Appleby’s One-Under 72 Puts Him Into Lead

The scenery suggests a vacation in paradise. The golf was all work Friday at the Mercedes Championships in Kapalua, Hawaii, where defending champion Stuart Appleby survived 35 mph wind gusts to shoot a one-under-par 72 and take a one-shot lead into the weekend.

The trade wind was among the fiercest since the PGA’s season-opening event moved to Kapalua in 1999, but the name atop the leaderboard should look familiar. Appleby is trying to become the first player in nearly 50 years to win the PGA Tour winners-only tournament three consecutive times.

He hit his tee shot into the knee-high weeds on the 18th hole and made a bogey, finishing his two rounds at three-under 143. He won the last two years with scores of 21 and 22 under par.

David Toms, who missed a six-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that could have tied Appleby, shot an even-par 73 to join Michael Campbell (72), Jim Furyk (72) and Vijay Singh (74) at two-under 144.

TENNIS

Federer Defeats Hass to Reach Qatar Final

Top-ranked Roger Federer continued his strong preparation for the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Tommy Haas in the semifinals of the Qatar Open at Doha.

Federer will play Gael Monfils, who defeated Filippo Volandri, 6-3, 6-4. Monfils was the world’s No. 1 junior last year.

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Lisa Raymond and Taylor Dent won the deciding mixed doubles against the Netherlands at Perth, Australia, giving the U.S. its fourth Hopman Cup mixed teams title in 18 years. They defeated Michaella Krajicek and Peter Wessels, 4-6, 6-2 and 10-7 in the match tiebreaker, giving the U.S. the 2-1 victory.

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Kristof Vliegen upset fourth-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the semifinals of the Chennai Open at Madras, India. Vliegen next plays top-seeded Ivan Ljubicic, who beat fifth-seeded Gilles Muller, 6-1, 6-3.

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Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport of Laguna Beach has started the season with a new coach, David DiLucia, according to her representatives.

DiLucia had been on the USTA’s coaching staff at Key Biscayne, Fla., the last two years.

He follows Adam Peterson, who was Davenport’s coach for about 2 1/2 years.

-- Lisa Dillman

BASEBALL

Red Sox, Snow Reach Preliminary Agreement

Free-agent first baseman J.T. Snow and the Boston Red Sox reached a preliminary agreement on a $2 million, one-year contract.

Snow, 37, who spent the past nine seasons with the San Francisco Giants, must pass a physical before the deal can be finalized, a person with knowledge of the agreement said on the condition of anonymity.

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The New York Yankees finished last year with a record $207.2 million payroll, more than $90 million ahead of any other team, according to final figures compiled by the commissioner’s office. Boston was second at $116.7 million, with the New York Mets third at $104 million, followed by the Angels ($97 million), Philadelphia ($94.8 million), the Dodgers ($87.8 million), St. Louis ($87.4 million) and Atlanta ($85.9 million).

The Chicago White Sox, who won the World Series for the first time since 1917, were 13th at $73.2 million. Tampa Bay had the lowest payroll at $26.6 million, with Pittsburgh at $30.1 million and Colorado at $32.5 million.

Payrolls were based on Aug. 31 active rosters and disabled lists.

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Baseball’s world governing body has threatened to withdraw its sanctioning of the World Baseball Classic unless the Bush administration allows Cuba to compete.

Rich Levin, a spokesman for the commissioner’s office, said Friday that a letter was faxed from International Baseball Federation president Aldo Notari, informing Major League Baseball of the IBAF’s decision.

It is unclear whether the 16-team tournament, scheduled for March 3-20, would go forward without the IBAF’s sanction.

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Third baseman Corey Koskie was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league pitcher Brian Wolfe. Koskie hit .249 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs in 97 games last season.

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Al Leiter agreed to terms on a minor league contract with the Yankees. The 40-year-old left-hander would get a $1.5 million, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster.

WINTER SPORTS

Ahonen, Janda Share Ski Jumping Title

Janne Ahonen of Finland and Jakub Janda of the Czech Republic finished in a tie at Bischofshofen, Austria, the first time in 54 years that a Four Hills ski jumping title has been shared.

Ahonen won the World Cup event, the last of four on the Four Hills Tour, to force the tie. He and Janda finished with 1,081 points. It was Ahonen’s fourth overall victory, matching the Four Hills record of Germany’s Jens Weissflog.

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Hannu Manninen of Finland posted his fifth World Cup Nordic combined victory of the season. He was ninth in the jumping session at Schonach, Germany, but finished first in cross-country skiing with a time of 35 minutes 18.1 seconds.

MISCELLANY

Funeral Services Set for Dedeaux

A funeral service for legendary former USC baseball coach Rod Dedeaux, who died Thursday at age 91, will be held Jan. 16 at 9:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, which promotes amateur athletics, at 1430 S. Eastman Ave., Los Angeles 90023.

In his 45-year tenure at USC, Dedeaux led the Trojans to a record 11 national championships and coached nearly 60 future major leaguers.

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Thomas Hearns’ pretrial hearing in Southfield, Mich., on a charge that he struck his 13-year-old son was postponed so the former boxing champion’s lawyer could gather more information.

Hearns is to return to court Jan 26. If convicted of the misdemeanor assault and battery charge, he faces a maximum penalty of about three months in jail and a $500 fine.

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Forward Juan Francisco “Paco” Palencia will return to Chivas USA for the team’s second Major League Soccer season.