FanFare 10/6/02

Briefly

Basketball

A man arrested for identity theft had a bank account number for Michael Jordan and was looking for someone to pose as Jordan or his wife, police said. Ishman Walker was arrested last month, before he was able to find an accomplice who resembled Michael or Juanita Jordan, said Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan.

Golf

Annika Sorenstam shot a 4-under 68 for a share of the lead with Cristie Kerr after the third round of the Samsung World Championship. Sorenstam, seeking her fourth straight victory in individual play, closed with a birdie to match Kerr (69) at 15-under 201 on the Hiddenbrooke Golf Club course. The Swedish star has eight victories and record earnings of $2,211,991 in 17 LPGA Tour starts. She also won the Australian Masters and Compaq Open in Sweden, giving her 10 worldwide victories in 19 events.

Brandt Jobe shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Billy Mayfair in the Michelob Championship, while David Duval tumbled off the leaderboard. Duval, a two-time Kingsmill winner who struggled to keep his drives out of the thick rough, ballooned to a 74, leaving him seven strokes behind Jobe entering the final round.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington had a double bogey on No. 17 at the Old Course to drop into a tie with Argentina's Eduardo Romero in the Dunhill Links Championship. Harrington, coming off Europe's Ryder Cup victory, shot a 4-under 68 to finish three rounds on the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns at 16-under 200. Romero shot a 67.

The 2008 U.S. Open was awarded to the South Course at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., by the U.S. Golf Association, pending approval of the San Diego City Council. It would be the second public course to host the tournament.

Motorsports

Tony Kanaan won the pole for today's CART Grand Prix of the Americas in Miami. His provisional qualifying time from Friday held up after intermittent downpours turned the temporary road circuit slippery. Scott Dixon earned a series point by being Saturday's fastest qualifier. He will start alongside Kanaan, after his best lap time of 1:09.786. Kanaan's time on Friday was 1:01.264.

Obituary

Don Wells, the original voice of the Anaheim Angels franchise and longtime radio broadcaster, has died. He was 79.

Sailing

Seattle's OneWorld Challenge navigated a day of protests and mishaps, remaining unbeaten in challenger racing at the America's Cup. Stars and Stripes of New York became the first American syndicate to lose a race in the regatta, finishing 33 seconds behind Victory of Sweden. Stars and Stripes dropped to 2-1. Victory, which had a bye on the first day, is 2-0. Oracle of San Francisco is also 2-0 and remains tied for the lead after a bye.

Tennis

Top-seeded Marat Safin and five-time defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov were upset in the semifinals of the $2.2 million Kremlin Cup. Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion, was beaten by French qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (3), 6-4, while two-time Grand Slam winner Kafelnikov lost to Sjeng Schalken 6-2, 6-4. Lindsay Davenport beat Amanda Coetzer 6-3, 6-4 to reach the women's final. Davenport, a finalist for the third time in six tournaments, will face 1994-95 champion Magdalena Maleeva, a 7-5, 6-4 winner over fifth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo.

Eighth-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan lost to Kenneth Carlsen 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in the semifinals of the Japan Open. Carlsen, ranked No. 121, finished with 11 aces, including three to save break points in the second set. He will face unseeded Magnus Norman, a 6-4, 7-6 (4) semifinal winner over American Vince Spadea, in today's final.

People

Knight throws in for a good chair-ity

Bob Knight was the keynote speaker at a Cleveland State University fundraiser Wednesday night, and it was clear from the outset why the Texas Tech basketball coach is known as The General and not The Reverend.

"It beats the hell out of me why they didn't ask me to give the invocation," said the pillar-of-salty Knight, taking the mike after the pre-festivities prayer.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Brother Bob's Traveling Salvation Show, an hour-long testimonial to basketball, was so rousing that it drew a standing ovation from the 600 worshippers.

But Knight, staying true to form, didn't pass the plate. Instead, he playfully heaved a bent folding chair, which was immediately auctioned for $600.

And Bob said: "If I was feeling better, I would have hit the wall with it."

Verbatim

Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle, noting that all Rockets games this season will be televised in China because of rookie center Yao Ming: "This boggles the mind: Four times this season, a billion Chinese will actually care about what the Warriors do."

-- From wire reports