Taylor retains his titles after edging Spinks

Jermain Taylor outpointed Cory Spinks in a split decision Saturday night at Memphis, Tenn., for his fourth straight defense of his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization middleweight titles -- but this one did little to satisfy his critics.

Taylor had winning scores of 117-111 and 115-113 from two of the judges, and the third had it 117-111 for Spinks.

Spinks and Taylor spent most of the early rounds sizing up each other. Spinks is 2 1/2 inches shorter than the 6-foot Taylor, but he did a good job staying out of the champion’s reach.

The two combined to throw 211 punches in the first three rounds and drew scattered boos from the crowd.

Taylor picked up the action during the middle rounds, and knocked Spinks off balance with a solid left in the seventh -- but Taylor (27-0-1) still hasn’t knocked anyone down during his nearly two-year reign atop the middleweight division.

The boos returned during the final rounds.

Spinks, the International Boxing Federation junior-middleweight champion, moved up to fight Taylor. Spinks (36-4) was Taylor’s second straight opponent from a lower weight class. Taylor beat Kassim Ouma -- also from the junior middleweight ranks -- in December.

Taylor outpointed Bernard Hopkins in July 2005 to become middleweight champion. He beat Hopkins in a second decision later that year, then escaped with a draw against Winky Wright in Memphis in 2006. Taylor then beat Ouma in another decision.

As the 12th round drew to a close, Spinks immediately raised his arms in triumph, and he began dancing around the ring when it was over. That was premature.

“I don’t know what to say. It was highway robbery,” Spinks said. “I thought I gave a great boxing display. I feel great. I executed my game plan. I think I won.”

Two of the judges disagreed, though. Neither fighter landed many memorable punches, but Spinks, in particular, struggled to connect. He threw 542 punches, but landed only 85. Taylor, on the other hand, threw only 319 punches, landing 101.

TENNIS

Federer and Nadal win to set up final

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal rallied to win their semifinal matches and set up a showdown between the top-ranked players for the championship of the Hamburg Masters in Germany.

The top-ranked Federer defeated Carlos Moya, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, and Nadal beat Lleyton Hewitt, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, to extend his clay-court winning streak to 81 matches. Nadal has a 7-3 career record against Federer, including 5-0 on clay.

Federer has gone four straight tournaments without a title, his worst run since he became No. 1 in February 2004. He takes a 16-match winning streak in Hamburg into the final, his fourth this season.

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Second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova and third-seeded Jelena Jankovic posted straight-set wins to advance to the final of the Italian Open at Rome. Kuznetsova beat ninth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, 6-4, 6-2, and Jankovic beat Patty Schnyder, 6-1, 6-3.

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Milagros Sequera was shut out in the first set, then recovered to beat Ioana Raluca Olaru, 0-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5), to reach the final of the Grand Prix SAR at Fez, Morocco. She will play Aleksandra Wozniak, who advanced when Maria Emilia Salerni retired while trailing, 6-3, 4-4.

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The ninth-seeded UCLA men’s team saw its season come to an end as it lost to top-ranked Georgia, 4-0, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I tournament at Athens, Ga.

The Bulldogs (30-0) clinched the victory at No. 1 singles when John Isner, the nation’s top-ranked singles player, beat fourth-ranked Benjamin Kohlloeffel, 7-5, 7-6 (1).

The Bruins, who finished the season with a 22-4 overall record, reached the quarterfinals for the 19th consecutive season.

USC lost to fourth-seeded Virginia, 4-1, in the quarterfinals at Athens, Ga. Dominic Inglot clinched the victory for the Cavaliers by beating Kaes Van’t Hof, 7-6 (5), 6-3. The 12th-seeded Trojans finished 23-3.

SOCCER

Stuttgart wins first German title in 15 years

VfB Stuttgart won its first German Bundesliga title in 15 years with a 2-1 victory over Energie Cottbus. Sami Khedira scored the decisive goal on a header in the 63rd minute.

Stuttgart finished two points ahead of Schalke to clinch the title. Schalke beat Arminia Bielefeld, 2-1, but missed out on its first league title in 49 years.

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Juventus defeated Arezzo, 5-1, in the Italian Serie B to clinch a promotion to the Serie A, 10 months after being demoted and docked points in the Italian match-fixing scandal.

Juventus, which was penalized nine points and relegated in July last year, leads the second division with 82 points. Genoa is second with 74.

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Djibril Cisse’s seventh goal in as many matches and substitute Mathieu Valbuena’s late goal gave Marseille a 2-1 French league victory at Saint-Etienne and a berth in next season’s European Champions League.

COLLEGE SOFTBALL

UCLA is eliminated in regional playoff

Brandi Peiler’s two-run double in the top of the eighth inning gave Hawaii a 3-1 victory over UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Division I Los Angeles Regional at UCLA’s Easton Stadium.

The win left the Warriors (48-11) as the only unbeaten team. The Bruins later lost and were eliminated by Loyola Marymount (45-14), which earlier beat UC Santa Barbara, 5-3, in an elimination game.

Loyola’s 4-2 win over UCLA earned the Lions a meeting with Hawaii today at 2:30 p.m. for the regional title. Loyola must beat Hawaii twice to advance.

BASEBALL

Bates sets record with four home runs

Aaron Bates, a first baseman for the Lancaster Jethawks, became the first player in the 66-year history of the California League to hit four home runs in a game in his team’s 14-12 win over the visiting Lake Elsinore Storm in a Class-A minor league game.

Among the players who have played in the California League over the years are Reggie Jackson for Modesto in 1966, George Brett for San Jose in 1972, Kirby Puckett for Visalia in 1983 and Ken Griffey Jr. for San Bernardino in 1988.

DISTANCE RUNNING

Calvo sets record in Great Wall marathon

Salvador Calvo of Spain set a record over one of the most unusual running courses in the world to win China’s Great Wall Marathon at Kuaihuolin.

Calvo’s time of 3 hours 23 minutes 10 seconds in a race that includes climbing 3,800 steps was two minutes faster than the old mark, and 15 minutes ahead of American Frederick Zalokar, who finished second in 3:38:14.

The first woman was Sara Winter of New Zealand -- an amazing fifth overall in another course record of 3:50:21.