An unidentified fan dressed as a devil runs ahead of the pack during the sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia race, from Bressanone to Mayrhofen, Austria, on Thursday.

MAYRHOFEN IM ZILLERTAL, Austria – Levi Leipheimer’s chance of winning the Giro d’Italia keeps getting better. Lance Armstrong keeps losing time.

Leipheimer finished in the main pack in Thursday’s sixth stage, with the race crossing into Austria.

Leipheimer, who is from Montana, remained fourth overall, 43 seconds behind leader Danilo Di Luca of Italy.

“I’m happy with how it’s gone so far,” Leipheimer said. “We saw some people who fell away (Wednesday) and some people who were strong, so the picture is more clear now and I’m still in that picture.”

For the third consecutive stage, Armstrong was dropped from the lead group. This time, the seven-time Tour de France winner was undone by a steep downhill run.

Armstrong lost 1:15 and dropped from 22nd to 25th overall, 4:13 behind Di Luca. The Texan returned this season after 3 1/2 years of retirement and broke his collarbone in March.

“I can’t expect to be too strong right now,” he said. “It’s been a complicated preparation. I have to be realistic and just ride my rhythm.”

Italy’s Michele Scarponi of the Diquigiovanni team won the stage after a long breakaway. He covered the 154-mile leg in 5 hours, 49 minutes, 55 seconds. Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway followed, 32 seconds behind.

Allan Davis of Australia was third, also 32 seconds back.

All the favorites – including Di Luca, Ivan Basso and Leipheimer – finished with the main pack, 36 seconds after Scarponi.

Nadal among winners

MADRID – Defending champion Andy Murray, top-ranked Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open on Thursday.

Andy Roddick advanced after Nikolay Davydenko withdrew with a leg injury. Roddick will next face Federer, who defeated James Blake 6-2, 6-4.

Murray stopped Tommy Robredo 7-5, 6-1, and Nadal moved up after Philipp Kohlschreiber also withdrew with a leg injury. Third-seeded Novak Djokovic defeated Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4. He will play wild-card Ivan Ljubicic, who rallied for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over 2008 finalist Gilles Simon.

The last time the Federer and Blake met at the Beijing Olympics, Blake ended the Swiss star’s hopes of capturing his first Olympic singles medal.

“We haven’t played since the Olympics and I was pleased with the way it went today, especially with him playing so well recently,” Federer said.

The second-seeded Federer is looking forward to playing the sixth-seeded Roddick on a different surface.

“I’ve played Andy so many times, it’s time we played each other on clay,” Federer said.

Nadal will play Fernando Verdasco, who rallied from a break down in both sets to beat Juan Monaco 7-5, 6-2.

In the women’s draw, top-ranked Dinara Safina overcame a mid-match dip, defeating Lucie Safarova 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.

So. Miss guard leaving

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss basketball guard Jeremy Wise has hired an agent, ending his college career a season early.

The 6-foot-2 point guard averaged 16.7 points and 4.7 assists last season.

Boldin

GLENDALE – Anquan Boldin’s agent has made a contract proposal to the Cardinals, but it’s questionable how interested the team is in entering negotiations.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus broke the news of the offer on his Twitter account Thursday and confirmed it to The Republic later in the day.

Rosenhaus said contrary to speculation, Boldin is not seeking a deal worth $10 million a year, which is what teammate Larry Fitzgerald is receiving. The recent offer is for less, according to Rosenhaus.

“It’s inaccurate and I just wanted to clear the record,” Rosenhaus said of the $10 million figure. Rosenhaus declined to discuss his proposal, saying, “I’m not going to negotiate Anquan’s contract through the media.”

Cardinals general manager Rod Graves was not available for comment.

An NFL source familiar with the proposal said the deal averaged just under $10 million per season.

Rosenhaus declined to say when he made the proposal to the Cardinals. He has discussed the proposal with Graves, he said, but the Cardinals have not responded with a counteroffer.

“I think we can be reasonable as long as Anquan is among the top-paid receivers,” Rosenhaus said. “We just want a contract commensurate with his performance. You find me another guy with three Pro Bowls, the same number of yards, receptions, touchdowns and toughness.”

Rosenhaus acknowledged that circumstances dictate that Boldin will make less than Fitzgerald.

The Cardinals were forced to renegotiate Fitzgerald’s contract a year ago because incentive clauses would have pushed his salaries to $14.6 million in 2009 and more than $17 million in 2009.

With two years remaining on his contract, Boldin doesn’t have that kind of leverage.

“We do have years left on our contract,” Rosenhaus said. “We’re not facing the same set of circumstances as the guy who is looking at free agency.”

But Rosenhaus said he and Boldin are not “just going to sit pat and look forward to another uncomfortable year like last year. We’re going to continue to talk to the team about a new deal and continue to hope the team will be flexible for a trade.”

Boldin believes the team has reneged on a promise to address his contract situation and would prefer to be traded.

Last week, Rosenhaus wrote on Twitter that he thought Boldin would be traded before training camp. Rosenhaus can’t negotiate a contract with other clubs unless given permission, but going public with the recent proposal to the Cardinals lets other teams know Boldin’s asking price is less than $10 million a year.

It could be the range of $8 million to $9 million a year on average. T.J. Houshmandzadeh signed a five-year, $40 million deal with Seattle this spring, with $15 million guaranteed.

Dallas traded for Roy Williams last year then signed him to a five-year, $45 million deal with $20 million guaranteed.

Boldin re-signed with the team in 2005, two years into his rookie contract, and received $10 million in bonuses. He is due to make $2.75 million this year and $3 million in 2010.

CHICAGO – After playing one game at far less than full speed, Milton Bradley is back on the Chicago Cubs’ bench, nursing a lingering groin injury.

“When he’s 100 percent, I’ll put him out there,” manager Lou Piniella said Thursday, one day after Bradley played right field for the first time in more than a week. “I don’t play people unless they’re totally healthy.”

Despite Bradley’s long history of serious injuries, the Cubs signed the switch-hitter to a three-year, $30 million contract during the offseason to bat cleanup and provide balance to what had been a predominantly right-handed lineup.

He had only one hit in the season’s first week before sustaining the groin injury April 12 at Milwaukee.

After going hitless in two pinch-hitting appearances, he returned to right field Wednesday and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The one time he did hit a grounder, he didn’t run to first base and was out even though the ball was bobbled. He was booed repeatedly throughout the 3-0 loss to Cincinnati.

A career .280 hitter, Bradley is batting .043 this season. He’s 1-for-23 and has struck out seven times.

Ryan, Romero go on DL

The Blue Jays put closer B.J. Ryan and starter Ricky Romero on the 15-day disabled list Thursday, the latest setbacks for a team with an already thin pitching staff.

The two left-handers joined four Toronto righties on the DL. The Blue Jays, leading the AL with 11 victories, will add two new pitchers for Friday night’s game at Chicago.

Ryan was put on the DL with soreness between his shoulder and back, one day after he blew his second save chance of the season.

Romero was put on the DL with a strained muscle in his right side, retroactive to April 20.

Wang trying to rebound

TAMPA, Fla. – New York Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang threw 70 of 91 pitches for strikes over seven innings in an extended spring training game on Thursday.

Wang, who is 0-3 with a 34.50 ERA, was sent to the Yankees’ minor league complex to work on pitching consistency. He allowed five runs – four earned – nine hits and struck out 11 against Philadelphia Phillies minor leaguers.

The right-hander has not been told if he will make his next start in the majors or the minors.

The Arizona Diamondbacks' Max Scherzer throws against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning of a game in Phoenix earlier this month.

PHOENIX – Philadelphia left-hander Cole Hamels threw 262 1/3 innings in the regular season and playoffs last season, a jump of more than 70 innings from the previous year.

He struggled to stay healthy this spring and in his first start his fastball averaged about 86 mph, a decrease of roughly 5 mph from previous seasons.

After Thursday’s start, Hamels is now 0-2 and has a 9.69 ERA.

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Max Scherzer doesn’t think it’s all just a coincidence.

“It means the evidence is real,” Scherzer said.

And it is a reason Scherzer agrees that the Diamondbacks’ plan to bring him along slowly is the right thing to do.

In this age of pitch counts and big-bonus draft picks, teams are more careful than ever with young pitching, their most prized possession. The Diamondbacks are no different and will do what they can to keep their second-year flame-thrower healthy as he begins his career.

“This is a much more common way of handling this thing now than it was years ago when guys pitched well and kept getting the ball every five days,” Diamondbacks pitching coach Bryan Price said. “I think we’re a lot more conscientious now of young arms and not overtaxing.”

The signs are everywhere. Pitchers generally are barely used in the summer immediately after they are drafted. The slightest physical ailment often is enough to sideline a prospect for days if not weeks.

And most teams subscribe to a 30-inning rule by which they try to gradually increase a pitcher’s annual innings total.

Scherzer not only understands; he is all for it. Late last season, a year in which shoulder fatigue cost him a month’s worth of innings, he understood that for him to be installed in the 2009 rotation he would need to make up for lost time and was more than willing to pitch in the Arizona Fall League at the conclusion of the regular season.

Scherzer remembers reading an article in Sports Illustrated, perhaps 10 years ago, on the risks involved with violating the 30-inning increase. Writer Tom Verducci called it the “Year-After Effect.”

Verducci said he remembers watching Atlanta’s Kevin Millwood labor through a World Series start in 1999 and wondered what the extra month of postseason work might mean in terms of wear and tear on a young pitcher’s arm. Not long after, he spoke with then-Oakland pitching coach Rick Peterson.

“He was the one who really turned me on to the fact that with young guys, you have to staircase their innings,” Verducci said. “The analogy was you’re not going to run a marathon by running 5Ks. You’re going to have to work your way up to 26 miles.”

All told, Scherzer threw 139 1/3 innings last year in game situations: 56 in the majors, 53 in Triple-A, 24 in the Arizona Fall League and 6 1/3 in instructional league.

The Diamondbacks say they are tentatively shooting for 170 to 175 innings out of him this season. They say they won’t pull Scherzer from games earlier than normal if he is pitching well but might have to skip him in the rotation from time to time in order to hit the target.

“They’re looking out for me,” Scherzer said. “They want to win. I want to win. That’s what comes first. But at the same time, you have to keep the bigger picture in mind and make sure I can stay healthy.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Giants reliever Joe Martinez was hit in the head by Mike Cameron’s line drive in the ninth inning, but Martinez was able to walk off the field Thursday in San Francisco’s 7-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Martinez was conscious and taken to a hospital for a CT scan and evaluation. His forehead was bloody and his right eye was swollen.

“He was bleeding quite a bit,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “That ball was smoked. He didn’t have a chance.”

Martinez, who made his major league debut Tuesday and was the winner in the Giants’ opener, was struck near the right temple by Cameron’s two-out liner. Martinez dropped to his knees, and players on both sides winced at the frightening scene.

Team trainers rushed to Martinez’s aid. After a few minutes, the 26-year-old pitcher was able to walk away with a cloth held to his nose.

Cameron, who was credited with a double, grimaced, looked away and slowed while running to first base.

Cameron knelt at second base with his head in his hands while Martinez was being treated.

Cameron stayed down even after Martinez left, and San Francisco players came up to console the Brewers veteran.

Brandon Medders came in to get the final out.

Matt Cain (1-0) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings. It’s the first time in his five-year major league career that he’s won his first start of the season.

Cardinals 2, Pirates 1: At St. Louis, Chris Carpenter took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning and combined with two relievers on a one-hitter.

Reds 8, Mets 6: At Cincinnati, Joey Votto had a three-run homer and an RBI single off Oliver Perez.

Padres 4, Dodgers 3: At San Diego, Adrian Gonzalez’s solo homer started a three-run rally in the eighth inning that helped the Padres win.

AL: Rangers finish sweep

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas Rangers are 3-0 for the first time since 1996. Marlon Byrd and Canyon del Oro High School grad Ian Kinsler hit long home runs and the Rangers completed their season-opening series sweep, outslugging the Cleveland Indians 12-8 Thursday.

Yankees 11, Orioles 2: At Baltimore, A.J. Burnett won in his Yankees debut and fellow newcomers Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher homered as New York won.

Rays 4, Red Sox 3: At Boston, Matt Garza pitched seven innings of four-hit ball, and Tampa Bay hit three homers.

Royals 2, White Sox 1: At Chicago, Coco Crisp’s two-run homer in the ninth inning broke a scoreless tie.

Blue Jays 6, Tigers 2: At Toronto, Ricky Romero outpitched Rick Porcello in the matchup of former first-round draft picks.

Mariners 2, Twins 0: At Minneapolis, Jarrod Washburn gave up five hits in eight innings.

PHOENIX – In their first three games of the season, the Arizona Diamondbacks watched their energy level on the diamond dip as progressively as the attendance and the passion in the stands at Chase Field.

They opened with a crescendo against the Rockies, bashing five home runs in a wild win before a sellout crowd of 48,799, only to lose two uninspiring efforts in front of drastically quieter, dwindling crowds of 26,637 and 18,227.

A three-day visit by the Dodgers, starting Friday night, should help to liven up everything.

There have been battles with the Giants and Padres, that postseason loss to the Rockies two years ago and all the previous dust-ups the Diamondbacks have had with all three of those division foes.

When it comes to real rivalries for the Diamondbacks in the National League West, it’s the Dodgers who always seem to draw the most electricity, intensity and the biggest crowds.

It will never be as big as the century-plus rivalry between the Dodgers and Giants, but it is growing and gaining relevance.

“You’re not going to have a rivalry between fourth- and fifth-place teams in the division,” Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren said. “You need two good teams and we both are. It’s not to say we don’t like each other, but every game is just a little more intense than maybe a series like we just played (against Colorado).

“The energy gets pumped up a little more. For us, going to a place like L.A. is always a hostile environment and they usually bring a lot of fans here and they’re pretty rowdy. Plus, the games usually are always close and low scoring.”

Things peaked last season, when the Dodgers rallied late in the year to overtake the Diamondbacks and win the division title by two games. The Dodgers won seven of the final eight regular-season meetings with the Diamondbacks to help do it.

“There’s always going to be the Dodgers-Giants rivalry,” Arizona manager Bob Melvin said, “but I think each and every year, whoever’s at the top in the West would be considered the most attractive rivalry.”

Nick Adenhart, 22, who made his major league debut as the starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, was killed in a car accident on Thursday.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others were killed by a suspected drunken driver Thursday, a shocking end to the life of a rookie who had overcome major elbow surgery to realize his big league dreams.

The accident in neighboring Fullerton occurred hours after the 22-year-old pitcher made his season debut with his father in the stands, throwing six scoreless innings against the Oakland Athletics.

The Angels ultimately lost the game, 6-4.

The team postponed Thursday night’s game with Oakland, the final one of their season-opening series.

“It is a tragedy that will never be forgotten,” manager Mike Scioscia said at an Angel Stadium news conference.

Adenhart’s father, Jim, a retired Secret Service agent, walked onto the field in the empty stadium Thursday and spent several moments alone on the pitcher’s mound. Wearing a red sweatshirt, the Angels’ color, he briefly covered his eyes with one hand.

Jim Adenhart also spoke during a closed-door meeting of players and team officials.

“He just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity, thank you for raising his kid in minor league ball on up through the system in the Angels’ organization,” outfielder Torii Hunter said.

Nick Adenhart was a passenger in a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse that was broadsided in an intersection about 12:30 a.m. by a minivan that apparently ran a red light, police said.

The impact spun around both vehicles, and one then struck another car but that driver was not hurt, police said.

The minivan driver fled the crash on foot and was captured about 30 minutes later. Police identified him as Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, of Riverside, and said he had a suspended license because of a drunken driving conviction.

Preliminary results indicated Gallo’s blood-alcohol level was “substantially over the legal limit” of 0.08 percent, police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said.

Gallo was interviewed by investigators Thursday afternoon. Hamilton said Gallo would be booked later on three counts of murder, three counts of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and driving under the influence of alcohol.

A spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office said charges against Gallo likely wouldn’t be filed Thursday because police were still investigating. Hamilton said he didn’t immediately know if Gallo had an attorney.

Adenhart died in surgery at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. Henry Nigel Pearson of Manhattan Beach, a 25-year-old passenger in the car, and the driver, 20-year-old Courtney Frances Stewart of Diamond Bar, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Stewart was a student at nearby Cal State Fullerton, where she was a cheerleader in 2007-08.

Another passenger, 24-year-old Jon Wilhite of Manhattan Beach, was in critical condition at UC Irvine Medical Center, although he was expected to survive, a hospital spokesman said. Wilhite played baseball from 2004 to 2008 at Cal State Fullerton.

Stewart’s mother said her daughter and Adenhart had known each other since last season but were not dating as far as she knew, Hamilton said.

The mother said Adenhart and the others had gone dancing at a club about a block away from the crash site, although the crash scene appeared to indicate the car was heading in the direction of the club, Hamilton said.

At the ballpark Wednesday night, Adenhart did his job. He scattered seven hits over six scoreless innings and escaped twice after loading the bases in just his fourth major league start.

“I battled early and it felt good to get out of some jams,” he said.

Pressure? What pressure? University of Arizona tennis player Andres Carrasco was too busy with his two-set blast of steam to care.

A victory against old-time bully Stanford was going to happen.

“I haven’t begun to feel the glow yet,” Carrasco said after Arizona’s Tad Berkowitz had “by far” the biggest win in his four-year UA coaching career.

The No. 20 Cats won 4-2 against No. 8 Stanford on Friday, stayed undefeated at home (14-0) and gave notice, according to Berkowitz, that they are a national contender.

It was the third time in 63 tries that the Cats (17-2, 2-1 Pac-10) have beaten the Cardinal.

“These guys fight match after match,” Berkowitz said. “We win with grit. It wasn’t pretty today, it was ugly, but it doesn’t have to be pretty.”

Jay Goldman provided a personal upset by beating Bradley Klahn in straight sets 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 at No. 1 singles.

The format was changed because of the day’s wind conditions. The singles were scheduled first and if a team got four points, the doubles would be eliminated.

The Cats have been strong all year on the back singles end and Pat Metham and Jason Zafiros were true to form to set up the shocker.

Then Goldman topped Klahn in the first set in a battle of lefties. He sailed out 5-1 in the second set before his foe rallied back to 5-4.

“You naturally sort of relax,” Goldman said, “and he was trying to psych me a little and I thought he was making desperate moves.

Carrasco lost 6-2 in the first set before winning the final two 6-3, 6-3 over Richard Wire at No. 3 singles.

“I needed to get momentum, I knew it would come,” he said. “It was Stanford. It gave us all an edge. The pressure was on them.”

UA faces visiting California at 1 p.m. Saturday.

UA track and field

The wind didn’t blow so well for Arizona senior Shevell Quinley on Friday.

In good position to contend for the heptathlon title and earn an early NCAA track and field qualifying score, Quinley, as an official remarked “went down like she was shot” on the first turn of the 800-meter run, the final event in the Jim Click Shootout.

The sudden pop of a left hamstring on the first turn of the first lap on a blustery day at Roy P. Drachman Stadium doomed Quinley to an eighth-place finish.

Disappointing, but certainly not disastrous, for her season plans.

“I guess I won’t be competing (in Saturday’s all-day Jim Click Shootout),” said Quinley.

Injuries, she said, are part of the game, and as a senior she knows the drill. She has been nursing soreness of the same hamstring since the end of the indoor season.

Quinley, a three-time All-American heptathlon athlete, went into the day fourth in the event. Before the 800, she had a nice javelin performance, losing by 37 centimeters after a toss of 37.56 meters.

Thursday, she was fifth in the 100 meters (14.19 seconds), third in the high jump (5 feet, 5 1/4 inches), fifth in the shot put (37-3 3/4) and fourth in the 200 (25.52).

“I love the versatility of the hep, but it means you have to work hard every day on each event,” she said.

Arizona sophomore Chris McGovern provided some dramatics in the two-day decathlon, clearing 15-7 inches in the pole vault, matching a career best.

Ex-Wildcat Jake Arnold won the event after clearing 15-11 but missing at 16-2 3/4.

UA softball

The UA softball team was no-hit for the first time in almost nine years Friday, losing 6-0 to No. 3 Washington in Seattle.

The last time the Wildcats didn’t record a hit came against Southern Mississippi’s Courtney Blades in the Women’s College World Series in May 2000.

Friday, Washington’s Danielle Lawrie (20-3) struck out 12 and walked one in seven innings.

The No. 9-ranked Wildcats (31-8, 3-1) were down 2-0 before Washington broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Jennifer Martinez (7-2) took the loss for UA, allowing 10 hits on four earned runs in six innings.

Washington is 29-5 overall and 2-2 in Pac-10 play. The Wildcats will face No. 7 UCLA at 3 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday in Los Angeles.

UA women’s tennis

The Wildcats dropped to 10-6 with a 7-0 loss at No. 10 Stanford on the road Friday.

UA faces No. 8 California in Berkeley at noon Saturday.

University of Arizona baseball player Brad Glenn is sometimes his own worst enemy when he doesn’t get a big hit or drive in an important run.

But there were no worries for the senior after he smacked the first pitch he saw with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning through the left side of the infield for a game-winning two-run single in a 7-6 victory over USC at Sancet Stadium on Friday night in a Pac-10 game.

“It is a good thing,” said UA coach Andy Lopez. “I’m happy he came through. I’m not so sure it would have been a good situation if he wouldn’t have because he is so tough on himself.

“It was a good at-bat for the program, good at-bat for the season and for Brad Glenn.”

Arizona (13-12, 2-5) overcame a 6-2 deficit to win its first game of the season when trailing after the sixth inning. The Wildcats were 12-0 when leading after the sixth, and 0-12 when trailing.

The Wildcats will try to get ahead in the second game of the series with the Trojans (11-14, 2-5) at 6 p.m. Saturday, before concluding the series at noon on Sunday.

Glenn’s single off Robert Stock with two outs capped a furious late rally. Arizona scored three runs in the eighth, keyed by Dillon Baird two-run triple. He later scored on a wild pitch to narrow the gap to 6-5.

Arizona’s Rafael Valenzuela was sacrificed to second in the ninth after a leadoff walk. Jett Bandy had a high pop fly confuse the Trojans, and the ball landed in front of the pitcher’s mound.

A pinch-hit by Bryce Ortega loaded the bases, and Hunter Pace struck out on three pitches to set up Glenn as Arizona’s last chance to break out of a 1-5 Pac-10 start.

“I saw (Stock) start off Hunter with two change-ups so I figured that is what he would throw to me and luckily I guessed right,” Glenn said.

His hit sparked a wild celebration with players jumping for joy and high-fiving each other like a title was won.

“It is always good to get a win in the Pac-10, especially the way we have been playing,” Glenn said. “The guys are pretty excited. Hopefully we can carry this momentum in the rest of the Pac-10.”

The Wildcats’ three errors in the outfield result in USC’s early lead.

Glenn had an error in left field, while Bobby Coyle had two in right, leading to four unearned runs.

“We made it interesting,” Lopez said.

UA pitcher Preston Guilmet allowed five runs – one earned – in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out 10 and walked three.

Jason Stoffel (1-0) picked up the win for the Wildcats.

“I told them this is a marathon race; it is never a sprint,” Lopez said about the celebration. “It is 56 games. They are young. If I would have (celebrated like them) I would have been in a wheelchair tomorrow.

“They had a good time. They need to realize there are two more games. They need to be ready to play.”

WASHINGTON – For the first time all season, the Washington Wizards used a lineup resembling the one they envisioned when training camp opened last fall.

The result: The team leading the league in losses beat the team leading the league in wins.

In the closest thing they’ll have to a playoff game this year, ex-Arizona Wildcat Gilbert Arenas and the Wizards fed off a sellout crowd Thursday night and ended the franchise-record 13-game winning streak of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Washington recovered after blowing a 14-point second-half lead and held on for a 109-101 victory.

“It was a very confidence-inspiring win for us,” Wizards interim coach Ed Tapscott said. “We hope that this’ll give people a bit of a preview of what we will be next year.

“It’s what we thought we would be this year.”

Arenas, playing his second game of the season in his latest attempt to return from knee surgery, had 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting with 10 assists and six rebounds in 33 minutes.

Brendan Haywood, also playing his second game of the season and making his first start after recovering from a major wrist injury, added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Wizards also received the usual steady contributions from Caron Butler (25 points) and Antawn Jamison (19) and a surprising 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting from Darius Songaila as they snapped a three-game losing streak.

MVP candidate James scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half and finished with six assists and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, but – how’s this for a statistical oddity – he was responsible for all five of his team’s turnovers until Daniel Gibson traveled in the final minute of the third quarter. James finished with six turnovers – one fewer than the Wizards – and had a 3-pointer stuffed in his face by Butler in the final half-minute.

“It’s still a meaningless win toward the record,” said Arenas, who said he was winded but otherwise fine in his first game since his season debut on Saturday. “But for us, it’s a real win because they’re trying to be the best. He’s trying to win an MVP award, so they had everything to lose and we had everything to gain.”

Last year at this time, the Wizards and Cavaliers were headed toward a first-round playoff series that would include subplots aplenty, including a back-and-forth between James and Washington guard DeShawn Stevenson that eventually drew rappers Jay-Z and Soulja Boy into the fray. Cleveland won the series in six games, with Arenas missing the last two after more trouble with his knee.

Now the Cavaliers are the best team in the East; the Wizards are the worst. Washington did manage to beat Cleveland in January when James was called for traveling – he claimed it was a legal “crab dribble” – with 2.3 seconds remaining.

“Records never matter when you play the Wizards,” James said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re in first place or who is not in first place. It’s always going to be like that every time we play them.”

Nuggets 114, Jazz 104: At Denver, the Nuggets reached 50 wins faster than any time in their NBA history (76 games), when J.R. Smith sank eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points in a 114-104 victory against the Jazz.

Smith had 21 points in 15 minutes in the first half, helping turn an 11-point deficit into a 54-43 halftime lead that Denver never surrendered against a team that has lost six of its last seven road games.

C.J. Miles led six Jazz players in double figures with 19 points.

76ers 105, Bucks 95: At Philadelphia, ex-Arizona Wildcat Andre Iguodala scored 20 points, Lou Williams had 14 of his 21 in the second half, and Philadelphia rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit.

Andre Miller contributed 18 points and 11 assists for the Sixers (39-35), who won their second straight and vaulted past Miami into fifth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Serena Williams retained the No. 1 world ranking by being the best player in her family Thursday night.

Williams defeated older sister Venus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. It was their 20th sibling showdown, and each has won 10 times.

Serena needed to reach the final to retain the top ranking she has held since Feb. 2.

“I’m excited,” Serena said. “I was thinking I’d love to remain No. 1. I think I was more happy about that than winning the match.”

If Venus had won, Serena would have been supplanted in next week’s rankings by No. 2 Dinara Safina.

“Even though she’s my sister, I’m still here to win,” Venus said. “I can’t give anyone anything. So I’m disappointed that I lost tonight, whether or not she kept the ranking.”

No. 1 Rafael Nadal lost in the men’s quarterfinals to 20-year-old Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3). The upset delighted a partisan crowd that included many transplants from Argentina.

“Wonderful for the crowd,” Nadal said. “Terrible for me.”

The No. 6-seeded del Potro’s opponent Friday will be No. 4 Andy Murray, who beat No. 8 Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2.

Serena Williams will try for a record sixth Key Biscayne title Saturday against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 7-5.

Coyotes win again at home

GLENDALE – Al Montoya’s making life in the NHL look easy.

Montoya made 31 saves in his second career start, and Scottie Upshall scored with 5:54 left to help the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 on Thursday night.

“To get a win at home, there’s nothing like it,” Montoya said. “I just want to keep making those saves and giving the team a chance to win every night.”

Montoya, the former Michigan star who shut out Colorado on Wednesday night in his NHL debut, has stopped 53 of 54 shots in his first two games.

“He made key saves when he needed to make key saves,” said coach Wayne Gretzky, who will start Montoya again Saturday in Los Angeles.

“We’ve had an overall solid defensive effort two games in a row when we didn’t give up a lot of opportunities.”

Ed Jovanovski added a goal and an assist in the Coyotes’ fourth straight home win.

TRENTON, N.J. – All season long the Connecticut women’s basketball has been on cruise control, dominating opponents with double-digit victory margins.

Sunday was no different; it just took some time.

When the Huskies found themselves down eight points – their biggest deficit of the year – they didn’t panic. Instead, the Huskies turned up the defense, forced turnovers and outscored the Bears during a crucial stretch to advance to their 14th regional final in the last 16 seasons.

Freshman Tiffany Hayes scored a career-high 28 points as the undefeated Huskies beat fourth-seeded California 77-53.

The Huskies will face Arizona State on Tuesday night with a trip to the Final Four at stake.

Trailing by eight late in the first half, Connecticut went on a 40-12 run over the next 20 minutes to take control of the game.

“As time went on the true character of this team came out,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “I love the way we handled the game in the second half. That was classic Connecticut basketball.”

UConn (36-0) continued its march toward the school’s third perfect season. The Huskies have entered the NCAAs unbeaten three other times. Connecticut went on to win the national championship in 1995 and 2002. In 1996-97, the Huskies lost to Tennessee in the regional final.

Ashley Walker scored 21 to lead California (27-7), which was making its first trip to the regionals after blowing out Fresno State and Virginia in the first two rounds.

Purdue 67, Rutgers 61: At Oklahoma City, Lakisha Freeman scored 18 points, and sixth-seeded Purdue held off a late rally to beat Rutgers to reach the round of eight in the NCAA Tournament.

FahKara Malone hit a key basket in the final minute and Jodi Howell added the clinching free throws with 6.2 seconds left for Purdue (25-10), which became the second No. 6 seed this year to reach the round of eight, joining Arizona State.

Oklahoma 70, Pittsburgh 59: At Oklahoma City, Whitney Hand set new career-highs with 22 points and eight rebounds, and the top-seeded Sooners rolled to the regional finals for only the second time in school history.

Oklahoma (31-5) put the game away with a 20-2 second-half surge that included a wild, right-handed scoop shot by Hand that bounded its way into the basket.

The Sooners were hardly bothered by foul trouble that kept Courtney Paris off the court much of the game, getting double-digit scoring from all five starters.

Johnson

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Jimmie Johnson didn’t have the car to beat until late in the Goody’s 500 on Sunday, but that he emerged at the right time should have been no surprise.

After all, he is Mr. Martinsville.

Johnson nudged Denny Hamlin aside in the third and fourth turns with 15 laps to go at Martinsville Speedway, and gave team owner Rick Hendrick a perfect place to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his first victory in NASCAR’s premier series: Victory Lane.

Johnson and Hamlin had differing views of the pass that gave Johnson his fifth victory in the last six races on NASCAR’s smallest, trickiest track. Hamlin said it was a bump and standard short-track fare, while Johnson thought the video would change Hamlin’s opinion.

On the pass, Johnson caught Hamlin and got inside him on the backstretch on the 485th lap. From the outside, Hamlin tried to cut down in front of Johnson, bringing the contact.

Johnson gathered control and grabbed the lead, while Hamlin kept his car from hitting the wall and tried to give chase, but Johnson pulled away easily and coasted to the victory.

“If he wants to think that I tried moving him out of the way, he can believe that, but he should watch the video and see that I was inside of him,” Johnson said. “I did everything I could to miss him – climbed up on the curb – and he was still coming down.

“The only reason we touched and the only reason he ended up in the rubber where he couldn’t come back and get me was the fact that he chopped me,” he added. “I patiently worked to get that spot, to get the position inside of him, and he crowded me on the bottom.”

Hamlin said he bore no ill will, but will look forward to a chance to reciprocate.

“I would have done the same to him and if it comes back around, I will do the same thing.” he said. “It’s just the way it is. At Martinsville, you’ve got to battle for every inch.”

No one, clearly, does that better than Johnson.

Dubbed “Mr. Martinsville” by Jeff Gordon, Johnson won for the fifth time in the last six races here and for the sixth time overall, second among active drivers to Gordon’s seven.

And he did it by biding his time, falling back in the pack early in the race to get his car right, and then using the improved car and some slick work in the pits to make it pay.

The victory was the 18th for Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville, where a victory by Geoff Bodine 25 years ago gave the fledgling company a needed boost, and the 10th in the last 13 races. Johnson has won six of those, and Gordon has won the other four.

Hendrick, who missed that first win, gave Johnson a bear hug in Victory Lane.

Johnson’s 41st career victory came after Gordon, who led 147 laps, and then Hamlin, who led 296, dominated for most of the race, and after it looked like Hamlin had outfoxed him.

After Johnson took the lead coming out of the pits with 72 laps to go, Hamlin ducked inside him on a restart with 45 laps to go. The move gave the Virginia native the position he needed to take the lead, and he held onto it through three restarts until 15 laps remained.

Hamlin, the defending race champion, never challenged Johnson after he slid high into the banking after the winning pass, and his winless streak extended to 32 races.

Hamlin recovered to finish second in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, followed by Tony Stewart, Gordon and Clint Bowyer. Ryan Newman was sixth with Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. next, giving Hendrick four of the top eight spots and Stewart-Haas Racing two.

Formula One

MELBOURNE, Australia – Jenson Button won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, giving Brawn GP a victory in its first Formula One race.

Button led from start to finish, beating teammate Rubens Barrichello and Toyota’s Jarno Trulli, with the race finishing under safety car conditions following a late accident.

Barrichello recovered after being slow off the line at the start, while Trulli performed impressively after starting from pit lane.

It was the first time since 1977 that a team had won its debut F1 race, and only the second win for Button in his 10th year of F1.

TEMPE – Arizona State is one of the final 16 teams playing in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, despite being without its leading scorer Dymond Simon.

But Sun Devils coach Charli Turner Thorne says it will be about defense in Sunday’s game against Texas A&M in the regional semifinal at Trenton, N.J.

“It’s not going to be about flow, that’s for sure,” Turner Thorne said. “I think a lot of basketball in March is not about flow. It’s not pretty, because you don’t get this far without being a great defensive team.”

The winner of the game between sixth-seeded Arizona State (25-8) and No. 2 seed Texas A&M (27-7) will face the winner of No. 1 Connecticut and fourth-seeded California.

Turner Thorne knows with the Aggies bringing a defensive pressure similar to the one she pushes, her team doesn’t expect an offensive explosion Sunday.

“They know if we do not take care of the ball, we are not going to be successful,” Turner Thorne said. “And that we are playing a team that plays every bit as aggressively as we do, or more, on defense.”

Sun Devils guard Briann January said the game could be similar to Monday night’s 63-58 win over third-seeded Florida State.

“Charli always says we can do ugly, we play ugly, we win ugly as long as we win,” January said. “That’s what we did. People stepped up and hit some huge shots. We contained on defense.”

Texas A&M created 62 turnovers in its first two tournament games, getting 20 steals against Minnesota in the second round. The Aggies give up just 55.3 points a game and are fourth nationally in turnover margin.

They also don’t give up the outside shot, holding opponents to 25.8 percent shooting behind the arc, fourth-best in the nation. However, Arizona State is third in the nation in 3-point shooting (39.1 percent).

“Very aggressive team. They are going to have that pressure ‘D’ that we saw from Florida State,” January said.

“Its kind of nice that we went through that game, that kind of prepared us for this matchup against Texas A&M.”

Federer wins in Florida

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Roger Federer’s first shot hit a light pole, and his third sailed over the upper deck out of the stadium.

No, Federer’s slump didn’t reach a new low Friday. He merely misfired a couple of times trying to whack souvenir balls into the stands after winning his opening match at the Sony Ericsson Open.

The two-time Key Biscayne champion beat American Kevin Kim 6-3, 6-2.

“Great start to the tournament,” Federer said.

He hopes to end a drought that has left him without a title in his past 12 Masters tournaments, the ATP Tour’s most prestigious events aside from the Grand Slams.

His 4 1/2-year reign atop the rankings ended last August when he was overtaken by nemesis Rafael Nadal, but Federer professes optimism that he has the ability to reclaim the top spot.

“The true understanders of the game know it doesn’t go that quickly,” he said.

The No. 2-seeded Federer moved into the third round, where he’ll meet Nicolas Kiefer.

No. 5 Andy Roddick needed only 56 minutes to beat Diego Junqueira 6-1, 6-1. Also advancing were No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the 2007 champion, and No. 13 James Blake.

Unseeded American Taylor Dent needed five match points to eliminate No. 19 Nicolas Almagro 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7).

Gordon

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Jeff Gordon will start from the pole position in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway after steady rain washed out qualifying Friday.

Being the points leader also earned Gordon the prime stall on the cramped pit road of NASCAR’s tricky, 0.526-mile oval. He will be seeking his eighth victory at Martinsville, tops among active drivers, and his first in 47 races.

The qualifying rainout, he figures, only helps his chances.

“I think because of the pit road situation here, this is probably the most important place to start on the pole because you get that No. 1 pit stall,” said Gordon, who has started at the top spot seven other times in his career at the track. “Either way, I feel like rain or shine we had a shot at getting it. Certainly great timing for us to be leading the points.”

Martinsville’s pit road surrounds much of the small track, and the stall Gordon will take is closest to the exit to pit road with nothing obstructing his car’s path onto the track.

Other stalls are difficult to maneuver in and out of because they are all narrow.

“There’s no doubt that anyone that gets the No. 1 pit stall, it gives them the upper hand,” the four-time series champ said. “The stalls are so tight; there’s only one good one.”

Kurt Busch will start second, followed by Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.

The rain came after the Cup drivers got in a practice, and that left Gordon and several others delighted to have at least had a chance to adjust their car setups to the track.

“I’m excited,” Bowyer said. “I think I’ve got as good a car as I’ve ever had here.”