IN BRIEF

Wranglers beaten by division-worst Condors

Bakersfield winger Evan Kotsopoulous broke a 2-all tie with this second goal of the season at 10:28 of the third period Sunday night as the Bakersfield Condors edged the Wranglers 3-2 in an ECHL game in Bakersfield, Calif.

The Wranglers (21-5-4, 46 points) were beaten by the worst team in the league’s Pacfic Division. The Condors improved to 8-17-5 with the victory (21 points).

Aaron Power and Shawn Limpright scored goals for Las Vegas, while league all-star goalie Daniel Manzato dropped to 12-3-1 in stopping 18 of 21 shots.

The Wranglers next play New Year’s Day at 5:05 p.m. against the Stockton (Calif.) Thunder at the Orleans Arena.

Also: Thomas Morgenstern had the best leap of the day in the second round to win the first stop of the prestigious Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Oberstdorf, Germany.

The Austrian, who has won seven of eight World Cup events this season, was boosted by optimal wind conditions on his second jump of 141.5 meters, pushing him past first-round leader Gregor Schlierenzauer.

Morgenstern finished with 295.9 points while Schlierenzauer was second with 280.7 in front of 22,500 spectators. Four-time Four Hills winner Janne Ahonen of Finland was third with 279.0.

Magnus Moan of Norway battled snowfall and strong wind to win a Nordic Combined World Cup event, edging Bill Demong of the United States by 0.1 seconds in Oberhof, Germany.

Moan finished in 40 minutes, 8.8 seconds for his first win of the season, with Petter Tande of Norway taking third, 9.1 seconds behind.

Ronny Ackermann of Germany led most of the race but was caught by the three skiers on the final lap, denying the four-time world champion a podium finish on his home course for the first time in his seven-year career. He ended up fourth, 11.8 back.

Bjorn Kircheisen of Germany leads the overall standings with 463 points, followed by Ackermann at 421 and Demong with 352.

Nikolay Morilov of Russia and Arianna Follis of Italy won the sprint races in the Tour de Ski in Prague, Czech Republic.

Morilov finished the 1-kilometer freestyle race, which took place in front of the Prague Castle, in 1 minute, 35.8 seconds, edging Simen Ostensen of Norway by 0.3 seconds.

However, Ostensen took the overall lead in the tour, 12.1 seconds ahead of Lukas Bauer of the Czech Republic. Tor Arne Hetland of Norway was third and is also third overall, 14.9 seconds back.

Follis covered the women’s 1-kilometer course in 1:50.5, ahead of Pirjo Muranen of Finland and Marit Bjorgen of Norway

Bjorgen leads the overall standings, 9.4 seconds ahead of Follis. Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland is third overall.

MISCELLANEOUS

Hampton, Holmes roll, but Lady Rebels rocked

Shamela Hampton and Sequoia Holmes posted double-doubles, but UNLV’s women’s basketball team surrendered the final nine points of the game to drop a 63-55 nonconference decision to Long Island at Cox Pavilion.

Hampton had 17 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, while Holmes totaled 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Lady Rebels (4-9), who had overcome an 18-point deficit against the Blackbirds to take a 55-54 lead with 2:28 remaining.

But Long Island (11-2) responded with a pair of baskets and 5-for-6 free-throw shooting down the stretch to pull out the win.

Also: One-time big league slugger Jose Canseco will name more names in a sequel to his 2005 steroid memoir “Juiced,” according to published reports.

The new book, with the working title “Vindicated,” will arrive in bookstores on baseball’s Opening Day in 2008, Canseco’s lawyer Robert Saunooke told the New York Post and the Daily News.

Saunooke said the book would accuse ballplayers not named in former Sen. George Mitchell’s report of using performance-enhancing drugs.

“We had hoped that the Mitchell Report would have been more revealing,” Saunooke said. “It basically ended up being nothing more than (Mitchell saying), ‘I talked to a lot of people, some wouldn’t talk to me and it’s up to the commissioner.’ “

Canseco tried to get into the Dec. 13 New York news conference where the Mitchell Report was released, but was barred by Major League Baseball officials who said it was a “media only” event.

He later told Fox Business Network, “I saw the list of players, and there are definitely a lot of players missing.”

Saunooke would not say which current or former major leaguers would be identified as steroid users in the new book.

The book will be co-written by former Sports Illustrated reporter Don Yaeger; the Post said the publisher would be Penguin Books.

Roberto Heras, the three-time Spanish Vuelta champion, reportedly has quit professional cycling after serving a two-year ban for doping.

The 33-year-old Spaniard — whose doping ban ended in October — said he received offers from cycling teams. However, under the sport’s code of ethics, he cannot join a ProTour team for two more years.

“I have thrown in the towel,” Heras said in Saturday editions of Madrid, Spain’s sports daily Marca.

The Liberty Seguros rider tested positive for EPO in the 2005 Spanish Vuelta, one of the top races in the European cycling season.