Sports briefs

Howard spectacular as U.S. ties Argentina Goalkeeper Tim Howard and the United States appear ready for World Cup qualifying. Howard had four spectacular point-blank saves on Julio Cruz, Landon Donovan made his 100th international appearance, and the United States tied top-ranked Argentina 0-0 on Sunday night in East Rutherford, N.J.

The match, which ended in driving rain and lightning, drew 78,682 fans, the fourth-largest crowd to watch a soccer game at Giants Stadium and the ninth-biggest to see the U.S. national team at home.

Both teams ended the chippy match shorthanded. The United States lost Pablo Mastroeni to a second yellow card in the 71st minute, and Argentine captain Javier Mascherano got two yellow cards in the 86th.

Donovan, the U.S. captain, became the fourth-youngest player in the world to make 100 international appearances at 26 years, 3 months, 4 days.

• Luka Modric scored from the penalty spot in the fourth minute, giving Croatia a 1-0 victory over Austria in Group B in Vienna in the opening game of the European Championship. In another Groub B match, Lukas Podolski scored twice as Germany beat Poland 2-0 in Klagenfurt, Austria.

• Brian Ching scored twice and had an assist as Houston beat visiting Toronto FC 3-1 in an MLS game.

Big Brown still a mystery The morning after the Belmont Stakes, Big Brown stopped to pose for photographers as if he had won the Triple Crown. Everyone except the horse knew otherwise.

Co-owner Michael Iavarone said Big Brown had a thorough examination after the race and again Sunday morning. "There's nothing physically that's shown up," he said, speaking by cell phone. "I'm as confused as anybody. The only thing we're resorting to right now is the track might have been too deep for him and he didn't like it out there."

• Favored Ginger Brew cruised to a six-length victory in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks in Toronto. The Oaks is the first leg in the filly Triple Tiara.

Whalen leads Sun to Eastern lead Former Gophers star Lindsay Whalen had 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as Connecticut (7-1) beat Washington 87-79 for its fourth consecutive victory and took a half-game lead over Detroit atop the Eastern Conference.

Sacramento 70, New York 63: Ticha Penicheiro scored nine of her 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Monarchs rallied to beat the Liberty in New York.

Cycling: Levi Leipheimer of the United States won the prologue of the Dauphine Libere cycling race in Avignon, France. Leipheimer finished the 3.5-mile time trial in 6 minutes, 10.05 seconds, with Norway's Thor Hushovd second at 6:11.42. The eight-day race is a warmup for the Tour de France.

Colleges: Joe McKeown, the women's basketball coach who led George Washington to 17 NCAA tournament appearances in 19 seasons, is leaving for Northwestern, the Washington Post reported.