Wie Wins to Advance at U.S. Women’s Amateur

Michelle Wie advanced to the second round of match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, beating Angela Park of Torrance, 1-up, Wednesday at Erie, Pa.

“The long game is important, but I had trouble keeping it in the fairway,” the 14-year-old Wie said.

“What won for me today was I made some really great up and downs.

“The short game was the difference. Only three words can describe today: nerves of steel.”

Wie struggled off the tee in stroke play and tied for 39th among the 64 players who qualified for match play at The Kahkwa Club.

Wie, who lost in the first round of last year’s event, held a 3-up lead with three holes left before Park birdied Nos. 16 and 17.

At the 18th, Park hit her approach between two trees left of the green. Despite a tricky stance, Park’s chip was on line and caught part of the cup, but the ball then nearly rolled off the green and she went on to make bogey.

Wie’s approach landed in a bunker behind the green, and she also went on to make a bogey, halving the hole and winning the match.

In other matches, medalist Amie Cochran of Torrance lost, 1-up, to Hsiao-Ching Lu of Taiwan. Lu survived an 11-player playoff to qualify for the last match-play berth.

Two rounds of match play will be held today.

Tennis

Top-seeded Marat Safin lost in straight sets in the second round of the Idea Prokom Open at Sopot, Poland.

The defending women’s champion, Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi, was also eliminated. She lost to wild-card Marta Domachowska, 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Safin, who entered the tournament to help prepare himself for the Athens Olympics, was beaten by Marc Lopez, 6-3, 6-2. Lopez advances to face Marc Rosset in the quarterfinals.

Third-seeded Alina Jidkova defeated Shuai Peng, 7-5, 7-5, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Vancouver Open.

Pro Basketball

The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of the New Jersey Nets to an ownership group that plans to move the team to New York.

The league expects the sale to the group, led by Brooklyn developer Bruce Ratner, to close next week.

Ratner and his group will pay an estimated $300 million to buy the team.

Ratner plans to build a 19,000-seat arena that will be part of a $2.5-billion office, residential and shopping complex. The arena is expected to be completed for the 2007-2008 season.

The Golden State Warriors re-signed free-agent swingman Calbert Cheaney.... The Miami Heat signed free-agent swingman Wesley Person.

Hockey

Atlanta Thrasher forward Dany Heatley will be arraigned next month on vehicular homicide charges in the 2003 crash that killed teammate Dan Snyder.

Heatley will enter his plea in Superior Court on Sept. 16, two days before the Thrashers open training camp.

If convicted, Heatley faces up to 20 years in prison.

The Florida Panthers avoided salary arbitration with second-leading scorer Mike Van Ryn, signing the defenseman to a one-year deal.... The Carolina Hurricanes agreed to one-year deals with forwards Colin Forbes and Gordie Dwyer.... The New York Islanders signed right wing Jim Campbell.

Soccer

Freddy Adu and Earnie Stewart scored first-half goals to help D.C. United end a four-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids in an MLS game at Washington.

Adu scored in the 35th minute after Joshua Gros gave Adu a perfect through ball in the box.

Adu beat Colorado keeper Joe Cannon with a 12-yard shot just inside the left post for his third goal this season and his first goal since May 19.

Pat Noonan and Andy Dorman had a goal and an assist to lead the New England Revolution to a 3-0 victory over the Burn at Dallas.

The Revolution ended a four-game winless streak. The Burn has managed only one goal in its last three games.

Revolution keeper Matt Reis had seven saves for his first shutout of the season.

Damani Ralph scored on a rebound in the 81st minute to lift the Fire past the San Jose Earthquakes, 2-1, at Chicago. The win ended the Fire’s nine-game winless streak, the worst in franchise history.

Miscellany

Running back Terry Caulley will miss Connecticut’s first Big East season because of a lingering knee injury.

Caulley missed the last seven games of the 2003 season after he tore ligaments in his right knee against Virginia Tech on Sept. 27, when he was the nation’s leading rusher with 601 yards.

Petros Papadakis is expected to be selected the game commentator on Fox Sports Net’s national Pacific 10 Conference game of the week package today.

Papadakis replaces Tom Ramsey, who left FSN because of a salary dispute. Papadakis’ play-by-play partner will be Barry Tompkins.

Passings

Genaro Rojo, a popular lightweight boxer who fought often at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in the 1940s, died Tuesday of pneumonia and heart failure after a lengthy illness. He was 81.

Rojo is survived by his wife, Mary, of 57 years, six children and two grandchildren. A rosary service will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday and the funeral Mass at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Bernard’s Church on Avenue 33 in Los Angeles.

Alan N. Cohen, the former co-owner of the Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets and former chairman of Madison Square Garden, has died in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 73.