BOSTON — Reigning world champion Shawn Johnson took the first round in a rivalry with teammate Nastia Liukin that is sure to captivate all the way through the Beijing Olympics, winning her second straight title at the U.S. gymnastics championships Saturday.
Johnson finished with a score of 127.5, edging Liukin by a point.
Comeback kid Chellsie Memmel was third with another impressive performance. The 2005 world champion has missed most of the last two years after injuring her right shoulder, but Memmel is showing everyone she wants a spot on the Olympic team. She finished second to Liukin on the uneven bars, and was fourth on the floor exercise and balance beam.
Samantha Peszek, a member of last year’s team that won the gold medal at the world championships, was fourth.
The top 12 and seven others chosen by the selection committee advance to the Olympic trials, June 19-22 in Philadelphia. The top two at trials earn spots in Beijing, with the remaining four members of the team and up to three alternates named after a July 20 selection camp at the Karolyi ranch.
Bears’ Benson arrested again.
Cedric Benson’s rocky relationship with the Chicago Bears got murkier after the running back’s arrest on a drunken driving charge in Austin, Texas, his second arrest in little more than a month.
Benson’s attorney said the former Texas star had a few drinks with dinner but didn’t think he was intoxicated, and cooperated with police.
• The New England Patriots said offensive lineman Nicholas Kaczur, charged with drug possession, will remain on the team.
• Former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating its substance-abuse policy and will miss the 2008 season.
Shock’s winning streak is over
SEATTLE — Lauren Jackson scored 10 of her 24 points in the third quarter and the Seattle Storm beat Detroit 75-67, ending the Shock’s WNBA six-game winning streak.
• Katie Douglas scored 20 points and Tammy Sutton-Brown added 19 as the Indiana Fever beat the Houston Comets 84-75.
• Candice Dupree scored 20 points, Jia Perkins had 19 and the Chicago Sky cruised to a 91-70 victory over the winless Atlanta Dream.
Czechs down Euro hosts
BASEL, Switzerland — Vaclav Sverkos made his first goal for the Czech Republic a memorable one, scoring the winner in the 71st minute in a 1-0 victory over co-host Switzerland as the European Championships began.
• Portugal’s Pepe, also inexperienced at the international level, got the opening goal in a 2-0 victory over Turkey in Geneva.
Pavlik whips Lockett
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) got back on the knockout path, stopping unheralded Welshman Gary Lockett (30-2) with a punishing assault in the third round of his first title defense.
The Associated Press
