IN BRIEF

MOTOR SPORTS

Bliss catches break, wins Nationwide race

Mike Bliss raced to his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory since 2004, catching a break to claim the rain-shortened event Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Bliss, who started from the back of the field, took the lead because he was in the right position when the caution flag came out with 39 laps to go.

The caution put Bliss ahead of series points leader Kyle Busch, who clearly had the car to beat most of the night. It looked as if Busch would get lucky when rain halted the race a few laps later and got him back near Bliss' bumper. But more showers came, and NASCAR officials called the Carquest Auto Parts 300 with 30 laps to go.

Brendan Gaughan was second, followed by Busch, Brian Vickers and Joey Logano.

Also: Formula One championship leader Jenson Button claimed the pole position for today's Monaco Grand Prix.

The Brawn GP driver will start first after setting a fastest lap of 1 minute, 14.902 seconds around the famous street circuit.

COLLEGES

Utes beat Aztecs, claim MWC baseball crown

Sixth-seeded Utah scored six runs with two out in the third inning to beat fourth-seeded San Diego State 9-3 and win the Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Utes claimed the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Also: Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon was ruled ineligible for his senior season by the NCAA because of a failed drug test.

Jarmon said at a news conference he had inadvertently taken a banned substance that turned up positive during a random NCAA test in February.

Defending champion Syracuse beat Duke 17-7 in Foxborough, Mass., and will play for its 11th national men's lacrosse title Monday when it meets Cornell in the final.

Cornell stunned top-seeded Virginia, 15-6.

MISCELLANEOUS

Australia's Gerrans wins Giro d'Italia stage

Simon Gerrans of Australia won the 14th stage of the Giro d'Italia with a breakaway into Bologna, Italy, and Denis Menchov of Russia kept the overall leader's pink jersey.

Menchov remained 34 seconds in front of Danilo Di Luca of Italy. U.S. rider Levi Leipheimer dropped three seconds in an uphill finish and trails Menchov by 43 seconds in third place.

Lance Armstrong finished 1:58 back and dropped from 12th to 14th overall, 7:28 behind Menchov.

Also: Zenyatta romped to a one-length victory in the $150,000 Milady Handicap in Inglewood, Calif., keeping the filly undefeated in 10 career races.

Ridden by Mike Smith, Zenyatta rallied from several lengths off the pace to win at Hollywood Park in her first start after a seven-month layoff.

Zenyatta covered 1 1-16 miles on the synthetic Cushion Track surface in 1:42.30. She paid $2.40, $2.10 and $2.10 as the 1-9 wagering favorite.

The Alaska Aces scored two goals in the third period to beat the South Carolina Stingrays 3-1 in Anchorage, Alaska, and even the best-of-7 ECHL Kelly Cup Finals at one.

Game 3 is Wednesday in Charleston, S.C.

Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh gave birth to a son, 8-pound, 10-ounce Joseph Michael Jennings, on Friday in Los Angeles.

He's the first child for Walsh and her husband, fellow pro beach volleyball player Casey Jennings.