Schnyder Records an Easy Victory

Patty Schnyder earned a straight-set victory Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

Schnyder, seeded second, beat qualifier Akiko Morigami, 6-1, 6-4.

She is the WTA’s eighth-ranked player but hasn’t won a tournament this season, reaching only one final.

“On these fast surfaces, it’s really important to move well and get a high percentage of your first serves in,” Schnyder said.

“Today was all about winning and getting to the next round.”

Vera Zvonareva, last week’s surprise winner in Cincinnati, also advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-0 victory over Nathalie Dechy.

Fourth-seeded AnnaLena Groenefeld also advanced, defeating Vasilisa Bardina, 6-3, 7-5.

Schnyder will play Jill Craybas today, and Groenefeld will meet Tatiana Golovin.

Zvonareva will play top-seeded Kim Clijsters.

Philipp Kohlschreiber upset third-seeded Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, in the third round of the Generali Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Nieminen was a favorite for the title after top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko and second-seeded Tommy Robredo were eliminated Wednesday.

Ranked 15th by the ATP, Nieminen had four double-faults as he struggled with his serve against 13th-seeded Kohlschreiber, who had lost to Nieminen four times this season.

Kohlschreiber next will play seventh-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela, who beat qualifier Dusan Vemic, 6-4, 6-0.

Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten said he would skip next month’s U.S. Open and Brazil’s Davis Cup match against Sweden in September.

Kuerten will be sidelined for at least four weeks because of a right thigh injury, according to his website.

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SOCCER

AC Milan Will Play in Champions League

UEFA provisionally will allow AC Milan to play in the Champions League, pending a final decision Wednesday.

UEFA said in a statement that Milan would be included in today’s draw for the third qualifying round of the competition.

AC Milan on Tuesday successfully appealed against a penalty it received in Italy’s match-fixing scandal, which would have barred it from taking part in the Champions League.

Real Madrid has acquired Ruud van Nistelrooy from Manchester United and reached an agreement with the Dutch striker on a three-year contract.

The club announced the transfer in a statement on its website, saying Van Nistelrooy will be presented at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium today after a routine medical examination.

Madrid gave no financial details, but news reports said earlier that the 29-time Spanish league champion would pay United $19.1 million.

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JURISPRUDENCE

Federal Judge Throws Out Danton’s Appeal

A federal judge has refused to revisit the prison sentence he handed Mike Danton for the former St. Louis Blues player’s failed bid to have his agent killed, again foiling the inmate’s push to be transferred to his native Canada to serve his time.

In throwing out Danton’s appeal, U.S. District Judge William Stiehl found that Danton knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to challenge the 7 1/2 -year sentence he got in November 2004 after accepting a deal with prosecutors and pleading guilty to murder conspiracy charges.

The ruling assures that Danton remains at a prison in Fort Dix, N.J.

Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett has hired two new attorneys to represent him in his trial on burglary and weapons charges in Columbus, Ohio.

Clarett fired attorneys William Settina and Robert Krapenc a week ago, notifying them in a single-paragraph letter.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David S. Fais held a hearing Thursday morning to address Clarett’s defense. Bailiff Tim Jackson said court papers showed Nick L. Mango and Michael C. Hoague were hired to represent Clarett.

Clarett is charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, four counts of robbery and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.

Authorities said he was identified by witnesses as the person who flashed a gun and robbed two people in an alley behind a Columbus bar in the early hours of Jan. 1.

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PRO BASKETBALL

Orlando Re-Signs Forward Trevor Ariza

The Orlando Magic re-signed forward Trevor Ariza, a restricted free agent the club acquired in a midseason deal with the New York Knicks.

Ariza played in 57 games with the Magic and the Knicks last season, averaging 4.6 points and four rebounds.

The Knicks sent Ariza and the expiring contract of Anfernee Hardaway to Orlando as part of the Steve Francis deal completed in February.

Ariza, 21, was originally selected 43rd overall by the Knicks out of UCLA in the 2002 draft.

The Seattle SuperSonics traded center Mikki Moore to the New Jersey Nets for a second-round pick in the 2009 draft.

Moore, who averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 47 games last season, became expendable after Seattle drafted 7-footer Mouhamed Sene with the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft.

Moore played for New Jersey during the 2003-04 season, and has also played for Detroit, Atlanta, Boston, Utah and the Clippers.

The Phoenix Suns signed free agent Sean Marks to a one-year deal, beefing up the team’s frontcourt depth. He spent the last two years with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 25 games last season.

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HOCKEY

Devils Sign Gomez to One-Year Contract

The New Jersey Devils re-signed Scott Gomez to a one-year, $5-million contract, ending speculation that the team would be unable to fit the 26-year-old forward’s contract under the NHL’s salary cap.

The details of the contract were confirmed to the Associated Press by a person familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity because the team had not yet announced the signing.

Gomez was awarded $5 million by an arbitrator on Tuesday. According to the person familiar with the negotiations, the Devils went to arbitration offering $3.5 million, while Gomez sought $6.5 million.

Gomez earned $2.2 million last season, when he set career bests for goals (33) and points (84).

The Ducks signed defenseman Kent Huskins and center Petteri Wirtanen. Huskins played with the AHL’s Portland Pirates last season. Wirtanen was the team’s 2006 sixth-round draft choice.

-- Jonathan Abrams

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CYCLING

Ullrich, Basso Banned From Spanish Event

Spain’s Vuelta has barred Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, Francisco Mancebo and the Comunidad Valenciana team from the last of Europe’s three major cycling tours this season, race organizers said in Madrid.

Tour organizer Unipublic said the decision was taken after the Spanish cycling federation forwarded an Interior Ministry report on the state of doping in the sport.

Last month, Ullrich and Basso were banned from the Tour de France, and Comunidad Valenciana had its invitation withdrawn by French organizers in the wake of a four-month Spanish doping investigation.