 4, 1994, when he was with the Chicago Cubs.
The 31-year-old Trachsel is 6-7 with a 3.87 ERA in 17 starts this season.
The Mets recalled righthanded pitcher Tyler Walker from Triple-A Norfolk to take Trachsel's spot on the roster.
Walker, 26, who pitched one inning Tuesday night and gave up a two-run homer to Scott Rolen in the Mets' 12-6 win over Philadelphia, was 6-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 17 starts for Norfolk this season. He was 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two spring training games for the Mets.
Cubs activate Gordon
MIAMI, July 3 (UPI) -- Oft-injured reliever Tom Gordon of the Chicago Cubs, sidelined with a torn shoulder muscle since March, late Tuesday was activated from the 60-day disabled list,
The oft-injured righthander missed the entire 2000 season following reconstructive surgery on his pitching elbow, and sat out most of the first and last months of the 2001 campaign with injuries.
Last season, the 34-year-old Gordon was 1-2 with 27 saves and a 3.38 ERA in 47 relief appearances.
If Gordon can produce in the late innings, he will fill a crucial role for the Cubs, who, along with Detroit and Tampa Bay, have a major-league low 13 saves.
Antonio Alfonseca leads the team with 11 saves in 14 chances.
Red Wings re-sign Chris Chelios
DETROIT, July 3 (UPI) -- Three-time Norris Trophy winner Chris Chelios, who last season led the NHL with a plus-40 rating at the age of 40, Wednesday signed a two-year contract to remain with the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.
The Detroit News reported that the deal is worth approximately $13 million. Chelios made $5.5 million in 2001-02.
He was a key figure in Detroit's run to the Cup title last season, his fourth with the team and 19th in the NHL. He had six goals, 33 assists, and 130 penalty minutes in 79 games during the regular season.
A day after signing free agent goaltender Curtis Joseph to replace the retired Dominik Hasek, the Red Wings made re-signing Chelios a major offseason goal.
"Signing Chris Chelios is a high priority," General Manager Ken Holland told the paper.
Rumors had the New York Rangers seeking to sign Chelios, but they inked free agent defenseman Darius Kasparaitis on Tuesday.
In 1,181 regular-season games with Detroit, Chicago and Montreal, Chelios has 168 goals, 667 assists and 2,430 penalty minutes. He has another 30 goals and 106 assists in 210 playoff games.
Chelios is one of only 15 NHL players to appear in 200 postseason games, and the only one born in the United States.
The Chicago native won the Norris Trophy as the
league's best defenseman in 1989, '93 and '96, and was a finalist this year.
Report: Boxer Felix Trinidad to retire
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, July 3 (UPI) -- Felix Trinidad, who less than a year ago, was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, was expected to announce his retirement on Wednesday.
According to the Web site secondsout.com, Trinidad has decided to retire and promoter Don King has scheduled a teleconference for Wednesday afternoon to make the announcement.
King was not in his office Wednesday morning.
Trinidad captured his first title in June 1993, when he knocked out Maurice Blocker for the IBF welterweight crown. He became the first boxer to beat U.S. Olympic gold medal winner Oscar de la Hoya in a controversial decision in September 1999 to unify the IBF and WBC crowns.
The 29-year-old Trinidad also handed Fernando Vargas his only loss in December 2000 to add the IBF junior middleweight title to his own WBA super welterweight championship, which he won earlier that year.
The Puerto Rico native moved up to middleweight last year, and was thoroughly dominant in recording a fifth-round technical knockout of William Joppy in May to win the WBA belt.
With rumors of a dream match against light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr. circulating, Trinidad went in as a heavy favorite last September against Bernard Hopkins, but the veteran Hopkins was far too powerful for Trindiad and posted a 12-round TKO to become the undisputed champion.
Trinidad returned to the ring on May 12 and registered a fourth-round TKO of Hacine Cherifi at San Juan, Puerto Rico, to improve to 41-1 with 34 knockouts.
Appeal of Indy 500 finish denied
INDIANAPOLIS, July 3 (UPI) -- Tony George, President and CEO of the Indy Racing League, Wednesday upheld the determination that Helio Castroneves won the 2002 Indianapolis 500 and denied the final appeal by Team Green, Inc.
In an 11-page ruling, George determined that the decision by Indy Racing League officials as to the placement of the race cars at the commencement of the yellow caution period immediately after an accident on Lap 199 "is a judgment call and is not protestable nor appealable under the Rule Book."
George also concluded that League officials were correct in determining that Castroneves' No. 3 car was ahead of Paul Tracy's No. 26 car on Lap 199 when the yellow caution period commenced, and that ample evidence supports that determination.
Team Green, owner of Tracy's car, protested the finish of the race to Indy Racing League Vice President of Operations Brian Barnhart, who denied the protest. Team Green then filed an appeal of that decision.
Under League rules, George chose to personally handle the final appeal by conducting an all-day hearing June 17. Representatives of Team Green and Penske Racing appeared at the hearing, along with Indy Racing League officials.
"The fact that the race ended under yellow was not the fault of anyone involved in this proceeding," George said. "How it is handled, however, does reflect directly on the participants. In my opinion, this proceeding has highlighted the quality and integrity of the work done by Brian Barnhart and his staff, both during and after the race, and has also shown the quality and integrity of the personnel employed by Team Green and Penske Racing."
Under Rule 11.2 of the 2002 Indy Racing League rules, the decision whether a car passed another car during a yellow caution period or any matter which involves the exercise of judgment by the officials during an event "may not be protested or appealed and the decision of the officials is final and binding."
"To second-guess the officials either for calling a yellow caution or for their placement of the order of the cars is not allowed under the rules and for good reason," George said. "Judgment calls must be final, and that is the only way to conduct a motorsports race."
The information presented to George showed that Castroneves was leading Tracy at the time Race Control called the yellow caution period by radio; at the time the red flag with yellow cross (pits closed) was displayed; at the time the yellow dashboard light system was activated; at the last scoring time line before the yellow caution period commenced; and at the time the yellow dashboard light radio on car No. 3 received the yellow light signal.
George noted that, in "real time racing," a yellow caution period begins when Race Control calls it on the radio, a consistent practice since the Indy Racing League started.
