Serena wins, Agassi and Sampras meet in final
NEW YORK, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Serena Williams showcased her powerful brand of tennis Saturday night for her third straight win in a Grand Slam final over big sister Venus, rolling to a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the title match of the U.S. Open.
The men's final on Sunday, meanwhile, will be another renewal of one of the sport's great rivalries -- Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi.
Serena donned her familiar form-fitting "catsuit" in adding her second U.S. Open title to her victories at the French Open and Wimbledon this year -- both of which came over Venus. She has won 32 straight sets in Grand Slam play.
The younger sister improved to 4-0 against Venus this season with her fourth straight-sets victory.
Venus, the two-time defending champion, was never able to get her serve untracked as she committed 10 double faults. Venus fought gamely and successfully thwarted eight break-point opportunities before Serena ripped a forehand winner for a break and a 4-3 lead in the first set.
Venus immediately broke back for a 4-4 tie, but her sixth double fault of the first set gave Serena a break point. Venus followed with an unforced error and Serena held with a flourish, delivering her second ace of the night to close out the set.
Serena held serve at love for a 1-1 tie in the second set and Venus double-faulted to give her sister a break and a 2-1 lead.
Earlier in the day, Sampras advanced to his third straight U.S. Open final with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory over Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands.
Agassi knocked out top seed and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (1-7), 6-2.
The American greats have met 33 times, with Sampras having won 19 of those matches and three of their four Grand Slam final confrontations. He defeated Agassi in their last two encounters, including last year's fantastic U.S. Open quarterfinal, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5).
"It will be just a huge moment for both of us, for the game," said Sampras, who beat Agassi for his first career major here in 1990. "Two older players, two rivals over the years. He brings out the best in me. To walk out there with him is very unique, very special."
Agassi trails, 3-5, in Grand Slam encounters with Sampras. He won their 1995 Australian Open final and a five-set thriller in the semifinals at Melbourne two years ago. But Sampras cooled off a red-hot Agassi in the 1995 U.S. Open championship match.
The participants in Sunday's final will be the oldest at the U.S. Open in the Open era. Both Sampras and Agassi will be vying to become the oldest winner here since 1970, when Ken Rosewall captured the crown at 35.
Miami upholds No. 1 ranking
GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Ken Dorsey threw four touchdown passes and Willis McGahee ran for 204 yards Saturday night as the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes extended the nation's longest winning streak to 24 games with a 41-16 victory over sixth-ranked Florida.
A visit to Florida Field, one of the most hostile venues for a visitor in all of college football, was expected to be another tough test for the defending national champions.
But the Hurricanes (2-0) ran all over the Gators, collecting 320 ground yards and improving their road winning streak to 12 games, including bowl appearances.
"It was a very big win for the team and for the football program," Hurricanes coach Larry Coker said. "I am very proud of them since it was such a tough environment to play. To put it all in perspective, we are 2-0."
Dorsey was the winner in his personal battle with fellow 2001 Heisman Trophy finalist Rex Grossman, completing 16 of 32 passes for 202 yards.
Dorsey completed touchdown passes of seven yards to Andre Johnson and 10 yards to Ethenic Sands in the second quarter to help the Hurricanes build a 20-10 halftime lead. He added scoring tosses of 18 and 19 yards to Jason Geathers in the second half.
Dorsey threw three interceptions but still got the best of Grossman, who was just 19 of 45 for 191 yards with two interceptions.
Miami's emphatic victory highlighted a day in which the Gators were the only member of the top 10 to suffer a defeat.
No. 3 Oklahoma, however, had to rally late to down Alabama, 37-27. No. 4 Tennessee was a 26-3 winner over Middle Tennessee; No. 7 Michigan defeated Western Michigan, 35-12; No. 8 Nebraska coasted past Utah State, 44-13; and No. 9 Ohio State blasted Kent State, 51-17. No. 2 Texas, No. 5 Florida State and No. 10 Virginia Tech were all idle.
In addition, Notre Dame improved to 2-0 under new coach Tyrone Willingham with a 24-17 decision over Purdue.
The day's biggest upset came when No. 19 South Carolina fell to Virginia, 34-21. The Gamecocks turned the ball over seven times.
Rangers equal home run record
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Herbert Perry homered twice Saturday night as the Texas Rangers tied a major league record with at least one home run in 25 straight games while cruising to an 11-2 triumph over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Perry's three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning gave Texas a 5-0 lead. It also enabled them to equal the mark set by 1941 New York Yankees and matched by the 1994 Detroit Tigers and 1998 Atlanta Braves.
Perry entered this season with 28 career home runs but has been a solid contributor for the Rangers. His second home run, a two-run shot in the seventh, gave him 21 home runs on the season.
The Rangers have hit 50 homers during the streak and Perry has nine of them. His second homer extended Texas' lead to 8-0.
Other American League results: cleveland 4, Chicago 2; Degtroit 2, New York 1; Boston 4, Toronto 2; Oakland 2, Minnesota 0; anaheim 4, Baltimore 2 in 10 innings; Seattle 9, Kansas City 2.
Braves near division title
ATLANTA, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Andruw Jones hit a pair of two-run homers and Greg Maddux tossed five innings Saturday night to lead the Atlanta Braves to 4-0 triumph over the Montreal Expos.
Atlanta's magic number for clinching its 11th straight division title was reduced to two.
With Chipper Jones scratched from the starting lineup with a stiff neck, Andruw Jones was moved into the cleanup spot and responded by delivering a two-run shot in the first inning.
He added another two-run blast in the third for his third multi-homer game of the season and the 15th of his career. But in his next at bat, Jones was hit with a pitch by Montreal starter Tomo Ohka and left the game with a bruise near his left ear and cheek.
Ohka (13-7) allowed four runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings before being ejected for hitting Jones. The righthander, who also hit Gary Sheffield in the third inning, walked one and struck out two.
Maddux (13-5) yielded seven hits with four walks and two strikeouts for his 270th career victory, tying him with Burleigh Grimes for 29th place on the all-time list.
Other National League results: New York 5, Philadelphia 4; Colorado 5, San Diego 3; San Francisco 4, Arizona 3; Houston 6, Los Angeles 1; Milwaukee 9, Cincinnati 6; Pittsburgh 4, Florida 1.
Kenseth wins NASCAR race
RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Matt Kenseth overcame two flat tires and a two-lap deficit Saturday night to win the NASCAR Winston Cup Chevy Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Kenseth's first flat tire on lap 67 dropped him two laps behind the leaders. But he passed rookie Ryan Newman on lap 293 and drove to his Winston Cup-leading fourth victory of the season and fifth of his career.
Newman settled for his fifth runner-up finish this year and gave Ford Taurus the top two spots. Jeff Green was third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Todd Bodine.
Series points leader Sterling Marlin was the first one out of the race after an accident on the ninth lap in which he suffered a chest contusion.
Coming off back-to-back wins, Jeff Gordon appeared on his way to taking the points lead but retired on lap 53 after his Chevrolet Monte Carlo developed camshaft problem. Gordon fell from second to fourth in the standings, 82 points behind Marlin.
Mark Martin closed within nine points of Marlin following a sixth-place finish. Rookie Jimmie Johnson started from the pole but finished 13th, improving two spots to third in the Winston Cup standings.
Americans stumble again, finish sixth
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Yugoslavia and Argentina, the teams that brought an end to the international domination enjoyed by American NBA players, staged a pair of comebacks Saturday to reach the title game of the World Basketball Championship.
The United States ended its World Championship trip with yet another poor performance, suffering an 81-75 loss to Spain in the game for fifth place.
The Americans owned a nine-point lead going into the final period, only to be outscored in the quarter, 25-10.
Argentina, playing without injured star Emanuel Ginobili, rallied from a five-point deficit in the final minutes to defeat Germany 86-80.
Yugoslavia, the defending champion, trailed by 14 points in the second period and by nine points at the break before coming back for a 70-58 decision over New Zealand.
Yugoslavia put together a 23-2 run spanning the third and fourth periods to take firm control. Dejan Koturovic scored 18 to lead Yugoslavia. Dejan Bodiroga and Marko Jaric each scored 14, Vlade Divac 13 and Milan Gurovic 11.
Kirk Penney scored 22 to lead New Zealand.
Argentina remained unbeaten in the tournament, having downed the United States Wednesday night to hand American NBA players their first loss after 58 international triumphs dating to the 1992 Olympics. Yugoslavia then beat the Americans Thursday night in the quarterfinals to end Team USA's hopes for a medal.
Lancaster leads Canadian Open
MARKHAM, Ont., Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Neal Lancaster continued to play virtually mistake-free at the Angus Glen Golf Club Saturday, shooting his second straight 5-under-par 67 to grab a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the Bell Canadian Open.
Trying to end an eight-year PGA Tour victory drought, Lancaster has made just one bogey this week and none over his last 35 holes. He collected five more birdies Saturday to push his 54-hole total to 16-under 200.
That was two shots better than Australia's Greg Chalmers, who fired a 65 as he seeks his first win on North American soil.
Former Masters champion Vijay Singh and former British Open winner Justin Leonard were among five players tied at 13-under 203. The group also included 1998 champion Billy Andrade, who carded a 2-under 70 after sharing the second-round lead with Lancaster.
NFL season begins in earnest
HOUSTON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- The expansion Houston Texans are ready to lift off. So is Steve Spurrier.
Coaches Jon Gruden, Tony Dungy and Marty Schottenheimer and players Drew Bledsoe and Ricky Willams will debut in new locations Sunday and the defending NFC champion St. Louis Rams visit the Denver Broncos to highlight the opening full day of action in the NFL season.
The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night in a rematch of last year's AFC championship game.
Pro football returns to Houston Sunday night when the expansion Texans host the Dallas Cowboys.
Houston has not hosted professional football since the Oilers moved to Tennessee following the 1996 season. Owner Bob McNair's group spent $700 million to make the Texans the NFL's 32nd franchise.
The Texans have someone familiar with expansion in coach Dom Capers, who took the Carolina Panthers to the NFC championship game in just their second season in 1996. A year earlier, Capers guided the Panthers to seven wins -- the most ever by an expansion team.
The main building block for the Texans is quarterback David Carr, who was selected with the top pick in April's draft.
The Cowboys are trying to turn things around after going 5-11 each of the last two seasons.
It likely is going to be a record-setting year for Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, who enters the season second on the NFL's all-time rushing list with 16,726 yards. He needs 540 yards to surpass Hall of Famer Walter Payton.
A master offensive innovator, the brash Spurrier turned Florida into a collegiate power, going 122-27-1 in 12 years and winning a national championship in 1996. But Spurrier finally was lured to the NFL by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder with a five-year, $25 million contract.
Spurrier gets a chance to test his "Fun 'N' Gun" offense in the professional ranks Sunday when the Redskins host the Arizona Cardinals.
Spurrier's offense was in high gear in the preseason, averaging more than 30 points per game. But much of the production came in the second half of those contests, leaving many questions about just how effective his offense will be.
