FanFare 7/29/02

Briefly

Boxing

John Ruiz retained the WBA heavyweight title he won from Evander Holyfield, this time getting off the canvas three times -- all after low blows -- and lasting long enough for Kirk Johnson to be disqualified. Ruiz successfully defended his crown when the previously unbeaten Johnson was disqualified in the 10th round for hitting below the belt for at least the fourth time in the fight. Referee Joe Cortez, who had already penalized Johnson one point on two occasions and warned him on another, stopped it by DQ'ing Johnson at 2:17 of the 10th.

Golf

Tiger Woods said he will play the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament this fall, his first stroke-play tournament in Japan in four years. The Dunlop Phoenix is Nov. 21-24 at Phoenix Country Club in Miyazaki. David Duval is the defending champion, and Sergio Garcia also is expected to play.

Tennis

Venus Williams defeated Belgian Kim Clijsters 6-3, 6-3 Sunday to win the Bank of the West Classic title. Williams, the top seed, won her fifth title of the year to maintain her No. 2 ranking behind sister Serena Williams, the Wimbledon champion. Clijsters, the fourth seed and defending champion, will fall from No. 5 in the world to No. 7 with the loss at Taube Family Tennis Center.

Andre Agassi jerked Jan-Michael Gambill from side to side with deep groundstrokes and went on to win 6-2, 6-4 for his third career Mercedes-Benz Cup. The match apparently also took its toll on Agassi, who announced that he withdrew from this week's Tennis Masters Series Canada tournament because of a lower back and hip injury.

Alex Corretja beat French Open finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 to win the $1 million Generali Open for the second time. Corretja, a Spaniard seeded eighth, knocked off French Open champion and top-seeded Albert Costa in the quarterfinals en route to his 17th career ATP Tour title.

Jose Acasuso of Argentina captured his first career title, winning the $681,000 Idea Prokom Open with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Franco Squillari. Just 19, Acasuso was playing in his second final after he he lost to Gustavo Kuerten at Buenos Aires last year. Acasuso improved to 2-0 all-time against Squillari, also beating him at Buenos Aires.

Verbatim

Keith Olbermann of ABC Radio on golfer John Daly's applying Super Glue to stop the bleeding in his knuckle: "Maybe he can teach this trick to Sergio Garcia. A little Super Glue on the hands and we won't have to watch Sergio readjust his grip 30 times per shot."

Charles Barkley, on corporate executives refusing to testify in corruption cases: "The next time they plead the fifth everybody should jump up and beat the hell out of them."

From Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune: "I figure Ryan Leaf earned $964,285 per touchdown pass. Or, $375,000 per interception. Or, $39,940 per incompletion. If Leaf is not the most disappointing player in the history of the NFL, he's leaning at the tape. It's hard to imagine any quarterback producing less bang for the buck."

From T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times: "Michael Irvin says his problems in life have stemmed from his addiction to sex, but he's reformed now. I just have one question: Did he express an interest in working on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period" before or after Lisa Guerrero had posted her open-blouse picture on foxsports.com?"

-- From wire reports