Venus Williams Wins in Return From Injury

Venus Williams’ return was a success. Jennifer Capriati’s was not.

Williams beat Alicia Molik, 6-3, 6-4, Wednesday to reach the Dubai Open quarterfinals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Capriati lost to Eleni Daniilidou, 6-4, 7-6 (2).

Top-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne eliminated wild-card entry Selima Sfar, 6-1, 7-5, and Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Anca Barna, 6-4, 6-3. Kuznetsova will face Williams next.

Williams was playing her first competitive match in three weeks after being sidelined by a right leg injury.

Capriati, who was out because of a bad back, saved three match points at 5-3 in the second set before losing her first match of the year.

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The United States will play Sweden on hard courts in Delray Beach, Fla., for the April 9-11 Davis Cup quarterfinals. The Home Depot Center in Carson had bid to play host to the match.

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Third-seeded Gustavo Kuerten defeated Richard Gasquet, 7-6 (3), 6-3, and Agustin Calleri defeated Fernando Verdasco, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Brasil Open at Costa Do Sauipe.

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French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero was upset by Gregory Carraz, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (3), 6-3, at the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France.

College Football

UCLA filled its quarterbacks coach opening by giving Jim Svoboda his first Division I position.

Svoboda, 43, spent the last 10 seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northwest Missouri State, which won the Division II championship in 1998 and 1999.

Unlike most coaches on the Bruin staff, Svoboda did not have a previous relationship with UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell. He will replace Steve Axman, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach who was fired after one season.

Svoboda was head coach at Nebraska Wesleyan from 1987 to 1993, compiling a 52-19 record.

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The University of Colorado appointed John DiBiaggio, a former president of Tufts, Michigan State and Connecticut, to help the school determine whether its embattled athletic department has a culture that encourages mistreatment of women.

DiBiaggio, who will be paid $21,000 a month plus a $1,000 monthly housing allowance, is expected to begin work as the university’s athletics liaison next week and will report directly to President Betsy Hoffman and Chancellor Richard Byyny.

Also on Wednesday, a woman at the heart of a lawsuit against the school decried the release of her videotaped deposition to television stations. The tapes were first aired Tuesday night.

Lisa Simpson, who claimed she was raped during or after an off-campus party for recruits in December 2001, said release of the tapes was an example of using the “punish-the-women” defense by the school.

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Wisconsin tailback Dwayne Smith and another man were charged in the alleged sexual assault on a 19-year-old woman who told authorities she was raped after meeting one of them at a Madison, Wis., party.

Smith, 19, the Badgers’ leading rusher as a sophomore last season, and Anwar L. Jones, 22, were charged with being party to the crime of second-degree sexual assault with use of force.

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Kent State Coach Dean Pees resigned to become a linebackers coach for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. He was 17-51 in six seasons at the school.

Pro Football

A deal that would send Washington cornerback Champ Bailey to Denver for running back Clinton Portis is nearly complete.

The Redskins and Broncos have agreed in principle to the Bailey-Portis trade, with the Redskins throwing in a second-round draft pick, but the deal isn’t a sure thing until Bailey and the Broncos reach agreement on a new contract.

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New England quarterback Tom Brady underwent a minor procedure on his throwing shoulder because of lingering soreness, the team said.

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Kick returner Brian Mitchell was released by the New York Giants along with running back Dorsey Levens.

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Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair pleaded innocent to charges of drunken driving and possession of a firearm while intoxicated.

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Seattle tight end Jerramy Stevens has appealed the team’s decision to take back $300,000 from his $2.8 million signing bonus as the result of a reckless driving conviction.

Miscellany

The second annual NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, a national championship racer for NASCAR’s touring series, will return to Irwindale Speedway on Nov. 11-13, it was announced in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Drivers will be the top 10 in point standings from four different Elite Division series and the top 15 from the Grand National Division, which includes the Busch North Series and West Series. Austin Cameron of El Cajon and Ron Breese Jr. of DeKalb, Ill., are defending champions.

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Cal Poly San Luis Obispo will join six other schools in the new Great West Conference that will compete on the Division I-AA level in football starting with the 2004 season. Joining Cal Poly, which had been an independent, will be UC Davis, St. Mary’s, Northern Colorado, Southern Utah, North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

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John Ireland and Steve Mason, talk show partners on XTRA (690) from 1994 to’99, are being reunited by KSPN (710) for a daily 1-4 p.m. weekday show beginning March 22. Joe McDonnell and Doug Krikorian will be on the air one less hour (4-7 p.m.).

Dave Stone, who has been the main host from 1-3 p.m., will remain at the station and be used in a variety of ways, according to KSPN program director Ray Kalusa.

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The Court of Common Pleas in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, issued a temporary restraining order to prevent USA Boxing from proceeding with its Olympic qualifying process in the 152-pound division. The order was issued at the request of attorneys for Juan McPherson and Andre Berto, both of whom left the U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials last week in Tunica, Miss., involuntarily, McPherson on medical grounds, Berto because of a flagrant foul.

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A proposed May 8 bout between Paul Spadafora and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at Madison Square Garden was rejected by New York boxing authorities. Spadafora is awaiting trial, stemming from the Oct. 26 shooting of his girlfriend in suburban Pittsburgh.

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Lisa Leslie scored 19 points at Havana to lead the United States past the Cuban national team, 73-37, in a tuneup for the Athens Olympics.

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Moorhead College defeated Monticello, 27-0, in the quarterfinals of a small-college hockey tournament at Moorhead, Minn. Moorhead outshot Monticello, 87-3, and four players had hat tricks.