Labonte Easily Beats Gordon

Bobby Labonte once again mastered Atlanta Motor Speedway, fighting off a late challenge from Jeff Gordon Sunday to win the NASCAR Winston Cup Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500.

Labonte dominated at times during the 325-lap race at Hampton, Ga., and appeared to have things totally under control after passing Gordon for the lead with 44 laps left. But Jeff Burton brought out a caution flag on Lap 308 when his engine blew and he scraped the fourth-turn wall.

That gave Gordon a shot at Labonte on the restart on Lap 313, and he took advantage. Gordon pushed the nose of his No. 24 Chevrolet under Labonte’s No. 18 Chevrolet and finally nosed in front on the backstretch.

Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup champion, stayed close to Gordon, got right on his rear bumper and made him wiggle in the fourth turn. Labonte then moved alongside as the two got to the flagstand, then zoomed into the lead as they drove into Turn 1 on the 1 1/2-mile quad oval.

Moments later, Labonte began pulling away from Gordon, driving to a lead of 20 car lengths over the next few laps and winning by 1.274 seconds -- half a straightaway. There were 23 lead changes, but Labonte led a race-high 172 laps.

Gordon “just kept us honest,” said Labonte, who won for the sixth time in 12 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “That guy was just so fast. The restarts were terrible, but the car was good.”

Tennis

Lleyton Hewitt beat fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis, 6-4, 6-4, to win his second Franklin Templeton Classic title.

“It’s been a wonderful week,” said Hewitt, ranked No. 1 in the world. “It was fantastic preparation. I played solid out there. I took advantage of the chances that I had. I felt like I played a very smart match out there.”

The final was a matchup of contrasting styles. Philippoussis, who won the 1997 tournament at Scottsdale, Ariz., is a big hitter who had a serve clocked in the tourney at 138 mph. Hewitt, who won it in 2000, is a baseline player.

Hewitt and Philippoussis came to Scottsdale to tune up before competing in the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, which starts today.

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Fourth-seeded Jan-Michael Gambill defeated Mardy Fish, 6-0, 7-6 (5), to win the International Tennis Championship at Delray Beach, Fla., for the second time in three years.

Gambill opened and closed the nearly 1 1/2-hour match with aces. It was the unseeded Fish’s first ATP Tour final and he was shaky at the start. He had won 36 consecutive service games but had trouble controlling his big serve in the first set.

Winter Sports

Adam Malysz of Poland won a large-hill ski jump at Oslo for his first World Cup victory this season.

Malysz jumped 124.5 meters for 133.6 points. The second round was canceled because of fog. Florian Liegl of Austria and Roar Ljokelsoy of Norway tied for second with 118.8 points after jumping 116 meters.

Malysz passed Sven Hannawald of Germany for the lead in the overall standings. He has 1,027 points and Hannawald, who finished 14th, has 1,019.

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Ronny Ackermann of Germany won his third World Cup Nordic combined event this season, covering the 7.5-kilometer cross-country race in 18 minutes 19.2 seconds on the Holmenkollen course at Oslo. He had won the ski jump earlier in the day. Felix Gottwald of Austria was second, 10.5 seconds behind.

Jurisprudence

Former boxing heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe was arrested Saturday night on a domestic violence charge, less than a week before he was to begin serving prison time for abducting his first wife and their five children.

Officers found Bowe’s current wife, Terri, and other people in a home at Fort Washington, Md. Bowe, 35, was not there but police found him in his car about 10 minutes later and arrested him, a police spokesman said.

Bowe was charged with several counts, including second-degree assault, and was taken to jail. His wife was taken to a hospital but her injuries were not believed to be serious.

Miscellany

Damian Costantino of Salve Regina matched Robin Ventura’s NCAA-record 58-game hitting streak with hits in both games of a doubleheader against Wesley at Cape Coral, Fla.

Costantino, a 24-year-old outfielder from Warwick, R.I., tied the mark when he hit a chopper between third base and shortstop for a single in the first inning of the second game.

Ventura set the mark for Division I Oklahoma State in 1987. Salve Regina plays in NCAA Division III.

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Walter Ray Williams Jr. bowled a 226 to defeat Brian Kretzer and win the PBA world championship at Taylor, Mich. Williams won by 21 pins for his 37th PBA title. He earned $120,000 to increase his season winnings to $419,600.