Two Swiss edge Ligety; Miller 10th

October 27, 2008

Daniel Albrecht and Didier Cuche gave Switzerland a 1-2 finish in the season-opening World Cup men's giant slalom yesterday on the icy Rettenbach course in Soelden, Austria. Defending giant slalom champion Ted Ligety of the United States was third, with teammate and defending overall World Cup champion Bode Miller 10th. Albrecht, who led after the first leg, finished in a two-run combined time of 2 minutes 15.78 seconds to beat Cuche by .14 seconds. Miller was fifth after the opening run, but fell back on the second to trail Albrecht by 1.59 seconds . . . In West Allis, Wis., Chad Hedrick edged rival Shani Davis in a 5,000-meter speedskating race in which both Olympic medalists shattered the Pettit National Ice Center record for the distance. Hedrick won in 6:16.23, shaving eight seconds off the mark of 6:24.25 he set in 2005. Davis was second in 6:19.66.

Cameron Beckman tapped in a par putt on the second playoff hole to complete a big comeback and beat Kevin Sutherland in the Frys.com Open in Scottsdale, Ariz. Beckman, 176th on the money list and 447th in the world ranking entering the tournament, was four shots behind Sutherland at the turn, then made birdies on five of the next seven holes and finished with a final-round 63. Sutherland, who finished with a 66, missed putts of 13 and 9 feet that would have won it at the end of regulation and on the first playoff hole . . . On the Champions Tour, John Cook successfully defended his AT&T Championship title in San Antonio, shooting a 6-under 65 for a three-stroke victory over Keith Fergus . . . In Castellon, Spain, Sergio Garcia picked up his first European PGA win in more than three years, closing with a 4-under 67 to take the Castello Masters by five strokes over Alexander Noren . . . Helen Alfredsson shot a 7-under 65 to win the LPGA Grand China Air tournament in Haikou, beating 19-year-old Yani Tseng by three strokes for her second victory of the season.

Roger Federer won his hometown tournament for the third straight year, beating second-seeded David Nalbandian, 6-3, 6-4, in the Swiss Indoors final at Basel. It was Federer's fourth title of the season . . . Elena Dementieva won her third title of the year, outlasting Caroline Wozniacki, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), in the Fortis Championships in Luxembourg . . . Andy Murray won the St. Petersburg Open in Russia for the second straight year by beating qualifier Andrey Golubev, 6-1, 6-1 . . . Robin Soderling beat Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, to win the Lyon Indoor championship in France and claim his third career title and first since 2005 . . . Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic routed No. 2 seed Vera Zvonareva, 6-2, 6-1, in the final of the Generali Ladies in Linz, Austria, to win her first title since the French Open.

Brad Evans scored the only goal and the host Columbus Crew denied D.C. United a playoff berth with a 1-0 victory in the regular-season finale for both teams. United (11-15-4) closed out the season with 37 points, handing New York the final wild-card spot with 39 . . . Landon Donovan won the MLS scoring title and converted a penalty kick in the 79th minute to give the Los Angeles Galaxy a 2-2 tie with FC Dallas in Carson, Calif. The goal was Donovan's career-high 20th of the season. FC Dallas's Kenny Cooper finished second with 18.

Deuce McAllister said he knew he was being investigated for violating the NFL's steroid policy, but insists he has done "everything that we were asked to do" to follow the league's drug policy. McAllister and Saints teammate Will Smith reportedly are among several players who tested positive for a weight-loss diuretic. Saints coach Sean Payton refused to comment on the reports after New Orleans beat the San Diego Chargers in London.

Boston College point guard Tyrese Rice joined reigning national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina on the preseason All-Atlantic Coast Conference team. The Tar Heels were the overwhelming choice to win the conference, earning all 40 votes from reporters at the league's media day. BC was picked to finish 11th, ahead of only Virginia . . . David Johnson passed for 264 yards and a touchdown, ran for two more scores, and brought No. 19 Tulsa (8-0) to life in the second half to overpower visiting Central Florida, 49-19 . . . Wisconsin tight end Travis Beckum fractured his left fibula against Illinois Saturday and will miss the rest of the season. The senior ends his Badgers career with 159 receptions for 2,149 yards, both totals third all-time in school history . . . New York Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro will see a doctor today for an undisclosed injury and is questionable to play tonight against the New York Rangers. DiPietro has played in only three games following offseason knee surgery . . . Red Wings forward Johan Franzen will be out 3-4 weeks because of a sprained left knee . . . Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot broke the course record to win the Frankfurt Marathon, leading a Kenyan sweep of the top 10 places. Cheruiyot finished in 2:07:21 to beat Wilson Kigen (2:08.16) and Stephen Kiogora (2:08.24). Sabrina Mockenhaupt of Germany ran a personal best of 2:26.22 to win the women's race ahead of Olesya Nurgalieva of Russia . . . Mike Fisher of Brookline made a successful racing debut, winning the Cape Cod Marathon in 2:33:12. Heidi Westerling of Acworth, N.H., won the women's race for the fourth straight year, finishing in 2:50:45 . . . Former Providence College standout Mary Cullen set a course record in winning the Women's Championship 5K at the Mayor's Cup Cross Country Races in Boston. Cullen finished in 16:08, breaking the mark of 16:22 set by Kathy Franey in 1997. Kenyan Jacob Korir, a three-time All-American at Western Kentucky, won the men's 8K title in 23:54.