Trinidad Keeps Record Perfect

Undefeated Felix Trinidad pounded Mamadou Thiam of France into submission Saturday night at Miami, successfully defending his World Boxing Assn. super-welterweight title.

Thiam, his right eye swollen, quit with 12 seconds left in the third round before a heavily pro-Trinidad crowd at American Airlines Arena.

Trinidad improved to 38-0 with his 31st knockout, while Thiam dropped to 33-2.

“It was a hard fight. It feels great to win for my country,” said Trinidad, from Puerto Rico.

Fernando Vargas, the International Boxing Federation 154-pound champion, probably is next for Trinidad. Vargas faces mandatory challenger Ross Thompson on Aug. 26. A possible Trinidad-Vargas fight is earmarked for Dec. 2.

Trinidad reportedly earned $2.5 million, while Thiam made $200,000.

Motor Racing

Ryan Newman, the 22-year-old protege of car owner Roger Penske, forced Bob Strait to spin out with less than four laps remaining and went on to win the ARCA Pepsi 200 at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.

Earlier in the day at Pocono, Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed in practice for the Pennsylvania 500. Earnhardt, 25, did not lose consciousness and able to return to the track for the final practice for today’s race.

Paul Tracy of Canada won the pole position for today’s Michigan 500 at Brooklyn, Mich., setting a track qualifying record of 234.949 mph. It was the 13th time Tracy won a pole position, but first since June 1997 at Milwaukee. Rookie driver Takuya Kurosawa of Japan was knocked briefly unconscious in a hard crash during the qualifying. CART officials said Kurosawa, 37, was awake and alert moments after the crash, but he was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital after complaining of pain in his neck and left foot.

Greg Biffle of Vancouver, Wash., led 90 of the 100 laps in winning NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series race at Michigan Speedway. He beat Roush Racing teammate Kurt Busch by 1.324 of a second--about 10 truck-lengths--and averaged 138.408 mph. The victory was the fifth of the season for Biffle, the series points leader. . . . Leading qualifier Felipe Giaffone of Brazil led the entire 50 laps in winning the Dayton Indy Lights at Michigan Speedway. Giaffone averaged 146.866 mph.

Jeff Green defeated his brother David in the NAPA Autocare 250 at Peaks Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo. Jeff Green averaged 118.421 mph in beating his older brother by 0.746 seconds after battling fender to fender with him for the final 85 laps over the mile oval. It was the fifth Busch Series victory of the year for Jeff Green, also the series points leader. . . . American Kenny Roberts won his eighth career pole position in qualifying for the 500cc division of the German Grand Prix at Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Roberts, a Suzuki rider who is leading the overall standings, had a time of 1 minute 23.168 seconds over the tight-turned Sachsenring, the tour’s slowest and shortest circuit.

Olympic Trials

Cheryl Haworth, 17, easily qualified for the first U.S. Olympic women’s weightlifting squad, and 357-pound Shane Hamman, with virtually no international experience, overtook veterans Tom Gough and Wes Barnett to join 20-year-old Oscar Chaplin III on the men’s team in the Olympic trials at Westwego, La.

Three of Kenya’s top runners-- Christopher Koskei, Daniel Komen and Simon Maina--failed to make the national team in qualifying at Nairobi for the Sydney Olympics. Koskei, the world 3,000-meter steeplechase champion, did not finish among the top three in a race won by world junior champion Reuben Koskei in 8 minutes 17.6 seconds. Komen, the world-record holder in the 3,000, pulled out of the 5,000 with four laps remaining. Julius Gitahi won the race in 13:24.4. Maina, who won the 10,000 at the Commonwealth games in 1998, failed to finish in the top three, with 19-year-old John Korir winning in 27:48.42.

Tennis

Monica Seles was a 6-1, 6-1 winner in 51 minutes over Sandra Cacic--ranked No. 210 in the world--to reach the final of the A&P; tournament at Mahwah, N.J. Seles will play Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Anna Kournikova of Russia. . . . Second-seeded Anke Huber of Germany beat Anastasia Myskina of Russia, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the final of the IDEA Prokom Open at Sopot, Poland. Huber will face fifth-seeded Gala Leon Garcia of Spain, a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 winner over Argentina’s Paola Suarez. . . . Top-seeded Dominique Van Roost of Belgium was a 6-3, 6-0 winner over Magui Serna of Spain to reach the final of the Sanex Trophy WTA tournament at Knokke-Heist, Belgium. Van Roost will play sixth-seeded Anna Smashnova of Israel--a 6-3, 6-1 winner over eighth-seeded Marta Marrerro of Spain.

Fifth-seeded Franco Squillari of Argentina ended the run of Daniel Elsner of Germany at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, beating the wild-card entry, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), in the semifinal. Elsner had been winless on the ATP tour before the $1-million clay-court tournament, but defeated top-seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden and Jiri Novak of Slovakia. Squillari, a French Open semifinalist, will play Gaston Gaudio, his 21-year-old compatriot and training partner, for the championship. Gaudio advanced to his first career final, beating Australia’s Andrew Ilie, 6-2, 6-4.