Brazil Turns to Dunga to Coach Its Soccer Team
The Brazilian soccer confederation hired former captain Dunga as coach of the national team Monday.
Dunga, captain of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning team, replaces Carlos Alberto Parreira, who quit after Brazil was eliminated by France in the quarterfinals of this year’s World Cup in Germany.
“The choice of Dunga will fully satisfy the desires of Brazilian fans who want an enthusiastic coach on the national team,” CBF President Ricardo Teixeira said on the confederation’s website.
Dunga will make his debut when Brazil faces Norway in an exhibition Aug. 16 in Oslo.
AC Milan appealed its ban from Champions League play in the wake of Italy’s match-fixing scandal.
Verdicts by the sports tribunal are expected today, the deadline set by UEFA for Italian soccer officials to decide which clubs participate in European club competitions this season.
Milan is seeking to overturn a July 14 ruling that barred the club from Europe’s top club competition and docked it 15 points.
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TENNIS
Golovin Is an Easy First-Round Winner
Tatiana Golovin earned her first WTA victory since March, beating Alona Bondarenko, 7-5, 6-2, in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
Sybille Bammer beat Marion Bartoli, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, in another first-round match.
Albert Portas eliminated second-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-6 (4) 6-7 (5), 7-5, on the opening day of the Croatia Open at Umag.
Two-time runner-up Filippo Volandri ended a four-match losing streak when Marc Gicquel retired with a wrist injury after losing the first set, 6-1.
Stefan Koubek rallied from a third-set deficit to beat Juan Antonio Marin, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1), in the first round of the Generali Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria.
Yuliana Fedak upset sixth-seeded Julia Schruff, 6-2, 6-0, in the first round of the Budapest Grand Prix in Hungary, but most of the day’s scheduled matches were wiped out by rain.
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PRO FOOTBALL
Commissioner Field Is Narrowed to 11
The list of candidates for Paul Tagliabue’s job as NFL commissioner is down to 11, although with two weeks to go until the final selection meeting, a majority of the owners still don’t know who is on it.
The owners met for about three hours at the Detroit airport to help narrow the potential successors.
Then the search committee continued discussing procedures for getting the list down to a workable number of finalists for the meetings in Chicago from Aug. 7 to 9 to choose Tagliabue’s successor.
“We are pleased with the way it went,” said Pittsburgh’s Dan Rooney, co-chairman of the selection committee.
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PRO BASKETBALL
Raptors Sign Spanish Star to Three-Year Deal
The Toronto Raptors signed free agent Jorge Garbajosa to a three-year contract worth just under $12 million.
Garbajosa averaged 14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 35 minutes for Unicaja in the Euroleague this last year.
The 6-foot-9 forward has earned a number of honors during his European playing career, including 2005 and 2006 Spanish club finals MVP.
Guard John Salmons signed a multiyear contract with the Sacramento Kings after four seasons with Philadelphia.... As expected, Indiana completed a trade sending point guard Anthony Johnson to the Dallas Mavericks for guard Darrell Armstrong, forward Josh Powell and swingman Rawle Marshall.
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HOCKEY
Canadiens, Gainey Agree on Extension
Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey agreed to a contract extension through the 2009-10 NHL season.
Montreal also announced that Pierre Gauthier, the head of pro scouting for the Canadiens, will add on the responsibilities of assistant general manager, and that Julien BriseBois will become the team’s vice president of hockey operations.
San Jose center Mark Smith was awarded a one-year deal worth $700,000 after an arbitration hearing with the Sharks.
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MISCELLANY
Love to Decide Between UCLA, North Carolina
Kevin Love, a 6-10, 240-pound center from at Lake Oswego High in Oregon, will announce his college choice today. Love, considered the No. 2 prospect in the nation among those entering their senior year of high school, has narrowed his choice to UCLA and North Carolina.
Whether or not the Bruins get Love, they have lost another big man. Marko Spica, a 6-9, 225-pounder from Belgrade, Serbia, was unable to meet UCLA’s academic requirements. He had signed a letter of intent to attend the school last November.
-- Steve Springer
Slippery Rock University must reinstate two women’s sports, water polo and swimming, that it cut for budgetary reasons because the school is not complying with a federal law requiring equal opportunities for female athletes.
U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose ruled Friday that university President Robert Smith was wrong not to consider compliance with Title IX, a law requiring schools that receive federal money to provide equal sports opportunities for men and women.
Slippery Rock officials declined to comment Monday.
Rob Machado and Pat O’Connell were among the competitors advancing to the second round at the Honda U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach.
