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Sampras, along with teammate Andre Agassi, won clutch singles matches Sunday to lift the U.S. over Czech in Davis Cup tennis action. Sampras gutted out his win despite an injured thigh.

"I was so down in the dumps on Friday (after a loss), the way I played and the way things went, that I wanted to redeem myself and go out and play with more energy, play with more intensity, and I did that," Sampras said.

The Indiana men's basketball coach could be a permanent fixture here. He has hotly denied recently revealed claims that he choked player Neil Reed in 1997 during practice.

But a videotape released Tuesday shows Knight apparently choking Reed. It's Latrell Sprewell in reverse. While the incident lasts but a few seconds it does call in question Knight and all of his defenders claiming it never happened.

Hundreds of Knight supporters rallied on campus Sunday to praise Knight and lambaste his detractors. This despite years of documented bullying, intimidation and rage by Knight, actions that would have gotten other people fired from their job years ago. But in the world of American sport winning forgives all. But since Knight hasn't won an NCAA title in 13 years and has seen his team exit early from recent tournaments his tenure may be shaky not because of his antics but because of his record.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

TROY AIKMAN GETS MARRIED

Eric Anderson, an openly gay high school track coach in Southern California, teaches a course on the "Sociology of Sport" at UC_Irvine. He says the most-asked question he gets from his students, many of them jocks, is ``Is Troy Aikman gay?"

What could have given this overwhelmingly straight group of students that idea? Has it been the steady rumors from myriad sources over the years? Has it been the public surfacing of Troy as Gay in the Dallas area, including in a book by respected sportswriter Skip Bayless? Has it been the weird cover story in Sports Illustrated that painted the Dallas Cowboys quarterback as a lonely, AOL chat room regular waiting for Ms. Right? The same Troy who said his ideal woman would be a cross between Cindy Crawford and his mom?

Troy has publicly denied the rumors and has offered to punch out Bayless. David Kopay, the former NFL running back who came out in the 1970s, says on his one meeting with Troy (on a plane flight) that his gaydar detected nothing other than Troy is like any 100% heterosexual male who pines for his ideal mate to be half-mom, half-aging cover model.

Aikman, 33, certainly silenced the rumors by his marriage Saturday to former Cowboys publicist Rhonda Worthey, 31, in a private ceremony in Dallas. After all only straight people get married.

BASEBALL

The honeymoon may already be over for Ken Griffey Jr. in Cincinnati.

Griffey, who came to play in his hometown amid much fanfare and for millions of dollars, has been mired in a slump that saw him batting under .200 (his grand slam Tuesday may be a sign the slump is ending).

What did Griffey blame his slump on? His batting stance? Good pitching? No, his number. Seems he wants to wear No. 24, his number in Seattle. But the Reds have all but retired No. 24 to honor Hall of Famer Tony Perez. Griffey and his dad, a team coach, have been apparently adament about wanting the number and Perez and the Reds have been equally steadfast in saying no.

One sign of strain is Griffey's annoyance with the Cincinnati media, which are pretty docile by comparison with New York or Philadelphia. Like Marlene Deitrich, Griffey just wants to be left alone.

''Have I snapped?'' he asked the Cincinnati Post rather defensively Sunday. ''Have I thrown
anything? Have I yelled at anybody?"

Not yet, but it's only April.

It's always lovely to see a hypocrite get his due.

Consider Green Bay Packer tight end Mark Chmura. The 31-year-old boycotted the Packers' trip to the White House after the team won the Super Bowl in 1997. He has been publicly critical of Bill Clinton and his moral failings. He has designs to run for office as a family-values type of conservative.

Better put those plans on hold, Mark.

Chmura and a 42-year-old friend were arrested in the sexual assault of two teens at a post-prom party over the weekend.

As reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

``According to court documents, Chmura and Gessert played drinking games with the teens. Wearing only underwear, the two men joined a girl, 17, and a woman, 18, in a hot tub.
Chmura is accused of later having sexual intercourse with the 17-year-old girl in a bathroom.

``The girl told police that Chmura "said nothing at all while this was occurring, that she said
nothing to him and she was in a state of shock," court documents say.

``Gessert had sexual contact with an 18-year-old woman, court documents say. Both cases involved non-consensual sex, according to court documents.

``If convicted of third-degree sexual assault, Chmura and Gessert each would face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Authorities say Chmura could face a second count of having sexual intercourse with a child because his accuser is younger than 18.

``Gerald Boyle, Chmura's attorney, acknowledged Tuesday that his client was at the Gessert house, but he was waiting to see what evidence authorities could present that an assault occurred.''

The Tampa Bay Bucs showed Keyshawn Johnson the money and he's heading south after being traded by the New York Jets for two first-round draft picks.

Johnson, a great receiver famous for his book ``Throw Me the Damn Ball,'' signed an eight-year deal worth nearly $7 million a season, with a signing bonus of about $13 million.

We hope money makes Johnson happy since the Bucs' passing game is something out of the 1950s. And with weak-arm Shaun King at quarterback let's hope Keyshawn is able to make 20-yard gains out of 5-yard passes.

But for now Johnson is happy to be leaving the mean streets of New York for the sun and fun of Florida.

"I really like Tampa. It's slower. There's beaches. There's grass. There's land," he told Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

GOLF

It wasn't so long ago that Augusta National wouldn't even allow someone "of color" to play on the course.

But for the second time in four years, a racial minority has won the Masters. In 1997, it was Tiger Woods. Vijay Singh of Fiji won the 2000 edition, holding off a late surge from the '97 champion, among others. The times they are a changin.'

NHL

With the playoffs upon us, two of Outsports' reader favorites are still recovering from injuries.

Peter Forsberg, of the Colorado Avalanche, who separated his right shoulder during the last
regular-season game, is expected to miss the first game of the Avs' series against the Phoenix Coyotes. He should be back later in the series.

Eric Lindros, of the Philadelphia Flyers, is still recovering from a concussion he suffered in March. While he has been cleared for light exercise, he is expected to miss some playoff games.

We at Outsports wish them both speedy recoveries - for their sake and ours.