NHL All-Star Game settled in shootout
SUNRISE, Fla., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Markus Naslund, Bill Guerin and Paul Kariya scored in the first NHL All-Star shootout in history Sunday, giving the West a 6-5 victory.
Dany Heatley tied a record with four goals for the East, including one in the shootout.
Olli Jokinen of the hometown Florida Panthers beat Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars on a breakaway with 10:22 to go in the third period to forge a 5-5 tie, which was the way regulation play ended.
After a five-minute overtime failed to produce a winner, the 53rd NHL All-Star Game was decided by an Olympic-style shootout.
Sergei Fedorov of the Detroit Red Wings and Alexei Kovalev of the Pittsburgh Penguins were stopped in the first round, but Naslund -- the Vancouver Canucks' captain -- and Heatley converted.
Former All-Star MVP Bill Guerin of the Stars beat Ottawa Senators goaltender Patrick Lalime between the pads to put the West on top and Turco got his stick on a shot by Miroslav Satan of the Buffalo Sabres.
Kariya snapped a wrister over Lalime's glove and the West team emptied the bench in celebration after Jokinen put a shot off the left goalpost.
The miss was the only negative for Jokinen, who delighted the hometown crowd with three assists and forced the fourth overtime in All-Star history when he beat Turco to tie the game.
Doug Weight injured during All-Star tilt
SUNRISE, Fla., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- St. Louis Blues center Doug Weight suffered an ankle injury Sunday during the NHL All-Star Game.
He was hit by a slap shot early in the third period.
Weight, who is second in the league with 44 assists, was injured with 16 1/2 minutes left in regulation. He took a slap shot off the stick of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Ed Jovanovski and skated slowly to the Western Conference bench.
The 31-year-old Weight had trouble standing on the ankle and was helped to the locker room by two members of the training staff. He did not return and will be evaluated Monday.
Weight's loss would be a huge blow to the Blues, who have played all season without injured captain Chris Pronger, a former Hart and Norris Trophy winner. They are 28-15-6-4 and lead the Central Division by two points over the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.
Ricky Williams Pro Bowl MVP
HONOLULU, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Ricky Williams did not make the playoffs, but he was the star of the show in the NFL's Pro Bowl Sunday.
Williams rushed for 56 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, caught three passes for 18 yards and forced a fumble on special teams to earn player of the game honors as the AFC won the Pro Bowl with a 45-20 whipping of the NFC.
The NFL rushing champion with 1,853 yards, Williams scored on a pair of one-yard runs in the first half and the AFC built a 28-6 lead at the break. He also forced a fumble by Jeremy Shockey of the New York Giants on a kickoff return.
The NFC committed seven turnovers, six of which were interceptions.
Jeff Garcia of the San Francisco 49ers started at quarterback due to the injury defections of Brett Favre and Michael Vick and was picked off three times.
Brad Johnson of the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter but also as intercepted twice.
Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles was picked off once.
Safety Rod Woodson of the Oakland Raiders, who tied for the league lead in interceptions with eight, had two of the picks and cornerback Ty Law of the New England Patriots returned one 46 yards for a touchdown.
A week after throwing a Super Bowl record five interceptions against the Buccaneers, Rich Gannon of the Raiders completed 12 of 18 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns for the AFC. He had won the Pro Bowl player of the game award each of the previous two years.
The NFL's regular season MVP, Gannon hit tight end Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs with an 11-yard touchdown in the first quarter and connected with running back Travis Henry of the Buffalo Bills on a 13-yard scoring play in the second.
Florida State edges Duke
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Tim Pickett had 15 points and nine rebounds Sunday night in helping carry Florida State past No. 5 Duke, 75-70.
During the past week, the only team among the top five in the coaches' poll to avoid a loss was fourth-ranked Florida.
Anthony Richardson added 14 points for the Seminoles, who halted a two-game skid.
The Seminoles (11-8, 2-6) won for just the fourth time in their last 24 meetings with the Blue Devils. One of those wins, however, came last season in Tallahassee and Florida State's back-to-back home wins against Duke come after a six-game losing streak in the series.
The Blue Devils (14-3, 4-3) fell at the site of their first loss last season. They won their first 12 games a year ago before a memorable 77-76 setback at Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center.
Freshman J.J. Redick scored 16 points, but leading scorer Dahntay Jones fouled out with just two points while making one of 10 shots as the Blue Devils suffered a third straight ACC road loss for the first time since 1996.
It was a difficult day for teams in the top 25 as No. 14 Illinois lost to Michigan State, 68-65; and No. 19 Oregon fell to USC, 91-76. Ninth-ranked Maryland had an easy non-conference contest, blasting Loyola (Md.), 85-58.
Sacramento falls again
HOUSTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Eddie Griffin gave Houston a quick start Sunday and the Rockets stormed past the injury-plagued Sacramento Kings.
Griffin scored nine of his 22 points in the first quarter and rookie Yao Ming collected 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Rockets have been as unpredictable as Griffin, who has posted better averages in his second NBA season but has not been consistent. He scored just 16 points in his previous three games before turning in one of his best performance's of the season.
Griffin made nine of 14 shots from the floor and fell one point shy of his season high. He also grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocks as Houston won for the third time in four games.
Yao scored eight points in the first quarter as the Rockets jumped to a 32-12 lead. Houston had its largest advantage, 59-32, at halftime and Sacramento never got closer than 15 in the second half.
Steve Francis had 21 points and eight assists and Cuttino Mobley scored 21 points for the Rockets, who shot 51 percent from the floor.
Peja Stojakovic scored 31 points and Mike Bibby added 11 for the Kings, who lost for the fifth time in six games.
Sacramento has struggled without All-Star forward Chris Webber and center Scot Pollard. Webber is sidelined at least three weeks with a sprained left ankle and Pollard is out with a broken right hand. Guard Bobby Jackson remains on the injured list with a broken hand.
Other NBA results: Portland 114, Cleveland 95; Toronto 100, Los Angeles Clippers 86; Atlanta 97, Orlando 89; Minnesota 99, Philadelphia 91.
Weir rallies for win at Hope Classic
LA QUINTA, Calif., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Canadian Mike Weir birdied the last three holes Sunday while his playing partners struggled, giving him the Bob Hope Classic title.
It was Weir's fourth PGA Tour triumph.
With three holes to play, Weir trailed both Jay Haas and Tim Herron, but Herron made a quadruple bogey eight at the par-4 16th and Haas, who was in position to become the sixth oldest winner ever on the tour, hit his second shot at the par-5 18th into the water.
Haas and Weir came to the final hole tied for the lead and both hit good drives. But Weir was left with a downhill lie and he chose not to risk carrying his second shot over the lake that protects the front and left of the green. Weir laid up to the right, leaving him with a third shot of about 80 yards.
That gave Haas, who had a shot of just under 200 yards remaining, a chance to gain the advantage. But his 4-iron came up short. Haas, after taking a penalty drop, put his fourth shot in the front fringe and he wound up making a six.
Weir finished in outstanding style, hitting his third to within eight feet and holing the putt to give him a final round 67. He finished the five-day tournament with a 30-under total of 330. Haas shot a 69 for a 332.
Herron rallied with an eagle at the final hole of the PGA West Palmer Course, his second of the day, to finish tied for third with Chris DiMarco at 26-under 334. DiMarco was in contention as well before suffering a double bogey at the 14th hole.
David Gossett was alone in fifth place at 336 while Phil Mickelson and Pat Perez shared sixth place at 337.
In Melbourne, Ernie Els won the European Tour's Heineken Classic for his third victory in four starts around the world this season.
Els had four birdies on the back nine en route to a 7-under-par 65 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, erasing a three-stroke deficit and defeating Australian Peter Lonard and Nick Faldo of England by a stroke.
Ranked second in the world to Tiger Woods, Els finished with a four-round total of 15-under 273.
Lonard needed to par the final hole of regulation but bogeyed it to tie Faldo for second at 14-under 274. Faldo parred each of the final eight holes.
In Honolulu, Dana Quigley birdied four holes on the back nine to edge Larry Nelson and capture the Champions Tour's season-opening event -- the MasterCard Championship.
Quigley began the day tied for the lead with Nelson and Fuzzy Zoeller, but used a strong finish to shoot a 5-under 67 and win by two strokes at 18-under 198.
It was the eighth Champions Tour victory for the 55-year-old Quigley, who won twice last season.
Davenport ends victory drought
TOKYO, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Lindsay Davenport completed her return from knee surgery Sunday when she defeated Monica Seles for her third Pan Pacific Open title.
Davenport earned her first crown since October 2001, posting a 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 6-2 triumph for her ninth win in 12 career meetings with Seles. The victory came just over a year after knee surgery sidelined her for six months.
Davenport's last championship was the 2001 Generali Ladies Linz and was on her way to another one, advancing to the final of the season-ending Tour Championships. But in her semifinal win over Kim Clijsters, she injured her right knee, forcing her pull out of the final against Serena Williams.
She underwent surgery to repair a full thickness cartilage defect in her right knee and missed all tournaments until July.
Last year, Davenport came close to winning in her return from surgery, making the final at four events and coming within a tiebreak of winning three of them.
Davenport earned her 38th career WTA Tour title -- third among active players -- and avenged a 3-6, 7-6 (8-7), 6-3 loss to Seles at the season-ending Tour Championships, where she had seven match points.
Seles, who is first among active players with 53 titles, was a runner-up here for the second straight season. She lost to Martina Hingis last year.
Eberharter opens World Championships with win
ST. MORITZ, Italy, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Stephan Eberharter captured the opening event of the Alpine Skiing World Championships Sunday.
He edged the resurgent Hermann Maier of Austria and American Bode Miller for the super-G gold medal.
It was the first World Championship title for Eberharter in 12 years and showed Maier that he is not ready to surrender his dominance.
Eberharter last won a gold medal at the worlds in 1991, when he claimed both the super-G and the combined at Saalbach.
Maier, returned to competitive skiing just 19 days ago after a lengthy injury-caused absence and has made an amazing comeback. But Maier's attacking style was not enough to overcome the technical perfection Eberharter displayed on the Corviglia course.
Maier, a double world champion in 1999, was forced to settle for a share of silver with Miller after the American technical specialist put forth his own fair share of daredevil skiing.
Miller and Maier finished .77 of a second behind Eberharter's winning time of 1:38.8.
It was a bittersweet moment for Maier, who never expected to return so quickly and successfully following a terrible motorcycle accident in August 2001. Doctors contemplated amputating Maier's right leg after the incident.
Maier's comeback has been highlighted by a World Cup super-G victory last week in Kitzbuhel.
The women's super-G will be run Monday.
Williams sisters to play in Fed Cup
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Feb. 2 (UPI) -- The United States can put last year's Federation Cup embarrassment aside since the Williams sisters have come to the rescue.
U.S. Fed Cup captain Billie Jean King on Sunday named Serena and Venus Williams, the world's No. 1 and No. 2 players, to the squad that will take on the Czech Republic in the first round April 26-27 in Lowell, Mass.
Last year, the Americans were upset by Austria in the first round and Jennifer Capriati, then the top player in the world, was kicked off the team after she broke team rules and had a shouting match with King.
