Sports in brief: Dixon’s season finished after knee injury
Dennis Dixon will have surgery on the left knee that buckled early in second-ranked Oregon’s upset loss to Arizona, spoiling his chance to win the Heisman Trophy.
The quarterback tore his anterior cruciate ligament during Oregon’s Nov. 3 victory over Arizona State, according to coach Mike Bellotti, but he had rested it and felt as if he was ready to play Thursday night against the Wildcats.
Now Dixon will miss the rest of this season.
Tennis
Federer downs Roddick
Roger Federer overwhelmed Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-2 in a round-robin match at the Masters Cup at Shanghai, China, in which both players were already assured of reaching the semifinals. Federer raised his record against Roddick to 15-1.
Federer will play No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the year-end tournament for the top eight men in the rankings. Roddick faces No. 6 David Ferrer, who went undefeated in the Gold Group.
Also, No. 4 ranked Nikolay Davydenko, already out of contention with two losses, beat No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez 6-4, 6-3.
“Tennis players must notify officials within 48 hours if they hear any information about gambling or match-fixing under a new ATP rule.
The measure was approved during a three-day ATP board meeting during this week’s season-ending Masters Cup.
Players are being given until the end of 2007 to report any previous gambling-related contacts over the last five years. Penalties for not doing so have not been determined but will probably be similar to the maximum three-year suspension and $100,000 fine for players betting on the sport.
Soccer
More teams on tap
With San Jose and Seattle already in, Philadelphia and St. Louis could be the next cities to join Major League Soccer. MLS commissioner Don Garber listed nine cities as candidates for expansion, with Philadelphia and St. Louis at the top of the list.
“David Beckham’s corner kick was headed into the goal by Peter Crouch in the 44th minute as England beat Austria 1-0 in an exhibition game at Vienna, Austria.
Miscellany
Gillispie not signed
Billy Gillispie still hasn’t signed a formal contract more than seven months after agreeing to become Kentucky’s basketball coach.
Gillispie remains employed under a two-page memorandum of understanding that details his compensation package but no explanation of the delay on formalizing his contract has been given.
“German speedskater Jenny Wolf beat her world record in winning the women’s 500 meters in 37.02 seconds at the Essent ISU World Cup in Calgary, Alberta.
Canada’s Jeremy Wotherspoon won the men’s 500 in 34.23 seconds.
“America’s Cup champion Alinghi rejected an offer to settle a lawsuit brought by an American syndicate and asked its rival to drop legal proceedings.