Minor League Basketball

Groove suffer first setback of season

In Wilmington, N.C, Cedric McGinnis scored 20 points and had four rebounds to lead the Wilmington Sea Dawgs to a 116-97 win over the Augusta Groove Saturday night.

A.J. Millien scored 29 points and added eight rebounds for the Groove, who fell to 1-1. Their next game is at home will be against the Buffalo Stampede and starts at 7 p.m. this Saturday.

Pugilist gets win at Silver Gloves event

In Wilmington, N.C., Nicholas Torrance of the Augusta Boxing Club won his bout at the East Coast Silver Gloves Championships Saturday, advancing to the national tournament next month.

The National Silver Gloves Championships will be held Feb. 4-6 in Lenexa, Kansas.

Justin Williams won silver, and Roman Pulley and Doc Robinson bronze at the regional event.

Braves' Cox high on Japanese pitcher

Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox said Saturday night he hopes the club will sign Japanese star Kenshin Kawakami to shore up its depleted rotation.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other media outlets reported Saturday the Braves had reached a preliminary agreement with the 33-year-old right-hander. Cox said he couldn't confirm the deal, but said the team is interested.

Cox said he has watched Kawakami on film "and he looked very good. He was able to throw the ball right where he wanted to with three or four pitches."

Kawakami, the 2004 Central League MVP, has a 112-82 career record with a 3.22 ERA in 11 seasons in Japan.

- Former Dodgers closer Takashi Saito agreed to a one-year deal with Boston, giving the Red Sox another arm in their bullpen.

Sharapova pulls out of Australian Open

Maria Sharapova 's shoulder injury will keep her out of another big event -- the Australian Open.

Sharapova told the tournament she will not be able to defend her title at Melbourne Park beginning Jan. 19. She also missed the Beijing Olympics and the U.S. Open because of the injury, and her recovery has been slower than expected.

- In Sydney, Australia, Serena Williams overcame a mistake by the chair umpire -- who awarded a key point to opponent Samantha Stosur -- and put together a late rally for a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5 victory at the Sydney International.

- In Chennai, India, third-seeded Marin Cilic won his second ATP Tour title, defeating wild-card Somdev Devvarman 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the final of the Chennai Open.

- In Brisbane, Australia, Radek Stepanek came from a set down for a third match in a row to beat Fernando Verdasco 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 for the Brisbane International title.

Riesch extends run in World Cup slalom

In Maribor, Slovenia, Maria Riesch captured her fourth World Cup slalom in a row, winning by more than a second to move within one victory of tying the record for consecutive discipline wins.

Defending overall champion Lindsey Vonn of the United States finished fourth.

- In Bad Gastein, Austria, American Lindsey Jacobellis won a World Cup snowboardcross to take the lead in the discipline standings, and Damon Hayler of Australia won the men's event.

- In Adelboden, Switzerland, Reinfried Herbst won the men's World Cup slalom race on the Kuonisbaergli course. Defending overall champion Bode Miller was fourth.

Beckham gets start in AC Milan debut

In Rome, David Beckham made a surprising start in his AC Milan debut, playing 89 minutes in a 2-2 draw against AS Roma.

The star English midfielder joined Milan on a two-month loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer.