Enquirer staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON - Andre Agassi moved one match closer to his sixth Legg Mason Tennis Classic title with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sargis Sargsian on Thursday.

The top-seeded Agassi, 40-9 in his 15 tournament appearances in Washington, needed just one good return game in each set to beat the 13th-seeded Sargsian for the sixth straight time and advance to the quarterfinals.

Agassi set up his break chance in the first set with a clean winner on a forehand service return, and ended the game with an equally crisp backhand that wrongfooted Sargsian and gave Agassi a 3-1 lead.

The second set was a much more efficient effort from Agassi as he won eight straight points to open the set to take a 2-0 lead. Agassi added to his cushion with a second service break to take a 4-1 lead on his way to serving out the match.

MARTIN COMING TO CINCINNATI: Todd Martin has been given a wild card into the singles field for the Western & Southern Financial Masters, beginning Aug. 11 in Mason. Martin, 33, will be making his 10th appearance in the tournament.

The American was a singles quarterfinalist in 2000. He paired with James Blake last year to win the doubles title.

Hockey

PITTSBURGH - Mario Lemieux will return for at least one more season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have fallen on hard times since his surprise comeback 2 1/2 years ago.

In announcing his return Thursday, Lemieux said he's in much better shape and is 12 pounds lighter than last year - and he didn't rule out playing beyond the upcoming season.

"I retired before for 3 1/2 years, and I know how much I missed it," the Hall of Famer said. "As long as I feel good physically and mentally, I want to play."

MIGHTY DUCKS SCHEDULE: Thirty-six home weekend games highlight the 2003-2004 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks schedule.

The Ducks will open the season, its seventh in the American Hockey League, at home against the expansion Toronto Roadrunners on Oct. 11 at Cincinnati Gardens. Thirty-six of the 40 home games will be on a Friday (16), Saturday (15) or Sunday (5).

WILD: The Minnesota Wild re-signed Andrei Zyuzin on Thursday after a season in which he was second among the team's defensemen in goals and points. The two-year contract is worth about $2.5 million.

SABRES: Forward Adam Mair signed Thursday a three-year contract worth $1.6 million.

College basketball

LOUISVILLE: Former NBA star Reggie Theus was hired Thursday as an assistant to Louisville coach Rick Pitino. Theus replaces Mick Cronin, who worked for Pitino for two seasons before becoming head coach at Murray State in April.

"Everybody wants to be affiliated with the best," Theus said during a news conference. "All I want to do is get here and learn from Coach (Pitino)."

Horse racing

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Funny Cide drew the No. 5 post position and was made the morning line favorite for the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, his first start since failing to win the Triple Crown.

The New York-bred gelding will face six rivals in the 1 1/8 mile race for 3-year-olds. Funny Cide will carry high weight of 123 pounds, conceding from 2 to 8 pounds to the rest of the field.

"The post was fine," said trainer Barclay Tagg, who again has Jose Santos listed to ride.

Funny Cide faces a familiar rival in Peace Rules, who ran third in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Preakness.