Swiss Not Neutral About Sion Loss

After losing the 2006 Olympic Games to Turin, Italy, on Saturday, angry and unruly Sion supporters in Switzerland turned against the International Olympic Committee.

Widespread rage broke out among the crowd watching the announcement live on a jumbo screen in Place de la Planta in the morning dawn.

After the announcement that was televised live in the square, after all-night celebrations, stunned spectators stood in disbelief, before raising their fists in anger, crying, whistling and jeering IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch any time the Spaniard’s face came onto the screen.

Later, police reported that angry protesters had defaced a statue in the Olympic museum’s gardens in Lausanne, home of the IOC, about 62 miles west of Sion.

Vandals sprayed “Mafia” on the statue, with a letter written in each of the five Olympic rings on the sculpture, while “Torino 2006” was inscribed underneath.

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Sepp Blatter, president of soccer’s world governing body FIFA, was appointed to the IOC. . . . China’s senior IOC member, He Zhenliang, was elevated to the organization’s inner cabinet, the 11-member executive board. . . . The IOC warned its members they could face FBI questioning--and possible subpoenas--in connection with the Salt Lake City bribery scandal.

Tennis

Patrick Rafter, seeded second at Wimbledon, advanced to the men’s final of the Heineken Trophy championship at Den Bosch, Netherlands, defeating Tommy Haas of Germany, 6-2, 7-5. He will face Andrei Pavel of Romania, who eliminated fourth-seeded Karol Kucera of Slovakia, 7-6, 6-3.

Kristina Brandi of Tampa, Fla., ranked 57th in the world, won her first WTA grass tournament with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Sivija Talaja of Croatia.

Former Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up Cedric Pioline defeated qualifier Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe, 6-3, 7-5, to win the Nottingham Open in England. . . . Natasha Zvereva of Belarus lost the first nine games before scoring a 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Nathalie Tauziat to win the Eastbourne grass court championship in England.

Auto Racing

Rookie sensation Juan Montoya from Colombia broke a track record with a final lap of 121.808 mph in winning his third pole of the season for today’s CART Budweiser-G.I. Joe’s 200 at Portland International Speedway in Oregon. The old record of 121.341 was set last year by Bryan Herta.

Defending ARCA champion Frank Kimmel overcame a gearbox problem to win the Pocono 200 at Long Pond, Pa.

Miscellany

Cuban defector Joel Casamayor easily outpointed Mexico’s Antonio Hernandez at Miami to win the World Boxing Assn.’s interim super-featherweight title.

Nearly 500 people were involved in fighting at a soccer match in Moscow between Moscow’s Spartak and Saturn, Russian news reports said. The teams are among those vying for the Russian national championship. The game, held in Saturn’s home stadium in Ramenskoye near Moscow, was suspended for 30 minutes and riot troops were brought in. Spartak won, 3-0.

The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to terms with Matt O’Dwyer, a former starting guard for the New York Jets.

Pakistan will face Australia in the championship game of the World Cup of cricket today in London. . . . Kenya’s Andrew Musuva outdueled Ethiopia’s Tesfaye Bekele and won the Grandma’s Marathon at Duluth, Minn., by four seconds in two hours, 13 minutes, 21 seconds. Elena Makolova of Belarus set a course record in winning the women’s division in 2:29:12.

Third-seeded Karch Kiraly and partner Adam Johnson headline the list of semifinalists at the FIVB Beach Volleyball Tour $500,000 Toronto Open in Canada. They will meet fourth-seeded Ze’Marco de Melo and Ricardo Santos of Brazil.