Sharapova, Ivanovic set to square off in title match
MELBOURNE, Australia -- A year after losing the Australian Open final to Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova is back in the finals.
Sharapova, 20, defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-1 Thursday to move into the finals.
She will square off against Ana Ivanovic, 20, in the title match this weekend.
Both women stand more than 6 feet tall and hit right-handed with two-handed backhands. Both moved from their home countries to train elsewhere -- Sharapova from Siberia to Florida and Ivanovic from Belgrade to Switzerland.
The two are all-square at 2-2 in career head-to-head matches -- including Ivanovic's win over Sharapova in the French Open semifinal last year and Sharapova's victory over the Serbian player in a round-robin match at the WTA Tour championships in November.
Rafael Nadal lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the men’s semifinals Thursday. Roger Federer will compete against Novak Djokovic in the men’s finals, which begin at 3:30 a.m. Friday. Federer is the defending champion.
Access granted to federal investigators
in baseball steroid case
SAN FRANCISCO -- Federal investigators can keep using the names and urine samples of about 100 major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
After agreeing to reconsider its own ruling granting access to the evidence, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the decision, which overturned three lower court rulings barring authorities from accessing the names, would stand.
Access to the names could bolster the perjury case against Barry Bonds, who is charged with lying to a grand jury about whether he used steroids.
The players' union sued to keep the government from accessing the records, saying the seizures violated the players' constitutional rights.
The samples were collected at baseball's direction the previous year as part of a survey to gauge the prevalence of steroid use.
Bonds asked a federal judge to dismiss perjury charges against him Wednesday, saying the indictment was "scattershot."
Bonds was charged in November with lying to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Brady skips first practice before Super Bowl
as injury rumors spread
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, this season’s NFL MVP, did not come to the team’s first practice in preparation for the Feb. 3 Super Bowl against the New York Giants. Brady was photographed Monday wearing a cast in New York City, and reportedly has a high ankle sprain.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick refused to comment on Brady’s condition before practice.
Brady did not show up during the first 15 minutes of practice, when reporters are allowed to observe, and it was not immediately known if he would play after the session was closed to the media.
Brady wasn't seen in the locker room before practice during the 45 minutes it was open to the media. Patriots spokesman Stacey James said the team would not announce whether Brady participated in any part of the workout.
Woods could tie Palmer's record
in Buick Invitational Thursday
SAN DIEGO – Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson tee off Thursday at Torrey Green for the Buick Invitational.
Woods is the three-time defending champion at the Buick Invitational, and he has won five times in his PGA Tour career.
If he wins, he would be the first player to compile such a streak at PGA Tour stops. It would also tie him with Arnold Palmer with 62 career victories.
Armstrong pollutes, cleans up local swimming hole
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas -- Cycling champ Lance Armstrong has finished cleaning up a prized swimming hole that became polluted after he began building a dam on his ranch.
Armstrong said he spent about $850,000 on the cleanup of Dead Man's Hole, which the cyclist shares with 17 neighboring landowners and is fed by a creek running through Armstrong's 450-acre ranch west of Austin.
The pool became cloudy after construction on the dam began in 2005. Armstrong said the project could serve as a lesson to others who have accidentally polluted streams or pools.
The cleanup "sets a good example for if somebody muddies up a creek," Armstrong said. "Here's how you fix it."
From the Associated Press
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Phylissa
Mitchell
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Pamela Luecke
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd