Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — BASKETBALL Auburn players out

Auburn forward Josh Dollard will not play this season for medical reasons and will take a redshirt year, and forward Quan Prowell will be suspended for at least six games for violating team rules, Coach Jeff Lebo said Monday. Dollard, who will have two years of eligibility left, was the Tigers' leading scorer and rebounder last year. He averaged 12.5 points and seven rebounds. Lebo didn't disclose the reason for Dollard's decision. Dollard has started 35 games over the past two seasons and was a key player for a team returning all five starters from a 17-15 team. Prowell averaged 12 points and 5.3 rebounds last season, scoring a career-high 26 points in the regular-season finale at Mississippi with the Western Division title on the line.

Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl has allowed sophomore forward Duke Crews to start practicing with the team after serving a month-long suspension. Pearl told The Knoxville News Sentinel that he suspended Crews on Sept. 26 for being late to several team functions and because a resident assistant's search of Crews' campus apartment turned up what university police said was a minor amount of marijuana. Crews wasn't present for the search of the apartment that he shares with other students. No charges were filed in the case. Crews averaged 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds and led the Vols in blocked shots (32) and field goal percentage (.518) as a true freshman in 2006-2007.

LSU senior guard Katie Antony has decided to end her playing career to focus on a career in medicine. She is scheduled to graduate in May with a communication studies degree and will pursue medical school. Antony played in 24 games last season, averaging 2.9 points and 1.5 rebounds.

Texas freshman guard Dogus Balbay, who injured his right knee during a pickup game earlier this month, will have surgery today and be out indefinitely. He averaged 13.5 points and 7.5 assists his senior season at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H.

The New Jersey Nets opened two roster spots, trading swingman Bernard Robinson, center Mile Ilic and cash considerations to the New Orleans Hornets for veteran guardDavid Wesley. The Nets have told Wesley not to report and the team will eat the guaranteed portion of his $1.75 million contract and waive him at some point, General Manager Ed Stefanski said. Wesley's salary will count against the NBA's $55.63 million salary cap. The trade also helped the team get under the league's luxury tax level of $67.87 million, Stefanski said. Teams have to pay a $1 tax for every $1 they are above the tax figure.

Guard John Lucas III was cut by the Houston Rockets. The 5-11 Lucas, son of former Rocket John Lucas, appeared in 60 regular-season games over the past two seasons and averaged 3.1 points.

MOTOR SPORTS Water got into fuel supply

NASCAR conceded Monday that water got into the fuel supply of more than two cars during the Nextel Cup Pep Boys Auto 500 on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., apparently leading to a crash that took out several top contenders inthe closing laps. Denny Hamlin was leading with three laps to go when his car stalled while taking the green flag after a caution period. Martin Truex, who led the most laps, smashed into the back of Hamlin's car and finished 31st. Hamlin slipped to 24th. Both were in the Chase for the championship. "There are multiple teams that are showing positive for some level of water contamination level in their fuel," said John Darby, NASCAR's Nextel Cup director. "I can't tell you the exact number. It's more than two and less than [the full field of] 43 at the moment." Darby dismissed sabotage as a possible explanation, saying too many teams were affected for anyone to have been singled out. Darby said extensive testing done by Sunoco, NASCAR's official fuel supplier, showed no signs of problems in the underground storage tanks at the speedway. The problem likely occurred in the piping that runs from the tanks to the pumps, or in the pumps themselves, which teams use to fill the high-tech cans that are used for fueling.

TENNIS Fish uses 19 aces

American Mardy Fish defeated Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 (7), 6-4 with the help of 19 aces and advanced to the second round of the Paris Masters. Fish saved three break points in the first set and saved a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker with an ace. In the second set, Fish managed the only break of the match to take control.

Maria Sharapova clinched the final place at the season-ending $3 million WTA Championships on Nov. 6-11 in Madrid, Spain, and Venus Williams withdrew because of dizzy spells. The top eight players qualify, and Williams opted out despite being seventh in the standings. The Wimbledon champion said she hasn't recovered after experiencing dizzy spells at the U.S. Open. Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, Anna Chakvetadze and Daniela Hantuchova also qualified.

BOXING

Three banned for shoplifting

Three Romanian boxers were sent home from the World Boxing Championships in Chicago and banned for life after reportedly caught shoplifting at a department store. Heavyweight Marius Bogdan Dinu, middleweight Ronald Gavril and featherweight Gabriel Julian Stan were caught shoplifting at Nordstrom's on Friday night, according to a release from the International Boxing Association. Chicago police had no information on the case, a spokesman said.

HOCKEY Player suspended for hit

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Randy Jones was suspended for two games by the NHL for a hit that left Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron with a concussion and broken nose. Bergeron lost consciousness and had to be taken from the ice on a stretcher after Jones checked him into the boards from behind in the first period of Philadelphia's 2-1 victory Saturday. Jones will forfeit $5,614.98 of his $525,000 annual salary. Colin Campbell, the NHL's vice president of hockey operations, said that he decided against a lengthier suspension because "Jones did not intend to injure his opponent."GOLF Chopra earns first career PGA Tour victory

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Daniel Chopra was born in Sweden, raised in India by grandparents and had to fly overseas just to buy golf balls. He spent time on about every pro tour imaginable, and those stops flashedthrough his mind as he stood over the final putt.

"You never know how you're going to react," Chopra said.

He reacted just fine - and got his first PGA Tour victory.

Chopra reclaimed the outright lead with a birdie at the par-5 16th hole Monday morning and held on to win the oft-delayed Ginnsur Mer Classic, shooting a 2-under-par 71 for a 19-under 273 to edge Fredrik Jacobsen (69) and Shigeki Maruyama (69) by one shot at Tesoro Club.

"It's amazing," Chopra said. "It's something that I've dreamed about for a long time."

The victory came in Chopra's 133rd career start, and the $810,000winner's check pushed his career earnings to just shy of $5 million.

Chopra, Maruyama and Jacobsen all entered the morning 18 under, with Chopra having three holes left to play and the others with two.

Chopra's 10-foot birdie putt - after missing the fairway off the tee - gave him a one-shot lead, after Maruyama and Jacobsen both missed the green and scrambled for par at the par-3 17th.

Chopra hit the green on the 17th, albeit 55 feet from the hole, and made a 4-footer to save par and maintain the lead. At the 18th, needing par to win, hisdrive found a bunker, but his second shot stopped 25 feet from the hole to set up the clinching two-putt.

Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) tied for fifth at 13-under 279 and earned $158,063. Bryce Molder (Conway) tied for 21st at 9-under 283 and earned $52,200. Craig Lile (Arkansas Razorbacks) tied for 59th at 1-under 291 and earned $9,720.