Earlier arrival possible for Beckham

Soccer

With David Beckham's playing days apparently at an end in Spain, it's possible the soccer icon could begin his Major League Soccer career months earlier than expected. Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello announced Saturday he would not play the former England captain again this season and that Beckham would only train with the squad for the next six months. Beckham watched from the stands yesterday as Real Madrid beat Real Zaragoza, 1-0. Last week, Beckham announced he wouldn't extend his contract with Madrid, which expires in June, and agreed to join the Los Angeles Galaxy in August. Galaxy coach Frank Yallop told Sky Sports News he hopes to have Beckham aboard in the spring. "We've got wait and see what the details of the [Madrid] contract are, and can he get out of it," Yallop said.

Winter sports

It wasn't the first time the US women's ski team enjoyed as much success in one race, but the last time was 23 years ago. Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Kildow captured the top two places in a World Cup super-combi in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, and Resi Stiegler just missed making it an American sweep. Mancuso had a combined time of 2 minutes 9.16 seconds to edge Kildow by .06 seconds. The pair had the best times in the downhill portion, and held their places in the slalom run. Slalom specialist Marlies Schild of Austria was third. The 1-2-4 finish matched that of the American women in the 1984 Olympic giant slalom, when Debbie Armstrong won gold, Christin Cooper took silver, and Tamara McKinney placed fourth . . . In Wengen, Switzerland, Austria's Mario Matt won a World Cup super-combi on a sloppy course that wiped out Bode Miller. Matt rallied in the slalom, taking advantage of starting first on a slope that got worse with each competitor. Miller was second fastest in the downhill but straddled a gate in the slalom on a course mangled by rain and temperatures in the 50s . . . Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States and Xavier Delerue of France won gold in the snowboardcross event at the Snowboarding World Championships in Arosa, Switzerland.

Baseball

First baseman Lyle Overbay and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to a $24 million, four-year contract, a team official said. Overbay hit .312 with 22 home runs, a team-high 46 doubles, and 92 RBIs with Toronto last season after being acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cycling

Top riders such as Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso could be expelled again from the Tour de France without evidence from the Spanish doping investigation. Race director Christian Prudhomme said the investigation, into whether 56 riders allegedly received performance-enhancing drugs at a Madrid clinic, most likely won't conclude by the July 7 start of this year's tour.

College basketball

Monica Wright hit a 3-pointer with 1:14 left in overtime and host Virginia held on for a 65-63 victory over Boston College, handing the Eagles their third straight Atlantic Coast Conference defeat. Mickel Picco led BC (10-7, 0-3) with 23 points. Winchester's Brenna McGuire had 14 points for Virginia (12-5, 2-1). A 3-pointer by BC's Beth Egnell tied the game at 57-57 and forced overtime . . . Katie Meinhardt's 17 points lifted Boston University to a 72-64 win over Albany at Case Gym . . . Shaleyse Smallwood scored 21 points and added five assists to lead Northeastern to a 64-53 victory over Drexel at Solomon Court . . . Kenan Cole had 19 points and No. 12 George Washington beat Massachusetts, 61-48, for its 18th consecutive home victory over the Minutewomen . . . Alexis Hornbuckle and Nicky Anosike scored 14 points apiece for visiting No. 4 Tennessee in its 52-41 victory over 15th-ranked Georgia . . . Coach Rene Portland won her 600th game with Penn State, 65-51, over visiting Michigan . . . In men's action, Aaron Brooks banked a shot over two defenders with two seconds left to give No. 15 Oregon a 79-77 victory over host 10th-ranked Arizona . . . Freshman Jon Scheyer scored 25 points and No. 11 Duke improved to 1-2 in the ACC with an 85-63 victory over host Miami.

Miscellany

Former Atlanta Falcons coach Jim Mora Jr. has been invited to a second interview with the Miami Dolphins, who also plan to meet again with Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey and New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, said a person familiar with the team's search for a head coach . . . Defenseman Sergei Zubov is expected to miss the Dallas Stars' next three games after having surgery on his elbow . . . Petr Kalus scored in regulation, then netted the only shootout goal to give the visiting Providence Bruins a 4-3 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Jordan Sigalet made 19 saves and stopped all five Bridgeport shootout attempts . . . Natalie Coughlin won in 1:41.66 to break her 4-year-old American record in the 200-yard freestyle, and Michael Phelps won his 400 individual medley specialty but lost to Brendan Hansen in the 200 breaststroke at the Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming in Long Beach.