Oracle Sails to Early Lead in Semifinal

Oracle BMW Racing beat U.S. rival OneWorld Challenge in the first race of their semifinal repechage in sailing’s Louis Vuitton Cup Thursday off Auckland, New Zealand.

The winner will meet Swiss team Alinghi in the final for the right to challenge Team New Zealand in February in the 31st America’s Cup.

OneWorld of the Seattle Yacht Club is carrying a one-race penalty after it admitted to having secret information on the design of rival syndicates. Oracle has to win three more races to advance to the final, while OneWorld needs five victories.

Oracle took advantage of a stronger breeze on the first leg to sail into a lead it never surrendered.

Olympics

San Antonio Spur Coach Gregg Popovich, Dayton’s Oliver Purnell and Kansas Coach Roy Williams were chosen as the assistant coaches for the 2003 USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team.

The team will participate in the 2004 Olympic qualifying tournament Aug. 20-31 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Last month, Philadelphia 76er Coach Larry Brown was introduced as the head coach.

A paper presented by Greece’s main conservative opposition party claims the planned roofs for the Olympic stadium and velodrome may not be safe.

New Democracy Deputy Marios Salmas, who monitors 2004 Olympic preparations for the organization, said the planned steel-and-glass domes that will cover both facilities need to be adjusted.

Miscellany

Not only will Pete Sampras keep playing tennis, but the 14-time Grand Slam tournament champion is bringing back Paul Annacone as his coach.

Annacone resigned Thursday as managing director of USA Tennis High Performance after a year of running the program aimed at developing stars of the future. Vic Braden, a top coach who has taught tennis for the last 20 years, is among the candidates to replace Annacone.

A state appeals court ruled Andrew Sanchez, the former Cal State Northridge pitcher who suffered a fractured skull when he was struck by a line drive in 1999, can sue the bat manufacturer, USC, the Pacific-10 Conference and the NCAA.

Sanchez is seeking punitive damages against Hillerich and Bradsby, maker of the Air Attack 2, the bat used by USC’s Dominic Correa when Sanchez was injured. Medical expenses and lost earnings are also sought in the suit, which was originally dismissed on a summary judgment by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

In the Court of Appeal’s opinion of reversal, Justice Gary Hastings wrote Sanchez’s attorneys established “use of this particular bat significantly increased the inherent risk that a pitcher would be hit by a line drive.” A kinesiologist declared the ball that struck Sanchez was traveling close to 107.8 mph, depriving the pitcher of the NCAA-required .39 second reaction time.

Boxer Fernando Vargas has been ordered to perform 20 hours of community service for violating his probation by traveling out of California without permission.

Lisa Kosglow won when her opponent fell just before the finish and Pete Thorndike took first in the men’s race as U.S. riders swept the parallel giant slalom in the opening day of the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix at Park City, Utah.

Olympic ice dance gold medalists Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat have withdrawn from the Champions on Ice tour on the advice of their attorney and will remain in France, according to Collins-Marshall Management, which represents them.

Anissina was implicated in the alleged plot to fix the outcome of the ice dance competition at Salt Lake City, and she would probably have faced questioning from U.S. law enforcement officials if she visited the U.S.