Navratilova beats Seles in Calif. final
Takes 157th career crown, tying Evert's women's mark
Martina Navratilova defeated top-ranked Monica Seles, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in the Virginia Slims of California final yesterday in Oakland, tying Chris Evert's women's record for career tournament titles, 157. Navratilova, 35, kept Seles, 17, off-balance with an aggressive serve-and-volley game.
"To beat the No. 1 player in the world is enough," Navratilova said. "But tying the record was a huge bonus." Seles, who lost her serve only twice in three matches leading up to the final, was broken eight times by Navratilova.
* Michael Chang won his first title of 1991, beating unseeded Frenchman Guillaume Raoux, 6-3, 6-2, in the final of the Diet Pepsi Indoor Challenge in Birmingham, England.
* Andrei Cherkasov of the Soviet Union won his second straight Kremlin Cup title in Moscow, making a brilliant comeback to defeat Switzerland's Jakob Hlasek, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-6 (7-5). Czechoslovak-born Hlasek broke Cherkasov's serve twice in the first set and twice in the third set. Each time, Cherkasov fought back to win in tie-breakers, playing best when he was behind. Serving down at 3-5 in the third set, Cherkasov saved two match points.
Basketball
Kevin Johnson of the Phoenix Suns called for "some form of uniform testing" of players for AIDS in the wake of Magic Johnson's disclosure that he has the virus that causes the fatal disease. But Georgetown coach John Thompson said that singling out athletes for mandatory testing would be a violation of their privacy. Both appeared on ABC-TV's "This Week with David Brinkley."
Baseball
Chris Chambliss, a successful minor-league manager after a long career as a major-league player, is among those being considered to manage the Chicago White Sox, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. White Sox general manager Ron Schueler has said he wants to have a replacement for Jeff Torborg selected by Thanksgiving. Torborg left the White Sox at the end of the season and signed a four-year contract with the New York Mets.
Hiring Chambliss likely would please commissioner Fay Vincent, who has criticized baseball for having only two black major-league managers. Chambliss, who spent most of his big-league playing career with the Yankees, has won Manager of the Year honors twice in Class AA. The second time came this year, when he took Greenville of the Southern League, Atlanta's Class AA club, from last place in 1990 to first place.
Bowling
Chuck King of Abingdon defeated Erik Pellett of East Hartford, Conn., 150-131, capturing his second straight boys U.S. Youth Duckpin Invitational Championship at Fairlanes Middlesex. In the girls division, Sue Bisson of Plainville, Conn., rolled a 148 to defeat Lauree Simpson of Lorton, Va., who scored a 129.
Semipro football
The Baltimore Bears defeated the Washington Stonewalls, 14-12, Saturday at Eastern High School in Washington for the Mason Dixon Football League title. The winning score was Mark Ebenhardinger's 13-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Ron Meehan with 3:23 left in the game. The victory puts the Bears in the running for a berth in the American Football Association's Semi-Pro Bowl in Orlando, Fla. The Bears will find out tomorrow if they were selected.
Running
Bill Reifsnyder of Albuquerque, N.M., was aided by a fast pace set by fellow New Mexican Aaron Ramirez in winning the Columbus (Ohio) Marathon in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 39 seconds. Janine Aiello of Taos, N.M., won the women's division in 2:37:33. Aiello overtook Barbara Moore of New Zealand, one of the favorites, near the 21-mile mark and held on to win by more than a minute.
Chris Fox of Hagerstown was second, trailing Reifsnyder by 2:08. The marathon was a qualifier for the 1992 U.S. Olympic men's marathon trials, to be run over the same course April 11. All males breaking 2:20 -- Fox among them -- qualified for the trials.
College volleyball
Loyola College claimed its first conference championship and Player of the Year in its Division I history when it swept Canisius and La Salle without loss of a game in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Association playoffs, and had junior Tara Vinje (Loch Raven) selected as the league's top player.
* Navy (16-16) swept past Fordham, 15-6, 15-3, 15-12, to win the consolation game and finish third in the Patriot League championship tournament at West Point, N.Y. The all-league squad included senior Laura Hatcher on the first team, and team captain Stephanie Dixon and Katie Schullian on the second team.
College soccer
Top-seeded Virginia won the Atlantic Coast Conference men's soccer championship in Chapel Hill, N.C., as Claudio Reyna, tournament MVP, had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 victory over third-seeded Wake Forest.
Pro football
The defending Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers reached the Canadian Football League's Eastern Conference final for the fifth straight year, beating the Ottawa Rough Riders, 26-8. Troy Westwood kicked four field goals for Winnipeg, and Robert Mimbs, who rushed for 87 yards, and Rick House scored Bombers touchdowns.