31.   Alberto Tomba is in an unfamiliar role at the World Alpine Championships as he begins defense of his two titles.

32.   Also Tuesday will be the compulsory dances, with Olympic champions and overwhelming favorites Oksana Grischuk and Evgeny Platov beginning the defense of their title.

33.   American Todd Eldredge begins defense of his world title against Canadian Elvis Stojko, who took the world title the two previous years.

34.   Assuming his knee is strong enough for him to walk and swing, Woods will begin defense of his National Pro-Am title Thursday morning at Spyglass Hill.

35.   Atletico Madrid begins defense of its title on Sunday at home against Celta.

36.   Brent Geiberger begins defense of his title Thursday, trying to become the first back-to-back GHO winner.

37.   Carlos Moya begins the defense of his title against Markus Hipfl, and would face either Petr Korda or Alberto Martin in the second round.

38.   Celtic begins the defense of its title at home to modest Dunfermline Saturday while Rangers has a tough opener against another title contender, Hearts, on Sunday.

39.   Davenport will be seeded second, behind Hingis, as she begins the defense of her Chase Championships title.

40.   Defending titlist and four-time champion Bayern Munich begins its defense with a visit to Feyenoord.