Sports briefs for April 19, 2004

Monday, April 19, 2004 | 10:38 a.m.

Jackson pitches 51s past Portland

Prized pitching prospect Edwin Jackson led the Las Vegas 51s to their third consecutive victory, 7-2, Sunday at PGE Park in Portland.

Jackson (2-1) worked a season-high six innings and gave up six hits and two runs. He struck out three and had an RBI single.

Second baseman Antonio Perez broke open the game for the 51s in the eighth inning with a bases-loaded triple. Center field Shane Victorino was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and left fielder Luis Garcia 2-for-4.

The two teams were scheduled to conclude their Pacific Coast League series this morning.

Haas back in form

Tommy Haas, who missed all of 2003 while recovering from shoulder surgery, won his first title in more than two years with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Andy Roddick in the U.S. Clay Court Championship final at Houston.

Spence leads Rebels

Christine Spence's runner-up finish in the high jump was the top performance for UNLV at the Mt. SAC Relays inWalnut, Calif. The Rebels, who got a fourth in the 100-meter dash by Halima DaCree and a seventh in the 100-meter hurdles by Kiyota Reed, will play host to their first meet of the season Saturday, the six-team UNLV Invite at Myron Partridge Stadium.

Inspection for Athens

International Olympic Committee inspectors began a three-day review of Olympic sites today, including the troubled roof over the main stadium.

Gilbert Felli, the executive director of the Olympics, met Athens organizers, and was expected to be joined Tuesday by Denis Oswald, IOC chief overseer for Athens.

Maradona hospitalized

Former Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona was hospitalized in intensive care in Buenos Aires with heart and blood pressure problems. Dozens of his fans mounted an overnight vigil outside the clinic where he was taken.

Coach has cancer

New Jersey Devils coach Pat Burns, 52, said he will begin five weeks of treatment immediately for colon cancer.