UNLV

Men's golf team gains second victory of year

The No. 8 UNLV men's golf team won its second title of the year at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas.

The Rebels shot a final-round 8-under-par 280 in the tournament, which was shortened from 54 holes to 36 because of thunderstorms that suspended play Monday.

UNLV finished at 8-under 568, six shots ahead of runners-up Tulsa and Texas A&M.

Texas A&M's Austin Schauer, Tulsa's Ryan Henry and New Mexico's Steve Saunders tied for medalist honors at 5-under 139.

Jarred Texter and Seung-su Han tied for 12th at 1-under 143 to lead the Rebels.

Also: The UNLV baseball team rallied from a 5-0 deficit, scoring four runs in the seventh inning and four more in the eighth to beat UC Irvine 11-6 at Wilson Stadium.

Ryan Kowalski had a three-run homer in the seventh for UNLV (12-19), and Xavier Scruggs had a three-run shot in the eighth.

Jaci Hull was named Mountain West Conference softball Player of the Week, the second time this season she has earned the award.

Hull batted .528 in the Pacific Mini-Tournament in Stockton, Calif., with two home runs, four doubles and four runs scored.

HOCKEY

NHL, NBC extend deal through next season

The NHL extended its partnership with NBC through next season, with an option for the 2008-2009 season.

The agreement, announced Tuesday, will allow NBC to select from a minimum of three games on Sunday afternoons. Two weeks before, the network will pick one matchup as the "Game of the Week" to be shown nationally. The other two games will be televised locally.

In addition to regular-season games, NBC will continue to broadcast select playoff games on Saturdays and Sundays and Games 3 through 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in prime time.

Also: The Philadelphia Flyers have settled on their No. 1 goalie, signing Martin Biron to a two-year, $7 million contract.

Biron has been the regular goaltender since he was acquired from Buffalo for a second-round draft pick in late February.

Biron is 16-9-2 with a 3.01 goals-against average in 29 games this season and is 4-5-1 with a 2.96 GAA in 10 games with the Flyers.

Defenseman Sean Sullivan signed a multiyear contract with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Sullivan, 22, had three goals and 12 assists in 38 games for Boston University last season, earning a first-team berth on the Hockey East All-Star team.

TENNIS

Bad foot to keep Nadal out of Davis Cup match

Rafael Nadal will skip Spain's Davis Cup quarterfinal match against the United States next month because of a lingering foot injury.

The second-ranked Nadal was left off the team for the April 6-8 match against the Americans in Winston-Salem, N.C., Spanish Tennis Federation spokesman Pedro Hernandez said.

Nadal missed four months last year because of an injury to his right foot, and the problem resurfaced this month in Dubai.

David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco will make up the team.

Also: The WTA Tour approved a streamlined tournament schedule beginning in 2009 that will include a longer offseason and fewer top-level events, with the changes designed to increase player participation and reduce injuries.

The number of Tier I and Tier II events will be cut from 26 to 20, and the offseason will be expanded from seven weeks to nine, the women's tour said.

Players will be required to participate in four events -- Key Biscayne, Indian Wells and new tournaments in Madrid and Beijing.

The WTA Tour also announced a prize-money increase and stiffer penalties for players who skip mandatory events.