Off the wire

HOCKEY Silfverberg breaks hand

Anaheim Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg will be out for at least a month after a slash from Ottawa’s Jared Cowen broke his hand. Silfverberg was slashed by Cowen midway through the third period of the Ducks’ 2-1 victory in Ottawa on Friday night. The Ducks announced Silfverberg’s injury Saturday, saying the Swedish forward will be out 4-6 weeks. Silfverberg has four goals and three assists in his first 11 games. The Ducks acquired Silfverberg in an offseason trade with the Senators for forward Bobby Ryan. Forward Stefan Noesen, the other Anaheim prospect acquired from Ottawa in the trade, is out for the season with a knee injury.

TENNIS Serena reaches finals

An exhausted Serena Williams managed to hang on to beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on Saturday and will play Li Na in the final of the WTA Championships. Williams was in obvious discomfort throughout the match, moving slowly on the court and holding her face in a towel during changeovers. “Last night I was in my hotel and I was lying down, and I just hit a wall,” said Williams, who improved to 77-4 this season. “I literally felt like I just hit a wall.” Li advanced to her first WTA Championships final by sweeping 2011 winner Petra Kvitova 6-4, 6-2, setting up a showdown today between the two oldest players in the tournament. It’s only the second time in the history of the event that two players over 30 - Williams at 32 and Li at 31 - have made it to the last four. The season-ending tournament features the top eight players in the world.

Defending champion David Ferrer beat former winner Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday to advance to the Valencia (Spain) Open final. Ferrer will play Mikhail Youzhny, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Dmitry Tursunov in an all-Russian semifinal. Third-ranked Ferrer saved the only break chance Almagro had on the indoor hard court while taking three of six break opportunities. Ferrer improved to 14-0 against the fellow Spaniard.

Roger Federer set up a rematch with Juan Martin del Potro for his hometown Swiss Indoors title by beating Vasek Pospisil in a tense semifinal in Basel, Switzerland. Federer advanced to his eighth consecutive Basel final with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-5 victory over the 40th-ranked Canadian. The third-seeded Federer faltered when serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set. He fell behind 3-1 in the decider before rallying in front of a capacity crowd of 9,200 at St. Jakobhalle. Earlier, defending champion del Potro also let the second set slip away against an unseeded opponent before beating Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

BASKETBALL Jazz signs PG Tinsley

Free agent Jamaal Tinsley has rejoined the Utah Jazz, who are trying to shore up a backcourt weakened by the injury to Trey Burke. Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the team’s third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3.6 points and 4.0 assists. He has also played for Indianapolis and Memphis and has career averages of 8.6 points and 6.1 assists.

The Phoenix Suns exercised their 2014-15 options on twin forwards Markieff and Marcus Morris and center Miles Plumlee on Saturday. Markieff Morris has averaged 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 145 games in two seasons with the season. Marcus Morris joined the Suns in a midseason trade with Houston and averaged 5.7 points in 23 games with Phoenix. Plumlee was acquired in an offseason trade with Indiana.

The Chicago Bulls have waived center Dexter Pittman and forward D.J. White. Both signed with Chicago as free agents Sept. 27.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have exercised their fourth-year contract options on point guard Ricky Rubio and small forward Derrick Williams, as expected. The move on Williams was less of a sure thing, but the Wolves are counting on continued improvement this season from the second overall pick in the 2011 draft. The decision on these third-year players was announced by the Wolves on Saturday, along with the move to waive center Chris Johnson.

The Clippers waived forward Lou Amundson on Saturday, leaving their roster at 14 players going into next week’s season opener. Amundson averaged 1.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in seven preseason games, including one start. He has appeared in 327 career games for Philadelphia, Utah, Phoenix, Golden State, Indiana, Minnesota, Chicago and New Orleans. He ended last season with the Hornets, averaging 2.4 points and 3.2 rebounds.

The Miami Heat reduced their roster to the NBA regular-season limit of 15 players Saturday with the release of forward Eric Griffin and center Justin Hamilton. The moves keep forward Michael Beasley and guard Roger Mason Jr. among the remaining 15 despite arriving to training camp with non-guaranteed contracts.

BASEBALL

3 Nationals have surgery

Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg has had bone chips removed from his surgically repaired right elbow. The team said Bryce Harper and Adam LaRoche also had operations this week. Harper had the bursa in his left knee repaired after it had hampered him last season. LaRoche had his left, throwing elbow cleaned up. Strasburg, who had Tommy John surgery on his elbow three years ago, missed most of the 2011 season recovering from it. His surgery was done in Los Angeles, and Strasburg is expected to be ready in time for spring training. LaRoche and Harper are also expected to be ready by spring.

BOXING Hopkins retains belt

Bernard Hopkins turned his bout with Karo Murat into a brawl and retained his share of the light heavyweight championship Saturday with a unanimous decision in Atlantic City, N.J. Hopkins (54-6-2) turned the later rounds into his own personal mission to score his first knockout victory since 2004. He battered Murat for most of the seventh, eighth and ninth rounds to help defend his championship at Boardwalk Hall. Hopkins, 48, extended his record as the oldest fighter to defend a major championship. He had winning scores of 119-108, 119-108 and 117-110. Murat (25-2-1) lost a point in the seventh round for hitting after the break and was warned several times for questionable blows. Referee Steve Smoger shoved Murat in the face after another questionable hit after the bell to end the 12th.

HORSE RACING Clearly Now wins at Belmont

Clearly Now beat Forty Tales by 1½ lengths in the $200,000 Bold Ruler Handicap for sprinters at Belmont Park. Jose Lezcano was aboard for trainer Brian Lynch as the 3-year-old improved to 4 for 10. He paid $9.80 to win. The time was 1:21.52 for seven furlongs. Stanwyck pulled a 21-1 upset, holding off even-money favorite Centring by a head in the $200,000 Turnback the Alarm Handicap for fillies and mares. Jockey Alex Solis teamed with trainer John Shirreffs as the 4-year-old captured her stakes debut. Stanwyck paid $44.80 for her third win in 10 starts. The time was 1:42.62 for 1 1/16 miles.

Sports, Pages 23 on 10/27/2013

Upcoming Events