Sports briefs for January 29, 2004

Thursday, Jan. 29, 2004 | 10 a.m.

Bjorn shoots a 64 for one-shot Walker lead

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn shot an 8-under-par 64 today, giving him a one-stroke lead over Nick Faldo after the first round of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok, Thailand.

Ian Poulter of England was at 66, along with Scott Gardiner and Jarrod Moseley, both of Australia, and Edward Loar of the United States.

British Open champion Ben Curtis was four shots back at 68. Defending champion Ernie Els was at 70, as was PGA champ Shaun Micheel.

Ian Woosnam is a further two shots behind at 72, while Colin Montgomerie was at 73.

Olympic champ busted

Olympic champion figure skater Victor Petrenko was charged with drunken driving after police said he crashed his car into a utility pole and fence Wednesday night in Simsburn, Conn. He was charged with driving under the influence and released after posting a $250 bond. He is due in court Feb. 9. Petrenko won the 1992 Olympic gold medal.

Heatley back on ice

Dany Heatley made an emotional return to the Atlanta Thrashers, less than four months after a car wreck killed his teammate and friend, Dan Snyder. Heatley had four shots on goal -- as many as anyone on the ice -- and he got two excellent chances late in the first period, but missed once and later was denied by St. Louis goaltender Reinhard Divis. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

Raiders hire assistant

The Oakland Raiders hired Jets assistant Jimmy Raye as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. Raye spent the last two seasons with the Jets, serving as assistant head coach last season and senior offensive assistant in 2002.

Judge rejects IRL bid

A bankruptcy judge rejected a bid by the Indy Racing League for an offer by a group of CART team owners to bring that open-wheel series out of Chapter 11 and put it back on the track. Judge Frank Otte said the IRL offer, which would involve canceling most of the races on CART's 2004 schedule, could have resulted in costly litigation from promoters of those events.