Sports briefs 4/19/04

Hockey

Pat Burns vows to battle colon cancer with the same intensity that helped the New Jersey Devils win the Stanley Cup last season. The coach will begin treatment immediately, he announced Sunday, a day after his team was eliminated from the playoffs. Burns, 52, said his status with the Devils will be determined in six to eight weeks, when the treatment ends. Burns is a three-time NHL Coach of the Year. New Jersey lost to Philadelphia 3-1 Saturday, ending their best-of-seven first-round series after five games.

Motorsports

Rusty Wallace held off Bobby Labonte for the last 30 laps to end his 105-race winless streak -- and more than five hours on the track at Martinsville Speedway under a blazing sun. The Advance Auto Parts 500 was halted for more than an hour with 210 laps to go after a block of concrete came lose in the third turn, leaving a dangerous hole a foot long and a foot wide in the surface. Wallace, whose last victory came on April 29, 2001, at California Speedway, passed Jimmie Johnson for the lead on the 456th lap and pulled away on a restart with 38 laps left as the cars behind him battled for position. He held on for his 55thcareer victory after Labonte emerged from the pack and tried to chase him down.

Tennis

Tommy Haas beat Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-4 at the U.S. Clay Court Championship for his first title in about 2 1/2 years. Haas was once ranked as high as No. 2, but he missed all of last season while recovering from shoulder surgery. The German hadn't been in a final since 2002 and last won a tournament at Stuttgart in October 2001. He was the steadier player from the start, ending the reigning U.S. Open champion's 12-match winning streak.

Venus Williams turned her game around completely after the first set and beat Conchita Martinez 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to win the Family Circle Cup for her first title in 14 months. Williams looked unsteady in the opening set and lost her serve twice. But she played more aggressively over the last two sets, handling Martinez's changing speeds well and volleying with confidence.

Juan Ignacio Chela came back to beat Marat Safin 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-3 to win the Estoril Open. Chela, in his first ATP final since Long Island in 2002, won for the first time in four matches against the 2000 U.S. Open champion. Chela also won the doubles title Saturday with Gaston Gaudio.

Track

Marion Jones finished fourth in the 200 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays on Sunday, her first race outdoors since 2002. Jones, back after giving birth to Tim Montgomery Jr. last June, finished the 200 in 23.02 seconds. Connie Moore won in 22.71, Crystal Cox was second in 22.91 and Tonette Dyer third in 22.99. Jones, 28, won gold medals in the 100, 200 and 1,600-meter relay at the 2000 Olympics, while taking bronze medals in the long jump and 400-meter relay.-- From wire reports