Sorenstam Shakes Off Slow Start

Annika Sorenstam found herself in an unfamiliar position after two bogeys in a row pushed her score above par late in the opening round of the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship at Stockbridge, Ga.

“I got a little fired up at myself,” said Sorenstam, who came into the tournament having broken par in 10 of 11 rounds this year. Make it 11 of 12.

Sorenstam rallied with birdies on her last two holes Thursday, finishing with a one-under 71 that put her in contention for her third LPGA win of the season.

Christina Kim, a second-year tour pro, was the surprise leader after shooting a 65 at Eagles Landing Country Club south of Atlanta.

Kim is not used to being in this position. The 20-year-old Californian has never finished higher than fourth and missed the cut two weeks ago in Las Vegas.

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Gene Sauers and Paul Azinger shared the clubhouse lead in the rain-delayed first round of the $5.1-million HP Classic at New Orleans.

They had six-under 66s before rain swept into the area, suspending play for almost 3 1/2 hours. Seventy-five players were unable to finish their rounds before play was called again because of darkness.

Jurisprudence

The jury in the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial in Somerville, N.J., said it had reached a decision on six of the charges against the retired NBA player but was split on the other two.

State Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman and the lawyers for both sides agreed to instruct the jury to continue considering the charges, which stem from the fatal shooting of a hired driver at Williams’ mansion.

The note announcing the split did not specify which counts were decided.

The jury has deliberated about 18 hours over two days.

A woman pleaded not guilty to charges she was an accomplice in a murder-for-hire plot with St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton.

Katie Wolfmeyer entered the plea in federal court in East St. Louis, Ill.

A pretrial hearing was scheduled for July 1, and her trial was set for July 13.

Tennis

Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo beat Eleni Daniilidou, 6-2, 7-6 (3), at the J&S; Cup at Warsaw, moving into the quarterfinals at a clay-court tournament she won last year.

Second-seeded Venus Williams will face Magdalena Maleeva in the quarterfinals, after Maleeva eliminated seventh-seeded Patty Schnyder, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.

Defending champion Carlos Moya lost to 13th-seeded Gaston Gaudio, 6-4, 6-4, in the Open Seat Godo at Barcelona.

Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten beat Guillermo Canas, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-3.

Top-seeded Rainer Schuett- ler beat Davis Cup teammate Tommy Haas, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals at the BMW Open at Munich.

Miscellany

Former junior featherweight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera (57-4, 40 knockouts) of Mexico City will meet Paulie Ayala (35-2, 12) of Fort Worth in a featherweight bout on June 19 at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Sophomore catcher Jeff Clement and freshman pitcher Ian Kennedy of USC are among five local college players invited to try out for the U.S. national team this summer.

Other players invited were sophomore pitchers Cesar Ramos of Long Beach State and Stephen Kahn of Loyola Marymount and freshman pitcher Blair Erickson of UC Irvine.

The Oakland Raiders signed free-agent running back Amos Zereoue.

Former Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack will not compete in next month’s Indy 500 because he’s still nursing injuries sustained in a horrific crash last fall at Texas Motor Speedway, Team Rahal announced.

Former St. Bonaventure men’s basketball coach Jan van Breda Kolff is suing the school, saying he was wrongfully dismissed after last year’s player eligibility scandal.