■ Surfing
`Twiggy' rules at Mavericks
South African Grant "Twiggy" Baker scored perfect 10s navigating near 12m waves and won the Mavericks surf contest at Half Moon Bay, California on Tuesday. Baker, 32, entered the contest as a special add on. Online voters decided that he deserved a crack at the big waves -- and he responded by scoring a perfect 10 on two rides in front of thousands. "I never thought this was possible," Baker said after winning US$30,000 and a trophy. "For someone from South Africa, this is an impossible dream." Baker's first perfect score from the judges came in the third heat of round one. Each heat pitted six surfers against each other, with the top three moving on to the next round. Baker deftly sliced down a large wave, and then stylishly steered clear of the crush of whitewater that followed him close behind.
■ Athletics
Dold takes Empire run
Germany's Thomas Dold edged defending men's champion Rudolf Reitberger of Austria by 17 seconds on Tuesday to win the annual Empire State Building Run-up, climbing 86 floors in 10 minutes, 19 seconds. Meanwhile, Andrea Mayr of Austria set a women's record, winning for the third straight year in 11 minutes, 23 seconds. The 34-year-old Reitberger was by about 2 1/2 floors behind 21-year-old Dold, finishing in a time of 10:36. "I knew after about 65 or 70 floors that I would be second," Reitberger said.
■ Baseball
Saito works with Dodgers
Japanese pitcher Takashi Saito agreed to a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday and was invited to spring training. The 35-year-old right-hander spent most of his 14-year career with Yokohama Baystars in Japan's Central League. He compiled an 87-78 record with 48 saves and was a four-time Japan All-Star. Saito was named comeback player of the year in 1998, when he went 13-5 with a 2.94 ERA after sitting out all of the prior year with an injury. He was later converted to a closer and earned 47 saves between 2001 and 2002.
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