Two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin lost to Juan Monaco in the first round of the Paris Masters yesterday and afterward said he would consider retirement.

Safin, a former top-ranked player and a three-time champion at the Paris tournament, wants a long break after his 6-0, 7-6 (4) setback before making a decision.

"I need to sit down and relax and just enjoy my life without any tennis [for] a couple of months and then I will see," Safin said. "If I feel like I want to continue to play, I will. If not, it will be over."

Safin won the U.S. Open in 2000 and the Australian Open in 2005. He hasn't won a tour title since the victory in Australia.

Bill Barton, who helped bring in Duquesne's 2008-09 freshman class that is ranked No. 26 in the country by Hoop Scoop, has been elevated to associate head coach on Ron Everhart's staff. Barton was an assistant coach last season in his first year at Duquesne.

• Purdue, which went 25-9 last season and returns all five starters, was the pick to win the Big Ten in a preseason poll of 22 media members. Michigan State was second and Wisconsin was third.

• Former Rutgers coach Gary Waters signed a new five-year contract with Cleveland State after taking the Vikings to their first postseason appearance in 20 years.

• Louisville center Chauntise Wright will miss the entire 2008-09 women's basketball season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in her knee in practice.

Patrick Ewing Jr. was waived by the New York Knicks, who got down to the 15-player limit by cutting the son of their career scoring leader.

• Coby Karl, the son of Denver coach George Karl, was waived by the Los Angles Lakers.

Major League Soccer opens its playoffs Thursday when the Chicago Fire visit the New England Revolution. The first round features a home-and-home, aggregate-goal format. Other first-round matchups are Houston at New York, Chivas USA at Real Salt Lake, and Columbus at Kansas City on Saturday.

Beginning Jan. 1, all junior and senior gymnasts who represent their countries at most international meets will need a license from the International Gymnastics Federation. The licenses will include gymnasts' name, sex, country and date of birth, and be their proof of age for their entire career. The licenses won't stop the sport's problem of age manipulation -- licenses will be based on passports submitted by national federations -- but it will give the FIG proof of an athlete's age long before he or she shows up at an Olympics or world championships.

American Brandt Snedeker tied a course record with a 6-under 66 to take a four-shot lead after the first round of the Kiwi Challenge in Wellington, New Zealand.

Eastman Kodak Co. is ending its 22-year sponsorship in NASCAR and putting more sports marketing dollars into professional golf. Kodak said it is also ending a four-year sponsorship of Penske Racing at year-end.

• Formula One's governing body is moving forward with its plan to have a sole engine and transmission supplier beginning in 2010, saying some parties have shown interest in the bidding process.

Charles Dubin, the Canadian judge who led a doping inquiry after Ben Johnson's ouster from the 1988 Seoul Olympics, died of pneumonia at the age of 87.