Chang Advances at Florida

Serves turned shaky and willpower wilted Thursday in the scorching South Florida sun, which turned the Nasdaq-100 Open tennis tournament into a test of subtropical stamina at Key Biscayne, Fla.

The temperature peaked at 88 degrees, one degree short of the record for the date, and the heat index was 97.

The 1992 champion, Michael Chang, who plans to retire later this year, began his 12th and final appearance at Key Biscayne by beating Nicolas Kiefer, 6-2, 6-2. Chang next plays five-time champion Andre Agassi.

Richard Gasquet, who at 16 is already ranked 112th, had to retire with fellow Frenchman Jean-Rene Lisnard leading, 3-6, 6-1, 2-1.

Mark Philippoussis eliminated Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Goran Ivanisevic, the 1996 runner-up, withdrew before his match after cutting his left foot while wading in the Atlantic Ocean on Miami Beach.

For the second day in a row, the WTA Tour invoked its rules for extremely hot weather, allowing a 10-minute break after the second set.

Meilen Tu won her midday marathon and then left the stadium court on a stretcher with heat exhaustion. Tu barely beat Bethanie Mattek, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), in 2 hours, 53 minutes.

Pro Football

Larry Centers was released by the Buffalo Bills in a cost-cutting move that leaves the team without the NFL’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards by a running back. The Bills also released linebacker Eddie Robinson.

Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Jason Gildon was told that disorderly conduct charges will be dropped if he does 60 hours of community service during the next three months. Gildon and two companions were arrested after refusing to leave a Pittsburgh nightclub Saturday night, police said.

Defensive end Lance Johnstone re-signed with the Minnesota Vikings after a season in which he led the team in sacks.... Starting safety Omar Stoutmire re-signed with the New York Giants. Terms were not disclosed.... Free-agent cornerback Donald Mitchell signed a three-year deal worth about $2.6 million, including a $675,000 bonus, with the Dallas Cowboys.

Winter Sports

Bode Miller easily won his first U.S. Alpine National Championships super giant slalom title at Lake Placid, N.Y., in a race that 47 skiers failed to finish.

Skiing first after a two-hour delay caused by a steady downpour, Miller traversed Whiteface Mountain in 1 minute 18.99 seconds. Jakub Fiala was second, .31 of a second behind, and defending national Super G champ Marco Sullivan and Scott Macartney tied for third, an additional .20 back, at 1:19.50. Forty-six other racers skied off course and did not finish.

The rain delay forced organizers to postpone the women’s Super G until today.

Finland’s Matti Hautamaeki set a world record with a ski jump of 227.5 meters in qualifying for the final World Cup event of the season at Planica, Slovenia.

Sweden’s Thobias Fredriksson won the last World Cup sprint of the season at Borlange, Sweden, to capture the title in cross-country skiing’s newest discipline.

Miscellany

Maggie Bowen won her third consecutive 200-yard individual medley title to help defending champion Auburn take the lead after the first day of the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships at Auburn, Ala.

The Tigers scored 168.5 points, taking the lead over Georgia (123.3) and Texas (114.4).

Auburn’s 400-yard medley relay team of Kirsty Coventry, Bowen, Margaret Hoelzer and Becky Short set new NCAA and U.S. Open records with a time of 3:31.45.

Johnny Thompson easily won his first two matches to help Oklahoma State take an early lead in its bid for a 31st NCAA wrestling championship at Kansas City, Mo.

Cindy and Marty Taylor of Nelson County, Va., were awarded more than $4 million by a Charlotte, N.C., jury for injuries in the 2000 collapse of a pedestrian walkway at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

The Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach will host the 43rd Olympic Classesses Regatta today through Sunday.

Passings

Former University of Miami and San Francisco 49er safety Al Blades was killed early Thursday in Miami when the car he was riding in crashed into a bridge and plunged into a canal. He was 26.

Blades, the brother of former Miami and NFL players Bennie and Brian Blades, was pronounced dead at Parkway Regional Medical Center, hospital spokesman Drew Landmeier said.

Former New York Yankee shortstop and longtime minor league team owner Joe Buzas died Wednesday in Salt Lake City at 84. Buzas owned the Pacific Coast League’s Salt Lake Stingers, the triple-A franchise for the Angels.