No Sweat, Davenport Wins Pan Pacific Title

Second-seeded Lindsay Davenport cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Magdalena Maleeva today in Tokyo to successfully defend her title in the Pan Pacific Open.

Davenport, ranked sixth in the WTA rankings, needed only 58 minutes to defeat Maleeva, who advanced to the final when Chanda Rubin pulled out of the semifinals Saturday because of an injured left knee.

Davenport, who also won this event in 1998 and 2001, was never in any trouble. She broke serve with a crosscourt forehand to go up 4-3 in the first set and never looked back.

Winter Sports

Kalle Palander of Finland withstood rain, sleet and a deteriorating course Saturday at Adelboden, Switzerland, to win a World Cup giant slalom, his second victory in the event this season.

Palander, the leader after the opening leg, made it down the soggy course in a two-run time of 2 minutes 32.15 seconds. Italy’s Massimiliano Blardone was second in 2:32.89. Austria’s Christoph Gruber was third in 2:33.27.

“This was a very difficult victory,” Palander said. “I really had to fight for it.”

Bode Miller of Bretton Woods, N.H., second fastest in the opening leg, veered off the course in the second leg.

Palander leads the discipline standings with 349 points, 39 more than Miller.

In the opening leg, snow at the top of the course and rain at the bottom made for difficult skiing. The poor visibility and slush meant skiers with late start numbers had virtually no chance of qualifying for the second run.

Starting from the No. 2 spot, Palander posted the fastest initial time. In the second run, rain, sleet and snow hampered the skiers. With the top 30 racing in reverse order, Palander overcame the worst conditions.

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Anja Paerson of Sweden clinched the season title in the giant slalom with two races left by winning a World Cup event at Zwiesel, Germany.

She overtook Austria’s Renate Goetschl in the overall World Cup standings.

Paerson, who has eight victories this season, was timed in 2 minutes 17.8 seconds. Tina Maze of Slovenia was second in 2:19.78 and Goetschl was third, an additional 0.07 seconds back.

Football

The AFC, led by quarterbacks Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Steve McNair of the Tennessee Titans -- the league co-MVPs -- plays the NFC, led by running backs Ahman Green of the Green Bay Packers and Stephen Davis of the Carolina Panthers, in today’s NFL Pro Bowl at Honolulu.

JoJo Polk returned a Tony Zimmerman pass four yards for a touchdown with 4:30 left to cap a 26-point fourth quarter as the expansion Columbus Destroyers beat the Indiana Firebirds, 54-48, in their inaugural Arena League game in front of 14,007, the most in the Firebirds’ 15-year history.

Miscellany

Colorado suspended four football players for violations that included one player taking a recruit to a strip club.

The violations were revealed during a team meeting regarding a police investigation of allegations that the football program hired an escort service for recruits in 2002 and 2003.

The accusations are the latest against the football program, under fire for allegedly using sex and alcohol at parties to entice recruits. The university denies the allegations, but regents have appointed an independent commission to investigate.

Coach Gary Barnett said that players denied the claims about the escort service but did admit to other infractions.

Linebacker Chris Hollis, offensive lineman Brian Daniels, offensive lineman Jack Tipton and cornerback Sammy Joseph will not play in the opener against Colorado State.

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Chinese weightlifter Shang Shichun has been stripped of three gold medals she won at November’s world championships in Vancouver after failing a test for an unspecified drug -- a decision she is appealing, China state media reported.