Rahlves Defeats Maier in Super-G in Austria

Daron Rahlves of Sugar Bowl, Calif., won a World Cup super-giant slalom Friday and in so doing, finished ahead of two Austrian stars skiing in their home country.

Racing down the steep and treacherous run in 1 minute 23.08 seconds, Rahlves became the first non-Austrian to win a super-giant slalom on Hahnenkamm mountain in Kitzbuehel.

Austrian Olympic champion Hermann Maier won the event the last three years.

“It doesn’t matter who I beat, it just matters that I win,” Rahlves said. “It was a great victory for me.”

Rahlves edged Maier by 0.03 seconds, and Michael Walchhofer was third in 1:23.47.

“This is my worst result ever ... second place,” Maier said, only half joking. “I’ve won here three times, but I am happy with the result.”

Lasse Kjus finished fifth and remained first in the overall World Cup standings with 740 points. Benjamin Raich is second (698) and Maier is third (685).

Maier kept his lead in the super-G standings with 320 points. Kjus is second (230) and Rahlves moved into third (198).

Bryon Friedman of Park City, Utah, suffered a concussion after falling, and U.S. team officials said he would be sidelined for a week. He also bruised both shins.

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Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United States won the ice dance and Yukina Ota of Japan took the women’s gold in the Four Continents competition at Hamilton, Canada.

Belbin and Agosto will try in Dortmund, Germany, in March to become the first U.S. entry to win world championship ice dance medals since Judy Blomberg and Michael Seibert took bronze in 1985 in Tokyo.

Canadian champions Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, performing what they describe as a punky Spanish dance, claimed silver Friday.

Canadian Cynthia Phaneuf got the silver and American Amber Corwin took the bronze in the women’s event.

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Matti Hautamaki led a 1-2 finish for Finland in a World Cup ski jump event at Hakuba, Japan. He had jumps of 122.5 and 128.5 meters on the K-120 large hill for 251.8 points.

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Samppa Lajunen won a World Cup Nordic combined at Nayoro, Japan. In sixth place after the ski jumping portion of the event, he was timed in 39 minutes 14.8 seconds for the 15-kilometer cross-country race.

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Golf

James Mason shot a seven-under-par 65 to take the lead in the suspended first round of the Champions Tour’s season-opening MasterCard Championship at Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii.

Mason, 53, has a one-stroke lead over Jim Thorpe, Stewart Ginn, Honolulu resident Dave Eichelberger, Jay Sigel and Doug Tewell, who still had five holes to play.

The round was suspended for 1 1/2 hours because of rain and lightning at the oceanside Hualalai Golf Club. When play resumed, 12 of the 39 players were not able to finish because of darkness. They are scheduled to complete play today before the second round.

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Baseball

Seattle Mariner right-hander Freddy Garcia is recovering after operations to repair two ruptured eardrums and is expected to be ready when pitchers report for spring training Feb. 20.

Left-hander Darrell May and the Kansas City Royals agreed to a $4.95-million, two-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration. May was 10-8 with a 3.77 earned-run average last season.... Shawn Estes agreed to a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies and was invited to spring training. He will get a $600,000, one-year contract if he is added to the 40-man roster. The left-hander was 8-11 with a 5.73 ERA for the Chicago Cubs last season.

Evel Bastida-Martinez, the Inland Empire 66er second baseman who was recently reinstated by the Seattle Mariners after hitting a pitcher with a bat last August during a California League game, has been suspended for an undisclosed number of games to start the season.

The suspension is in addition to the one Bastida-Martinez served at the conclusion of last season, when he sat out the final 10 regular-season games and 12 playoff games, said John Oldham, the league’s supervisor of umpires.

Bastida-Martinez also has not paid the fine imposed by the league after the Aug. 18 incident, Oldham said, and must do so before he is eligible to play in the minor leagues.

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Pro Football

The Oakland Raiders interviewed Miami Dolphin offensive coordinator Norv Turner for their head coaching vacancy. Turner had a 49-59-1 record in six-plus seasons as head coach in Washington. He was fired with three games remaining in 2000.

As expected, tight end Frank Wycheck of the Tennessee Titans announced his retirement after 11 NFL seasons. Wycheck, who had 505 catches, is only the fourth tight end with more than 500 receptions, joining Shannon Sharpe and Hall of Famers Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome.

Ron Rivera, the linebacker coach for the Philadelphia Eagles the last five seasons, was named defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears.

The Avengers will hold a “Kickoff Party” for fans today from noon to 3 p.m. at the team’s training facility at West L.A. College. Players will be available to sign autographs after a scrimmage. Lunch will be provided at no cost for season-ticket holders.

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College Football

Illinois quarterback Jon Beutjer was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.

Beutjer, who started seven games last season before being sidelined by a back injury, had asked for the extra year before last season started because of the circumstances surrounding his transfer from Iowa in 2001.

Beutjer began his college career with the Hawkeyes in 1999 but left the school after sustaining a concussion during a fight with a teammate over payment of a cable television bill.

Sound and Vision columnist Mike Penner is on vacation.