Bonds’ charges too vague?

Attorneys for Barry Bonds urged a federal judge Wednesday to toss out charges accusing baseball’s all-time home run king of lying to a grand jury about his alleged steroid use. They said the questions asked during his testimony were too ambiguous.

For instance, Bonds’ attorneys said, prosecutors asked him during his December 2003 grand jury appearance if he had “taken anything like” steroids.

“We simply think the questions and answers are far too confusing or vague to support a valid conviction,” Bonds’ attorney Dennis Riordan argued.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said she would rule on Bonds’ request.

Bonds had testified that he never knowingly took any performance-enhancing drugs. Federal prosecutors have said they will prove at trial that Bonds’ personal trainer supplied him with steroids in the months before he set baseball’s season home run mark in 2001.

Bonds is charged with 14 counts of making false declarations to a grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice.

His lawyers asked the judge Wednesday to toss out 10 of the charges.

He has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is scheduled for trial March 2.

TENNIS

Williams sisters win, will play each other

Venus and Serena Williams won round-robin matches at the season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships at Doha, Qatar, and next face a familiar opponent: each other.

Venus endured a struggle against Elena Dementieva, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, to win her second match, and Serena romped past Dinara Safina, 6-4, 6-1, in her first match.

Today, they meet for the 18th time in their professional careers, with Serena holding a 9-8 edge.

Vera Zvonareva remained unbeaten in handing an ailing Ana Ivanovic her second defeat, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4.

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Defending champion Roger Federer will face Andy Roddick and Andy Murray in group play at the season-ending Masters Cup next week at Shanghai.

The draw of the top eight players -- using numbered fortune cookies -- put Federer in the Red Group along with Gilles Simon.

The second-ranked Federer became the top-seeded player when No. 1 Rafael Nadal withdrew because of tendinitis in his right knee.

Third-ranked Novak Djokovic is seeded No. 1 in the Blue Group, which includes Nikolay Davydenko; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Juan Martin Del Potro.

SOCCER

Juventus defeats Real Madrid, 2-0

Juventus joined Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon in the knockout round of the Champions League after two goals by Alessandro Del Piero gave the Italian team a 2-0 victory at Real Madrid.

Defending champion Manchester United is almost through after Ryan Giggs’ 84th-minute header earned it a 1-1 draw at Celtic.

But two more group leaders, Bayern Munich and Arsenal, were also held to draws and still have work to do in their final two matches.

Bayern Munich was held to a 1-1 tie at Fiorentina after Adrian Mutu gave the Italian side a 10th-minute lead. Tim Borowski replied in the 78th minute for Bayern.

Arsenal was held to a scoreless tie at home by Fenerbahce just two weeks after winning 5-2 in Istanbul against the same opponent.

ETC.

Gwynn will remain at San Diego State

Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn signed a three-year contract to remain the baseball coach at San Diego State, his alma mater. The former San Diego Padres star is 173-190 in six seasons at the school.

“Now that the contract has been signed, we can move forward and concentrate on our aim of making Aztec baseball a perennial contender both in the Mountain West Conference as well as nationally,” Gwynn said.

Gwynn has taken two of his teams to the title game of the Mountain West Conference tournament, and was the conference coach of the year in 2004 after leading the Aztecs to a first-place finish.

The Aztecs have not reached Gwynn’s goal of getting to the NCAA regionals.

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Chip Ganassi Racing With Felix Sabates may merge with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by the late seven-time NASCAR champion, Fox Sports reported on its website. . . . Fernando Alonso opted to stay with Renault, signing a two-year contract extension that will keep him at the French Formula One team through 2010. Renault also said Nelson Piquet Jr. will remain with the team next year, leaving its driver lineup unchanged for the 2009 season. . . . Florida sophomore guard Jai Lucas, the son of former NBA player and coach John Lucas, has decided to transfer. The 5-foot-11 point guard and his mother met with Gators Coach Billy Donovan, who said Lucas will remain in school this fall, then enroll elsewhere before the spring semester. . . . The Dallas Stars have signed right wing Mark Parrish, acquiring a former All-Star who played for the Minnesota Wild last season. Parrish signed a one-year, $500,000 contract.