IN BRIEF
GOLF
McPherson, Kim lead wind-swept Nabisco
The powerful desert wind that tore through Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Friday blew a new set of players to the top of the leaderboard of the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Kristy McPherson and Christina Kim teed off well before the wind started gusting and jumped into the lead at 6-under-par 138 at the halfway point of the LPGA Tour’s first major of the season. McPherson shot a 70 and Kim a 69 at Mission Hills, where palm trees swayed in the breeze.
Cristie Kerr also teed off in the morning and shot a 68 to finish at 5 under. First-round leader Brittany Lincicome (74) was 4 under.
Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa was tied for 26th at 2 over after her second straight 73, and Michelle Wie had an 81 to finish at 8 over and make the cut by a stroke.
Also: England’s Paul Casey shot a 2-under 70 for a share of the lead with Australians Geoff Ogilvy and John Senden at 8-under 136 during the suspended second round of the Houston Open in Humble, Texas.
Casey was one of only five players to complete two rounds after high wind suspended play Thursday afternoon.
England’s Ross McGowan shot a 2-over 73 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Estoril Open in Cascais, Portugal.
McGowan had a 5-under 137 total. Spain’s Carlos del Moral (71) and Scotland’s Chris Doak (70) were tied for second.
HOCKEY
Capitals clinch second straight division title
The Washington Capitals clinched their second consecutive Southeast Division title despite losing 5-4 to the visiting Buffalo Sabres on Jason Pominville’s breakaway goal 1:51 into overtime.
The point awarded for getting to overtime was enough to give the Capitals a nine-point cushion ahead of second-place Carolina, which has four games left.
Also: The Boston Bruins rewarded goalie Tim Thomas with a new multiyear contract for a season in which he leads the NHL in goals-against average and save percentage.
Terms were not disclosed, but the deal reportedly brings Thomas, who made $1.1 million this season, in line with some of the best-paid goaltenders in the league.
Thomas, 34, leads the league with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier had wrist surgery that will end his season and knock him out of the world hockey championships.
The arthroscopic procedure to repair damaged cartilage in his right wrist took place in Philadelphia.
Ron Wilson of the Toronto Maple Leafs is expected to be selected coach of the U.S. Olympic team for next year’s Winter Games in Vancouver, according to several media reports.
USA Hockey said the coach for the men’s team will be announced Monday, but declined to comment on whether the choice was Wilson, who served as coach of the U.S. team at the 1998 Nagano Olympics that was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
LOCAL COLLEGES
UNLV women’s tennis wins fifth match in row
Kristina Nedeltcheva rolled at No. 1 singles, Katy Williams won at No. 3 singles and the two teamed to win at No. 1 doubles as the UNLV women’s tennis team claimed its fifth straight match, beating Air Force 5-2 in Mountain West Conference play in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The victory improved the Rebels to 13-6 overall and 4-0 in league.
Also: The UNLV men’s tennis team lost to Texas Christian 5-2 in a neutral-site Mountain West Conference match in Salt Lake City.
Elliot Wronski won at No. 1 singles for the Rebels (12-10, 1-3 MWC), and Attila Toth picked up the team’s other victory, at No. 5 singles.
The UNLV baseball team suffered its eighth straight defeat, dropping an 8-5 Mountain West Conference decision to Utah at Wilson Stadium.
J.J. Sferra went 4-for-5 with two RBIs for the Rebels (13-16 overall, 2-5 MWC).
College of Southern Nevada survived a seven-error performance in the second game to sweep a Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader from College of Southern Idaho, 5-3 and 6-5 in Twin Falls, Idaho.
The Coyotes (26-12 overall, 18-4 SWAC) won the opener behind Gabe Weidenaar’s three-hit, complete-game pitching and Trevor Kirk’s 4-for-4 effort at the plate.
College of Southern Nevada softball was snowed out of its doubleheader against Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City.
The teams will play a tripleheader today.
MISCELLANEOUS
Federer loses match, cool in Sony semifinal
Roger Federer had reached his boiling point. He raised his racket over his head and slammed it to the concrete, a shocking outburst from the five-time winner of the ATP Tour’s Stefan Edberg sportsmanship award.
The tirade came during a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. — the latest evidence Federer is in meltdown mode.
“It has been a tough last year or so,” a red-eyed Federer said after the match.
The beneficiary of Federer’s struggles was the No. 3-seeded Djokovic, winner of the 2007 title. He’ll play in the final Sunday against No. 4 seed Andy Murray, who beat No. 6 Juan Martin del Potro, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.
Top-ranked Serena Williams will bid for a record sixth Key Biscayne women’s title today against No. 11 Victoria Azarenka.
Also: Bishop Gorman wrestler Steven Hernandez captured the 145-pound title at the National High School Coaches Association High School Junior National Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.
Hernandez, who won an individual title in the sophomore-class event a year ago, defeated New Jersey’s Ryan Dunphy 8-3 in the championship match.
Hernandez claimed the Class 4A state title at 145 pounds in February.
