Women's soccer
Too little, too late for U.S. in 2-1 setback to rival Norway
Second-half substitute Cindy Parlow scored off a rebound from short range in the last minute but couldn't prevent the U.S. national team's 2-1 loss to Norway in Oslo yesterday in their their final tuneup for the Sydney Olympics.
Playing before 15,762 fans at Ulleval Stadium, a record turnout for women's soccer in Norway, the Americans had another disappointing outing after tying the Norwegians 1-1 thanks to an own-goal by the hosts Thursday at Tromso, north of the Arctic Circle.
"In the last 20 minutes we had an urgency when we went down 2-0, but we need a bit more consistency with that, a little more urgency on the ball and getting shots off and a little more threatening," said Julie Foudy, who played for the 1996 Olympic and 1999 world championship team.
The Americans lost their third match this year to Norway - the first two also by one goal in Florida in February - and they go into the Sydney Games with a 2-3-1 record against the Olympic co-favorites.
Auto racing
Da Matta takes Target GP; Barrichello wins German GP
Little Cristiano da Matta came up big in his race car yesterday, becoming the fourth first-time winner in CART this season.
The Brazilian driver, 5 feet 3 and and 130 pounds, took the lead late in the Target Grand Prix during a series of pit stops. He was able to stay well ahead of points leader Michael Andretti, who remained in da Matta's mirrors through the final 33 laps on the 1.029-mile Chicago Motor Speedway oval in Cicero, Ill.
De Matta's Toyota-powered Reynard crossed the finish line 1.69 seconds - about 20 car lengths - ahead of Andretti's Lola-Ford to make him the ninth different winner in 12 races.
The victory came in the 51st career start for the 1998 Indy Lights champion.
Juan Montoya, the defending series champion, started from the pole, led 110 laps and seemed headed for another victory before an electrical problem ended his day on lap 178.
FORMULA ONE GERMAN GRAND PRIX: Rubens Barrichello scored his first series victory, taking the race in Hockenheim.
Barrichello, in a Ferrari, battled from 18th place on the starting grid for the first victory by a Brazilian driver in almost seven years and his first in 123 starts. He covered the 45 laps on the 4.240-mile circuit in 1 hour, 25 minutes, 34.418 seconds, for an average speed of 133.834 mph.
Michael Schumacher was knocked out just after the start for the second straight race. His lead in the season standing cut to two points over David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen.
Wrestling
Faust first Marylander to double at junior nationals
Gilman graduate Mike Faust (220 pounds) took first place and River Hill's Brandon Lauer (123 pounds) was seventh, as each earned All-America honors Saturday in USA Wrestling's Freestyle Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D.
Faust, who is bound for the University of Pennsylvania, became the first Maryland wrestler to win both the Greco-Roman and freestyle categories in the 30-year history of the tournament. Lauer was fourth in Greco-Roman, an event that ended Wednesday.
In the Cadet division, McDonogh's Ryan Davis (123) and Geoff Miller (167) were third and seventh, respectively, to earn All-America honors. The tournament is considered the world's most difficult for high schoolers.
Olympics
IOC to rule on hormone EPO; Montenegro wants recognition
Olympic athletes should know this week whether drug testing at the Sydney Games will finally include tests for the banned hormone EPO.
The International Olympic Committee meets today and tomorrow to study two competing tests and decide whether either or both are reliable enough to use in Sydney.
The urine-based control developed in France and the blood-sampling method devised in Australia, will be reviewed to determine whether they meet scientific and legal standards.
A test for EPO, or erythropoetin, has so far eluded researchers trying to find a test for one of sport's most abused performance-enhancing drugs, which is used by some athletes in endurance sports to boost their stamina
NATIONS: Montenegro's athletes will no longer compete on Yugoslav Olympic teams after the coming Sydney Games, a sports official of the republic said.
Instead, Montenegrin officials will use the Sydney Games to lobby the IOC to recognize the pro-Western Yugoslav republic as a sovereign state with its own flag and teams, said Rade Djurdjic, the head of the Montenegrin Olympic Committee.
The plan is the latest step toward a full break between Montenegro and Serbia, which together form all that is left of Yugoslavia after the country disintegrated in ethnic wars in the 1990s.
Pro basketball
Free agent Jones gives ultimatum to Hornets
Eddie Jones' attorney turned up the heat on the Hornets during the weekend, saying that if the team doesn't immediately work out a sign-and-trade with Miami, Jones could independently com-mit to the Heat or the Chicago Bulls "at any time."
Jones wants to play for the Heat, and is trying to avoid signing for the $2.25.million salary-cap ex-ception. That's the most money .Miami can offer Jones in the ab-sence of a sign-and-trade. Two Charlotte (N.C.) Observer sources said Jones might fly to Chicago yesterday for a second visit with the Bulls -- the team with enough cap room to offer him a maximum contract without a sign-and-trade.
If Jones signs outright with Mi-ami or Chicago, the Hornets would lose their top scorer, and the NBA's steals leader, without com-pensation.
The Hornets thought they were close to a deal Friday that would have swapped Jones and Hornets guard Ricky Davis for Jamal Mashburn, Clarence Weath-erspoon and Rodney Burord.
MAGIC: Free agent Dee Brown and Orlando have agreed on a contract.
Brown, a guard who has played the past three seasons for the Raptors, told the Orlando Sentinel he will join the Magic for the league minimum for a 10-year veteran --$1 million ayear.
Et cetera
Snowboarding champ Klug is recipient of new liver
Top U.S. snowboarder Chris Klug was doing well Saturday after a liver transplant 24 hours earlier.
Klug, 27, of Aspen, Colo., got a new liver Friday morning at University Hospital in Denver, spokes-woman Marcia Bailey said. He was in fair condition, which she said was to be expected a day after surgery.
"I plan to make a full recovery by summer's end," the snow-boarder said several weeks before the transplant. "Just as I came back from my knee surgery this past winter season."
Klug was declared the national champion in the giant slalom when he finished second to Canadian Jasey Jay Anderson at the U.S. championships in March.
AMATEUR BASEBALL: Victories over host Tulsa, Okla., by 5-3 and Northern-Ohio by 7-5 advanced the Maryland Orioles to the double-elimination championship round of the Continental Amateur Baseball Association 13-and-under World Series.
Phil Vornadore homered twice against Oklahoma, then homered along with winning pitcher Brian Hobbs and Aaron Gabrielian in the win over Northern-Ohio that left the Orioles 3-1 in the round robin.
PRO FOOTBALL: Former Louisiana State and Vanderbilt coach Gerry DiNardo has been chosen as the first coach of the Birmingham franchise of the new XFL professional football league.