Sports briefs for January 20, 2005

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 | 9:43 a.m.

Thailand Open move to aid in tsunami relief

The Thailand Open golf tournament will be played in Phuket instead of Pattaya to help the island resort recover from the tsunami tragedy, the Asian Tour said.

The March 3-6 event will be at Blue Canyon Country Club and will have extra funding from the Tourism Authority of Thailand in an effort to restore Phuket's reputation as a vacation destination, the tour said in a statement.

"We will do our best to help in Thailand's recovery from this terrible disaster," said Asian Tour chief executive Louis Martin in the statement. A charity pro-am event and an auction of equipment and memorabilia may be held, he added.

Thailand's death toll from the Dec. 26 earthquake-triggered tsunami rose to 5,321, including 2,173 foreigners. Occupancy at hotel rooms in Phuket plunged to 10 percent, the Bangkok Post reported Jan. 18, citing Chanin Donavanik, president of the Thai Hotels Association.

Surgery for Leinart

Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart will have surgery on his left elbow Tuesday. Leinart, who was bothered at times during the 2004 season by soreness in his throwing arm, called the surgery a "minor procedure."

Martin eyes IROC

Mark Martin was one of five NASCAR drivers to accept spots in the 2005 IROC series and he'll attempt to break his tie with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and win a fifth series title. Also accepting invitations were Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch, defending IROC champion Matt Kenseth, Busch series champion Martin Truex and truck series champion Bobby Hamilton.

Wranglers lose

Ryan Gaucher scored in his first game back with the Wranglers after a stint with the American Hockey League's Manitoba Moose, but it wasn't enough as San Diego handed the visiting Wranglers a 4-2 loss, their fourth loss in five games Wednesday. Dustin Johner also scored for Las Vegas, which remained in seventh place in the ECHL Western Division.

Labor talks today

Negotiators from the U.S. Soccer Federation and its union were scheduled to meet today with a federal mediator in New York in hopes of resolving the dispute that threatens to keep the regular U.S. team off the field for its World Cup qualifier next month.

Montreal out

Swimming's governing body pulled the 2005 world championship meet out of Montreal because of local organizers' inability to raise enough money. A new site will be announced by Feb. 15. The meet is scheduled July 17-31.

Bowman sentenced

Former U.S. champion Christopher Bowman was sentenced in Rochester, Mich., to 18 months probation for having a gun while drunk, a misdemeanor.