Russian Prevails Yet Again

Nailing a tricky combination of jumps, Yevgeny Plushchenko won the Russian figure skating championships at Moscow, his third consecutive national title.

Plushchenko’s flawless program featured a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop-double loop sequence that only he does in competition.

In pairs competition, former world champions Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze took the lead after the short program even though both fell on a triple toe loop.

Irina Lobacheva and Ilya Averbukh remained in the lead of the ice dance competition.

Jurisprudence

Boris Becker’s wife is opposing the tennis great’s request to have her alimony and child support case conducted in private.

Barbara Becker’s attorneys filed a legal brief in Miami circuit court asking a judge not to seal the case file. They say privacy considerations should be judged on a document-by-document basis.

Boris Becker, who has filed for divorce in Germany, wants the case kept confidential because of death and kidnapping threats against his two children, his attorneys said in court papers.

The sister of Chicago sports franchise owner Jerry Reinsdorf filed a $5-million lawsuit against her brother, claiming he cut her off financially in 1998.

The Los Angeles Superior Court suit filed by Marvin Mitchelson said the managing partner of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox gave Judith Reinsdorf $10,000 a month for her care for 16 years.

Miscellany

Brazilian soccer player Rivaldo has started proceedings to take dual Spanish-Brazilian citizenship. If successful, Rivaldo would gain European Union status, vacating a foreigner’s spot on the roster on his Spanish team.

John Coatta, a quarterback at Wisconsin from 1949-51 and coach of the football team from 1967-69, has died at 71. He died Tuesday of bone cancer in Minnetonka, Minn.

Hall of Fame horse trainer Allen Jerkens remained in critical condition in Aventura, Fla., four days after collapsing at his home with severe stomach pains. The 71-year-old Jerkens was in the intensive care unit at Aventura Hospital.

The Detroit Tigers are the first major league baseball team to reduce ticket prices for the upcoming season, a year after raising them 103% for the opening of Comerica Park. The Tigers have reduced the price of individual tickets up to $25 for the upcoming season.

Nicorette and Wild Thing contended for the lead in the third day of racing in Australia’s annual Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race.

Ten boats dropped out because of rough conditions as the 82-yacht fleet approached Bass Strait between the Australian mainland and Tasmania.