Sports briefs for June 1, 2004

Tuesday, June 1, 2004 | 11:10 a.m.

Pico Central posts victory in Met Mile

So much for Azeri beating the boys, or Funny Cide returning to classic form.

Neither Azeri nor Funny Cide put up much of a fight in the Metropolitan Handicap on Monday, with Pico Central taking charge in the stretch and beating Bowman's Band by three-quarters of a length in the rain at Belmont Park.

Azeri, the 2002 Horse of the Year, finished eighth in her first start against males. The 6-year-old mare, trained by D. Wayne Lukas and ridden for the first time by Pat Day, came into the race with 15 victories and three runner-up finishes.

Funny Cide, last year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, was a disappointing fifth in his first race at Belmont since finishing third in the Belmont Stakes.

Tickets selling slowly

More than half of the tickets for the Athens Olympics remain unsold with spectator demand apparently slow and corporate sponsors buying far fewer seats than four years ago, organizers said today. The figures seemed to reinforce some of the worst fears for the Aug. 13-29 Games: security concerns and a shaky global economic recovery leaving unfilled venues for all but the top events.

Irwin wins Senior major

Hale Irwin birdied the 18th hole to win the weather-plagued Senior PGA Championship by one stroke over Jay Haas. The tournament was delayed five times in five days because of heavy rains. Irwin led after each round at Valhalla Golf Club and finished at 8-under 276.

Garciaparra recovering

Nomar Garciaparra went 2-for-3 Monday for Triple-A Pawtucket in his second minor league rehabilitation game. Garciaparra singled in the first and third innings, walked in the fourth and left the game after fouling out to the catcher in the sixth.

UCLA claims crown

Kristen Dedmon drove in the go-ahead runs with a pinch-hit, two-run single with two outs in the fifth inning, and UCLA went on to beat California 3-1 for its second consecutive NCAA softball championship. The Bruins won their 10th NCAA title and became the first team to win back-to-back championships since Arizona in 1996-97.

Syracuse wins title

Syracuse won the NCAA men's lacrosse championship with a 14-13 victory against Navy.

In a game that featured 10 ties and five lead changes, Syracuse used a three-goal run late in the fourth quarter to go up 14-12. Ian Dingman scored for Navy with 40 seconds left, but the Orange held on to earn its third title in five years.

Greene captures 100

Maurice Greene ran a wind-aided 9.78 seconds to win the 100 meters in the Payton Jordan U.S. Open at Stanford, Calif.