Davenport a Winner Ahead of the Rain

Lindsay Davenport needed only 55 minutes to beat Kveta Peschke, 6-2, 6-2, before rain postponed most of the afternoon matches Thursday in the Bausch & Lomb tennis tournament Championships at Amelia Island, Fla.

Fifth-seeded Venus Williams and Marta Domachowska were tied at one set each before the delay. They will finish their match today, the winner playing Davenport.

The match involving second-seeded Serena Williams and former tournament champion Mary Pierce was also moved to today.

In the only other match completed Thursday, sixth-seeded Vera Zvonareva beat ninth-seeded Elena Likhovtseva, 6-4, 6-4.

College Basketball

Senior forward Dijon Thompson, who led UCLA in scoring and rebounding, earned the Coach John Wooden Award as the Bruins’ most valuable player during the 2004-05 season.

Thompson averaged 18.4 points and 7.9 rebounds and led the Bruins in scoring 14 times and in rebounding 20 times.

Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo and Josh Shipp shared the Seymour Armond Memorial Award for most valuable freshmen, and Afflalo received the Irv Pohlmeyer Memorial Award for being the outstanding defensive player.

Freshman guards Gabe Pruitt, who led USC with 12.3 points a game this season, and Nick Young, who averaged 11.1, were named the Trojans’ most valuable players.

Wisconsin assistant Rob Jeter will be the new coach at Wisconsin Milwaukee and replace Bruce Pearl, who left for Tennessee, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.... Junior swingman Kelenna Azubuike, Kentucky’s leading scorer last season at 14.7 points a game, said he had signed with an agent and would forgo his final season of college eligibility for the NBA draft.... Georgetown’s leading scorer, Brandon Bowman, said he would make himself available for the NBA draft but that he had not signed with an agent.

Soccer

The captain of a third-division team became the first player suspended in Germany’s match-fixing scandal.

The country’s soccer federation banned Thijs Waterink until July 31. He had previously been suspended by his club, SC Paderborn, after the scandal broke in January.

Leo Beenhakker, who once coached the Netherlands’ national team, signed a six-month contract to lead Trinidad and Tobago to the end of World Cup qualifying. He replaced Bertille St. Claire.

Pro Football

Restricted free-agent safety Brian Russell will play for Cleveland, after the Minnesota Vikings decided not to match the Browns’ offer. Russell, who started at safety the last two seasons, signed an offer sheet for a two-year contract with the Browns last week.

Defensive end Marques Douglas agreed to a three-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers, leaving the Baltimore Ravens after six seasons.... The Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran tight end Marco Battaglia, who did not play in the NFL last season.

Miscellany

UCLA senior Jessica Crosby won the women’s hammer throw on the first day of the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner Kersee Invitational track and field meet with a toss of 208 feet 5 inches at Drake Stadium. In the men’s event, UCLA junior Andrew Ninow won with a lifetime-best throw of 188-10.

Gabe Gauthier, a Buena Park native, scored two goals and had an assist, and Luke Fulgham scored two goals to lead Denver to a 6-2 win over Colorado College in an NCAA semifinal hockey game at Columbus, Ohio. Denver will play North Dakota in Saturday’s championship game. North Dakota defeated Minnesota, 4-2.

California receiver Chase Lyman’s appeal for a sixth season of eligibility was denied by the NCAA.

Lyman was plagued by injuries throughout his career with the Golden Bears, catching only 54 passes for 1,089 yards and nine touchdowns.

Nine Formula One teams and five carmakers decided to boycott a meeting next week with auto racing’s world governing body, boosting their bid to start their own series in 2008.

Cyclist Lance Armstrong is considering retiring after he tries for a record seventh consecutive Tour de France victory this July.

“It’s a possibility,” Armstrong said at a Central Park appearance to support New York’s 2012 Olympic bid.