Monaco`s Argentinian striker Javier Pedro Saviola (r) vies with Rennes midfielder Gregory Bourillon (l) and back Arnaud Lelan in a French L1 match, Friday. (AFP Photo)

PARIS, Dec. 4--Monaco beat Rennes 2-0 on Friday to move into third place in the French first division and put an end to their nine-match run without a win, AFP reported.
Emmanuel Adebayor and Brazilian defender Maicon both missed early chances for Didier Deschamps' team before Rennes had a 21st minute goal from Alexander Frei ruled out for offside.
But Monaco took the lead in the 29th minute when Sierre Leone striker Mohamed Kallon scored after a free-kick from Ernesto Chevanton had caused problems in the Rennes defense.
Chevanton, the Uruguayan international, then got his own name on the scoresheet just two minutes later when he profited from a mix-up between Rennes defender Abdeslam Ouaddou and goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson.
Javier Saviola then missed a last minute chance for Monaco but Deschamps' team will be content to back to winning ways just five days before their crucial Champions League trip to Deportivo La Coruna.
Despite the win, Monaco are still 10 points behind leaders Lyon.
On Saturday, Philippe Troussier, who compares his job to the role of a conductor in an orchestra, takes up the baton as coach of Marseille for the first time against Caen.
Troussier is Marseille's 12th coach in ten years. He succeeds Jose Anigo in the Velodrome hotseat after failing in his bid to take over from Mark Hughes as manager of Wales.
Marseille, whose days as European champions back in 1993 seem an awful long way off, slipped to seventh after the dismal 2-0 defeat in Ajaccio, but face Caen having climbed up two places following a morale-boosting win at Nantes last weekend.
"My work here involves trying to find continuity after that game against Nantes," said the 49-year-old Frenchman.

NEW YORK, Dec. 4--Tony Parker scored 20 points and Brent Barry made two free throws in the final seconds to give the San Antonio Spurs an 80-77 win over the Detroit Pistons Friday, Reuters reported.
Detroit rallied to get within one point of the host Spurs after trailing by 21 but the Pistons came up short in a battle of the last two NBA champions.
Tim Duncan notched 18 points and 18 rebounds while team mate Manu Ginobili also had 18 points for the Spurs (14-3), who have the best record in the NBA.
Ben Wallace returned to the Detroit lineup after serving a six-game suspension for his part in the mass brawl against the Indiana Pacers last month. He was less than effective though, posting five points and pulling down nine rebounds in 33 minutes.
Chauncey Billups grabbed all 18 of his points in the fourth quarter for the defending champion Pistons, who slipped under the .500 mark at 7-8. Antonio McDyess added 13 points in a losing cause.
In New York, Cuttino Mobley poured in 34 points in his second game back from injury as the Orlando Magic cooled off the Knicks 104-98.
In Atlanta, Larry Hughes scored 19 points to lead the Washington Wizards past the Hawks 114-90.
In Boston, Mark Blount picked up 22 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final minutes, as the Celtics edged the Toronto Raptors 91-89.
In Memphis, Pau Gasol amassed 34 points and 15 rebounds as the Grizzlies overcame the Philadelphia 76ers 94-86 to earn Mike Fratello victory in his debut as team coach.
In Chicago, Christian Laettner claimed 23 points as the Miami Heat beat the Bulls 105-81.
In Phoenix, Kevin Garnett contributed 23 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists to help the Minnesota Timberwolves cool off the Suns 97-93.
In Sacramento, Chris Webber notched 29 points as the Kings won their 10th game out of 11 by routing the Indiana Pacers 113-87.
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant recorded a triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as the Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors 97-88.

Britain's Olympic silver medal winner Amir Khan (l) takes a punch from his opponent Michael Evans of the US in an amateur boxing match in Liverpool, Friday. (Reuters Photo)

LIVERPOOL, UK,
Dec. 4--Britain's Olympic Games silver medallist Amir Khan made a winning return to the ring on Friday with a comfortable points win over America's Michael Evans, AFP reported.
The 17-year-old lightweight hadn't boxed for 96 days since being beaten for the gold medal in Athens by Cuban legend Mario Cesar Kindelan but he showed few signs of rustiness in the Britain against United States amateur match.
Khan won 35-13 on points, forced the 27-year-old from Ohio to take two standing counts and also had the American on the canvas after just 40 seconds of the first round.
"It was the perfect fight since I hadn't fought for a long time. I have only trained for two weeks," said Khan.
"I have to give him 100-percent credit but I was never nervous because I know I can go four rounds with any fighter in my division in the world."
Khan, who turns 18 next week, has come under fierce pressure to turn professional but he insisted that for the time being he will stay in the amateur ranks.
"There was a brilliant response from the crowd tonight and that gives me more conviction to stay amateur," said the Bolton fighter.
"My immediate plans are to go to the world championships next year and win a gold for Britain. After that, we will see what happens."

DOHA, Qatar, Dec. 4--Thierry Lincou, who never forgave himself for mishandling the day he became world number one, can now do so after becoming the first Frenchman ever to win the world squash title, Reuters said.
Lincou beat top-seeded Englishman Lee Beachill 5-11 11-2 2-11 12-10 11-8 on Friday, saving a match point at 9-10 in the fourth game.
His victory offered him some consolation for last year's final defeat, which he partly blamed on the exhausting round of public relations he undertook the day before when he reached the top of the rankings.
"That has been deep inside me ever since," he said. "It was a difficult lesson to learn to think that maybe I hadn't performed as well as I could for that reason. "But this time I always felt confident that I could pace myself physically and this time I did it by beating the world number one.
"It's just such a fantastic feeling. Because I've thought about it for so long."
The 28-year-old from Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean had to resist a wave of well-organized attacks which carried Beachill to within one good shot of the title at 10-9 in the fourth game.
A couple of times in that rally Beachill attacked short and was within a few inches of making the winner, but Lincou contained him and then counter-attacked himself, eventually wining with a sharp, sudden, low backhand kill.
In trying to retrieve it, Beachill barged into the Frenchman and was lectured by the referee. By the middle of the fifth game it became clear that Beachill was the player who was tiring more as Lincou increased the tempo.
The end came when the Englishman felt forced to gamble with a backhand drop and put it into the tin.

SEVILLE, Spain,
Dec. 4--Teenage rookie Rafael Nadal blunted the world's fastest serve on Friday to stun Andy Roddick and give Spain a 2-0 lead over the United States in the Davis Cup final, Reuters said.
The 18-year-old, playing his first year of Davis Cup, whipped a record tennis crowd of 27,200 to a frenzy as he rocked the world number two 6-7 6-2 7-6 6-2.
"It has been a long time since I played at this level," he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
"The fans... they were 50 percent of this victory. Davis Cup is everything -- this win shows me again that I am a good player."
Ranked 51st in the world, Nadal had been preferred to former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero for this match in a controversial move by coach Jordi Arrese on Thursday.
His whole-hearted performance vindicated Arrese's decision. "Everything went so well, just great," the player smiled as he left the clay court.
Nadal absorbed everything a serve-volleying Roddick threw at him, pummelling returns and blasting groundstrokes all round Seville's Olympic Stadium court to clinch a fantastic victory in three hours 38 minutes.
The burly left-hander fell to the ground in relief after forcing Roddick into an error on his second match point.
Nadal's fellow Mallorcan and practice partner Carlos Moya had earlier fired Spain into a 1-0 lead which means the Bryan twins Mike and Bob must now beat Nadal and Tommy Robredo on Saturday to prevent Spain winning their second Davis Cup.
Former world number one Moya bamboozled Mardy Fish 6-4 6-2 6-3 for the first point.
Olympic silver medallist Fish had won two of his three previous matches against Moya but those victories came on hard courts.
On Seville's slow, red, power-blunting clay and against a backdrop of red and yellow flags and banners, Moya tied his opponent up in knots.
Running him from side to side, the Spaniard put on a claycourt masterclass.
Punching winners into the corners off both sides, Moya clinched the opening set on his first set point after 40 minutes play.
The 1998 French Open champion blasted through Fish's defenses in the second set and the third proved little more than a formality.

Bode Miller of the US skis during the World Cup Men's Downhill in Beaver Creek, Colorado, Friday. (AFP Photo)

BEAVER CREEK, USA, Dec. 4--American Bode Miller won a men's World Cup Alpine skiing downhill on Friday for his phenomenal fourth victory in five races, Reuters reported.
Miller, who celebrated the first World Cup downhill success of his career in Canada last weekend, plunged down Beaver Creek's Birds of Prey piste to beat compatriot Daron Rahlves by 0.16 of a second.
The mighty Austrians, usually so dominant in the speed events but eclipsed on a great day for a US team skiing on home snow, had to make do with Michael Walchhofer's third place, 0.39 slower than Miller. Switzerland's Bruno Kernen was fourth ahead of compatriot Didier Cuche. Miller said his fifth podium in a row had been a huge victory: "To be on top of the podium next to an American is a dream come true," added the 27-year-old from Franconia, New Hampshire. "We have been working very hard for this. It's something really special." Rahlves, the 2001 super-G world champion, was happy with his result after managing only 17th the day before. "It's good to be back," said the American. "Coming back from a frustrating race yesterday means a big deal."Walchhofer's podium was also a relief for the reigning world champion, who fell heavily on Thursday.
Miller is set for a record-breaking year and Friday's victory on a piste that rewarded smooth skiing put him back on top of the podium after a second place in Thursday's super-G in the Colorado Rockies.
He had already become the first man to win the opening three races of a World Cup season in different disciplines and only the fifth to win in all five.
The overall World Cup leader, a double world champion who also has two Olympic silver medals, has 480 points out of a maximum 500 and could win the title before the end of January if he maintains such devastating form.
While Miller, outspoken and a fearless competitor in one of the world's most dangerous sports, said he crossed the line with a big grin on his face, the same could not be said for his Austrian rival Hermann Maier.
The overall World Cup champion finished 10th and, clearly unhappy with his performance, skied away from the finish area without talking.
To add salt in the Austrians' wounds, both Miller and Rahlves's skis were prepared by the serviceman who previously worked for 2003 World Cup overall champion Stephan Eberharter.

TOKYO, Dec. 4--Japan's Keiichiro Fukabori shot the day's best of five-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead in the third round of the season-ending Nippon Series men's golf tournament on Saturday, AFP reported.
Starting the day two strokes off the pace, Fukabori got off to a flying start as his second shot on the par-four, 396-yard first hole went straight into the cup for a chip-in eagle.
He also had an eagle putt on the sixth hole which nudged the edge of the cup, finishing with four birdies against one bogey for a three-round total of 11-under-par 199.
Paul Sheehan of Australia hit a 66 to share second place with overnight co-leader Hideki Kase of Japan on 200, followed by another overnight leader David Smail of New Zealand and Japan's Katsumasa Miyamoto on 201.
"That was teriffic," Fukabori said of his second shot hitting with a pitching wedge from 107-yard point to the cup. "It was the best possible start that I can imagine."
Three years ago at this tournament, Fukabori came into the final round with a three-stroke lead but double-bogeyed on the ninth hole to surrender the title. He also finished fifth after leading it in 1997.
The top 26 golfers on the Japanese tour this season are taking part in the 100 million yen (970,900 dollars) tournament, vying for the winner's check of 30 million yen.

NEW YORK, Dec. 4--Dale Earnhardt Jr. was voted the NMPA NASCAR Most Popular Driver of the Year for the second consecutive year. The announcement was made Friday during the National Motorsports Press Association's breakfast at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Reuters said.
"It was fun to win it last year, but to get two in a row really means a lot to me," said Earnhardt Jr. "I've learned this year about how loyal and supportive my fans are.
"Junior" beat out Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, who finished second and third, respectively.
Bill Elliott won the award 16 times before retiring his name from voting at the beginning of the 2003 season. Richard Petty won the award nine times.
Earnhardt Jr. finished the 2004 Nextel Cup season fifth overall behind champion Kurt Busch. He won his first Daytona 500 in February and collected wins at Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol and Talladega.