Three’s a Charm for Tomba in Smashing Season

World Cup champion Alberto Tomba, supported by 30,000 partisan fans, earned his third season title by winning the men’s giant slalom at the World Cup finals in Bormio, Italy, Saturday.

It was the fourth giant slalom victory of the season for Tomba, who already had clinched the overall and slalom titles. It was his 11th victory in a World Cup final this season and 44th overall.

Swiss veteran Vreni Schneider was ninth in the women’s giant slalom, but won the World Cup title with 450 points because her closest rival, teammate Heidi Zeller-Baehler (420), fell early.

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Speedskater Bonnie Blair finished her career on her 31st birthday in Calgary, Canada, missing her world record of 38.69 seconds in the 500 meters by 0.18 seconds and lowering her U.S. mark in the 1,000 meters to 1:18.31.

Auto Racing

Canadian Paul Tracy, criticized recently over his erratic driving style, took a sure-and-steady approach today to win the Australian IndyCar Grand Prix at Surfers Paradise. Bobby Rahal finished second, nearly seven seconds behind Tracy.

Tracy, winning for the third time in his last four starts, took the lead with eight laps to go from Newman-Haas teammate Michael Andretti, who led much of the race but hit the wall on the final lap and failed to finish.

The new open-cockpit Ferrari 333SP World Sports Car, driven by Fermin Velez of Spain, Eric van de Poele of Belgium and team-owner Andy Evans, drove through two rainstorms, waited out a 73-minute red flag and held off a strong challenge from a Chevrolet Spice to win Saturday’s Sebring (Fla.) 12 Hours.

Tennis

Fifth-seeded Michael Stich was stunned, 6-3, 6-2, by Santa Monica’s Michael Joyce at the Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne, Fla. Top-ranked Arantxa Sanchez Vicario beat Tatyana Jecmenica, 6-4, 6-0, and defending champion Steffi Graf defeated Ginger Helgeson Nielsen, 6-2, 6-3.

Top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia beat countryman Alexander Volkov, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the final of the St. Petersburg Open in Russia. Kafelnikov will meet Frenchman Guillame Raux, who beat Russian Andrei Chesnokov, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Golf

Defending champion Loren Roberts retained a two-stroke advantage in the second consecutive uncompleted round of the storm-disrupted Nestle Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

Defending champion Laura Davies had three birdies in a four-hole stretch late in the round to grab a two-shot lead in the Standard Register-Ping tournament at Phoenix.

Pro Football

Ricky Watters, the versatile running back who helped lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl victory, signed an offer sheet to play for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The 49ers have seven days to match the offer, a front-loaded three-year deal worth a guaranteed $3.6 million in the first year.

Miscellany

Four days before Reggie Lewis’ number will be raised to the rafters at Boston Garden, new questions were raised about possible drug use by the late Celtic.

John Curry, president of Northeastern University, announced that a special panel will look into whether Lewis, who died in 1993 after collapsing while shooting baskets, tested positive for cocaine as a senior at the school during a drug test in 1987.

Iditarod musher Keizo Funatsu, who endured a Bering Sea storm, was treated for frostbite and withdrawn from the race only 22 miles from the finish while in 24th place. He also lost a dog, the first dog fatality reported in this year’s race. The race was won in record time Tuesday by Montana musher Doug Swingley.

Jess Stayrook of Tempe, Ariz., won his second Professional Bowlers Assn. title of the year, the $200,000 Bud Light Championship, with a 237-236 victory over Philip Ringener of Big Spring, Tex., in Stony Brook, N.Y.