Maier Repeats in Austria

Austrian Hermann Maier, a two-time Olympic champion, won a World Cup super-G on the famed Hahnenkamm course in Kitzbuehel, Austria, on Friday, defending his title from last year and getting his second victory of the season.

“This course was custom-made for me,” Maier said. “There was a lot of snow in the last two days and it was hard for the skiers with high numbers, but I found the right balance between smooth and aggressive skiing.”

Reigning World Cup champion Bode Miller flew off course early, another in a series of poor results for the American.

Maier, the 29th skier out of the hut, started aggressively on a sun-drenched course that was quickly deteriorating. He won in 1 minute 22.97 seconds.

Peter Fill of Italy finished .05 of a second behind for second and his best career result. Austria’s Hannes Reichelt was third, .28 of a second behind.

The victory was Maier’s fifth super-G title at Kitzbuehel, bringing his total at the most prestigious stop on the men’s World Cup circuit to six.

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Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria, the reigning super-G World Cup champion, won the women’s World Cup super-G in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Dorfmeister covered the bumpy 2,358-meter Corviglia course in 1 minute 17.20 seconds -- .40 of a second ahead of runner-up Tina Maze of Slovenia.

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Olympic-bound American Michelle Roark won her second consecutive World Cup freestyle contest and Australian Dale Begg-Smith padded his World Cup lead as he won the men’s event at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, N.Y.

Roark, who won a week ago at Deer Valley in Utah, overpowered the field as she clicked on two jumps and received 25.99 points from the judges for the fifth win of her career. Stephanie St. Pierre of Canada was second (24.43), with reigning Olympic gold medalist Krai Traa of Norway third.

Begg-Smith, second last season in the moguls standings, got 26.71 points for his winning run. Second place went to Canadian Alexandre Bilodeau at 26.24, with American Toby Dawson completing the podium.

Travis Mayer, who won silver in freestyle skiing at the 2002 Olympics, injured his left knee during the morning qualification run and was taken to the hospital for tests.

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An arbitrator is expected to rule Monday on whether the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation was justified in suspending women’s skeleton Coach Tim Nardiello, who was accused of sexually harassing two members of his team.

The sides met in Albany, N.Y., for 22 hours over Wednesday and Thursday, a session that included lengthy testimony.

TRACK AND FIELD

Montgomery’s Attorneys May Fight Suspension

Attorneys for sprinter Tim Montgomery are considering a court challenge to his two-year ban, alleging that the panel that suspended him was guilty of conflict of interest.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport banned the former world 100-meter record holder from competition for two years for use of banned performance-enhancing substances, even though he never tested positive. The ruling was based on material gathered as part of the probe into the BALCO laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area.

GOLF

Watson, Roberts and Pooley Open With 63s

Tom Watson, Loren Roberts and Don Pooley matched the course record with nine-under 63s to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s season-opening MasterCard Championship at Kaupulehu, Hawaii.

Curtis Strange, a late replacement for the ailing Lee Trevino, opened with a 64.

MISCELLANY

U.S. Women Tie France at Tournament in China

The United States women’s soccer team was held to a 0-0 tie by France in the Four Nations Tournament at Guangzhou, China, despite several scoring chances.

Abby Wambach and Heather O’Reilly each failed to score from inside the penalty area as the Americans outshot the French, 11-3.

The United States had been 10-0 against France.

In the day’s second game, China defeated Norway, 3-1, and holds the tournament lead on goal difference entering Sunday’s final game against the U.S.

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Offensive lineman Winston Justice, who announced last week that he would forgo his final season of eligibility at USC and make himself available for the NFL draft, said Friday that agent Leigh Steinberg would represent him.

Steinberg, along with agent Chuck Price, also is representing USC quarterback Matt Leinart.

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NASCAR will begin using unleaded fuel in its cars and trucks beginning in 2008, the New York Times reported. The racing series has used high-octane leaded fuel for decades but has been testing a new fuel for a few months, the newspaper said.

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Ozzie Guillen, the manager of the World Series champion Chicago White Sox, became a U.S. citizen on his 42nd birthday, along with wife Ibis and son Oney in Chicago.

Guillen smiled and waved as he entered the room where he, Ibis and Oney were sworn in as citizens after passing an exam.

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Becky Quinn won a silver medal in the best finish by an American on the opening day of the three-day Union Cycliste Internationale Track World Cup cycling event at Home Depot Center.

PASSINGS

Beckley, 87, Was on Winning Indy Crews

Jack Beckley, a longtime Indy car mechanic and former U.S. Auto Club technical chairman, has died, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway said. He was 87.

Beckley died Thursday at his home in Glendale, Ariz.