Davenport Tunes Up With Title

Lindsay Davenport won the latest battle in her growing rivalry with Martina Hingis.

Davenport, who took the No. 1 ranking from Hingis last October, beat the Swiss star, 6-4, 6-3, today to win the Adidas International in Sydney, Australia.

“I love playing Martina. It’s always an enjoyable match and hopefully we’ll be playing again two weeks from today,” Davenport said, referring to a possible matchup in the Australian Open final.

Earlier in the day, Todd Martin beat Spain’s Alex Corretja, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to win his second Adidas International title.

In other finals, Chanda Rubin beat Rita Grande of Italy, 6-2, 6-3, at the Tasmanian International; Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands beat Tommy Haas of Germany, 6-4, 6-4, at the Auckland Open; and Thomas Enqvist of Sweden defeated Mark Philippoussis of Australia, 6-4, 6-1, at the Colonial Classic in Melbourne.

Golf

Brandel Chamblee shot a four-under-par 66 and held a one-stroke lead at the midway mark of the Sony Open in Honolulu.

Chamblee was at six-under 134. First-round leader Tommy Tolles recovered from a slow start and finished with a two-over 72, enough for a share of second place with Mike Hulbert at 135.

At 136 were John Huston, Len Mattiace and Craig Stadler. Huston last year set a tour record for a 72-hole event with a 28-under-par performance here.

Nancy Lopez made five birdies in a six-hole stretch and tied the course record with a six-under 66 to share the first-round lead with Catriona Matthew in the HealthSouth Inaugural in Orlando, Fla.

Jurisprudence

The son of former University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler is suing his father and the school, saying they tried to thwart his plan to make souvenirs of old stadium bleachers. The suit, filed by Matthew Schembechler, seeks at least $500,000 damages and requests an injunction to prevent the university, in Ann Arbor, from allowing anyone else to remove old seats from the stadium. . . . St. Louis Ram linebacker Leonard Little pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a fatal traffic accident on Oct. 19 in St. Louis.

Baseball

On the day six New York Mets filed for arbitration, former Dodger outfielder Roger Cedeno avoided the process by agreeing to a $487,500, one-year contract. . . . The St. Louis Cardinals avoided salary arbitration with pitchers Alan Benes and Lance Painter and signed pitcher Mike Mohler, released by Oakland last month. Painter got a $1.8-million, two-year contract. Benes agreed to a $550,000, one-year contract. . . . Reliever Curtis Leskanic avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $2.6-million, two-year contract with the Colorado Rockies. . . . Reliever Albie Lopez, who set personal bests for wins and innings pitched with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays last season, agreed to a $1.8-million, two-year contract. . . . Right-hander Jason Bere agreed to a $1.2-million, one-year contract with Cincinnati.

Miscellany

The International Olympic Committee will meet March 17-18 to vote on expelling corrupt members and tightening procedures for selecting host cities of the Winter and Summer Games. . . . Telecommunications company US West, impressed with assurances of a new beginning at the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, will forward a $5-million sponsorship payment.

Mary Slaney will have her disputed drug case heard beginning Jan. 29 by an arbitration panel of the International Amateur Athletic Federation. . . . The Miami Hurricanes fired defensive coordinator Bill Miller after giving up 134 points in their final three games of the college football season.