Briefs | Easy wins for Nadal, Blake at Indian Wells

Tennis

Nadal, Blake, Davenport advance: Defending champion Rafael Nadal defeated Donald Young in their first meeting, and James Blake topped familiar foe Carlos Moya in third-round matches Monday at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

Nadal beat his 18-year-old American opponent 6-1, 6-3. Blake took a methodical 6-3, 6-4 victory over Moya.

Lindsay Davenport bounced back from a second-set loss to defeat Chan Yung-Jan 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. The 31-year-old Davenport, a former No. 1, had to overcome 48 unforced errors, 20 more than her 18-year-old opponent from Taipei.

Harmon to coach Olympics team: Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe has decided not to return as U.S. Olympic tennis coach. Instead, Rodney Harmon will lead the American men at the Beijing Games, pending U.S. Olympic Committee approval.

The U.S. Tennis Association expects to announce its Olympic coaching picks today, including Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison as the women's coach.

Horse racing

Fiery win at Santa Anita: Lightmyfirebaby won the $139,250 Irish O'Brien Stakes for California-breds by three-quarters of a length at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., covering 6 ½ furlongs in 1:13.15.

College football

Surgery may sideline Bulldogs' Washington: Georgia linebacker Marcus Washington, who started six games in 2007, will undergo shoulder surgery and expects to miss the 2008 season.

Morriss heads to Kentucky State: Former Kentucky and Baylor head coach Guy Morriss was hired as offensive line coach at Division II Kentucky State.

Mizzou linebacker suspended: Missouri linebacker Marquis Booker was suspended following his arrest in which police said he threatened to "light the place up" and grabbed a handgun from his car during a parking lot argument. The 20-year-old sophomore backup was arrested early Sunday outside an apartment complex on suspicion of unlawfully using a weapon and an underage liquor law violation, police said.

Arena football

Desperados down Crush: Chris Sanders threw four touchdowns to Will Pettis, and Dallas defeated visiting Colorado 51-40.

Auto racing

No lights for Australian GP: The Australian Grand Prix won't be held under lights, despite comments from Formula One head Bernie Ecclestone that the race needs a floodlit future.

Victorian state leader Premier John Brumby said his government would do "everything possible" to keep the Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Boxing

Chagaev, Valuev to meet again: Ruslan Chagaev (23-0-1) is expected to defend his WBA heavyweight title against Nikolai Valuev (48-1) on May 31 in Oberhause, Germany, in a rematch of their bout last April.

Cycling

Cancellara retains lead in Italy: Oscar Freire sprinted to victory in the sixth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico race, and Fabian Cancellara retained the overall lead.

The Spaniard won in 4 hours, 46 minutes, 44 seconds on the 122-mile ride from Civitanova to Castelfidardo in central Italy. Cancellara finished 13th. The Swiss rider has a 16-second overall lead heading into the seventh and final stage, 110-mile leg.

Doping

HGH may not help, study finds: While growth hormone adds some muscle, it doesn't appear to improve strength or exercise capacity, according to a review of studies that tested the hormone in mostly athletic young men.

"It doesn't look like it helps and there's a hint of evidence it may worsen athletic performance," said Dr. Hau Liu, of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, Calif., lead author of the review.

Growth hormone, or HGH, is among the performance enhancers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte were accused of taking in the Mitchell Report.

Seattle Times news services