Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — HOCKEY

U.S. rolls at junior worlds

The United States routed Germany 8-0 Thursday at the world junior ice hockey tournament in UFA, Russia, behind a goal and two assists each from Alex Galchenyuk and Riley Barber. This was the first Group B game for the Americans, who are tied for first place with Canada. The Canadians downed Germany 9-3 on Wednesday. The U.S. plays Russia today. Also Thursday, Switzerland beat Latvia 7-2 in Group A. U.S. goaltender John Gibson stopped 19 shots through two periods. He was replaced for the third by Jon Gillies, who made seven saves. Sean Kuraly added a goal and an assist for the Americans. Goalie Marvin Cupper had 38 saves for the Germans. The Americans were up 3-0 after the first period on goals by Kuraly, Jacob Trouba and Galchenyuk. They scored another three in the second - Barber, Shayne Gostisbehere and Ryan Hartman. J.T. Miller then scored on a solo effort midway through the third and Seth Jones completed the rout less than two minutes later. Russia is third in Group B after beating Slovakia in overtime Wednesday. Germany is in last place.

BASEBALL Fisk pleads guilty

Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk pleaded guilty Thursday toa misdemeanor drunken-driving charge, two months after police found him asleep in his pickup in a suburban Chicago cornfield. Fisk, 64, was sentenced to one year of court supervision and must pay $1,250 in court costs.He also must undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and counseling. Fisk’s attorney, Stephen White, said in Will County court that Fisk wanted to accept responsibility for what he did. “He stepped up to the plate,” White said. New Lenox police found Fisk unconscious in the truck Oct. 22 and said there was anopen bottle of vodka on the floor. New Lenox is about 35 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. Fisk became part of an unforgettable baseball moment while playing for the Boston Red Sox when he belteda 12th-inning home run that won Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. He played 11 seasons with the Red Sox and 13 with the Chicago White Sox.

John Maine is hoping to returnto the majors with the Marlins. The pitcher has signed a minor league contract with Miami and will compete for the fifth spot in its rotation. The 31-year-old right-hander had a record of 41-36 with an ERA of 4.35 from 2004 to 2010 with Baltimore and the Mets. His best season was in 2007, when he went 15-10 with the New York Mets. This year he went 8-5 with a 4.97 ERA in 16 games for the New York Yankees’ Class AAA affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. TENNIS

Murray loses in Abu Dhabi

Andy Murray’s 2013 season is off to a shaky start - a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Janko Tipsarevic on Thursdayin the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Two early breaks in each set helped Tipsarevic dispatch the thirdranked Murray 6-3 in the opening match. The ninthranked Serb nextfaces Nicolas Almagro, a late replacement for Rafael Nadal, who pulled out with a stomach bug. Fifth-ranked David Ferrer defeated sixth-ranked Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4 to set up a semifinal against top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who won the tournament last year. Ferrer easily won the first set after jumping to a 5-0 lead. He broke serve early in the second.

HORSE RACING Long shot wins Big A feature

Long shot Score Boyera rallied up the rail in the mud to beat Twice the Lady by 1 1/2 lengths Thursday in the $69,580 allowance feature for fillies and mares at Aqueduct in New York. Score Boyera, the 6-year-old ridden by Junior Alvarado and trained by David Jacobson, raced to her third victory in 28 starts, running a mile and 70 yards in 1:43.66. Score Boyera paid $21.60, $6.80 and $3.90. Twice the Lady returned $3.20 and $2.80, and Stephanie Jayne paid $4.20 to show.

BASKETBALL Nets dump Johnson after recent struggles

NEW YORK - Avery Johnson was fired Thursday as coachof the Brooklyn Nets, who have fallen to .500 in their season of new surroundings and elevated expectations.

General Manager Billy King announced the dismissal in a statement. Assistant P.J. Carlesimo will coach the Nets at home today against Charlotte, according to someone with knowledge ofthe plans.

“The Nets ownership would like to express thanks to Avery for his efforts and to wish him every success in the future,” owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in a statement.

After a strong start to their first season in Brooklyn, the Nets have lost 10 of 13 games to fall well behind the first-place New York Knicks, the team they so badly want to compete with in their new home. But after beating the Knicks in their first meeting Nov. 26, probably the high point of Johnson’s tenure, the Nets went 5-10 and frustrations have been mounting.

The Nets were embarrassed by Boston on national TV on Christmas, then were routed by Milwaukee 108-93 on Wednesday night for their fifth loss in six games.

Guard Deron Williams recently complained about Johnson’s offense, and Nets CEO Brett Yormark took to Twitter after the loss to Celtics to voice his displeasure with the performance.

Brooklyn started the season 11-4, winning five in a row to end November, when Johnson was Eastern Conference coach of the month. But he couldn’t do anything to stop this slump, one the Nets never anticipated after asummer spending spree they believed would take them towardthe top of their conference.

Johnson has been the Nets’ coach for a little more than two seasons. He went 60-116 with the Nets, who moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn to start the 2012-2013 season. Johnson coached the Dallas Mavericks to a spot in the NBA Finals in 2006.

This is the NBA’s second coaching change this season, following the dismissal of Mike Brown by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Johnson arrived in New Jersey with a 194-70 record, a .735 winning percentage that was the highest in NBA history, but had little chance of success in his first two seasons while the Nets focused all their planning on the move to Brooklyn.

They looked to make a splash this summer when they re-signed Williams and fellow starters Gerald Wallace, Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries, traded for Atlanta All-Star Joe Johnson (Little Rock Central, Arkansas Razorbacks) and added veteran depth with players such as Reggie Evans, C.J. Watson and Andray Blatche.

Johnson didn’t have a contract beyond this season but seemed to have the confidence of Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire who before the season said he had faith in “the Avery defense system.”

Some predicted the Nets would finish as high as second in the East behind defending champion Miami, and the projections seemed warranted when the Nets started quickly amid much fanfare. But all the good publicity faded in recent weeks once the losing started.