USA clinches quarterfinals berth
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Paul Pierce scored 20 points in a dominating third period Monday night to help carry the United States to a 106-82 victory over Russia, clinching a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Basketball Championship.
Team USA improved to 4-0 in the six-game opening phase of the tournament, which also saw Puerto Rico pull off a big surprise in beating Yugoslavia Monday, 85-83.
After less-than-impressive efforts against Germany and China, the United States owned just a three-point lead over Russia midway through the second period before expanding the cushion to 10 at intermsision.
Jose Ortiz had two free throws in the final two seconds to break a tie and give Puerto Rico a 3-1 record. Predrag Stojackovic came off the bench to lead Yugoslavia with 26 points, his best scoring effort in the Championships.
Argentina (4-0) wasted little time in continuing its winning ways from the first round into the second round, shooting a phenomenal 64.3% from the floor, beating China 95-71. Argentina's balanced but deadly scoring attack was led by Leandro Palladino, who put in 14 points.
Earlier Monday, Venezuela beat Algeria, 98-83, and Brazil beat Angola, 86-83.
Victor Diaz scored 29 points to lead Venezuela, now 1-3, and Arnine Benramdane had 29 for Algeria, which is now 0-4.
Marcelo Marchado scored 25 points for Brazil, which improved to 4-0.
The top three teams from preliminary round Pools A and B--Spain, Yugoslavia, Angola, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Turkey--advanced to second round Group E and the top three from preliminary round Pools C and D--United States, Germany, China, Argentina, New Zealand and Russia--advanced to second round Group F.
The top four teams from Group E and Group F will reach the quarterfinals, which begin Thursday.
Rain still a problem at U.S. Open
NEW YORK, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Rain Monday made for a busy Labor Day at the U.S. Open.
Rain over the weekend caused a backlog of matches. Showers continued Monday, leaving doubt as to whether any of the 19 men's and women's singles matches would take place. But play began late in the afternoon after the rain subsided.
The aim was to get the men's third-round matches on the court, according to tournament referee Brian Earley. If Monday's schedule washed out, some of the men's players would have to play five matches in six days.
Men's and women's doubles matches, along with the junior event, have to be made up as well. All boys and girls matches were canceled Monday.
"Right now we're still planning on finishing the mixed on Thursday and the doubles on Friday,"said Earley. "The plan, of course is always to stay with the women's final on Saturday night and the men's final on Sunday afternoon."
The last time a complete session was canceled was on Sept. 4, 1988, when the men's final was played on Monday.
Cubs put Prior on disabled list
CHICAGO, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Rookie pitcher Mark Prior of the Chicago Cubs, the second overall pick in the 2001 draft, Monday was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring.
Prior suffered the injury while running the bases in the fifth inning of Saturday's 8-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He tried to warm up at the start of the sixth, but could not continue.
Saturday's loss dropped Prior to 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA this season. He is tied for 11th in the National League with 147 strikeouts, despite making just 19 starts.
The 6-5 Prior, who turns 22 this Saturday, won his major league debut on May 22 after spending less than two months in the minor leagues. He posted a 5-2 record in nine games at Double-A West Tennessee of the Southern League and Triple-A Iowa of the Pacific Coast League. He struck out 79 over 51 innings.
Prior did not pitch in the Cubs' organization after signing with the team last year at the conclusion of a stellar college career at Southern California.
Angels activate Salmon, Cook
ANAHEIM, Calif., Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The Anaheim Angels got some reinforcements over the weekend as they fight for a postseason spot, activating outfielders Tim Salmon and Julio Ramirez and southpaw Dennis Cook from the 15-day disabled list.
Anaheim, which has a 2 ½-game lead over Seattle in the American League wild-card race, also recalled lefthander Mark Lukasiewicz from Triple-A Salt Lake of the Pacific Coast League.
Salmon missed 16 games with a deep bone bruise in his left hand after being hit in a game against Toronto. The Angels did not miss a beat in his absence, going 10-6 without the 34-year-old slugger. They trail first-place Oakland by 3 ½ games in the AL West.
Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said Salmon could see playing time during this week's road trip to Tampa and Baltimore.
After hitting .183 in April with two home runs and 11 RBI, he has hit .325 with 16 homers and 65 RBI since, raising has season average to .297.
Cook, 39, has not pitched since July 5 because of a torn left labrum. The injury was believed to be season-ending, but he went 0-1 with a 17.18 ERA in two rehabilitation starts for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in the California League. Cook is 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA in 33 relief appearances for Anaheim.
Ramirez, sidelined since June 16 with a strained left calf, is hitting .292 with a home run and five RBI in 12 games with the Angels. He spent most of the season with Salt Lake, batting .273 with two homers and 10 RBI in 39 games.
Biekert dumped by Raiders
OAKLAND, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Veteran linebacker Greg Biekert, who was involved in bitter contract negotiations, has been waived by the Oakland Raiders. He played for them for the past eight years.
Biekert left the team Aug. 27 when it rejected his demand to be paid $2.5 million this season. The club was offering $1 million. The former seventh-round pick has started 89 consecutive games, but he was about to become a part-time player because of the rapid development of rookie Napoleon Harris, the team's first-round draft pick this year out of Northwestern.
Biekert also was a victim of the recent signing of defensive tackle Sam Adams. Also, according to the Oakland Tribune, Biekert was due to make a $500,000 roster bonus next March 1 and $4 million in salary.
Biekert, 33, said he is relieved that the impasse is now settled. His agent has spoken with officials of Detroit and Minnesota, among others.
Biekert has been the Raiders' leading tackler almost every year since they returned to Oakland in 1995. Last year, he led the team with 101 tackles, and was second in making stops either at or behind the line of scrimmage with 14. He also had a career-high three sacks.
Peete likely to be Panthers' starting QB
CHARLOTTE, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Journeyman quarterback Rodney Peete likely will be named the starter by new coach John Fox for the Carolina Panthers for their season opener, at home Sept. 8 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Peete, 39, would succeed Chris Weinke, who has not performed well during his tenure with the team.
The Charlotte Observer reported Monday that sources say Fox is likely to bench Weinke in favor of Peete and move rookie Randy Fasani to the No. 2 spot, which would drop Weinke to third on the depth chart. A final decision was to be made late Monday.
Peete is a 14-year NFL veteran out of Southern California who was a backup the last two seasons for Dallas and Washington, respectively.
The Observer reported that neither Peete nor Weinke had solid preseasons, but Peete, who has 72 career pro starts, is very familiar with the offensive system of coordinator Dan Henning. The two worked together in Detroit in 1992 and '93.
In the preseason, Peete, who missed time because of a knee injury and a family emergency, completed just 9-of-19 passes for 68 yards in two games. Weinke completed 35-of-59 passes for 270 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
When Weinke came out of Florida State in 2001, he already was 29, having played baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization for four years. He was the Panthers' No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft. In his rookie campaign, he threw for 2,931 yards and 11 touchdowns, but was very erratic. Carolina went just 1-15 last season, the final 15 in succession.
Coaches poll has several changes
ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Colorado plummeted 11 spots and Louisville fell completely out of the rankings when the latest college coaches football poll was released Monday.
Colorado (0-1) fell 11 spots to 17th after losing to in-state rival Colorado State, 19-14, in one of Saturday's biggest gridiron upsets. The Buffaloes lost their fourth straight season opener under Coach Gary Barnett, who just got a new long-term contract.
Louisville (0-1), considered an outside contender for a BCS berth in the race for the national championship, was stunned by in-state rival Kentucky, 22-17, on Sunday. The Cardinals were 18th in last week's poll, then dropped out after losing at home to a school that was 2-9 last season.
Colorado State (2-0), which beat Virginia in its opening game, moved into the poll this week at No. 20. The other new entrant is Notre Dame (1-0), which trounced Maryland, 22-0, Saturday in its first game under new coach Tyrone Willingham.
The top five spots in this week's poll remained unchanged.
Defending national champion Miami (1-0) routed Florida A&M, 63-17, for its 23rd straight win and remained atop the poll. Miami received 49 first-place votes and 1,500 points in the nationwide poll of 61 coaches. The winning streak will be on the line this Saturday when the Hurricanes visit No. 6 Florida (1-0), which routed Alabama-Birmingham, 51-3, last week in its first game under new coach Ron Zook. Texas (1-0) beat North Texas, 27-0, and is second in the poll with five first-place votes and 1,410 points.
Oklahoma (1-0), Tennessee (1-0) and Florida State (2-0) complete the top five.
