In Brief

TENNIS

Williams sisters help U.S. cap
Fed Cup shutout of Belarus

Serena Williams and Christina McHale won singles matches, and Venus Williams returned from a five-month layoff Sunday, sending the United States past Belarus 5-0 in a Fed Cup qualifier match at Worcester, Mass.

By blanking Belarus in World Group II, the Americans head to a playoff in April in hopes of playing their way back into the top tier of Fed Cup, after getting bounced last year.

Venus Williams and Liezel Huber completed the shutout with a doubles victory, defeating Darya Kustova and Anastasiya Yakimova, 6-1, 6-2. This was Williams' first sanctioned match since the opening round of the U.S. Open. She had been diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain and forced her to withdraw from the Open.

McHale won in straight sets for the second consecutive day, beating Darya Kustova 6-0, 6-1 to put the U.S. up 4-0.

Serena Williams already had guaranteed a U.S. victory earlier in the day by defeating Anastasiya Yakimova, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. She led 4-1 in the first set before Yakimova surged back to take the lead. But Williams cruised through the last two sets.

In the first round of World Group play, Russia beat visiting Spain 3-2; Serbia won 3-2 at Belgium; Italy downed visiting Ukraine 3-2; and the Czech Republic won 4-1 at Germany. All four winners advanced to the semifinals.

MISCELLANEOUS

Ex-UNLV wide receiver Payne shines in Players All-Star Classic

Former UNLV wide receiver Phillip Payne helped the North to a 24-19 victory over the South in Saturday's Players All-Star Classic in Little Rock, Ark.

Payne had five catches for 110 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown reception in helping the North rally from a 13-0 deficit.

Payne, hoping for a shot at the NFL, was the second Rebel to appear in an all-star game this year. Defensive back Quinton Pointer played in January's Battle of Florida in Boca Raton, Fla., where his North team routed the South, 51-3.

Also: The SoftBank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League signed former major league pitcher Brad Penny to a one-year contract. Terms were not released.

Penny, a 33-year-old right-hander, went 11-11 last season for the Detroit Tigers with a 5.30 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 31 games. Penny has a 119-99 record and a 4.23 ERA over a 12-year major league career.

Julia Mancuso won a super-G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, for her first World Cup victory of the season, while Lindsey Vonn -- coming off a downhill victory Saturday -- skied off the course and did not finish.

It was the first time two American women have won World Cup races on consecutive days since December 2006, when it also was Vonn and Mancuso.

Three goals down after 50 minutes at Chelsea, Manchester United produced a trademark comeback to draw 3-3 and stay within reach of Manchester City at the top of the English Premier League.

The point left United two points behind leader City, which beat Fulham on Saturday.

The UNLV men's tennis team lost to New Mexico State 5-2 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.