Sports FanFare 8/18/02

Basketball

Guard Ricky Davis signed an offer sheet with the Timberwolves, and the Cavaliers have 15 days to match the deal. Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson would not confirm details of the offer, adding that he will take all of the allotted time to decide whether to keep the 6-foot-7 Davis.

Boxing

David Tua stopped two-time former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer 30 seconds into the first round of their scheduled 10-rounder night in Atlantic City, N.J. Moorer (43-3-1) sank into a crouch, dazed, as referee Rudy Battle waved a halt to the fight. Tua made $500,000 doing it. Moorer's share was $425,000.

Colleges

After losing Missouri's starting quarterback job, senior Kirk Farmer made a claim for it when he threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns during the Tigers' first scrimmage of the season. Freshman Brad Smith, who has a tenuous hold on the starting quarterback job, threw for 161 yards and one touchdown. Freshman Sonny Riccio, listed behind Smith with Farmer, threw for 121 yards with two interceptions.

Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom scored two touchdowns in a Colorado scrimmage, two days before he planned to announce whether he will give up his skiing endorsements to play college football. Bloom wanted to keep his corporate ski sponsors while playing for the Colorado Buffaloes, but NCAA rules prohibit product endorsements by college athletes.

Prosecutors have exonerated University of Colorado wide receiver Ron Monteilh of supplying marijuana to high school recruits during a party that spawned charges against four football players. Prosecutor Pete Maguire filed a motion to dismiss two felony charges against Monteilh.

Golf

Scotland's Catriona Matthew shot her third straight 2-under 70 in windy conditions to take the third-round lead in the Canadian Women's Open. Matthew holed birdie putts of 25 feet and 12 feet on her final two holes to take a one-stroke ahead over Meg Mallon (69) on the Summerlea Golf and Country Club course.

Becky Lucida won the U.S. Women's Amateur, building a six-hole lead in the morning round and holding off Brandi Jackson 3 and 2 in the 36-hole final at Scarborough, N.y. She won the Robert Cox Cup and earned a spot in the 2003 U.S. Women's Open.

Annika Sorenstam shot a 4-under 68 to take a six-stroke lead after three rounds of the Compaq Open at Helsingborg, Sweden. Sorenstam, playing in Sweden for the first time in two years, had four birdies and moved to 15-under 201 in front of a record gallery of 19,000 at the Vasatorp Golf Club.

Italians Costantino Rocca and Massimo Florioli were 1 under through 11 holes when third-round play in the North West of Ireland Open was suspended because of darkness at Ballyliffin, Ireland.

Horse racing

Beat Hollow wouldn't allow himself to be beaten, winning a thrilling three-horse finish at the Arlington Million over Sarafan and Forbidden Apple. Beat Hollow, the British-bred pre-race favorite owned by Juddmonte Farms, held off Sarafan by a head. Forbidden Apple, which jumped out early, was third by a nose in the 1 1/4-mile turf race.

Soccer

Germany's Marco Bode is retiring after failing to land a job with a London soccer team. Bode, who helped Germany reach the final of the World Cup, quit his German club, Werder Bremen, at the end of last season and had been in negotiations with several London clubs, including FC Fulham.

Tennis

Jennifer Capriati reached the final of the AT&T Cup when semifinal opponent Jelena Dokic quit with a knee injury while trailing in the second set. Capriati was ahead 7-6 (5), 4-0 when Dokic told the chair umpire she couldn't continue at the hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 26.

Paradorn Srichaphan beat Marcelo Rios 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the final of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. The 14th-seeded Srichaphan will face James Blake for the title today. Blake defeated No. 1 seed Andre Agassi in two sets.

Britain's Greg Rusedski fought his way back from a set down to defeat third seed Tommy Haas 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final of the Indianapolis Open. Rusedski's opponent in the final will be either ninth seeded German Rainer Schuettler or unseeded Spaniard Felix Mantilla, who played late.

Lleyton Hewitt launched another attack against the ATP, saying he does not care about holding on to his world number one ranking because of the organization's stubborn attitude, Australian media reported. Branding the governing body of men's tennis as a badly run "circus," the Wimbledon champion told Sydney's Sunday Telegraph newspaper: "Next year I couldn't give two hoots about the No. 1 ranking. There are times when you feel like (walking away). It's a great sport if the ATP would just get out of the way.

-- From wire reports