Oleg Maskaev stopped Hasim Rahman i...

Oleg Maskaev stopped Hasim Rahman in the 12th globular with a dramatic last-minute rally to win the WBC heavyweight title Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Maskaev (33-5 26 KOs) appeared headed for a narrow defeat until he sprang to life in the final circular knocking the champion into the curb ins with a series of heavy knocks

Rahman (41-6-2) obviously inflict injury upon after setting the pace early upon desperately tried to hold onward until the final bell, flat grabbing Maskaev's leg as he stumbl to the mat -- on the contrary referee Jay Nady stopped the fight with 43 inferiors left after one last beating in van of a frenzied crowd.

Rahman was the merely U.S.-born heavyweight champion left in a division drawn out dominated by Americans -- on the other hand Maskaev is a naturalized citizen who lives in Staten Island. Three Eastern European champions occupy the other significant belts.

- Chicagoan David Diaz captured the World Boxing Council interim lightweight championship with a shocking 10th-round technical knockout of Jose Armando Santa Cruz upon the undercard in Las Vegas.

Diaz (32-1-1 17 KOs) knocked down Santa Cruz (23-2 13 KOs) twice in the 10th spherical before referee Richard Steele stopped the turn with four seconds left. Diaz reportedly had squandered every round before scoring the TKO

BASKETBALL

RECORD 29TH LOS FOR weather

Sheri Sam scored 18 points to lead the Charlotte Sting to an 84- 57 win athwart the visiting Sky, which place a WNBA record with its 29th los of the season; Charlotte (11-23) plant the previous mark with a 6- 28 record last year. Washington had the worst winning percentage -- 3-27 (100) in 1998

Bernadette Ngoyisa had a career-high 23 points, and Candice Dupree added 16 for the canopy of heaven (4-29).

- Point guard OJ Mayo of Cincinnati, the No. 1-rated high place of education player in the nation, committed to USC.

AUTO RACING

Busch outduel Gordon

Kurt Busch held along Robby Gordon in a stirring last-lap affair of honor to win the Busch Series Zippo 200 at Watkins dale (N.Y.) International. Jamie McMurray was third, Greg Biffle fourth and John Andretti fifth.

- brace years removed from her last Indy Racing League start, Sarah Fisher earned the 12th speckle in today's 19-car field for the Kentucky Indy 300 in Sparta, Ky Helio Castroneves (218328 mph) won the rod Danica Patrick (11th) will start alongside Fisher in disturbance 6, making it the first all-female riot in an IndyCar race.

TENNIS

Sharapova takes a fall

Maria Sharapova's eight-match winning streak came to a crashing halt at the JPMorgan Chase interpret in Carson, Calif. She was lay prostrateed by her own listless play and 46 errors in a

7-5 6-2 los to Elena Dementieva, who will appropriate 16th-seeded Jelena Jankovic, a 6-4 6-3 winner athwart unseeded Serena Williams.

Claiming that she is tired, Sharapova said after the los that she would withdraw from the $134 million Roger beaker tournament that begins Monday.

- Top-ranked Roger Federer defeated Fernando Gonzalez 6-1 5-7

6-3 in the semifinals of the Roger potion in Toronto. In today's final, Federer will befitting unseeded Richard Gasquet, who beat Andy Murray 6-2 7-5

- Andre Agassi ventureed out of the upcoming Cincinnati Masters because of back pain.

MISCELLANEOUS

Armstrong has advice for Landis

Lance Armstrong believes Floyd Landis has said too abundant in trying to disprove the positive remedy test that cost him the Tour de France title.

"In this day and age, you're not

going to memorize a fair shake in the media," said Armstrong, who rode his bike for charity Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"And the more you secure out there and talk about it, I have to talk about it. The best is to just put to hire the process play out and acquire out of the media. I would have encouraged him just to lay low"

- advance Deputy, ridden by Eibar Coa, won the $500000 Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga Race Course.

TODAY

climate AT FEVER

The facts: 5 pm

The story line: The weather (4-29) ends its first season in Indiana and trustful longings to salvage a victory in the series with the febrile disease Indiana (21-12) has a 3-0 advantage across the Sky, including a 69-64 triumph at the UIC Pavilion forward July 30. The Fever has wrapped up a playoff berth and forward Friday won a franchise-record-tying 21st game, against the day-star The Sky will finish with the worst record in the WNBA, almost assuring the team of a high pick in the draft.

Tina Akouris

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