March 11, 2002

By The Associated Press

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) Richard Callaghan, who guided Tara Lipinski to an Olympic gold medal and Todd Eldredge to a world championship and six U.S. titles, is coaching junior world champion Jennifer Kirk.

Kirk, 17, of Newton, Mass., was training with Mary and Evy Scotvold in South Dennis, Mass. Callaghan will coach her at the world championships in Detroit, where she is replacing 2002 Olympic champion Sarah Hughes.

"I am confident that training with Richard will enhance my skills and add a new dimension and intensity to my skating," Kirk said.

Kirk finished fifth in January's national championships.

MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) Surfing makes most people think about the sunny beaches of Hawaii or California, but some hardcore surfers are catching waves this winter on the icy coast of Lake Superior.

According to local aficionados, the best days for surfing are the ones when most people opt to stay at home with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.

"It's always good there when it's stormy," Drew Sonderegger, 16, told The Mining Journal. "You get strong winds out of the north and that's good surfing. That's when it's fun."

His father, John Sonderegger, 47, also surfs but admitted that sometimes the water can get a little too cold.

"There's a misery factor," he said. "If the water's 35 (degrees) and the air is 35, surfing is OK, but below that it gets uncomfortable."

Northern Michigan University student Greg Froede, from Harbor Springs, spent several winters surfing in Florida, and said wave successions in the ocean are different. There's more distance between the breaks.

"You go out and wait, usually a lot of waiting for the next wave," he said. "But Lake Superior gets fierce. It's bam, bam, bam, one right after another."

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) The BMW-Williams racing team is hoping for blistering weather to give an edge to the favored Ferraris at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

BMW-Williams believes that hot, dry weather would better suit the Michelin tires used by Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya over the Bridgestones run by Ferrari, the Star newspaper reported Monday.

Gerhard Berger, BMW's motorsports director, was quoted by the Star as saying that it was not unexpected that Ferrari ace Michael Schumacher - a four-time Formula One champion - won the season opener in Australia.

But even though Schumacher has won two of the three Malaysian Grand Prix, Berger said that he thought BMW-Williams had a chance of beating him Sunday in Sepang.

"There will be races this season when the Ferraris will not be as dominant, and we should make the most out of these opportunities, such as the hot weather in Malaysia," Berger was quoted as saying in an e-mail.

"And I also expect our package of chassis, engine and especially the tires to give us added advantage in the high temperatures of Sepang," Berger said.

OSAKA, Japan (AP) Hawaii-born yokozuna Musashimaru forced out lower-ranked Mongolian Kyokutenho for his second straight victory on Monday, the second day of the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.

Fighting in the day's final bout at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, western Japan, Musashimaru, or Fiamalu Penitani, seeking his 10th tournament title, grabbed No. 2 maegashira Kyokutenho's belt and sent him out.