Weather Forces Curtis to Wait to Win Booz Allen

The completion of golf’s Booz Allen Classic -- and Ben Curtis’ first victory since the 2003 British Open -- was postponed for yet another day, setting up the PGA Tour’s first Tuesday finish in 26 years.

Curtis was on the 17th green Monday at Potomac, Md., with a seven-stroke lead when play was stopped by the latest of several thunderstorms. If it weren’t for Curtis’ stellar play -- he’s at 22 under par and on pace to set a tournament record -- the only thing anyone would remember about the tournament is that it took six days to finish, with weather affecting the Saturday, Sunday and Monday schedules.

“It’s unreal,” Curtis said. “You wait three years, so I guess I can wait another day.”

Chris DiMarco and Craig Stadler each earned $90,000 to share the lead after nine holes in the Par-3 Shootout, a two-day, skins-type event at Gaylord, Mich. Fred Couples had $10,000, and defending champion Andy North was shut out.

The Western Open, one of the oldest stops on the PGA Tour, is getting a name change and will rotate among Chicago suburbs and other Midwest cities.

The tournament will be called the BMW Championship beginning in 2007 when it switches from July to September and becomes part of a new championship points race.

Steve Bogan of Placentia won the California Golf Assn. State Senior championship over the weekend at Poppy Hills Golf Club in Pebble Beach. Bogan, 57, defeated Gary Vanier of Pleasant Hill with a birdie on the first playoff hole.

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PRO BASKETBALL

Dolan Says Thomas Has One Year to Succeed

Isiah Thomas has one year to turn around the Knicks -- something Larry Brown couldn’t do. And if Thomas doesn’t, he’ll be gone too.

“I’m saying this right with Isiah here. This is his team,” Madison Square Garden Chairman James Dolan said. “He made this bed. There’s nobody better than him to make this thing go forward.

“But he has to do that and he has one year, one season to do that. At this time next year, Isiah will be with us if we can all sit here and say that this team has made significant progress toward its goal of eventually becoming an NBA championship team. If we can’t say that, then Isiah will not be here.”

The remarks by Dolan were his first since firing Brown as coach Thursday and replacing him with Thomas, the team president and general manager.

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HORSE RACING

Jackson Gives His Support to Jockeys

The beleaguered Jockeys’ Guild may have found an unlikely ally in the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Jackson would serve as national co-manager with Dwight Manley in a proposal put forward by Manley to the guild’s senate at Louisville, Ky.

“We’d have equal title, equal authority and basically be a two-person post,” Manley said.

Manley is one of two finalists for the guild’s national manager position. The guild fired manager L. Wayne Gertmenian in November after allegations of widespread mismanagement.

Jackson gave a speech encouraging a united front while the guild fights for better benefits. The other finalist for the post, former jockey David Stevenson, also addressed the group.

Current interim national manager Darrell Haire said a vote on the national manager could happen before the meeting adjourns Wednesday.

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MISCELLANY

Portland’s Sinclair Wins Honda-Broderick Cup

Soccer standout Christine Sinclair of the University of Portland won the Honda-Broderick Cup, the trophy given to the top college female athlete of the year. Sinclair set an NCAA season mark with 39 goals, surpassing the mark of 37 set by Lisa Cole of Southern Methodist in 1987, and led the Pilots to the national championship.

California suspended senior quarterback Steve Levy indefinitely after his arrest on suspicion of felony assault stemming from a bar fight.

Levy, 22, who came off the bench to lead the Golden Bears’ season-ending victories over Stanford and Brigham Young last season, spent most of Sunday in San Francisco County Jail after his arrest on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm.

According to police, the weapon was a pint glass from a pub in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood. After a bar employee broke up a dispute between Levy and another patron early Sunday, Levy picked up the glass and hit the employee in the face, San Francisco police Sgt. Neville Gittens said.

Nearly two years after embarrassing the host nation on the eve of the Athens Olympics, Greek sprinters Kostas Kenteris and Katerina Thanou admitted having broken doping rules and accepted their bans from competition. The runners dropped their appeals before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The International Assn. of Athletics Federations said the athletes would be eligible to return Dec. 22, after completing their two-year bans, provided they pass the mandatory drug tests.

Dwain Chambers’ European 100-meter title was erased along with his other results from January 2002 to August 2003 by track and field’s governing body because of the British sprinter’s doping record.

Chambers was banned for two years after testing positive for the steroid THG in November 2003. He returned to competition this month.

The Boston Bruins acquired Paul Mara from the Phoenix Coyotes for Nick Boynton in a trade of NHL defensemen.

Boston also received a third-round draft choice, which it can take next year or in 2008. The Bruins sent a fourth-round pick to Phoenix.

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T.J. Simers is on vacation.