Hewitt’s Ready for Wimbledon

Lleyton Hewitt won his second grass-court title in two weeks Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over unseeded Guillermo Canas in the Heineken Trophy final at Den Bosch, Netherlands.

The Australian’s ninth career title completed his preparation for Wimbledon, which began with last week’s victory at Queen’s Club and extended his winning streak to 10 matches.

Giving himself “an outside chance” of winning Wimbledon, Hewitt, seeded fifth, said he is feeling confident, especially on grass.

“I’ve come to know the grass-court surface very well and I’m learning to play better and better on it all the time,” he said.

“But I believe in myself on any surface against whoever it may be.”

The 20-year-old won the tournament without dropping a set or needing a tiebreaker.

Hewitt, ranked sixth in the world, gradually tightened the pressure on his 61st-ranked opponent from Argentina.

The players traded breaks in the first two games of the second set but the match settled down and games went on serve until Canas served to stay in the match at 4-5.

Hewitt stepped up to force a match point. Canas saved it but Hewitt converted his second match point on a Canas error.

Jurisprudence

Arizona Cardinal running back Michael Pittman has been arrested for the second time this month after another dispute with his estranged wife.

Tempe, Ariz., police said Pittman was taken into custody late Saturday on charges of domestic violence, criminal damage and trespassing and was released.

According to the police, Pittman broke a glass door to enter his wife’s apartment but did not assault her.

The Cardinals said Pittman could face disciplinary action from the NFL after his case is settled. The team said it was requiring Pittman to seek counseling in addition to whatever the court orders.

Cardinal Coach Dave McGinnis said Pittman has been excused from all remaining off-season football-related activities for the time being.

“Michael Pittman has far bigger issues in his life right now than football,” McGinnis said.

“Misconduct on the part of our players is unacceptable. I am furious Michael put himself back into a position that ended in his arrest last night.

“Two weeks ago, Michael--eye to eye--assured me he would take care of his personal business. Clearly, he has not.”

Pittman, a fourth-round draft pick from Fresno State in 1998, was previously arrested in 1997 in Fresno where police said he held a former girlfriend by the neck and slammed her face into a car seat.

He was sentenced to a batterers’ treatment program and two years’ probation.

Track and Field

USA Track & Field voted unanimously to oppose rule changes for international competitions proposed by the world governing body.

USATF’s Board of Directors, in a meeting at Eugene, Ore., Saturday, voted to officially oppose a proposed no false start rule; a proposed change in the number of attempts allowed in the vertical jumps; and a proposal to limit horizontal jumps and throws to four attempts per athlete.

The athletes also have been against the rules, with 47 of them signing a petition recently to suggest that the International Amateur Athletic Federation not adopt them at their meeting in Edmonton, Canada in August.

“USA Track & Field favors innovation in our sport to make it a more fan-friendly, better product,” Craig Masback, USATF chief executive officer, said. “However, we do not support those proposed changes.”

Poland jolted Europe’s track powers by winning the men’s team championship at the European Cup at Bremen, Germany.

Olympic champion Jonathan Edwards had a triple jump of 56 feet 7 1/2 inches but it was not enough to stop defending champion England from finishing fifth.

Poland had top-three finishers in almost every event. It underscored its victory by winning the 1,600-meter relay, an event usually dominated by England or Russia.

Poland finished with 107 points, becoming only the second country to break the hold that Russia, Germany and Britain have had on this event. France was second at 97.

Russia won its fifth consecutive women’s title, earning 126.5 points. Germany was second with 117 followed by France at 86.

Olympic 200-meter champion Konstantinos Kenteris of Greece won with a time of 20.31. Violeta Szekely of Romania won the women’s 1,500 at 4:06.43.

Yelena Zadorozhna of Russia won the women’s 5,000 at 14:40.47. She finished more than 80 meters ahead of cross-country world champion Paula Radcliffe.

Heike Drechsler won the long jump at 22-3 1/2. The 36-year-old from Germany won the Olympic gold medal in Sydney, giving her major titles over three decades.

Susan Jones of England won the high jump at 6-4 3/4 to tie her national record.

College Football

Karl Benson, the commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference, said there is a reasonable chance Honolulu will host a college football bowl game next year.

Hawaii lost the Aloha Bowl to San Francisco and the Oahu Bowl to Seattle in April.

The NCAA has a moratorium on certifying new bowls. Possible candidates for a move to Hawaii include the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, and the Silicon Valley Bowl in San Jose.

Miscellany

Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong remained in third place in the Tour de Suisse after finishing 13th in a stage at Mendrisio, Switzerland won by Sergei Ivanov of Russia.

Vladimir Belli of Italy maintained the overall lead. Belli has a total time of 22 hours, 4 minutes, 11 seconds.

Rulon Gardner, the Greco-Roman heavyweight winner in the Sydney Olympics, and six other Olympians earned spots on the U.S. team for the world championships.

Gardner, of Afton, Wyo., beat Dremiel Byers of Colorado Springs, Colo., 3-0, 3-0, in two overtime bouts in the finals of the World Team Trials at Cincinnati.

Yugoslavia won the European Water Polo Championships at Budapest, Hungary, with an 8-5 victory over Italy.

Hungary, the defending Olympic and world champion, defeated Croatia, 12-9, for the bronze medal.