Culpepper reportedly to join Lions

Veteran quarterback Daunte Culpepper reportedly has agreed to a two-year contract with the Detroit Lions.

Team spokesman Bill Keenist says the Lions have no comment on Saturday’s ESPN.com report.

The report, which didn’t cite a source, indicated Culpepper would sign the deal Monday.

Culpepper, 31, worked out for Detroit on Tuesday, taking a step toward returning to the NFL after announcing plans to retire in September because he was frustrated over not finding work.

He was a three-time Pro Bowler for the Minnesota Vikings, but a knee injury limited his effectiveness with the Miami Dolphins in 2006 and Oakland Raiders in 2007.

The Green Bay Packers released Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, the franchise sacks leader who had been with the team for nine seasons. He had 74 1/2 sacks for Green Bay, passing Reggie White’s 68 1/2 in 2007.

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GOLF

Letzig leads by one shot

Michael Letzig birdied three of the final six holes for a two-under 70 that gave him the third-round lead in the Ginn sur Mer Classic at Palm Coast, Fla., when Ryan Palmer found water on the final hole. He was one shot ahead of Kenneth Ferrie (67), John Huston (70) and Palmer, who had to scramble for a bogey on the 18th after hitting his second shot into the water. Palmer, who was at nine under through 14 holes, bogeyed three of his last four holes for a 72. David Duval, who was within two shots of the lead going into the third round, never got anything going on his way to a 74, leaving him in a tie for 14th.

In-Kyung Kim made a 45-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a three-under 69, taking a one-shot lead after the second round of the LPGA Kolon Championship at Incheon, South Korea. She leads Hee-Won Han of South Korea (69) and Karen Stupples of England (70). American Paula Creamer had a bogey-free round of 69 to trail by five shots. . . . Heavy rains forced the postponement of the third round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Sonoma, Calif., the Champions Tour’s season-ending event.

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TENNIS

Nalbandian wins in Paris

Defending champion David Nalbandian beat Nikolay Davydenko, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, to set up a Paris Masters final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga defeated 11th-seeded James Blake, 6-4, 6-3, and could become the first Frenchman to win the event since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001. . . . American Bethanie Mattek gained her first WTA Tour final at the Bell Challenge at Quebec City, and will finish her breakthrough year in a matchup against Russian Nadia Petrova. The sixth-seeded Mattek defeated fifth-seeded Aleksandra Wozniak, 7-6 (4), 6-3, of Canada in one semifinal, and top-seeded Petrova defeated first-time tour semifinalist Angela Haynes of the United States, 6-1, 6-3.

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SOCCER

Chelsea moves into first

Chelsea beat visiting Sunderland, 5-0, behind three goals from Nicolas Anelka to overtake Liverpool for the Premier League lead. Liverpool lost, 2-1, at Tottenham for its first defeat this season.

Arsenal’s poor week continued with a humiliating 2-1 loss at Stoke. That result allowed Manchester United to claim third place with a 4-3 win over visiting Hull.

Everton beat Fulham 1-0, with American goalkeeper Tim Howard nearly scoring a fluke goal. Howard hit a huge kick up field that bounced into the opposite goal, but the referee denied the score because Everton striker Yakubu Ayegbeni had knocked down goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

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ETC.

Sturm keeps WBA title

Felix Sturm retained his WBA middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Sebastian Sylvester at Oberhausen, Germany. Sturm improved to 31-2, with one draw. Sylvester dropped to 31-3. . . . Connecticut is No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason women’s basketball poll. The Huskies received 44 of the 45 first-place votes. No. 2 Stanford drew the other first-place vote. . . . Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White kept the ice dancing lead by earning the best score in original dance at Skate Canada in Ottawa. Russians Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov edged Canadians Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison to win the pairs competition.