Miller ends downhill drought

Bode Miller narrowly avoided a high-speed collision with a course worker to post his first World Cup downhill victory in two years, ignoring the scare to charge down the Birds of Prey course at Beaver Creek, Colo., in 1 minute 46.15 seconds.

Downhill veteran Didier Cuche was finished second, 0.15 of a second behind, and American Steve Nyman was third, 0.33 back.

Americans have won the Birds of Prey downhill -- considered one of the three toughest on the World Cup circuit -- the last three years.

And each time, they’ve put two racers on the podium. Miller and Daron Rahlves, the country’s most decorated speed event skier, traded 1-2 finishes here in 2004 and 2005.

Despite Rahlves’ retirement, four Americans finished in the top 10 Friday as Scott Macartney was eighth and Marco Sullivan 10th.

Miller’s last World Cup victory was at the finals in Are, Sweden, in March, when he won a super-G.

Miller had a close call when a man in a green jacket lost his footing on the icy surface and streaked across his path just two gates below the skier. Miller, going into a right-footed turn, neither flinched nor slowed and even picked up speed.

“It’s a little bit of a distraction, but being a ski racer, you’re used to those kinds of things and you get past them pretty quick,” said Miller, who estimated he was going 65 mph.

“Once I realized I wasn’t going to hit him, he was the last thing on my mind.”

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Maria Riesch, coming back from two knee operations, edged American Lindsey Kildow at Lake Louise, Canada, to win the opening downhill of the women’s World Cup season.

Riesch won for the fourth time in her career, finishing in 1 minute 51.31 seconds on the Olympic course. Kildow was timed in 1:51.74, with Nadia Fanchini third in 1:52.06.

TENNIS

Argentina, Russia tied in Davis Cup final

David Nalbandian defeated Marat Safin, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, to give Argentina a 1-1 tie with Russia in the best-of-five Davis Cup final at Moscow’s Olympic Stadium.

Nikolay Davydenko gave Russia an early lead, defeating Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-1, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. The third-ranked Davydenko, who had lost five previous matches against Chela, overcame shaky starts in his early service games.

Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny continue Russia’s attempt for its first title since 2002 against Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri in today’s doubles. The decisive reverse singles are scheduled for Sunday.

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Richard Williams falsely represented himself as having authority to commit his daughters, Venus and Serena, to play in a “Battle of the Sexes” match, a promoter suing them all testified in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Promoters Carol Clarke and Keith Rhodes allege that Richard Williams agreed to a contract to have his daughters play in the 2001 match. The promoters claim they lost millions of dollars when the sisters reneged.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys played a video clip for jurors showing Richard Williams negotiating the deal with Clarke. In the video, taken by Richard Williams, he tells Clarke that Venus and Serena are “well aware of what I am doing.”

GOLF

Furyk takes four-shot lead over Stenson

Jim Furyk shot a six-under-par 66 to take a four-shot lead after the second round of the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City, South Africa. He is at 10-under 134. First-round leader Henrik Stenson, who shot a one-under 71, is in second place.

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Paul Gow took the third-round lead in the six-round PGA Tour final qualifying tournament at La Quinta, shooting a seven-under 65 to move two strokes ahead of Rich Barcelo and Cameron Beckman.

Gow had an eagle, six birdies and a bogey on PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course for a 13-under 203 total. Beckman had a 66 and Barcelo shot a 70, both on the Nicklaus course.

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Amateur In-Kyung Kim shot a four-under 68 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., for a share of the third-round lead with Angela Park in the LPGA Tour’s 90-hole final qualifying tournament.

The 18-year-old Kim matched Park, an 18-year-old professional from Torrance, at eight-under 208. Park shot a 71.

SOCCER

Galaxy acquires goalkeeper Cannon

The Galaxy traded forward Herculez Gomez and defender Ugo Ihemelu to the Colorado Rapids for goalkeeper Joe Cannon. The teams also exchanged second-round picks in January’s Major League Soccer draft, with the Rapids moving up five places as a result.

The acquisition of Cannon, 31, could signal the departure of longtime starting goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, a two-time MLS champion.

Cannon, a two-time MLS All-Star, played for Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop when both were with the San Jose Earthquakes. He won an MLS title in 2001 and was the league’s goalkeeper of the year in 2002 and 2004.

Gomez, 24, was the Galaxy’s second-leading goal scorer behind Landon Donovan in 2005, when he was the team’s MVP. In 57 regular-season and playoff games, he scored 17 goals and assisted on five others. Ihemelu, 23, was a consistent starter in his first two MLS seasons and appeared in a total of 58 games.

-- Grahame L. Jones

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

USC women advance with win over BYU

Fifth-seeded USC defeated Brigham Young, 30-25, 39-37, 30-19, at the Galen Center in the second round of the NCAA Division I women’s tournament. There were 20 ties and nine lead changes. The Trojans (27-4) advance to play the winner of the Long Beach regional.

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Fourth-seeded UCLA beat Alabama Birmingham, 30-24, 30-21, 30-23, at Pauley Pavilion in the first round of the NCAA women’s tournament. The Bruins (30-3) will play Utah tonight. The Utes (28-3) beat Michigan State, 30-25, 27-30, 20-30, 30-28, 15-11, in the opening match.

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Long Beach State beat Pepperdine, 30-22, 30-27, 25-30, 30-26, at the Pyramid in a first-round NCAA women’s match. The 49ers (26-5) will play 12th-seeded Hawaii (27-5) tonight in the second round. The Rainbows beat Oregon, 30-17, 30-17, 30-18, in the opening match at the Pyramid.