IN BRIEF

TENNIS

VENUS TOPS AZARENKA TO CLAIM DUBAI TITLE

Venus Williams successfully defended her Dubai Championships title Saturday, beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 7-5 in the final in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Williams broke Azarenka a third time at 5-5 in the second set and served out for her 42nd singles title on the WTA Tour.

Unlike last year, Williams didn't lose a set, and in the final she lost her serve only once to Azarenka, ranked No. 6, one spot behind Williams.

Also: Maria Sharapova didn't take long to rebound from her early exit in Australia.

Playing in only her second tournament of the year, Sharapova defeated Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-1 to win the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tenn.

Sharapova, the world's 16th-ranked player, had played only one match this season prior to Memphis, losing in the opening round of last month's Australian Open.

The layoff didn't appear to affect the three-time Grand Slam champion as she breezed through the field of the lower-tier event to win her 21st career title. The top seed in the draw never dropped a set.

On the men's side, Sam Querrey and John Isner showed that the U.S. Davis Cup team might not be in that bad of shape after all.

Both advanced to today's final of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, after they were selected for the Davis Cup match against Serbia in March.

Isner beat Philipp Petzschner of Germany 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the semifinals, and Querrey beat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, 6-3, 6-4.

Serena Williams pulled out of an exhibition at Madison Square Garden because of a left leg injury.

The BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup will take place March 2. Williams, who was to face Kim Clijsters, will be replaced in the four-player field by former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.

Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova round out the field.

FOOTBALL

Payton, Rice in first class of Black College Hall

Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Deacon Jones and former Grambling coach Eddie Robinson were among the first set of honorees inducted into the Black College Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

The hall was established last year by former Pro Bowl quarterback James Harris and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Doug Williams. The first class included eight players, two coaches and one contributor.

Williams, who starred at Grambling, said the event was the culmination of a lot of work.

"Just like you practice for weeks before the season, we've been preparing for this night for a long time," he said.

Also: Miami Dolphins cornerback Will Allen was charged with driving under the influence.

Allen was arrested in Miami Beach and was being held at the Pretrial Detention Center in Miami on $1,000 bond. A spokesman for the Dolphins declined comment, saying the team only recently learned about the incident.

MISCELLANEOUS

Pavlik to defend title vs. Martinez in April

Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (36-1, 32 knockouts) will defend his WBO and WBC belts against junior middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (44-2-2) at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on April 17.

Pavlik's promoter Top Rank made the announcement.

Also: Josh Prudden scored two minutes into overtime to lift the Wranglers to a 4-3 win over the Alaska Aces in Anchorage. Prudden gave the Wranglers (22-23-6) a 3-2 lead early in the third period, but the Aces tied it with six minutes left.