Tennis
HAMLET CUP: Tommy Haas beat Pete Sampras 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the finals of the Hamlet Cup, extending Sampras' winless streak to 16 tournaments.
The sixth-seeded Haas, who finished with 15 aces, beat Sampras for the first time in five matches on hardcourt. He beat Sampras on clay in Dusseldorf in May 2000.
PILOT PEN: Tuning up to defend her U.S. Open title, Venus Williams beat Lindsay Davenport 7-6 (6), 6-4 Saturday to win the Pilot Pen tournament for the third straight year.
She is the first woman with three consecutive titles at this 34-year-old tournament, formerly known as the U.S. Hardcourt Championships.
Auto racing
SHARPIE 500: Tony Stewart notched his first win at Bristol Motor Speedway in six tries Saturday night, holding off Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon in the Sharpie 500.
Harvick, who won the Busch race here on Friday night, was second. Gordon, the series points leader, finished third and extended his lead in the standings to 308 over Ricky Rudd.
GATEWAY INDY 250: Al Unser Jr. won the Indy Racing League's inaugural Gateway Indy 250.
The longtime open-wheel star earned his second IRL victory of the season and the 33rd of his career with a fuel strategy that allowed him to stay on the track while series leader Sam Hornish Jr. was forced to pit with 10 laps remaining on the 1.25-mile Gateway International Raceway oval.
Basketball
LESLIE NAMED WNBA MVP: Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks was chosen the WNBA's most valuable player, making her the first to capture All-Star and regular-season MVP honors in the same season.
The 6-foot-5 center averaged 19.5 points — second-best in the league — and led the Sparks to a league-best 28-4 record during the regular season.
Leslie received $25,000 from the league and a new car during a presentation prior to Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.
She received 563 points and 51 first-place votes from a national panel of 60 sports writers and broadcasters, easily outdistancing Houston's Tina Thompson, who had 355 points.
Sacramento's Yolanda Griffith was third with 190 points, Minnesota's Katie Smith had 178 points and New York's Tari Phillips was fifth with 83 votes.
Cycling
ARMSTRONG DROPS OUT: Three-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong dropped out of Zurich Championship after 25 miles.
The reason for Armstrong's withdrawl was not immediately known. He was expected to return to the United States on Monday and will not compete in Europe again this season as he awaits the birth of his twin daughters in early December.
Italy's Paolo Bettini sprinted ahead of Olympic champion Jan Ullrich to win the race.
Utah State
S.L. BIG BLUE CLUB: Utah State will begin its monthly Big Blue Club luncheons Thursday at Wasatch Properties Building, 299 S. Main.
The noon luncheon will feature USU head coach Mick Dennehy as well as news and information about what is going on within the Utah State athletic department. The cost is $11 for Big Blue Club members and $15 for non-Big Blue members; season tickets for all four luncheons — including Sept. 13, Oct. 11 and Nov. 8 — is $40.
TAILGATE PARTY: A pregame tailgate party for USU football fans will be from 1-4 p.m. Saturday at the Hilton City Center in Salt Lake City. Utah State plays at Utah at 6 p.m. Cost of the party is $8, payable at the site.
Junior colleges
ISU BOUND: Viewmont grad Jackson Vroman verbally committed to play basketball at Iowa State University. He will go after his sophomore season at Snow College. As a freshman, the 6-foot-10 power forward averaged 12.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds in 18 minutes for the Badgers.
UVSC SPIKERS SWEPT: Defending national champion Southern Idaho swept Utah Valley State College 30-24, 30-17, 30-27 in the title game of the CSI Outback Steakhouse Invitational Saturday. Earlier in the day, UVSC defeated past Western Wyoming (30-20, 30-21, 30-15), Northwest (30-12, 27-30, 30-28, 30-15), and Casper (30-19, 30-10, 30-14).
CSI and UVSC both came into the title game with perfect 6-0 marks. But the Wolverines, who finished third in the nation last year, were no match for CSI. UVSC was error-prone, committing 25 hitting errors, 12 reception errors and nine service errors.
UVSC will be home this weekend to host an 11-team tournament at the David O. McKay Events Center.