Sports briefs for January 24, 2003

Friday, Jan. 24, 2003 | 10:16 a.m.

Schuettler earns date with Agassi in final

Rainer Schuettler had too much energy for a tired and bruised Andy Roddick.

Schuettler beat the ninth-seeded Roddick 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 today in the Australian Open to advance to the final against three-time champion Andre Agassi of Las Vegas.

Schuettler, the German seeded 31st, finished off the American in 2 hours, 19 minutes, breaking Roddick at love with a backhand down the line.

Earlier, Serena and Venus Williams teamed to win their sixth Grand Slam doubles final, an ideal tuneup for their fourth consecutive clash in a major singles final.

The top-seeded sisters won their second Australian Open doubles title with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over second-seeded Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain and Paola Suarez of Argentina.

For Serena and Venus Williams, the doubles final was a tuneup for their singles clash.

Serena, who beat her older sister in the singles finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open last year, will be bidding for her "Serena Slam" when the pair meet today at 6:30 p.m. PST.

It will mark the first time in more than 100 years of Grand Slam tournaments that two women have met in four straight finals.

Rebels set to play annual alumni game

UNLV will hold its annual alumni game Saturday at noon at Wilson Stadium. Former Rebel coach Fred Dallimore will coach the alumni team. Admission is free.

Later Saturday, UNLV will host the First Pitch Banquet at Anthem Country Club with featured guest Bobby Valentine, former manager of the New York Mets and Texas Rangers. Tickets to the banquet are $150 or $1,500 for a table of 10. All proceeds benefit UNLV's program.

Fans get opportunity to meet LV Gladiators

The Las Vegas Gladiators, the city's entry in the Arena Football League, will put down the indoor turf and goal posts for the first time Saturday when they hold an intersquad scrimmage at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Doors open to the public at 3 p.m., with the scrimmage beginning at 5 p.m. Head coach Frank Haege and several players will mingle with the fans and sign autographs following the game. The event is free.

Vick will stay in Atlanta to have a bunion removed from his right foot.

National tournament set for this weekend

The 2003 U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV Olympic Development Porgram Championships will be held through Monday at the Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex. Games begin today at 6 p.m.

The best boys and girls U.S. Youth Soccer ODP State Association teams in the 1985 and 1987 age groups will compete for a berth in the 2003 youth national championships.

For more information or complete schedules, log on to www.regioniv.com or call 258-8838.

Bruins trade holdout

Holdout Boston Bruins defenseman Kyle McLaren was traded to the San Jose Sharks in a three-team deal that sent forward Niklas Sundstrom to the Montreal Canadiens.

The Bruins acquired veteran goalie Jeff Hackett from Montreal and young defenseman Jeff Jillson from the Sharks. The Canadiens got the Sharks' third-round selection in the 2004 draft, while Boston sent a fourth-round pick in the 2004 draft to San Jose.