IN BRIEF

MOTOR SPORTS

Dixon nets Top Fuel win
at Southern Nationals

Larry Dixon roared to his 52nd career Top Fuel win on Sunday at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga.

Dixon tied Joe Amato for second on the NHRA career list behind Tony Schumacher, winning his fourth event of the season with a pass of 311.49 mph in 3.913 seconds while opponent Brandon Bernstein red-lighted.

Robert Hight won his second straight Funny Car event, beating Ashley Force Hood with a run of 4.185 seconds at 298.01 mph. Force Hood went 297.48 in 4.232 seconds.

Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) won their respective divisions.

Also: Former IRL points champion Dan Wheldon crashed during practice for the Indianapolis 500.

The 2005 race winner's ride spun coming out of the fourth turn, then he locked up his brakes to avoid another car and hit the outside wall in the front straightaway. The England native climbed out of the car and did not appear to be seriously hurt.

Pole qualifying for the May 30 race is scheduled for Saturday.

Mark Webber won the Monaco Grand Prix from the pole, with teammate Sebastian Vettle giving Red Bull a 1-2 finish at the famous street race.

MISCELLANEOUS

Gay sprints to record on
200-meter straight track

American sprinter Tyson Gay broke a 44-year-old record for 200 meters run on a straight track as part of his drive to challenge Usain Bolt for sprint supremacy.

Gay ran 19.41 seconds into a slight headwind in Manchester, England, on a specially constructed track, shaving 0.09 off the mark Tommie Smith set in May 1966 at San Jose, Calif.

The record isn't an official world mark because track and field's governing body only recognizes 200s run around a curve.

Also: The UNLV baseball team put up four runs in the first inning, but couldn't hold off Utah in an 11-10 loss in a Mountain West Conference game at Wilson Stadium.

Utah rallied behind three multiple-run innings, scoring three in the third, four in the fifth and two in the top of the ninth.

Drew Beuerlein finished 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBIs for the Rebels (27-23, 11-10 MWC).

Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings scored three goals, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin added his fifth goal in five games, and unbeaten Russia (5-0) cruised into the ice hockey world championship quarterfinals with a 6-1 victory over Denmark in Cologne, Germany.

The United States, meanwhile, earned its second straight shutout, beating France 4-0 in the relegation round. The Americans have six points in Group G, but have yet to secure a spot at worlds next year.

Mark Cavendish of Great Britain surged to the front in the waning meters and won the opening stage of the Tour of California. Cavendish, a 10-time Tour de France stage winner, was timed in 4 hours, 4 minutes, 46 seconds in the 104.2-mile road stage from Nevada City to Sacramento.

Three-time defending race winner Levi Leipheimer and RadioShack teammate Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, finished in the main field with the same time as the winner.

Michael Phelps held off Eric Shanteau to win his first 200-meter individual medley, wrapping up a three-win weekend for Phelps at the Charlotte UltraSwim in Charlotte, N.C.