Russia pulled a surprise at yesterday's draw for the Davis Cup final in Portland, Ore., leaving fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko out of the singles matches.

Davydenko was relegated to playing doubles with Igor Andreev, and captain Shamil Tarpischev picked Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny for singles.

Many expected Davydenko, as the highest-ranked player on the Russian team, to play singles in the competition, which runs today through Sunday at Portland's Memorial Coliseum.

Instead, Tursunov will face sixth-ranked Andy Roddick in the opening match today, followed by 13th-ranked James Blake against Youzhny.

Davydenko and Andreev are slated to play the top-ranked duo of Bob and Mike Bryan tomorrow. The singles' opponents are reversed on Sunday.

"We have four strong players, be it for singles or doubles, so the choice was made for tactical reasons," said Tarpischev, who is known for his craftiness.

Even his players were taken aback.

"I learned only a couple of minutes ago at the draw ceremony," Tursunov said. "It was our captain's Christmas gift to me."

U.S. team captain Patrick McEnroe said he wasn't surprised about the twist, but he didn't expect the Bryans to face the Russian duo put forward yesterday. He predicted last-minute maneuvering on the part of the Russians, perhaps even for the reverse singles Sunday.

"I don't think they even know," he said.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

LOUISVILLE STUNS RUTGERS WITH LATE FIELD GOAL, 41-38

Brian Brohm and Louisville finally got a little revenge on Rutgers.

Art Carmody kicked a 33-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining to lift the Cardinals over the Scarlet Knights, 41-38, last night in Louisville, Ky.

Brohm, making his final collegiate start, threw for 237 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score as Louisville (6-6, 3-4 Big East) salvaged a disappointing season by rallying from an 18-point deficit to stun the Scarlet Knights (7-5, 3-4).

The Cardinals absorbed a difficult 28-25 loss at Rutgers last year when the Scarlet Knights roared back from 18 points to win, ruining Louisville's shot at a perfect season.

SWIMMING

LOCHTE, COUGHLIN SET AMERICAN RECORDS

Ryan Lochte beat Michael Phelps by 1.24 seconds with an American-record time in the latest renewal of their rivalry, and Natalie Coughlin also set an American mark on opening night of the U.S. short course national championships in Atlanta.

Lochte lowered his own mark in the 200-yard individual medley, touching in 1 minute, 40.08 seconds — 0.47 seconds better than his time from 2006. Phelps was second in 1:41.32.

Coughlin won the women's 50 free in 21.46, bettering the American record of 21.63 set in 2006 by Kara Lynn Joyce, who finished second in 21.81.

AND WHAT'S MORE

Navy football coach Paul Johnson, a former University of Hawai'i offensive coordinator, has been mentioned as a prospective candidate for head coaching jobs at Georgia Tech and SMU. ... European champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France took the lead in the ice dance event yesterday at the NHK Trophy in Sendai, Japan, where the final berths in the Grand Prix final will be determined.