Biffle wins Dover Busch

Greg Biffle gave car owner Jack Roush another reason to celebrate during his first weekend back at the track.

Biffle overcame several problems and won a three-lap shootout after the race was red-flagged to claim the NASCAR Busch Series race Saturday at Dover International Speedway.

While running away with the race, he made a great save. Later, a mechanical problem threatened his Ford.

"We've had runs like this all year, but we haven't been able to close the deal," Biffle said.

Roush, who also owns four Winston Cup cars that will race Sunday in the MBNA Platinum 400, was nearly killed six weeks ago when the light plane he was piloting crashed in a lake in Alabama.

"I can't tell you how proud and happy I am to be here," Roush said. "Greg Biffle really did a great job."

The victory Saturday in the MBNA Platinum 200 came just hours after Matt Kenseth blew an engine during practice. Kenseth gave Roush his first reason to celebrate Friday by winning the first pole of his Winston Cup career, but he was forced to go to the back of the field because of the engine change.

Alouettes sign Phillips

Lawrence Phillips , the troubled former NFL first-round pick, signed a one-year contract with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.

The deal is contingent on the 27-year-old Phillips obtaining a special permit to cross the border because he has a criminal record in the United States.

The former Nebraska star's legal problems began in college when he pleaded no contest to domestic violence.

Despite that, he was taken sixth overall by St. Louis in the 1996 NFL draft. He gained 623 yards and averaged 3.3 yards per carry as a rookie. But he was released in his second season after 19 months marked by three arrests and 23 days in jail for violating his probation after a drunken-driving arrest in California.

Phillips signed with Miami later in the '97 season, but was released after pleading no contest to hitting a woman.

Last year, he signed with the Florida Bobcats of the Arena League but left camp soon afterward.

Savoldelli retains lead

Spain's Gonzalez Jimenez won a 26½-mile time test Saturday, and Italy's Paolo Savoldelli retained the pink jersey of overall leader with one stage remaining at the Giro d'Italia.

Jimenez, of the Kelme-Costa Blanca team, won the time test from Cambiago to Monticello Brianza, in northern Italy, in 55 minutes, 56 seconds, just 45 seconds ahead of Sergej Honchar of Ukraine.

Savoldelli, of the Index Alexia team, placed third in the 19th stage, beating American Tyler Hamilton by 13 seconds. He leads Hamilton by 1:41 in the overall standings .

Hamilton, a specialist in time tests, finished fourth, 1:31 behind.

The last stage Sunday is an almost flat ride from Cantu to Milan.

In brief

Yankees second baseman Alfonso Soriano was a late scratch from the starting lineup against the Boston Red Sox because of a bruised left hip. Soriano, tied for the team lead with 14 homers, was injured Friday night while sliding into second base. He was replaced in Saturday's lineup by Enrique Wilson and was day to day.

The New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Lakers weren't the only ones who won big Friday night. NBC had a good night, too. The Lakers forced a decisive seventh game in the NBA Western Conference finals with a 106-102 victory in Game 6 over the Sacramento Kings. The game recorded a 13.5 overnight rating and 24 share, according to Nielsen Media Research, an 82 percent gain over the comparable game last year when Philadelphia played Milwaukee in the Eastern finals.

The Los Angeles Kings signed junior center Jared Aulin to a three-year contract, the deadline for NHL teams to sign Canadian Hockey League players drafted two years ago. Aulin, 20, whose rights were acquired by the Kings in a 2001 trade with Colorado, had 33 goals and 34 assists in 46 games for the Kamloops Blazers this season. He also helped the Canadian junior team win a silver medal in the world junior tournament.

Michael Cooper of the Los Angeles Sparks and Anne Donovan of the Charlotte Sting will be the coaches for this season's WNBA All-Star game. Cooper, the 2000 WNBA Coach of the Year, led the Sparks to their first WNBA title last season after finishing a league-best 28-4 in the regular season.

Plate umpire Steve Rippley was released from Bayfront Medical Center early, a day after being hit in the left temple by a ball during a game between Oakland and Tampa Bay. A re-examination of X-rays found Rippley has a slight non-displaced fracture. Surgery was not required.