Mickelson Takes Lead as Stankowski Falters

Phil Mickelson followed a first-round 66 with another one Friday and was tied with Brian Gay for the lead in the PGA’s $4 million Compaq Classic at New Orleans.

One stroke behind the leaders was Harrison Frazar, who had a second-round 65.

Paul Stankowski followed his course- and tournament-record 61 with a five-over 77.

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Annika Sorenstam returned to the LPGA Tour after a brief rest, hoping to start a new winning streak but faced a four-shot deficit after the first round of the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship at Stockbridge, Ga. Taking advantage of nearly perfect scoring conditions, leaders Dottie Pepper and Sara Sanders shot six-under 66s. . . . Jim Colbert shot an eight-under 64 to take a two-shot lead over two-time defending champion Bruce Fleisher in the Home Depot Invitational senior event at Charlotte, N.C.

Pro football

Free-agent fullback Donnell Bennett has agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins, his agent said. . . . The New England Patriots released offensive lineman Max Lane, a member of the 1995 team that went to the Super Bowl. The 300-pound lineman played with the Patriots for seven years and was under contract through 2002. . . . The Green Bay Packers signed restricted free-agent running back Ahman Green to a one-year tender offer for $1.12 million, his agent said. . . . Baltimore Raven right offensive tackle Leon Searcy was arrested and charged with battery at his home in Clermont, Fla., police said. . . . Offensive lineman Adrian Klemm of the Patriots was put on probation for a year after he was charged with punching a windshield because he did not like the way a motorist was driving.

Dick Jamieson, a longtime NFL assistant with the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles, has died at 63. He died of cancer Wednesday in St. Louis. . . . Pepper Rodgers, 68, the Redskins’ vice president of football operations and a former UCLA coach, is recovering from triple bypass heart surgery.

Miscellany

Mark Martin found the best mix of speed and caution and won the pole for tonight’s Pontiac Excitement 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Richmond, Va., with a lap of 124.613 mph to hold off Rusty Wallace (124.596).

Brad Isbister of the New York Islanders scored twice, leading undefeated Canada past Switzerland, 6-2, for a quarterfinal berth in hockey’s world championships at Hanover, Germany.

Top-seeded Venus Williams powered her way into the semifinals of the Betty Barclay Cup at Hamburg, Germany, rolling past Silvia Farina-Elia, 6-1, 6-1, in less than an hour. Williams, who announced she has withdrawn from next week’s Italian Open because of a nagging knee injury, will play Jelena Dokic, a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 winner over three-time Hamburg champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. . . . Top-seeded Kim Clijsters of Belgium advanced to her first clay court semifinal, defeating Pavlina Nola of New Zealand in the Croatian Ladies Open at Bol. . . . Third-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain rallied from an 0-3 deficit to defeat Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, 6-4, 6-2, and win a spot in the semifinals of the Mallorca Open at Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Moya next will face fellow Spaniard Alberto Martin, who defeated Slava Dosedel of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4. . . . Bohdan Ulihrach downed two-time defending champion Franco Squillari, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the BMW Open at Munich, Germany.

Olympic swimming star Amanda Beard, 19, of Irvine has turned professional, giving up her final two years of college eligibility at Arizona.

Thomas Tate (40-6) of Houston won a split decision over Fernando Zuniga (20-4) of Downey for the North American Boxing Federation interim super middleweight title at Montville, Conn.

Matt Dzama tied two National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics records with four home runs and 13 runs batted in to help Azusa Pacific defeat Biola, 14-4, at Azusa.