Tales Azzoni

GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- American archer Brady Ellison had a bad day at the Pan American Games, and it was still good enough for gold.

The world's top-ranked archer overcame a sub-par performance to defeat Crispin Duenas of Canada on Saturday, capping a nearly perfect year and showing he remains the world's most dominant shooter.

"I was just a little bit off, maybe a just a bit weak in my shot," the 22-year-old Ellison said. "It's archery, sometimes the body is just different. But I shot good on the arrows that I needed to shoot well to win the match."

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Forrest Griffin knew things had changed when a group of school teachers came up to talk to him as he strolled along a Rio de Janeiro beach.

"I've been walking around, and now people know who I am," the American fighter said Thursday. "I was surprised, that never happened the last time I was here. You can just tell the sport is much more popular now."

RIO DE JANEIRO -- World champion Spain was drawn on Saturday with 1998 winner France, Georgia, Belarus and Finland in a qualifying group for the 2014 tournament -- the first World Cup in Brazil in 64 years.

Officially kicking off proceedings for the event, the draw placed England with 2012 European Championship co-hosts Ukraine and Poland in Group H. Italy will meet Denmark and the Czech Republic in Group B, while Germany faces Sweden, Austria and Ireland in Group C.

Spain and England were the final two teams to find out their qualifying opponents in the draw, and either one had a chance to end up in France's group.

SAO PAULO -- Dario Franchitti is not entirely pleased with his start to the IndyCar season despite having the lead in the drivers' standings going into Sunday's Sao Paulo 300.

Franchitti began defense of his IndyCar series title with a victory and two podium finishes ahead of Sunday's race in the streets of South America's biggest city. Still, the Scot feels he needs to improve on his performance to be competitive the rest of the year and remain in position to win his third straight championship.

SAO PAULO -- Brazil needs to improve the pace of upgrades to airports, infrastructure and stadiums before the 2014 World Cup, according to a report from a government watchdog group.

The Brazilian Audit Court criticized officials for missing deadlines, not controlling costs and a lack of transparency in their work. The Audit Court is responsible for overseeing how the Brazilian government spends public money.

Brazil's World Cup organizing committee said in an e-mail on Friday that it had no comment at this time on the report.

SAO PAULO -- Ronaldinho is set to end his contract with AC Milan on Wednesday, clearing the way for his return to his native Gremio, the Brazilian club said.