BRIEFLY : SAMPRAS WINS EVEN WITH ACHY SHOULDER.

Pete Sampras, playing with an aching shoulder, beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 in the semifinal of the Paris Open on Saturday, and will play Jonas Bjorkman for the title.

Bjorkman, seeded 12th, advanced to today's final by defeating defending champion Thomas Enqvist 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Bjorkman also gained a berth in the season-ending ATP Tour World Championships. Sampras had already made the field in the tournament in Hanover beginning Nov. 11.

Top-seeded Jana Novotna beat defending champion Conchita Martinez 6-4, 6-1 in Moscow to advance to the Kremlin Cup final against unseeded Ai Sugiyama, Japan's top player. Sugiyama, No. 30 in the world rankings, eliminated Dominique Van Roost of Belgium 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

MOTOR SPORTS: NASCAR used an obscure rule to add Ricky Craven to the lineup for today's Dura-Lube 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Craven, who has used the maximum seven allowable provisionals based on top-40 car-owner points already this season, was unable to qualify his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet among the top 38 drivers.

With nobody eligible to take the sometimes-used fifth provisional that goes to a former series champion unable to qualify for the race, NASCAR chose to add Craven based on 1996 car-owner points.

BOXING: Former champion Pernell Whitaker could be facing a six-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance before his last fight Oct. 17. Whitaker's co-manager, Shelly Finkel, confirmed the test results.

OLYMPICS: It's all but certain that the United States will bid to host a record ninth Olympics in 2012. The policy-making board of the U.S. Olympic Committee voted unanimously to put an American city into the running for another Summer Games.

The full board of directors is expected to approve the motion today in Orlando, Fla.

GOLF: Colin Montgomerie is the clear favorite to capture his record fifth straight European money title after the third round of the $1.6 million Volvo Masters in Jerez, Spain. He used three birdies on the last four holes to shoot a 71 and fight off the challenge of Bernhard Langer and Darren Clarke, his two other contenders for the title.

Three strokes behind Montgomerie, Langer carded a 74 and Clarke had a 77.

BASEBALL: Baltimore Orioles manager Davey Johnson doesn't know yet whether he will return to the team next season and, if so, under what conditions. In a 90-minute telephone conversation Thursday, owner Peter Angelos and Johnson aired their differences over a spat involving a $10,500 fine imposed on second baseman Roberto Alomar.

Johnson asked Alomar to pay the fine to a charity in which the manager's wife is a fund raiser. Angelos is livid, saying the money belongs to the team.