Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — TRACK AND FIELD

Gay wins 100 in Shanghai

American sprinters Tyson Gay (Arkansas Razorbacks) and Carmelita Jeter flirted with history at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix on Sunday. Gay ran the second fastest men's 100 meters on record, winning in 9.69 seconds. The American matched Usain Bolt's winning time in last year's final at the Beijing Olympics, then a world record. The Jamaican has eclipsed that mark with 9.58 clocking to win the 100 at last month's world championships in Berlin, where Gay was second in 9.71. Asafa Powell of Jamaica was second, finishing in 9.85. Jeter won the women's 100 in 10.64 to become the second fastest woman of all time. Only the late Florence Griffith-Joyner ran faster over the distance - a total of three times, including her world record of 10.49 set in 1988. Jeter's performance left her well clear of Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown (Arkansas Razorbacks) in 10.89 at the Shanghai meet. American Terrance Trammell won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.15. In other events, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, who has broken the world outdoor and indoor marks 27 times, won Sunday's meet with a vault of 15-11. Poland's Anna Rogowska was second at 15-1. In the men's 200, Wallace Spearmon (Fayetteville, Arkansas Razorbacks) of the U.S. pulled away in the last 70 meters to win in 20.57 seconds. Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis placed second in 20.90, and American Shawn Crawford was third in 21.04. American Lashawn Merritt, first at the world championships, won the 400 in 45.28. Robert Tobin of Britain placed second in 45.49. Kenya's Augustine Choge won the men's 800 over South Africa's Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, who won at the worlds. Choge finished in 1 minute, 44.10 seconds, while Mulaudzi clocked 1:45.68. Amine Laalou of Morocco won the 1,500 meters, finishing in 3:34.19. World champion Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain placed second in 3:34.94. World champion Melaine Walker of Jamaica won the women's 400 hurdles in 52.68.

MARATHON

Gebrselassie wins Berlin

World-record holder Haile Gebrselassie has won the Berlin Marathon for the fourth consecutive time despite struggling in the last third of a race run in sunny, warm weather. Gebrselassie was gritting his teeth by the time he finished under the Brandenburg Gate in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 8 seconds. Francis Kiprop of Kenya was second in 2:07.03 and Negari Therfa of Ethiopia was third in 2:07.41. Atsede Besuye of Ethiopia won the women's race in 2:24.47.

BASEBALL Cubs suspend Bradley

The Chicago Cubs have suspended volatile outfielder Milton Bradley for the rest of the season, one day after he criticized the team in a newspaper interview. Bradley was disciplined Sunday for conduct detrimental to the team. General Manager Jim Hendry says he decided to send Bradley home after learning of the player's remarks in the Daily Herald of suburban Arlington Heights. "The last few days became too much for me to tolerate," Hendry said. "I'm certainly not going to let our great fans become excuses," Hendry said. "I'm not going to tolerate [Bradley] not being able to answer questions from the media respectably." Bradley, scratched from Saturday's lineup due to left knee soreness, was quoted as saying "you understand why they haven't won in 100 years here." Bradley, who was hitting .257 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI, has two years remaining on a three-year, $30 million contract that he signed as a free agent last off season. Hendry said he didn't know if the relationship was "fixable." TENNIS Israel avoids sweep

Harel Levy of Israel beat Feliciano Lopez 7-5, 6-2 in the final reverse singles to avoid a 5-0 sweep by defending champion Spain in the Davis Cup semifinals in Torre Pacheco, Spain. Spain gained its seventh final with the 4-1 victory and will host the Czech Republic, a 4-1 winner over Croatia. Spain's David Ferrer had beaten Israel's Andy Ram, 6-3, 6-1 in earlier in the day. The Czechs had already secured a spot in the finals by taking a 3-0 lead over the first two days. On Sunday, Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic beat Roko Karanusic, 7-6 (4), 6-4 before Lovro Zovko gave Croatia its lone point with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Lukas Dlouhy. The Czechs will visit defending champion Spain in December for the country's first Davis Cup final in 29 years.

Melinda Czink won her first career singles title on the WTA Tour on Sunday, beating Lucie Safarova 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 Sunday at the Bell Challenge in Quebec City. In the doubles final, Vania King and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova defeated Sofia Arvidsson and Severine Bremond-Beltrame 6-1, 6-3.

CYCLING Valverde wins Spanish Vuelta

Alejandro Valverde of Spain won the Spanish Vuelta while Andre Greipel took the final stage on Sunday in Madrid, Spain. The 29-year-old Valverde was the most consistent rider throughout the 21-stage race that began Aug. 29 in Assen, Netherlands. Samuel Sanchez of Spain was second overall after Sunday's stage, 55 seconds behind. Australia's Cadel Evans finished third, 1 minute, 32 seconds back. Greipel won the 68.5-mile ridefrom Rivas-Vaciamadrid to central Madrid in 3 hours, 11 minutes, 55 seconds. Daniele Bennati of Italy crossed the line just behind him and was followed by Borut Bozic of Slovenia with the same time in a sprint finish.

HORSE RACING Filly Ventura wins Woodbine

Ventura has won the Woodbine Mile to become the first female to win the $1 million race at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. The 5-yearold mare rallied from well back in the field for her second victory of the year following a 4-year-old campaign in which she won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Ventura, ridden by Garrett Gomez, covered the seven furlongs over a firm turf course in 1:32.04. The victory gave Ventura an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Mile on Nov. 7 at Santa Anita. Ferneley was second and Sterwins finished third. Also, 15-1 long shot Princess Haya upset 1-5 favorite Forever Together by a nose in the $300,000 Canadian Stakes and Just As Well won the $750,000 Northern Dancer Turf via disqualification of first-place finisher Marsh Side. MOTOR SPORTS McClenathan, Hight win

Cory McClenathan and Robert Hight shot up the playoff rankings by winning their first races of 2009 Sunday at the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at Max Dragway in Concord, N.C. McClenathan won Top Fuel with a pass of 3.857 seconds at 312.64 mph to beat rookie Shawn Langdon and take over first place in the Countdown to 1. Hight flew from 10th play to third by beating another rookie, outpacing Matt Hagan in 4.097 seconds at 307.02 mph in his Funny Car. Regular season champ Tony Pedregon remained in first place and Ashley Force Hood moved up a spot to second place. Mike Edwards won Pro Stock in 6.618 seconds at 209.39 mph to take over the top spot for the first time all season. Hector Arana won Pro Stock Motorcyle when Karen Stoffer red-lighted in the final.