SOCCER

U.S. SQUEAKS PAST HONDURAS INTO GOLD CUP FINAL

John O’Brien and Oguchi Onyewu scored in the final seven minutes, rallying the United States to a 2-1 victory over Honduras last night in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup at Giants Stadium.

O’Brien scored the tying goal in the 86th minute after Onyewu played the ball into the penalty area.It bounced off Landon Donovan, and Honduran defender Erick Vallecilo poked the ball to O’Brien, who scored from eight yards out. Then, two minutes into injury time, Donovan sent a free kick to Onyewu, whose header from four yards beat Junior Morales.

The Americans’ opponent in the final on Sunday will be Panama, which downed Colombia 3-2 last night.

HOCKEY

PLAYERS APPROVE NEW LABOR DEAL

NHL players overwhelmingly approved a labor deal with the league yesterday, virtually ending the lockout that canceled last season. The league’s board of governors will hold a ratification vote today during a meeting in New York, but that ballot is really just a formality. After that, the NHL will be back in business.

“Almost 90% of the players” voted in favor of the six-year deal that includes a salary cap, union head Bob Goodenow said at a news conference. A six-day window will begin Saturday, allowing teams to buy out signed players and not have those dollars count against their cap for next season.

TRACK AND FIELD

COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF 2000 RELAY TEAM

Michael Johnson and the rest of the American 1,600-meter relay team can keep their gold medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled yesterday. The United States Olympic Committee had filed an appeal to the CAS challenging a recommendation to disqualify the entire squad for a doping scandal involving team member Jerome Young.

The petition was lodged by the USOC and five team members – Johnson, twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison, Antonio Pettigrew, and Jerome Taylor. Young is not covered by the USOC appeal.The five believed only Young should be stripped of the gold medal and not the rest of the team. Young ran in the opening and semifinal rounds in Sydney, but not in the final. Johnson ran the anchor leg in the final for the fifth and last Olympic gold medal of his career.

Young tested positive for the steroid nandrolone in 1999, but was exonerated by a U.S. appeals panel in July 2000, avoiding a two-year ban. The International Association of Athletics Federations ruled that the entire team should forfeit the victory because Young should have been ineligible to compete. But the arbitration court ruled yesterday that the IAAF’s rules in place at the time of the Sydney Games did not call for an entire team to be disqualified. The panel noted that the IAAF’s current rules do call for an entire relay team to be disqualified in a similar event.

TENNIS

NADAL WINS 31ST STRAIGHT MATCH ON CLAY

French Open champion Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 31 matches yesterday, beating doubles partner Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup. Unbeaten on clay since April, Nadal tied three other players – including Bjorn Borg – for the sixth-longest winning streak on the surface. The longest was 53 straight matches by Guillermo Vilas in 1977.

Nadal was joined in the quarterfinals by second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko and third-seeded Gaston Gaudio. Nadal will face Tomas Zib in the quarters after the Czech defeated Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-4, 7-6 (4).

GOLF

SORENSTAM MOVES UP AT EVIAN MASTERS

Annika Sorenstam shot a 6-under 66 yesterday to climb into contention at the Evian Masters, two strokes behind second-round leaders Paula Creamer and Christina Kim.

Creamer and Kim each shot 4-under 68s and share the lead at 8-under 136. Sorenstam stood alone in second at 6-under, with Laura Davies and Carin Koch another stroke back. Michelle Wie, a 15-year-old amateur from Hawaii, rebounded from her poor first round with a 70, but remained nine shots back at 1 over. The teenage phenom opened with a 3-over 75. Lorena Ochoa had a 69 and Carrie Webb shot 70, putting them four strokes behind.

FOOTBALL

GIANTS SIGN TIGHT END FROM COLUMBIA

The New York Giants signed two rookie free agents yesterday and announced that two other players had been waived. Signed were tight end Wade Fletcher and 6-foot-7, 325-pound offensive lineman Myniya Smith. Waived were guard Alex Bell and tight end Victor Sesay.

Fletcher, 6-foot-7 and 243 pounds, led the nation’s tight ends with 874 receiving yards in 2003 for Columbia. Last season, he led the Lions with 52 catches for 575 yards.

– Associated Press