Davydenko won’t play singles for Russia
Russia pulled a surprise at Thursday’s draw for the Davis Cup final, leaving fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko out of the singles matches.
Davydenko was relegated to playing doubles with Igor Andreev, and captain Shamil Tarpischev picked Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny for singles.
The competition runs today through Sunday at Portland’s Memorial Coliseum.
Tursunov will face sixth-ranked Andy Roddick in the opening match today, followed by 13th-ranked James Blake against Youzhny.
Davydenko and Andreev are slated to play the top-ranked duo of Bob and Mike Bryan on Saturday.
Football
Williams will plea
Former Montana State football player Demetrius Williams, who prosecutors said was the head of a cocaine ring in the Bozeman area, has agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge.
Williams, 24, played football at MSU in 2003 and remains jailed in Missoula.
•Joe Paterno’s salary is no longer one of the most closely guarded secrets in college sports – the Penn State coach will earn more than $500,000 this year. A Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that his salary and that of other top Penn State officials are public information.
•A jury awarded $5 million to former University of Alabama football booster Ray Keller, who claimed the NCAA defamed him when it imposed penalties on the Crimson Tide in 2002.
•Patrick Cowan, who hasn’t played since suffering a concussion and slight collapse of his right lung Nov. 3, will start at quarterback for UCLA against No. 8 Southern California on Saturday.
Miscellany
Immelman, Scott lead
Trevor Immelman and Adam Scott led the Nedbank Golf Challenge after each shot 5-under-par 67s in the first round at Sun City, South Africa.
Ernie Els was two shots behind in the 12-man field at the Gary Player Country Club.
•Patrick Cowan, who hasn’t played since suffering a concussion and slight collapse of his right lung Nov. 3, will start at quarterback for UCLA against No. 8 Southern California on Saturday.
•Ryan Lochte beat Michael Phelps by 1.24 seconds with an American-record time of 1 minute, 40.08 seconds in the 200-yard individual medley, and Natalie Coughlin also set an American mark with 21.46 in the 50 free on opening night of the U.S. short course national swimming championships in Atlanta.
•Switzerland’s Daniel Albrecht won a super-combi in 2 minutes, 2.06 seconds for his first career World Cup victory in Beaver Creek, Colo.
American Bode Miller was fourth in 2:01.28.
•The Medicine Hat Tigers acquired 18-year-old left-winger Travis Dunstall from the Kamloops Blazers in exchange for 19-year-old center Scott Wasden and a seventh-round pick in the 2008 WHL Bantam Draft and sent defenseman Zach Sim, 19, to the Prince Albert Raiders for a fifth-round pick in the 2008 bantam draft.
•European champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France took the lead in ice dance at the NHK Trophy in Sendai, Japan.