Kwan Has Lead in Group; U.S. Pair Wins Bronze

Michelle Kwan reacted as if she struck gold, even though the title was still two rounds away. Kyoko Ina was dismayed, even though she helped the United States win its first medal in the World Figure Skating Championships at Nagano, Japan.

“Finally! Eureka!” Kwan shouted after finishing first Wednesday in her women’s qualifying group with the help of a triple-triple jump combination, a maneuver she failed to complete in her bronze-medal Olympic routine.

Russia’s Irina Slutskaya won the other group and Sasha Cohen of Laguna Niguel was second. American Jennifer Kirk, subbing for Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, was fourth in Kwan’s group.

Ina captured a bronze medal in the pairs event with John Zimmerman, but she wasn’t happy about their effort.

“That’s the worst performance we had all year, so it’s really disappointing for us,” Ina said. “It’s a high result, but we wanted a better performance.”

Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue won the gold medal, the first for a Chinese pair.

Pro Football

Former Miami running back Lamar Smith has agreed to a $4.3-million, three-year contract with Carolina.

Smith, 31, had 2,007 yards in 622 carries the last two seasons. He became expendable after the Dolphins acquired Ricky Williams in a trade with New Orleans.

Defensive tackle Lional Dalton agreed to a $22-million, seven-year contract with Denver after spending the last four seasons with Baltimore. ... Tight end Byron Chamberlain has agreed to a contract with Minnesota, which had been in danger of losing a fourth starter to free agency. ... Cleveland tackle Mark Smith agreed to a two-year contract with the Browns. ... Detroit re-signed running back Lamont Warren, who started three games last season while James Stewart was injured. ... Tackle Willie Roaf got a 24-hour extension from New Orleans to work out a deal with another team. The Saints have another day before they have to pay him a $4.25-million bonus.

A jury found former NFL lineman Dexter Manley, 43, guilty of evidence tampering for attempting to swallow less than a gram of cocaine during a drug bust at a Houston motel in January 2001.

Manley remains free on $20,000 bail pending his sentencing, scheduled for April 5. He faces up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Canadian Football League Commissioner Michael Lysko was fired after 15 months on the job.

College Football

Defending national champion Miami promoted longtime offensive line coach Art Kehoe to assistant head coach.

Former South Carolina running back Derek Watson was found guilty in Greenville, S.C., of marijuana possession, probably ending his chances of returning to the Gamecocks.

Soccer

A federal appeals court in Boston upheld a jury’s decision to reject claims by professional soccer players that Major League Soccer is an illegal monopoly designed to depress salaries.

The players filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court in 1997, accusing MLS of keeping salaries low to increase profits, and of conspiring with the U.S. Soccer Federation to eliminate competition for top players.

In December 2000, after a three-month trial, a jury agreed with owners that the market was not limited to Division I soccer in the United States, and that there was competition in Europe and in Latin America, and in minor and indoor U.S. leagues.

U.S. men’s captain Claudio Reyna, bothered by several injuries, was dropped from the roster for an exhibition game against Germany on March 27 at Rostock, Germany.

Reyna, sidelined during the 1994 World Cup because of a pulled right hamstring, sat out three World Cup qualifiers last year because of a suspension and a groin pull. The Americans lost all three.

Cory Gibbs, a member of the under-23 team at the 1999 Pan American Games, was put on the roster and could make his international debut. Gibbs, 22, plays for St. Pauli in Germany.

The U.S. has won two in a row against the Germans, outscoring them, 5-0, in two games in 1999.

France, Argentina and Brazil remained 1-2-3 in the monthly rankings of FIFA, soccer’s ruling body.

The United States is 13th.

Also in the top 10 are Italy, Colombia, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Netherlands and Germany.

Tennis

U.S. Davis Cup player Mardy Fish overcame a slow start to beat Michel Kratochvil, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, on the opening day of the Nasdaq-100 Open at Key Biscayne, Fla.

It was only the third victory this year in tournament play for Fish, 20.

Fish made his Davis Cup debut last month and teamed with James Blake in doubles to win the clinching match against Slovakia.

Miscellany

Two horses broke down in the first race at New York’s rain-soaked Aqueduct, and track officials canceled the rest of the nine-race program.

In the seven-furlong race over a track listed as muddy, Emily’s Pleasure broke her left ankle while running around the far turn. She was euthanized on the track.

A few seconds earlier, odds-on favorite East Coast Country injured her right front tendon but continued around the track before jockey John Velazquez was able to stop her.

Russian long-distance runner Zhanna Malkova was suspended for two years by the French track fFederation after failing a drug test, the French sports newspaper L’Equipe reported.

She tested positive for the performance-enhancer EPO after a marathon victory at Reims on Oct. 21, the publication said.

The ban is not recognized by the IAAF, track’s governing body, because a urine test was not preceded by a blood test, L’Equipe reported.

T.J. Simers is on vacation.