Briefs | Portland, Davis Cup have love-love relationship

Tennis

12,000 tickets snapped up for Final: Tickets for the 61st Davis Cup Final, between the United States and defending champion Russia, to be held Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 at Portland's 12,000-seat Memorial Coliseum, sold out in less than 30 minutes Monday.

"There's a real buzz around the country — to tennis fans in particular — that this is a big deal," U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said Tuesday.

Andy Roddick and James Blake are the U.S. singles players, and twins Bob and Mike Bryan form the doubles team.

The United States last hosted the Davis Cup Final in 1992, in Fort Worth, Texas. Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras and John McEnroe combined to defeat Switzerland — with 10-year-old Roddick in the stands.

The United States has won the Davis Cup a record 31 times, but not since it beat Russia in 1995.

Federer returns: Roger Federer of Switzerland played his first match on Tour in more than five weeks, defeating American Robby Ginepri 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in the second round at the Madrid Masters in Spain.

Other than two Davis Cup matches, Federer hadn't played since winning his fourth consecutive U.S. Open title on Sept. 9.

Williams exits: American Serena Williams retired with a sore right thigh while trailing Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-0, 3-0 in the first round of the Zurich Open in Switzerland.

WNBA

League reportedly awards franchise to Atlanta: The league will announce today that it has awarded a franchise to Atlanta, said a person familiar with the deal who requested anonymity.

The team will begin play in 2008, the source said.

College basketball

Hopkins says he will be Boeheim's successor: Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins said he reached agreement with the school on a plan to succeed Jim Boeheim, 62, when the Hall of Fame coach decides to retire. But athletic director Daryl Gross called The Associated Press report premature.

NHL

Hecht gets extension: Sabres forward Jochen Hecht, 30, agreed to a four-year, $14.1 million contract extension that will keep him in Buffalo through the 2011-12 season.

Auto racing

New deal for Massa: Ferrari extended driver Felipe Massa's contract by two years through 2010, seemingly reducing the chances of the Formula One team hiring McLaren's Fernando Alonso.

Boxing

McCline passes drug tests: Heavyweight Jameel McCline's drug tests before and after his Oct. 6 WBC title-bout loss to Samuel Peter in New York were negative, officials said.

The New York Daily News reported before the fight that McCline received more than $12,000 worth of steroids, human growth hormone and related drugs from March 2005 until December 2006.

Soccer

Adu gets some activity: American Freddy Adu, 18, has been mainly a spectator with Benfica of Portugal, playing 64 minutes over 2 ½ months. Adu is training with the U.S. team, which plays an exhibition match today at Switzerland.

Cycling

Di Luca is banned: Giro d'Italia champion Danilo Di Luca of the Liquigas team was banned for three months by the Italian Olympic Committee after a doping investigation.

Lacrosse

National Lacrosse League cancels 2007-08 season: The National Lacrosse League canceled its 2007-08 season after failing to reach a labor agreement with the union.

The 14-team league, which averaged 10,283 fans per game last season, was scheduled to open the season Dec. 27.

Arena Football League

Las Vegas franchise is moving to Cleveland: The league will relocate the Las Vegas franchise to Cleveland, where former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar will run the team.

Seattle Times news services