In Brief

MOTOR SPORTS

Kurt Busch fined $50,000 for behavior at Sprint Cup finale

NASCAR fined Kurt Busch $50,000 on Friday for his poor behavior during the Sprint Cup finale last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR cited an obscene gesture Busch made inside his car and him being verbally abusive to a reporter in fining the 2004 Cup champion.

"Kurt Busch showed disrespect toward a media member, an incident that followed similar inappropriate media confrontations earlier in the season," NASCAR said in a statement announcing the penalty.

Busch had a transmission problem early in Sunday's race that sent his Penske Racing Dodge to the garage. His in-car camera caught him making an obscene gesture during that time.

While his team made repairs, Busch waited to be interviewed by an ESPN reporter, and a fan videotaped Busch being verbally abusive while waiting to go live. The video was posted on YouTube, and Penske officials and Busch have apologized in separate statements for his behavior.

TENNIS

Djokovic loses to Tipsarevic in ATP World Tour Finals; semis set

A weary Novak Djokovic finished his spectacular season by losing more matches in three days than he did in the first seven months of the year, sending the top-ranked Serb to an early exit in the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

After winning three Grand Slam titles and seizing the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal before having the past few months derailed by injuries, Djokovic simply had run out of energy coming into the season-ending tournament. On Friday, he lost to fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic 3-6, 6-3 in their final group match.

Despite finishing the group stage with a 1-2 record, Djokovic would have reached the knockout rounds if Tomas Berdych had lost to David Ferrer in the final round-robin match. But the seventh-seeded Czech rallied from a set and a break down to beat Ferrer 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 to grab the final semifinal spot.

Ferrer will face Roger Federer in today's first semifinal, followed by Berdych against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as the three highest-ranked players in the world failed to make it out of the group stage. Second-ranked Nadal was eliminated after losing to Tsonga on Thursday, and No. 3 Andy Murray pulled out injured after his opening loss to Ferrer.

MISCELLANEOUS

Shepard, Williams-Goss spark Findlay Prep to 112-79 victory

Winston Shepard scored 32 points, and Nigel Williams-Goss had 25 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead Findlay Prep's basketball team to a 112-79 win over Christian Faith Center Academy (N.C.) at Lexington, Ky.

Anthony Bennett had 16 points and 21 rebounds for the Pilots (5-0), who got 15 points and eight rebounds from Brandon Ashley and eight points and 10 rebounds from Matt Willms.

Amedeo Della Valle added 13 points and six rebounds for Findlay Prep, ranked No. 3 in the nation by USA Today.

Also: NBA owners and players resumed talks in New York aimed at ending the 148-day lockout in time to save the league's Christmas Day schedule.

That deadline has created a sense of urgency because the Dec. 25 schedule is traditionally a showcase for the league. This season's three-game slate was to include Miami at Dallas in an NBA Finals rematch, plus Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose leading Chicago into Los Angeles to face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Notre Dame star Tim Abromaitis will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during practice Friday. The 6-foot-8-inch, fifth-year senior was averaging 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds.

Mike Hoffman, Robbie Smith and Eric Lampe scored to power the Wranglers to a 3-2 ECHL victory over the Stockton Thunder in Stockton, Calif. Goalie Joe Fallon saved 37 shots for Las Vegas, which led 2-0 and 3-1.

Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell each shot a 4-under-par 68 in alternate-shot play for a share of the lead with Australia's Brendan Jones and Richard Green after the second round of the World Cup in Hainan, China. They are at 13-under 131.

Australia's Marcus Fraser shot a 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over American Bubba Watson after the second round of the Australian PGA in Coolum, Australia. Fraser was at 11-under 133.

Scotland's Steven O'Hara shot a 4-under 68 to take a one-stroke lead over South Africans Retief Goosen and Merrick Bremner after the second round of the South African Open in Johannesburg. O'Hara was at 11-under 133.

Urban Meyer will not appear on ESPN this weekend after the former Florida football coach requested to be taken off his assignment. Several media outlets have reported that Meyer is set to become Ohio State's coach.