HOCKEY
U.S. eliminated
The United States has been eliminated from contention at the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto after a 4-2 loss to Canada on Tuesday night that featured a clinical, dominant performance by the tournament favorite. The U.S. (0-2) couldn’t keep up with Canada’s talent, depth or speed in a game it needed to win to stay alive. Canada and Team Europe clinched spots in the semifinals, while the Americans are left to analyze what went wrong on the international stage yet again. Matt Duchene scored twice and Corey Perry and Patrice Bergeron each had a goal for Canada, which got 34 saves from Carey Price. U.S. goalie Jonathan Quick stopped 30 shots, keeping the game from becoming even more of a blowout. Ryan McDonagh and T.J Oshie scored for the U.S., which ended Price’s shutout streak at 228:41. U.S. General Manager Dean Lombardi said in June that his goal was to build a team that could beat Canada. This loss dropped the U.S. to 1-5 against the world’s top hockey power in best-on-best competition going back to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The Americans still have one round-robin game left, Thursday against the similarly lame-duck Czech Republic.TENNIS
Wozniacki advances
A resurgent Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the second round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Tuesday while gaining revenge over Belinda Bencic for last year's semifinal defeat. Continuing the form that took her to the U.S. Open semifinals, Wozniacki hit 10 aces in the 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Bencic to set up a second-round meeting with fourth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro. The result ended a run of four consecutive defeats for Wozniacki against the Swiss player. Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan upset fifth-seeded Madison Keys of the United States 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7) while facing down 15 aces, and sixth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia ousted Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 on a drop shot after 2 1/2 hours. The 2013 champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic beat Madison Brengle of the United States 6-3, 6-3 to set up a meeting in the second round with Rio de Janeiro Olympic champion Monica Puig of Puerto Rico.
Sidorenko wins
Sixth-seeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas lost in the first round of the St. Petersburg Open in straight sets to French qualifier Alexandre Sidorenko on Tuesday. The St. Petersburg-born Sidorenko, playing his first tour-level match this year, produced some timely big serves to win 7-5, 6-2 against his Spanish opponent, who at 32nd in the world was ranked 223 places above Sidorenko. There was a tense finish as Sidorenko wasted two match points, the second with a double fault, before serving out the victory. He next plays Italy's Paolo Lorenzi, who had to dig deep to beat German qualifier Mischa Zverev 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0.
Lepchenko cleared
American Varvara Lepchenko tested positive four times for meldonium, according to the International Tennis Federation, which cleared her because it was determined she took the substance before its ban went into effect on Jan. 1. The ITF announced Tuesday that Lepchenko had been provisionally suspended in March but it was later determined that she "bore no fault or negligence for the violation." Meldonium, also known as mildronate, is the same substance for which Maria Sharapova tested positive, drawing a two-year ban that she has appealed. She acknowledged taking the drug in January. The Latvian-made drug is typically used for heart conditions. The ITF said meldonium was in Lepchenko's system in decreasing amounts on Jan. 7, Feb. 1, March 1 and April 7. She appealed her provisional suspension, saying she had last taken mildronate tablets "on or around" Dec. 20. Lepchenko, 30, who was born in Uzbekistan, is No. 79 in this week's WTA rankings.
BASEBALL
Lawsuit filed
The coach who reported residency issues that led to Little League stripping a Chicago team of its 2014 U.S. championship has sued Little League Baseball International. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Evergreen Park Coach Chris Janes filed the lawsuit Monday in Chicago federal court. Janes claims the league initiated a cover up after he came forward to say Jackie Robinson West players lived outside approved league boundaries. Janes said the league said his claim had no merit, exposing him and his family to "public humiliation, death threats and fear for their lives." The lawsuit states that three months later the league "changed its opinion" and found the team had falsified a boundary map. Janes is seeking damages for emotional distress. Little League International declined to comment on pending litigation.
BASKETBALL
Love's contribution
Kevin Love is making what UCLA's athletic department calls "a significant financial contribution" to the university where he helped the Bruins reach the Final Four in his lone season. The UCLA athletic department said Love's unspecified donation announced Tuesday matches the amount Russell Westbrook gave last December, which was the largest by a former Bruins basketball player in school history. In return for his gift, UCLA's strength and conditioning facility, to be located in the new Mo Ostin Basketball Center, will be named for Love. He led the Bruins to the Pac-10 regular-season and tournament titles and the Final Four during the 2007-08 season. Love left school early for the NBA draft, where he was selected fifth overall. He helped Cleveland win the NBA championship in June. Love will be honored during UCLA's football game against Stanford at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. The new basketball training and performance facility is under construction near Pauley Pavilion and is scheduled to open in fall 2017.
ROWING
Heading to Boston
The 2016 edition of Head of The Charles Regatta in Boston is set to feature several U.S. and international rowers that are coming off capturing medals during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Members of the gold medal winning U.S. women's eight, as well as fellow gold medalists Mahe Drysdale of New Zealand and Croatia's Valent Sinkovic are scheduled to compete during the 52nd Regatta, scheduled for Oct. 22 and 23. It has become one of the world's premier rowing events, annually attracting some 400,000 spectators to the banks of the Charles River. Other Rio Olympians scheduled to compete include silver medalists Gary and Paul O'Donovan of Ireland, Croatia's Damir Martin and Australia's James McRae. Norwegian bronze medalist Olaf Tufte will be among the close to 11,000 competitors, along with top U.S. collegiate and elite rowing clubs. The 52nd edition of the Regatta will also feature two new events and an expansion of Para Rowing events.
MOTOR SPORTS
Driscoll charged
The former girlfriend of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch has been charged with stealing from a military charity she led. Court documents don't say how much prosecutors believe Patricia Driscoll took from the District of Columbia-based Armed Forces Foundation, whose mission is to support service members, veterans and their families. But a 2014 tax form for the non-profit says that the "foundation has become aware of suspected misappropriations" by Driscoll totaling more than $599,000 for the years 2006 to 2014. It says she misused money for meals, travel, parking tickets, makeup and gifts. Driscoll was indicted on seven federal charges including wire fraud, mail fraud, and tax evasion, and one count of attempts to interfere with administration of Internal Revenue laws. Driscoll declined to comment when reached by telephone Tuesday.
Sports on 09/21/2016