Sports briefs 2/6/04

Boxing

Looks like Lennox Lewis is ready to do what no heavyweight champion has done in nearly half a century: leave boxing with a championship belt around his waist. The 38-year-old Lewis will hold a news conference today amid reports he will retire rather than risk his World Boxing Council title in a rematch against Vitali Klitschko. Secretive to the end, Lewis (41-2-1) was keeping his decision to himself.

College

Top-ranked Duke treated Roy Williams the same as the last two North Carolina coaches: The Blue Devils won again in the Smith Center. Chris Duhon's reverse layup with 6.5 seconds left in overtime gave Duke an 83-81 victory, the Blue Devils' 16th straight overall and fifth in the last six years on No. 17 North Carolina's home court. Shelden Williams had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Duke (19-1, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Rashad McCants scored 27 points for North Carolina (13-6, 3-5), including the 3-pointer with 13 seconds left that tied the game at 81.

Golf

Matt Kuchar and J.J. Henry, who slipped from view after such promising rookie seasons, returned to the spotlight Thursday on a spectacular afternoon on the Monterey Peninsula with rounds of 7-under 65 for a one-stroke lead in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. For Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson, only the scenery changed. Singh, closing in on the PGA Tour record for most consecutive top 10s, recovered from a difficult start with two remarkable birdies on his way to a 5-under 67 at Poppy Hills. Mickelson, playing in the same group, continued his solid play with a 68.

Flirting with a 59 for the first time in his career, the pressure got to Ernie Els. He admitted that nerves got the best of him Thursday, and he settled for a career-best 12-under-par 60 in the opening round of the Heineken Classic, finishing a stroke short of becoming the first player to shoot a sub-60 round in the history of the European and Australasian tours. "The last nine holes, I felt like I was playing the last day of a golf tournament," Els said. "You feel like you need to make more birdies to win. That's the kind of pressure I felt like, like I had to shoot a real low number to keep the momentum going." The South African star, seeking his third straight victory on Royal Melbourne's composite course, parred the final two holes and had a bogey on No. 15. He finished the round in windless conditions with an eagle, 11 birdies, five pars and the lone bogey. Els, who took a four-stroke lead over New Zealand's Michael Campbell, broke the previous Royal Melbourne record of 62 set by New Zealand's Richard Lee in 2002.

Hockey

Blue Jackets left wing Rick Nash tested his bruised left foot on Thursday and intends to play in the NHL All-Star game this weekend. Nash, 19, has been receiving treatment since getting injured Saturday. He did not make the Blue Jackets' two-game road trip this week. Nash, who is among the league leaders in goals with 31, would be the first teen to play in the NHL All-Star game since Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr and Quebec's Owen Nolan in 1992.

Tennis

Robby Ginepri will make his Davis Cup debut today by playing Jurgen Melzer in the opener of the U.S. team's first-round match against Austria. U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick and Stefan Koubek will meet in the second singles match. American twins Mike and Bob Bryan will play Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya in doubles on Saturday. On Sunday, Roddick will face Melzer, followed by Ginepri against Koubek. The U.S. team is aiming for its 32nd Davis Cup championship -- and first since 1995. The Americans are 27-0 in first-round matches at home.

-- From wire reports