Roddick plans Davis Cup run

Andy Roddick practiced yesterday despite a strained left hamstring and plans to play for the United States in a Davis Cup quarterfinal against Spain this week in Winston-Salem, N.C.

"Right now I'm going to play, barring some setback," Roddick said. "I started playing some points this morning and those went OK."

Roddick was injured while lunging for a shot in the fifth game of a quarterfinal match against Andy Murray last week in the Sony Ericsson Open and was forced to retire.

An MRI showed no tear, and after several days of intense ice, laser and other treatments, Roddick said he's nearing 100 percent ahead of the first matches Friday.

Roddick, ranked No. 3, has been a reliable player for the U.S. in Davis Cup play, going 22-9 in the past six years and rarely passing up a chance to play. He won both of his singles matches in the first-round victory against the Czech Republic in February.

More tennis

Venus Williams needed just an hour to defeat Aravane Rezai, 6-1, 6-2 in the opening round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Fla. Williams used a powerful serve, winning 24 of 30 points on first serve to overwhelm Rezai.

Pitt's Annie Davies became the school's all-time leader in match wins in the Panthers' 7-0 victory against Mercyhurst. She has 126 career wins in singles and doubles, surpassing Fran Davis, who held the previous record at 124.

College football

Former Grambling State University coach Eddie Robinson was hospitalized. Robinson, 88, who coached football at Grambling for 56 years, has had Alzheimer's disease for years. In and out of a nursing home for the past year, Robinson had been at home recently.

Thiel named J.P. McFeeley secondary coach. He was the assistant secondary coach at Division I-AA Lafayette last year.

Auto racing

NASCAR will mandate a change in the design of the Car of Tomorrow in an attempt to alleviate the heat that caused foam to melt in several cars last weekend at Martinsville, Va. Nextel Cup director John Darby said that before the next COT race at Phoenix on April 21, NASCAR will require teams remove a 23-inch-by-8-inch block of foam above where the exhaust pipes extend under the right side of the cars, and surround the area with a heat shield. The melting of the foam gave Matt Kenseth trouble in the COT's first race at Bristol, Tenn., and helped cut short Kevin Harvick's race at Martinsville last weekend.

The Indy Racing League fined driver Kosuke Matsuura an undisclosed amount of money for using profanity in a television interview after a crash in the St. Petersburg Grand Prix at Florida Sunday.

Hockey

Ned Havern and Sean Collins each had a goal and an assist as the Wheeling Nailers edged the host Dayton Bombers, 4-3, in the ECHL.

High school basketball

UCLA recruit Kevin Love had 21 points and 16 rebounds s the West defeated the East, 144-123, in the Roundball Classic at the United Center in Chicago. Southern California recruit O.J. Mayo, considered the top high school player in the country, scored 27 points for the East in this annual all-star game. Aliquippa's Herb Pope was scheduled to play for the West but was shot early Saturday.

Soccer

Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco joined the Chicago Fire, signing a contract to become the third player to join a MLS club under the designated player rule. Blanco will return to Mexico City's Club America for the remainder of the season. He is expected to join the Fire in July, pending national team duty.

Skiing

Ted Ligety won the giant slalom at the U.S. Alpine Championships in Girdwood, Alaska, for his fifth national title and second this week. Ligety led after the first run and finished with a combined time of 2:22.34, more than two seconds better than Will Brandenburg, who finished at 2:24.66. He also won the combined at Alyeska Resort on Sunday. Bode Miller was in second place after the first run but did not ski the second. Ligety said Miller may not have been feeling well.