Skier Johnson Will Leave Hospital for Rehab Facility

Olympic champion Bill Johnson will leave a Portland, Ore., hospital next week for a rehab facility in Bakersfield, but his long-term prognosis from a skiing accident remains uncertain.

“I would love to ski again; I dream of skiing,” he said Friday at Providence Portland Medical Center, where he has been undergoing treatment for head injuries.

His speech is slow and slightly slurred, a far cry from that of the brash young man who boasted of winning the downhill at the 1984 Winter Olympics, and made good on it.

Johnson, 41, was in a coma for three weeks after he fell face-first on hard snow at about 50 mph at Big Mountain Resort near Whitefish, Mont., on March 22. He was trying to prepare for a comeback and a spot on the 2002 Olympic team.

Tennis

Losses to Germany by top-10 players Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt didn’t prevent Australia from sneaking into the final of the World Team Cup at Duesseldorf, Germany.

Australia will face Russia in today’s final, after Rafter and Wayne Arthurs easily defeated Tommy Haas and David Prinosil, 6-3, 6-2, in doubles. The doubles victory gave Australia the most match wins, the decisive tiebreaker between Australia, Germany and Spain, which all were 2-1 in round-robin group play.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario routed fellow Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez, 6-3, 6-1, to advance to the final of the $170,000 Spanish Open at Madrid. In today’s final, she will play Angeles Montolio, a 6-4, 6-2 winner against Ana Isabel Medina.

Silvia Farina Elia of Italy defeated Nathalie Tauziat of France, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, to reach today’s final of the $170,000 Strasbourg Open at France. She will play fourth-seeded Anke Huber of Germany, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Celine Beigbeder of France.

Defending champion Laura Granville outslugged fourth-seeded Michell Dasso of Notre Dame, 6-2, 6-3, and Lauren Kalvaria upset Wake Forest’s Bea Bielik, 7-6 (3), 6-3, to set up an all-Stanford final in the NCAA women’s championships at Stone Mountain, Ga.

No. 3 Matias Boeker of Georgia and No. 7 Guilaume Legat of South Carolina were the only seeded players to advance to the round of 16 in the NCAA men’s championships at Athens, Ga.

Soccer

France striker Thierry Henry will miss the Confederations Cup starting next week because of an undisclosed injury, French soccer officials said. . . . David Beckham and Teddy Sheringham were among four different goal scorers as England defeated Mexico, 4-0, in an exhibition at Derby, England. . . . Oman secured its place in the second round of Asian World Cup qualifying, beating visiting Syria, 2-0, at Muscat to win Group 1.

Miscellany

Nicole Duncan of Cal State Los Angeles won the NCAA Division II long jump title with a leap of 20 feet, 1 1/2 inches at Edwardsville, Ill. Duncan will try to win the 100-meter final tonight.

Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey, 33, will retire after the 2001 outdoor season, ending a career in which he set the 100-meter world record while winning the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics.

Duke’s Candy Hanneman beat Arizona’s Lorena Ochoa in a playoff in the NCAA women’s golf championship, and Georgia rallied to win its first team title at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. USC’s Candie Kung tied for third.

Rain delayed Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s return to the Busch Series, wiping out the qualifying round for the Carquest 300 at Concord, N.C., and forcing the two-time series champion to rely on a provisional to make the field. Earnhardt Jr., who won consecutive Busch Series titles in 1998 and 1999, will start 33rd in Saturday’s race.

John Capel, an Olympic sprinter and wide receiver drafted by the Chicago Bears, was arrested earlier this month on a marijuana-possession charge.

Capel, a seventh-round pick last month, had failed a drug test at the NFL combine. He was charged with misdemeanor possession of less than 20 grams after his May 5 arrest after a traffic stop, police said.

The Indianapolis Colts claimed quarterback Mark Hartsell off waivers from the Chicago Bears. . . . Johnny McWilliams, a former USC and Pomona High standout who started seven games for the Minnesota Vikings last season, signed with the New England Patriots.

In a sudden reversal, prosecutors in Castle Rock, Colo., now say they are unsure whether there is enough evidence to convict Denver Bronco linebacker Bill Romanowski and his wife, Julie, of felony drug charges.

Boston College suspended cornerback Will Poole for the 2001-02 academic year for undisclosed reasons. . . . Virginia basketball player Schuye LaRue said she is leaving school to play professionally in Europe.

Mario Cipollini recovered from a rare sprint loss to win the sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia by edging two riders at the finish. Dario Frigo, who finished in the main group in the same time as the winner, retained the overall lead.