Williams Could Miss Two Slams

Serena Williams, battling questions about her commitment to tennis, could miss the French Open and Wimbledon because of knee and ankle injuries, the head of the women’s professional tour said in an interview with Bloomberg News on Tuesday.

Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, hasn’t played since losing to Daniela Hantuchova in the third round of the Australian Open in January. The French Open starts May 28 in Paris and Wimbledon begins June 26 in London.

“There was no timetable she shared with me at the moment” on a comeback, said Larry Scott, chief executive of the WTA Tour. “But I don’t expect it to be within the next couple of months.”

Jill Smoller, her agent, didn’t immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.

Williams, younger sister of fellow champion Venus, was once the most dominant player on the tour. She reached the No. 1 ranking in 2002 and won four consecutive Grand Slam events in 2002 and the start of 2003 to complete a self-proclaimed “Serena slam.”

The chronic injury to her left knee flared up last season, and she also suffered from ankle, rib and shoulder problems. The ankle injury kept her out of the French Open last year. Her desire to get back into shape was questioned by Chris Evert and fellow 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova last month, and her ranking has plummeted to 106th.

Agnieszka Radwanska beat former French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in her debut on the main WTA Tour to advance to the second round of the J&S; Cup at Warsaw.

A wild-card entry, the 312th-ranked Radwanska, 17, squandered a 4-1 lead in the final set, allowing the 12th-ranked Myskina to even the match at 4-4, but then won the final two games for her first victory over anyone in the top 100.

Also, 16th-ranked Hantuchova edged Anna Smashnova, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, in a match lasting 2 hours 37 minutes, and fifth-seeded Francesca Schiavone beat Emma Laine, 6-0, 6-1.

Qualifier Denis Gremelmayr upset top-seeded Guillermo Coria, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, to advance to the second round of the BMW Open at Munich, Germany.

Four other seeded players -- No. 2 Mario Ancic, No. 4 Tommy Haas, No. 7 Mikhail Youzhny and No. 8 Florent Serra -- were knocked out in the first round.

Third-seeded Jarko Nieminen beat Andrei Pavel, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (7), and fifth-seeded Oliver Rochus defeated Potito Starace, 6-2, 6-3.

The 132nd-ranked Gremelmayr dropped the 2004 French Open finalist to 7-8 this year.

Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Ancic, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5). Ivo Karlovic served 22 aces to top Haas, 6-3, 7-6 (3). Juergen Melzer defeated Youzhny, 6-3, 6-4, and Robin Soderling edged Serra, 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4.

Top-seeded David Nalbandian edged Nicolas Mahut, 7-5, 7-5, in the first round of the clay-court Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal.

Fourth-seeded Gael Monfils topped Razvan Sabau, 6-1, 6-2; fifth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov defeated Gastao Elias, 6-2, 6-1; and sixth-seeded Carlos Moya beat Flavio Saretta, 6-3, 6-4.

Among the women, second-seeded Gisela Dulko ousted Zi Yan, 6-4, 6-4, and third-seeded Lourdes Dominguez Lino overpowered Magali de Lattre, 6-1, 6-2.

GOLF

Wie Will Try to Qualify for Men’s U.S. Open

Michelle Wie has entered a qualifying tournament for the men’s U.S. Open, where she again will attempt to become the first woman to play in the golf championship.

Wie, 16, will play in a local qualifier in Oahu on May 15, said David Shefter, a spokesman for the U.S. Golf Assn. If she finishes in the top three in the 41-player field, she’ll advance to a sectional qualifier in Summit, N.J., on June 5, to try to earn a spot in the Open, which begins June 15 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Wie shot a four-over-par 76 in local qualifying last year. She was an alternate for the sectional qualifier, but didn’t play.

The USGA has received 8,854 entries for the 2006 Open, the third-most in history. A record 9,048 entries were submitted for last year’s tournament.

Wie turned professional in October, but can’t play full-time on the LPGA Tour until she turns 18. She has played in two women’s tournaments this year, finishing in a tie for third last month at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA’s first major of the season.

HIGH SCHOOLS

King, Lilley Win Times’ Player of Year Awards

Santa Ana Mater Dei forward Taylor King, a 6-foot-7 junior, and Newhall Hart senior guard Taylor Lilley, one of the most prolific three-point shooters in state history, have been selected The Times’ boys’ and girls’ basketball players of the year, respectively.

MISCELLANY

Army Names Magarity to Succeed Dixon

With the blessings of Maggie Dixon’s family, Dave Magarity was hired as the women’s basketball coach at Army.

Magarity coached the Marist men’s team for 18 years and was hired last fall by Dixon to help steady an Army program in flux. He was associate head coach during Army’s run to its first Patriot League championship and the academy’s first berth in the NCAA tournament.

Magarity, 56, spoke with Dixon’s mother and sister before accepting the job. The move came a month after Dixon, 28, collapsed and died of a heart problem.

“They gave me their blessing,” he said. “They felt it was what Maggie would have wanted.”

A Riverside County Coroner’s autopsy on former Dodger pitcher Steve Howe did not determine a cause of death, a Sheriff’s Dept. spokesperson said.

The Coroner’s Office has ordered a toxicology test, according to Sgt. Earl Quinata. The results are expected in four to six weeks.

Howe, whose baseball career was fractured by drug and alcohol abuse, died Friday when he rolled his pickup truck on Interstate 10 east of Palm Springs. According to a sheriff’s report, Howe’s truck rolled multiple times. Howe, who was 48, was not wearing a seat belt.

-- Tim Brown

NBC announced former Green Bay Packer Sterling Sharpe will be a studio analyst when the network begins televising the NFL this year. Sharpe will work with host Bob Costas and fellow analyst Cris Collinsworth.

Fox announced that former major league manager Lou Piniella has been hired as a baseball analyst. His first game will be May 20, when he works with play-by-play announcer Thom Brennaman on a game between the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs.

Six suspended Mississippi State football players who pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor assault of an off-duty police officer will be reinstated this summer, Coach Sylvester Croom said.

Cornerback Derek Pegues, safety Keith Fitzhugh, offensive tackle Michael Gates, quarterback Tray Rutland and defensive ends Charles Burnes and Quinton Wesley -- all freshmen -- pleaded guilty last week to reduced charges after they were accused of assaulting the officer at a downtown nightclub.

Each was fined $500 and received a six-month suspended sentence for misdemeanor simple assault.

Olympic gold medal goalie Henrik Lundqvist of Sweden will skip the upcoming world hockey championship to rest his injured hip.

The New York Ranger rookie called his coach in Sweden to tell him he would not be playing in the tournament, which begins this weekend in Latvia.

Two-time Olympian Jonna Mendes is retiring after 10 years on the U.S. Ski Team at Park City, Utah.

The 27-year-old Mendes won four national championships and placed third in the super-G at the 2003 World Championships.

Mendes, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., was an Olympian in 1998 and 2002, when she finished 11th in the downhill and 16th in the super-G. She won consecutive national downhill titles in 2004 and 2005 and also won two U.S. giant slalom titles.

PASSINGS

Former U.S. Swim Coach Haines, 82, Dies

George F. Haines, who coached three U.S. Olympic swim teams and guided such 1960s and ‘70s stars as Mark Spitz, Don Schollander and Donna de Varona, died at 82 at Carmichael, Calif. Story, Section B.