IN BRIEF

HOCKEY

Defenseman Chelios, 48,
gets called up by Thrashers

The Atlanta Thrashers have a newcomer in 48-year-old defenseman Chris Chelios, an 11-time All-Star.

Chelios has played in more games than any other American-born NHL player, and he joins the Thrashers after getting five goals and 17 assists in 46 games with Chicago of the American Hockey League. The team recalled Chelios on Wednesday.

The Thrashers are looking for Chelios to provide a spark and help snap a three-game losing streak. Atlanta plays at Columbus tonight. Chelios has played 25 NHL seasons, winning three Stanley Cups and three Norris Trophies as the league's top defenseman.

Also: Sidney Crosby's missing Olympic stick and glove have been found. Hockey Canada said Crosby's missing equipment was misplaced rather than stolen after the frenzy following Crosby's overtime goal against the United States in the gold medal game Feb. 28.

Crosby's stick was located in Toronto as part of a shipment heading to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in St. Petersburg, Russia. The IIHF helped locate the stick and provided photographs to Crosby, who confirmed that it was the game stick.

NHL general managers will recommend a rule change on blindside hits to the head, looking to protect players and punish those responsible in a game that has become faster and rougher.

The unanimous decision came at the end of three days of meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., in which player head injuries were the predominant issue.

The Wranglers rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit, beating the Bakersfield Condors 3-2 on a last-minute goal in an ECHL game in Bakersfield, Calif.

Greg Collins got Las Vegas (27-26-7) on the board early in the second period, and Adam Miller tied it at 2 on a power-play goal four minutes into the third. Alex Bourret then netted the game-winning goal with 47 seconds remaining.

SOCCER

Manchester United coasts
past Beckham, AC Milan

David Beckham received a standing ovation and heard his name chanted during his Old Trafford homecoming, but he came off the bench for AC Milan and had little impact in a 4-0 loss to Manchester United, his former team.

The 34-year-old midfielder entered in the 64th minute with Milan trailing 3-0, and the Italian club lost the home-and-home, total-goals series against the Premier League champions on a 7-2 aggregate.

As he left the field in Manchester, England, Beckham donned one of the green-and-gold protest scarves adopted by fans trying to force the Glazer family to sell the debt-laden club.

Also: The indebted Premier League club Portsmouth fired 85 staff members in an attempt to avoid closing. None of the cuts includes players, though club administrator Andrew Andronikou said one or two players offered to take pay cuts.

MISCELLANEOUS

American skiing star Vonn
nears World Cup overall title

Lindsey Vonn is closing in on a third straight overall World Cup title after finishing second to Maria Riesch at the season's final downhill, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Three races remain, and Vonn has a commanding 225-point lead over Riesch, her good friend and rival. Vonn would have clinched the title with a victory, which is worth 100 points.

Vonn, the downhill champion at the Vancouver Olympics, already clinched the downhill title and is also assured the super-G crown.

Also: The UNLV softball team swept a doubleheader with Southern Utah 11-2 and 12-0 in games shortened to five innings at Eller Media Stadium.

In the opener, the Rebels (14-8) got all the runs they'd need in a four-run first inning, including a two-run double from Alyssia De La Torre. Jaci Hull had a two-run homer in the third inning to cap UNLV's offensive effort.

In the second game, Traci Odegard threw a one-hitter, with three strikeouts and three walks. The Rebels scored all 12 runs in the first four innings, including four in the second and four in the third. Ashli Holland had a two-run single in the second inning, followed by a Kendall Fearn two-run double, and Fearn had another two-run double in the third.

Prominent New York thoroughbred breeder and owner Ernie Paragallo was convicted in Catskill, N.Y., of mistreating dozens of malnourished horses on his Hudson Valley farm.

A judge convicted Paragallo of 33 of 34 misdemeanor animal cruelty counts in a nonjury trial in Greene County.

The 52-year-old Long Island resident was charged after state police and animal welfare investigators raided his farm in Coxsackie in April and seized 177 malnourished horses. He could face up to two years in jail and $33,000 in fines, $1,000 for each count.

Paragallo, former owner of 1996 Kentucky Derby favorite and fifth-place finisher Unbridled's Song, has had more than 4,500 horses race and earned more than $20 million in purses.