IN BRIEF

BOXING

Marquez stops Diaz in lightweight title bout

Juan Manuel Marquez stamped himself as the world's top lightweight with a ninth-round knockout of Juan Diaz (34-2) in a thrilling title unification fight Saturday night in Houston

Marquez (50-4-1, 37 KOs) won the vacant WBA and WBO lightweight belts, plus Diaz's minor IBO title, finishing off the Houston native with a right uppercut at 2:40 of the ninth round. The 35-year-old Marquez, a former featherweight and super featherweight champion, was fighting at 135 pounds for only the second time in his 15-year professional career.

HORSE RACING

The Pamplemousse nets Sham Stakes win

The Pamplemousse solidified his status as one of California's top 3-year-olds and a leading Kentucky Derby candidate by winning the $200,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

The gray colt romped to a six-length victory, leading all the way under Alex Solis, a month after leading from start to finish in winning the one-mile San Rafael for his first stakes victory.

He covered 1 1/8 miles in 1 minute, 47.86 seconds. Take the Points was second and Mr. Hot Stuff third.

Also: Quality Road took off at the top of the stretch and won the Grade 2, $250,000 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., announcing himself as a Kentucky Derby contender.

Jockey John Velazquez asked Quality Road to find another gear as they made the turn, and the colt responded, then pulled away to beat Theregoesjojo by 41/4 lengths and return $13, $6.40 and $4.60.

Quality Road clocked 1 minute, 35 seconds over a mile on Gulfstream's dirt.

LOCAL COLLEGES

UNLV men's swimming claims MWC crown

The UNLV men's swimming and diving team won its fifth straight title at the Mountain West Conference Championships in Oklahoma City, and the UNLV women's team was second to Brigham Young for the second straight year.

The men's squad finished with 886.5 points, with Air Force a distant second at 613. UNLV winners on the final day of the four-day meet included Kier Maitland in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a conference-record time of 14 minutes, 53.08 seconds; Nick Blank (200 backstroke, 1:45.02, conference record); Akos Moinar (200 breaststroke, 1:55.70, conference record); David Seiler (200 butterfly); and the 400 freestyle relay team in an MWC record of 2:54.93.

The women's team finished with 585.5 points, with BYU first at 643. Ana Dangalakova had the Rebels' lone win Saturday, taking the 200 backstroke in a conference-record 1:55.94.

Zsuzsanna Jakobos added a second-place effort in the 200 butterfly to her two victories in the meet and was named the MWC women's swimmer of the year. Maitland won two events and was named men's swimmer of the year, and UNLV's Jim Reitz was named men's coach of the year.

Also: The UNLV men's tennis team (6-3) had its four-match winning streak snapped in a 6-1 loss to Oklahoma at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

The UNLV women's tennis team (6-3) lost to Pepperdine 7-0 in Malibu, Calif.

The UNLV softball team (12-7) swept two games in its Eller Media Stadium Tournament, beating Drake 4-3 and blanking Loyola Marymount 8-0 in five innings.

The UNLV baseball team (7-3) swept a doubleheader against St. Peter's at Wilson Stadium, winning 9-2 and 15-7.

The College of Southern Nevada baseball team swept the College of Southern Idaho 8-0 and 1-0 in a Scenic West Athletic Conference doubleheader at Morse Stadium. Chase Bradford threw a one-hit shutout in the opener for the Coyotes (11-9, 3-1 Scenic West).

The CSN softball team swept Western Nevada College 11-7 and 16-5 in a Scenic West Athletic Conference doubleheader. Amy Aicher had a home run in each game for the Coyotes (15-6, 12-4 Scenic West).

MISCELLANEOUS

Struggling Wranglers fall short against Reign

The Wranglers were dealt a 5-4 shootout loss to the Ontario Reign, running their winless streak to nine (0-6-3) in an ECHL game in Ontario, Calif.

Neither team could score in overtime, and Las Vegas (26-24-7) got blanked on four shots in the shootout, while Ontario converted twice.

Tyler Mosienko had a goal and three assists for Las Vegas.

Also: Minnesota Wild forward Derek Boogaard was suspended five games without pay for elbowing Calgary's Brandon Prust in the head during the Flames' 4-1 home win Friday.

The Philadelphia Flyers activated star center Danny Briere from injured reserve and expected to have him in the lineup today in New Jersey after a 36-game absence because of groin injuries.

Lindsey Vonn joined Picabo Street as the only Americans to win two straight World Cup downhill championships.

The 24-year-old Vonn clinched her second straight season-long title by finishing 12th at a race in Bansko, Bulgaria, to match the feat first achieved by Street in 1995 and 1996.

Vonn was well down the field, but her time of 1 minute, 48.0 seconds was enough to clinch the title with only one downhill remaining this season.

Ted Ligety of the United States won a giant slalom race in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, for his fourth career victory and the first World Cup win this season for an American male.

Venus Williams beat defending champion Flavia Pennetta 6-1, 6-2 to win the Mexican Open final in Acapulco, Mexico.

The 62-minute victory earned the top-seeded Williams her 41st career singles title and second in two weeks. She won in Dubai last weekend, where she became the only active player to gain 40 titles.

Third-ranked Novak Djokovic won his first title of the season, beating David Ferrer of Spain 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Mardy Fish advanced to the finals of the Delray Beach International Championships with a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Jeremy Chardy in Delray Beach, Fla. Fish will face Evgeny Korolev, who beat Christophe Rochus, 6-1, 7-5.