Ted Williams hospitalized
GAINESVILLE, Fla., Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Hall of Famer Ted Williams, who underwent open-heart surgery last year, was hospitalized Thursday.
At the request of Williams' family, a hospital spokeswoman gave no details on the condition of the legendary 83-year-old.
The last major leaguer to bat .400 and one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Williams underwent nine hours of heart surgery in January 2001 at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Williams was suffering from cardiovascular deterioration, the latest in a series of ailments that have slowed the former Boston Red Sox star. He had a pacemaker implanted in November 2000.
A career .344 hitter, Williams batted .406 in 1941. He is tied for 11th all-time with 521 home runs and is 11th with 1,839 RBI.
Penguins rally past Islanders
UNIONDALE, N.Y., Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Alexei Morozov scored 89 seconds into overtime to complete a comeback Thursday night and lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders.
Morozov took a pass outside the blue line from Milan Kraft and skated around the right faceoff circle before sliding the puck past goaltender Garth Snow for his 11th goal of the season and fourth in the last three games.
The 24-year-old right wing helped set up a pair of goals as the Penguins tied it at 4-4 in the third period. He passed the puck to Robert Lang, who skated into the offensive zone and gave it to defenseman Janne Laukkanen in the left circle.
Laukkanen beat Snow between the pads for his third goal at 12:53 of the period.
Morozov struck again exactly four minutes later when he fed rookie Kris Beech below the left goal line. Beech deked Snow twice before beating the diving goalie to the glove side for his sixth goal.
The win was Pittsburgh's first when trailing after two periods (1-19-1-0) and the loss was New York's first when leading after two (20
3-1).
Other NHL results: Ottawa 4, Boston 3; Nashville 3, Philadelphia 2 in overtime; Columbus 6, San Jose 2; Atlanta 4, New Jersey 2.
Jordan breaks out of slump
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Michael Jordan scored 40 points Thursday night as the Washington Wizards snapped a two-game losing streak and surpassed last season's win total with a 94-85 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the second half of the previous two games, Jordan was held to a combined nine points while making just three of 23 shots, fueling speculation that the combination of his age and heavy minutes was causing fatigue.
But the 38-year-old Jordan did look not fatigued against the Cavaliers, who suffered their 11th straight loss. After scoring 24 points in the first half, he added 12 in the third quarter, when Washington outscored Cleveland, 29-17, to take control.
It marked the fourth time this season Jordan scored 40 or more points. He finished 18 of 29 from the field in 40 minutes.
Chris Whitney added 15 points for Washington, which climbed back to .500 at 20-20. Last season, the Wizards finished 19-63, the worst mark in franchise history.
Other NBA results: Orlando 92, Miami 87; New York 96, Phoenix 91; Seattle 99, Milwaukee 88; New Jersey 103, Houston 98; Dallas 104, Denver 97; Sacramento 113, Utah 80; Portland 120, Memphis 82.
Duke enjoys quick start against B.C.
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass., Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Carlos Boozer scored 28 points and Mike Dunleavy added 16 Thursday night as the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils used a dominant first half to defeat struggling Boston College, 88-78.
Duke (17-1) made its first eight shots as it opened a 20-3 advantage just over six minutes into the contest. The opening run was highlighted by three-pointers from Dahntay Jones, Chris Duhon and Jason Williams.
Two free throws by Boozer capped a 13-0 run as the Blue Devils took a 39-11 lead 6:39 before halftime. Duke led, 46-26, at the half as Boston College's Troy Bell and backcourtmate Ryan Sidney combined for 10 turnovers.
Boston College (14-5) put together a spirited rally late in the game as Bell capped a 15-4 run with a basket to cut the deficit to 77-66 with 3:50 remaining. But Williams made a free throw and Dunleavy hit a jumper for a 14-point cushion.
The Eagles have lost four of five at home following a 25-game winning streak.
In the only other game involving a top-10 team, No. 7 Virginia coasted past VMI, 93-59.
Arbitrator rules in favor of skating star
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Jan. 25 (UPI) -- An independent arbitrator Thursday dismissed a claim that two speedskaters conspired to fix a race at last month's U.S. Olympic Trials.
Apolo Anton Ohno and Rusty Smith had been accused of allowing Shani Davis to win a 1,000-meter race, guaranteeing his spot on the United States team and costing Tommy O'Hare a trip to Salt Lake City.
O'Hare demanded arbitration from U.S. Speedskating and had the support of affidavits from other skaters and the race referee, but James Holbrook upheld the results of the race.
Holbrook stated that the race, held on Dec. 22, was "fairly run, fairly officiated and not subject to challenge." He dismissed O'Hare's demand with prejudice.
Holbrook's decision came after the Denver Post acquired affidavits and sworn statements of officials and teammates that Ohno and Smith conspired to ensure that Davis would win.
Davis ended up winning the race and jumped from eighth to sixth place at the trials, becoming the first black skater to make the team. The top six qualified.
Had Davis not won the race, O'Hare would have made the team.
Smith and Ohno finished second and third, respectively, but had already cinched Olympic berths. Ohno had won each of his previous seven races and is a favorite for as many as three gold medals next month.
Veteran referee Jim Chapin said in an affidavit that he thought it was clear "that the result of the race was predetermined and that Apolo was not skating to the best of his abilities to win the race."
Tryon struggles in debut as Tour player
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Steve Flesch claimed the first-round lead at the Phoenix Open Thursday while 17-year-old Ty Tryon found his first appearance as a PGA Tour member to be a forgettable one.
Tryon struggled in the wind and cold that greeted the early starters and shot a 6-over 77.
After totaling six bogeys, a double-bogey and two birdies, Tryon was tied for 128th in the 132-player field. Dudley Hart was last thanks to an 11 on the par-4 18th hole.
The temperatures warmed dramatically and the wind died down as the day wore on and Flesch took advantage of his afternoon tee time to grab the lead with a bogey-free 64 that included four straight birdies on the front nine.
Duffy Waldorf was alone in second after carding a 65, one stroke better than Vijay Singh of Fiji, Tom Lehman, Skip Kendall and Matt Kuchar.
Canadian Mike Weir was one of six players to shoot a 67. A handful of big names had 68, including John Daly and defending champion Mark Calcavecchia, who set the PGA Tour 72-hole scoring record here last season at 28-under 256.
Twenty-one golfers were left on the course when play was suspended by darkness, but Flesch's lead was save.
Al Harrington out for the season
INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Indiana Pacers forward Al Harrington, who was enjoying a breakout season, will be out for the remainder of it with a torn ACL in his right knee.
Harrington suffered the injury with 8:42 left in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's 98-94 loss to the Boston Celtics. An MRI Thursday revealed the injury and Pacers team physician Dr. Sanford Kunkel will perform the surgery Friday.
The 6-9 Harrington was a leading candidate for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award and was averaging career highs of 13.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 29.8 minutes.
The 21-year-old Harrington is one of three Pacers who entered the NBA directly out of high school and signed a four-year contract extension in November.
Odom lost for a month
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- A nagging wrist injury landed Los Angeles Clippers forward Lamar Odom on the injured list Thursday.
Odom is expected to be sidelined up to four weeks due to the injury that has kept him out of the lineup the last three games, including Wednesday's 95-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Clippers (22-21) have won two of the three games without Odom to move back over .500 for the first time since Jan. 8.
Los Angeles replaced Odom on the roster by activating forward Howard Jamison from the injured list.
St. Louis goes on injured reserve
TAMPA, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The Tampa Bay Lighting placed leading scorer Martin St. Louis on injured reserve Thursday , one day after the right right wing suffered a broken right fibula.
St. Louis is expected to be sidelined for at least two months and is joined on injured reserve by fellow right wing Sheldon Keefe, who has a sprained right MCL.
The injury to St. Louis occurred 90 seconds into the first period of a 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh Wednesday night when he was shoved into the left corner boards by Penguins rookie defenseman Josef Melichar. St. Louis fell awkwardly, could not put weight on his leg and was in obvious pain as he was helped to the locker room.
St. Louis leads the Lightning with 16 goals and is second with 17 assists in 47 games. His plus-5 rating is tied for the best on a team that is last in the Eastern Conference with 97 goals.
