U.S. Wins Title; Leslie Is MVP

The United States women’s basketball team continued its world domination, something its male counterparts couldn’t do.

With a 79-74 victory over Russia on Wednesday at Nanjing, China, the U.S. won its second consecutive Women’s World Basketball Championship.

The victory was the 19th in a row in championship play for the U.S. women, who have not lost a game since 1994.

Lisa Leslie, the tournament’s most valuable player, scored 17 points against Russia, making two free throws and a jumper late in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

The gold medal was the seventh for the U.S., the most in the championship’s 49-year history. The former Soviet Union is No. 2 with six golds.

Olympics

International skating officials Ron Pfenning of the U.S. and Sally Stapleford of Britain have been interviewed by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York about the pairs competition at the Salt Lake City Olympics.

Pfenning said American skating official Jon Jackson also was questioned by federal agents.

Tennis

Top-seeded Serena Williams defeated Anca Barna, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, in the second round of the Sparkassen Cup at Leipzig, Germany.

Meghann Shaughnessy upset second-seeded Jelena Dokic, 6-2, 6-4.

Top-seeded Marcelo Rios defeated Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, 6-4, 6-2, in the first round of the Sicilian International at Palermo.

Hockey

New York Ranger forward Pavel Bure tore cartilage in his right knee during the team’s exhibition game against New Jersey on Tuesday and will have arthroscopic surgery today.... Minnesota center Darby Hendrickson will be out three months after breaking his left forearm Monday in the Wild’s exhibition game against Calgary.

Horse Racing

Two Breeders’ Cup horses, one of them the winner of last year’s Sprint and another who would have been among the favorites in this year’s Filly and Mare Turf, won’t compete on racing’s richest day at Arlington Park on Oct. 26.

Squirtle Squirt, who was voted champion sprinter for 2001 after his win in the Sprint at Belmont Park, was being prepared for next month’s race, but his racing career is expected to end after he’s sold soon as a stud prospect in Japan.

Astra, one of the best female grass runners in the country, has been retired.

An eight-race series called the Sunshine Millions will pit California-bred horses against Florida-breds on Jan. 25 at Santa Anita and at Gulfstream Park in Florida.

Purses will range from $250,000 to $1 million per race, for a guaranteed total of $3.6 million.

Miscellany

FBI evidence response team members who searched the boat of missing former NBA player Bison Dele in Tahiti reported to superiors in San Francisco on Wednesday that they found no proof of a bullet hole and no definite blood stains. Andrew Black, an FBI spokesman, refused to provide details of the FBI investigators’ conference, except to note, “We continue to try to piece together what led to these individuals’ disappearances.”

A source close to the case said “hyper-sensitive blood chemistry tests” may eventually reveal that some small bits of evidence had blood on them, but, for now, the findings are “inconsistent with what some French authorities had said.” Dele, his girlfriend, Serena Karlan, and boat captain Bertrand Saldo have been missing since early July. French police officials have identified Dele’s brother, Miles Dabord, as the leading suspect, but Dabord is comatose in a Chula Vista hospital after an apparent suicide attempt and his mother has reported she has decided to remove him from life support soon.

Meanwhile, investigators in Tahiti halted their South Pacific sea search for Dele, Karlan and Saldo on Wednesday.

NASCAR suspended Jimmy Elledge, crew chief for Bobby Hamilton, for this weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway for violating probation and fined him $5,000 for “unapproved air directional devices” found on the car before qualifying at Dover last week. Greg Biffle is driving the car while Hamilton recovers from an injury.