Uruguay, Mexico Win America Cup Games
Uruguay, looking to regain some lost soccer prestige, qualified for the second round of the America Cup on Sunday, while Mexico gave itself a lifeline by beating struggling Venezuela.
Uruguay sat back on its lead after Enzo Francescoli scored in the 13th minute and defeated Paraguay, 1-0, in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Uruguay, traditionally one of Latin America’s strongest soccer nations, has won two World Cups and 13 America Cup titles. However, it has slumped in recent years and failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
In Sunday’s other game in Maldonado, Mexico bounced back to beat Venezuela, 3-1, on two penalty kicks from Luis Garcia, who became the tournament’s top scorer with three goals.
Mexico made four changes from the lineup that lost to Paraguay on Thursday. Venezuela, with no points from two games, stands virtually no chance of advancing past the first round of the 12-nation South American championship.
Mexico and the United States are the only countries from outside South America in the field. The United States, which beat Chile, 2-1, in its opener, plays Bolivia on Tuesday night.
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Soccer star Romario says he won’t return to his Flamengo club in Rio de Janeiro unless the team hires a new coaching staff and doesn’t make him follow training camp rules.
Tennis
Tennis great Pancho Gonzalez was remembered as an impassioned yet modest champion who was always puzzled why someone would want his autograph.
About 200 mourners paid their final respects Saturday at Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas. Gonzalez was buried at adjacent Palm Memorial Park.
Gonzalez, 67, died July 3 at a Las Vegas hospital after being stricken with stomach cancer for nine months.
“He was always a simple man,” Ralph Gonzales, who spells his name differently from his brother, said during the brief service. “He wouldn’t have wanted people to make a fuss. He could never understand why people wanted his autograph.”
Among those attending the service were Rod Laver, the last man to win the Grand Slam; Dennis Ralston, a former U.S. Davis Cup captain; and Alex Olmedo, the 1959 Wimbledon champion.
They came to honor a man who won the U.S. national singles title at age 20 in 1948 and repeated the next year. Gonzalez then turned pro, winning the U.S. pro singles title a record eight times.
But Gonzalez played in relative obscurity during his prime because only amateurs were permitted in established tournaments such as Wimbledon until 1968.
Hockey
Tim Taylor re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings, who asked the NHL to investigate tampering by the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers.
The 26-year-old center agreed to a three-year deal for $1.2 million, the Detroit Free Press reported in today’s editions.
He was scheduled to become a free agent July 4, but said he received offers from the Rangers and Panthers before they were allowed to talk to him. Agent Jay Grossman said no formal offers were received.
Taylor had four assists in 22 games last season.
Boxing
Tracy Harris Patterson stopped Eddie Hopson in the second round and won the International Boxing Federation junior lightweight title in Reno, Nev.
Patterson had Hopson on the canvas or on the ropes four times in the second round before referee Mills Lane stopped the fight at 1:37.
Hopson suffered his first loss in 27 fights in his first defense of the title he won April 22 with a seventh-round knockout over Moises Pedroza.
Miscellany
Politicians made concessions to the Cleveland Cavaliers that contributed to millions of dollars in cost overruns in the construction of Gund Arena, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
The arena, home to the Cavaliers since 1994, and adjacent baseball park Jacobs Field were financed by the Gateway Economic Development Corp.
The construction debt on the sports complex stands at $28 million, of which $6 million is attributed to the ballpark.
Gateway agreed to pay $10 million in penalties if the building was not completed in time for the 1994-95 season. Because of this, Gateway now says, it was forced to give in to the Cavaliers’ demands for expensive enhancements.
Baseball great Mickey Mantle has scheduled his first public appearance since undergoing a liver transplant. He will hold a 1 p.m. news conference Tuesday at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, where he underwent surgery on June 8.
Divers completed a fourth day of unsuccessfully searching the waters off a state park in Madison, Conn., for Ramesh Mali, a young Nepalese soccer player feared drowned during an outing at the Special Olympics.
The University of Dayton has paid Old Dominion $130,000 as settlement for the final four years of former basketball coach Oliver Purnell’s contract, the Virginian-Pilot and the Ledger-Star reported.
Warren Morris of Louisiana State and Troy Glaus of UCLA each drove in two runs in a seven-run fourth inning as the U.S. national baseball team routed Panama, 13-0, in Melbourne, Fla.
Karch Kiraly and Scott Ayakatubby won the Miller Lite Open Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament in Boston by defeating Bill Boullianne and Brian Lewis, 15-5.
