Choi shoots 64 and takes one-stroke lead in Hawaii

K.J. Choi closed with a birdie for a six-under-par 64 that gave him a one-shot lead Thursday at the Sony Open in Honolulu.

Jimmy Walker was among three players at 65 on a day of low scoring and no wind.

That Choi was atop the leaderboard was no surprise. He also opened with a 64 last year and wound up in a tie for fourth.

TENNIS

Federer and Henin are seeded No. 1

Roger Federer and Justine Henin are seeded No. 1 at the Australian Open, which begins Monday.

Only two U.S. men -- Andy Roddick and James Blake -- and two U.S. women -- Serena and Venus Williams -- are seeded.

After Federer comes Rafael Nadal followed by Novak Djokovic. Svetlana Kuznetsova was No. 2 among the women, ahead of Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova.

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Marcos Baghdatis set up a final against Roddick at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne with a 6-2 7-5 win over Fernando Gonzalez.

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Seventh-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber beat third-seeded Juan Monaco, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the Heineken Open final at Auckland, New Zealand.

SOCCER

Galaxy trades goalie Cannon to Earthquakes

The Galaxy traded starting goalkeeper Joe Cannon to San Jose for allocation money.

Cannon, 33, a two-time Major League Soccer goalkeeper of the year, began his career with San Jose in 1999. He was the starter when the Earthquakes won the MLS Cup title in 2001. The Galaxy nearly traded Cannon last month to D.C. United as part of a three-team deal in which they would have re-acquired forward Carlos Ruiz from F.C. Dallas.

In other Galaxy news, free-agent forward Clint Mathis, 31, signed with Ergotelis, the Greek team reported on its website, and defender Ante Jazic could miss at least four months after having right ankle surgery. -- Jaime Cardenas

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Purdue’s Tiller likely to step down after season

Purdue Coach Joe Tiller reportedly will retire at the end of the 2008 season and be replaced by Eastern Kentucky Coach Danny Hope. Hope is expected to be named the Boilersmakers assistant head coach this week.

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Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall will skip his senior season of eligibility and enter the NFL draft.

MISCELLANY

MLB, NFL put money into anti-doping research

Major League Baseball and the NFL agreed to join the U.S. Olympic Committee to fund anti-doping research, contributing $3 million each to create the most extensive drug-fighting partnership between America’s biggest pro leagues and its Olympic federation.

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Reeves Nelson, a 6-foot-7 junior power forward from Modesto Christian, has committed to UCLA. He helps make up for the Bruins losing out on Santa Ana Mater Dei’s Travis and David Wear, 6-10 junior twins who committed last week to North Carolina.

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Seeking to let more drag racers compete for its championships, the NHRA tweaked the format for its late-season title playoffs in the top-level Powerade Series.

Under the new format, the top 10 drivers in points in its top-fuel, funny car and pro stock classes after 18 races will compete for their respective titles over the final six races. The format is similar to the Chase for the Cup in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

The NHRA also said its season-ending race in Pomona, originally scheduled Nov. 6-9, would be moved back a week to Nov. 13-16. The series opens in Pomona on Feb. 7-10.

-- Jim Peltz

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Sergio Mora, the unbeaten first-season winner of the reality television series “The Contender,” will fight tonight for the first time since suffering the first blemish on his record when he meets Rito Ruvalcaba (32-8) in a middleweight main event scheduled for 10 rounds at Morongo Casino Resort in Cabazon.

-- Lance Pugmire

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Larry Smith has been hired as an assistant coach of the Sparks. Smith played 13 years in the NBA and was an assistant for the Houston Rockets for 10 years.

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There could be a new team in Vero Beach, Fla., after the Dodgers leave their longtime spring training home. Indian River County Administrator Joseph Baird said the county has an option agreement with another major league team to potentially replace the Dodgers in Vero Beach.

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Clay Stanley helped the U.S. volleyball team move within a win of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics, leading the Americans past Cuba, 25-22, 27-25, 25-18, in the NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifying Championship at Caguas, Puerto Rico.

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Tokyo was the first of seven cities to submit a 2016 Olympic bid to the International Olympic Committee.

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Kansas City Royals pitcher Jacob Rodriguez was suspended for 50 games under baseball’s minor league drug program for failing to take a test. The 19-year-old right-hander is from Whittier.

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Texas’ new steroid testing program for public high school athletes moved closer to getting started with the approval of testing rules, penalties and the appeals process.

JURISPRUDENCE

Surfer Ward faces felony assault charges

Chris Ward, a San Clemente surfer who competes on the Foster’s ASP World Tour, faces felony assault charges after his arrest Tuesday outside a Mammoth Lakes bar.

Det. Paul Robles of Mammoth Lakes Police Dept. said Ward was arrested just after 2 a.m. Witnesses said Ward threatened a woman with a block of ice and started punching three other women who tried to intervene.

-- Pete Thomas