WORLD CUP SOCCER U.S. rolls to 3-0 win against North Korea

The Americans won without top scorer Mia Hamm, who was being rested.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- For the first time in her storied career, Mia Hamm had to sit and watch the Women's World Cup.
While fans chanted her name and fiance Nomar Garciaparra -- the Boston shortstop -- watched from above, Hamm did nothing more strenuous than warm up during halftime of the United States' first-round match.
She felt great. She wanted to play. She wasn't about to raise a fuss.
Backups lead way
The leading scorer in international play never got into the game Sunday, as the United States let its backups lead the way to a 3-0 victory over North Korea and a spot in the quarterfinals.
"We can score three goals without the most prolific goal-scorer in the world," said Abby Wambach, who scored the first goal on a penalty kick. "When you do that, you know you have a great team, and you know you have a lot of depth."
The unbeaten Americans also have a team leader willing to go along with an extremely unorthodox strategy.
Needing only a tie to advance, coach April Heinrichs gambled that the United States could win without Hamm, 31, and captain Julie Foudy, 32, on the field for the first half.
Plays Norway Wednesday
The United States plays Norway -- the team it lost to during the gold medal game of the 2000 Olympics -- on Wednesday. The Norwegians will have an extra day of rest, having finished first-round play on Saturday.
Heinrichs wanted the two leaders to be rested for the next round.
"That was fine with me," Hamm said. "This is about a team. It's not about any one individual player."
Hamm and Foudy warmed up at halftime, sharing a laugh as they dashed across the field. Foudy started the second half, and Hamm expected to get into the game at some point as well.
Cat Reddick, the only collegian on the squad, scored twice in the second half, prompting Heinrichs to reconsider. She saw no reason to risk her best player getting hurt on a cool, windy afternoon.
"She was planning on going in, and we had the third goal of the game and April came over and said, 'You know, it's not worth it. I'm just going to rest you,' " said Wambach.
Crowd wanted to see Hamm
The decision wasn't popular with the crowd of 22,828, many of whom showed up wearing jerseys with Hamm's name and No. 9. They chanted "Mia! Mia! Mia!" as the game wound down, imploring Heinrichs to put her in.
The coach stuck with her decision, and liked the way the rest of the team responded.
"I don't think anyone goes down the path that you want to win without Mia," she said. "She's such an inspiration to all of us. After winning without her, we come out of this with a lot of confidence."