Saban Decides It’s Best to Remain LSU Coach

Nick Saban announced Saturday he will remain football coach at Louisiana State, one day after talking to the Chicago Bears about their coaching vacancy.

“I’m very happy to be the coach here,” Saban said. “We’re looking forward to the challenges of making LSU a dominant program in the future.”

Saban led the Tigers to a share of their first national title since the 1958 season, triggering a clause in his contract that guarantees him becoming the highest-paid coach in college football.

Saban, the Associated Press coach of the year, made $1.5 million last season and is in line for a raise to at least $1 more than Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, who makes $2.3 million a year.

The Tigers beat Stoops’ Sooners, 21-14, in the Sugar Bowl last Sunday to win the bowl championship series title. LSU finished second to USC in the AP poll.

Saban’s name had been linked to NFL openings because of his success at LSU and his experience as an assistant in the pros. He met on Friday with Bear General Manager Jerry Angelo -- a longtime friend -- but decided to stay with the Tigers.

Tennis

Venus Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, 7-5, 6-3, to win the Champions Challenge exhibition at Hong Kong, her first tournament in six months after last year’s injury-filled season.

French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero won the men’s final, beating Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, 6-4, 6-4.

Williams, once ranked No. 1 but now No. 11, showed no ill effects from the abdominal injury that had sidelined her since July. She plans to play in the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 19.

“Maria played so well and I had to find some answers out there, but more than anything I was trying to enjoy playing,” Williams said. “It’s been too long, too long ... It’s great to be back.”

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Nicolas Escude, a wild-card entry, won the Qatar Open at Doha -- his first tournament in six months -- by defeating unseeded Ivan Ljubicic, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

Escude did not lose a set in his four matches in winning his fourth career title. His previous tournament was at Wimbledon, where he suffered a hip injury during the second round.

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Top-seeded Ai Sugiyama defeated second-seeded Nadia Petrova, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, to win the Australian women’s hardcourt championships at Gold Coast.... Qualifier Michael Llodra upset fifth-seeded Taylor Dent, 6-3, 7-5, to advance to the final of the AAPT Championships at Adelaide, Australia. Llodra will play another unseeded player, Dominik Hrbaty in today’s final. Hrbaty beat sixth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen, 6-4, 6-2.

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Paradorn Srichaphan rallied past fourth-seeded Tommy Robredo, 1-6, 7-6 (10), 7-5, to advance to the finals of the Tata Open at Madras, India. Srichaphan, seeded second, will face top-seeded Carlos Moya, who beat third-seeded Sjeng Schalken, 6-3, 6-4.

Winter Sports

Stephan Eberharter won a World Cup downhill at Chamonix, France, in which Austria showed overwhelming strength by taking seven of the top eight spots.

Eberharter registered his 26th World Cup victory, matching the total of countryman Franz Klammer. Klammer, a former Olympic downhill champion, won his races between 1973 and ’84.

It also was Eberharter’s 15th career downhill victory but first this season. He finished in 1 minute 59.08 seconds. Lasse Kjus of Norway was second in 1:59.39 and Michael Walchhofer third in 1:59.83.

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Renate Goetschl of Austria won a World Cup downhill at Veysonnaz, Switzerland, to move into third place on the career list for downhill victories. She was timed in 1 minute 38.58 seconds.

Teammate Michaela Dorfmeister and Hilde Gerg of Germany tied for second, 0.49 seconds behind. Kirsten Clark of Raymond, Maine, was fourth, 0.59 back, and Caroline Lalive of Steamboat Springs, Colo., was fifth in 1:39.57.

Goetschl has won 30 World Cup races, including 16 in the downhill. Annemarie Moser-Proell of Austria has the most World Cup downhill wins (36), followed by Michaela Figini of Switzerland (17).

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Hannu Manninen and Samppa Lajunen of Finland went 1-2 in a World Cup Nordic combined event at Seefeld, Austria. Manninen outsprinted Lajunen, a triple Olympic champion in 2002, on the final straightaway of the 7.5-kilometer race.

He was timed in 17 minutes 47.5 seconds. Lajunen was 3.9 seconds back.

Miscellany

Jeanette Antolin led a UCLA sweep in the all-around event, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Bruin gymnastics team from losing their season-opening meet to Utah, 197.350-196.375, at Pauley Pavilion.

Antolin also had a perfect 10.0 in the vault, as did Utah’s Annabeth Eberle. UCLA’s Kate Richardson had a 10.0 in the balance beam.

UCLA, the defending NCAA champion, ended Utah’s collegiate-record 170-meet home winning streak last season.

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Eagle Akakura of Thailand won the World Boxing Council strawweight title with a decision over Jose Antonio Aguirre of Mexico at Tokyo. Akakura improved to 12-0, with five knockouts. Aguirre (32-2-1, 21) was making his eighth defense of the 105-pound title he won in February 2000.

Passings

Yinka Dare, the New Jersey Nets’ first-round draft pick in 1994, died after collapsing at his home in Englewood, N.J. He was 32.

A medical examiner determined that Dare, pronounced dead Friday at Englewood Hospital, had a heart attack due to an irregular heartbeat.