IN BRIEF

UNLV

Gantcheva earns third NCAA tournament bid

UNLV tennis star Elena Gantcheva earned her third career bid to the NCAA Division I Singles Championship on Wednesday.

In addition, Gantcheva and partner Kristina Nedeltcheva were listed as the first alternate for the 32-team NCAA doubles tournament.

Gantcheva, a senior from Sofia, Bulgaria, also was named the Mountain West Conference player of the week for a school- and conference-record ninth time, extending her own mark.

Also: The UNLV baseball team lost 5-3 to Cal State Northridge in Northridge, Calif.

The Rebels (19-25) were shut down by Matadors pitcher Drew Muren (2-4), who allowed one run on two hits in six innings. Muren also drove in two runs.

Matt Hutchison (1-5) took the loss, giving up five runs -- four earned -- in 7 2/3 innings.

The UNLV softball team was swept by No. 19 UNR in Reno, losing 9-1 in five innings and 10-9.

The Rebels (23-26-1) managed three hits in the first game against the Wolf Pack's Katie Holverson (18-5).

In the second game, UNLV took a 9-0 lead into the fourth inning, but UNR (37-14) scored two runs in the fourth and eight in the sixth.

UNLV hired Kenith Pope to be its running backs coach, filling the final vacancy on its football staff.

Pope, 56, was the assistant head coach at Texas A&M the past five seasons, and handled running backs the last two years.

Former UNLV guard Tim Goins will try out for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Goins started all 24 games at guard the past two seasons.

SOCCER

Chelsea advances to Champions League final

Chelsea advanced to the European Champions League final for the first time, with Frank Lampard returning from the death of his mother to score the go-ahead goal on a penalty kick in a 3-2 overtime victory over Liverpool in London.

Didier Drogba scored twice for the Blues, who won the home-and-home series on 4-3 aggregate and extended their home unbeaten streak to 82 games. They meet Manchester United at Moscow on May 21 in the first all-English final in the competition's 52-year history.

Also: Manchester United is the most valuable team in world soccer for a second straight season, according to Forbes magazine.

The Premier League club is worth $1.8 billion, a $347 million increase from last year's valuation, Forbes said.

Taking into account revenue growth, profitability and debt levels, Real Madrid remained second at $1.285 billion and Arsenal third at $1.2 billion.

Mexico's Pachuca won the CONCACAF Champions Cup for the second straight year, beating Costa Rica's Saprissa 2-1 in Pachuca, Mexico, to secure a spot in the Club World Cup in Japan.

MISCELLANEOUS

Sharapova pulls out of tourney with injury

Maria Sharapova pulled out of next week's German Open because of an unspecified injury, and Daniela Hantuchova also withdrew from the clay-court tournament in Berlin.

Sharapova, the Australian Open champion, has not played since losing to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Family Circle Cup on April 19.

Hantuchova, ranked No. 10, withdrew because of a stress fracture in her right foot.

Also: Former Vikings defensive lineman Darrion Scott has been arrested after police searched his Eden Prairie, Minn., residence.

Police say Scott was booked into the Hennepin County jail on suspicion of assault and malicious punishment of a child.

Scott is a free agent after spending the past four seasons with Minnesota.

The College World Series will be played in Omaha, Neb., at least through 2030 under an agreement reached by the city and the NCAA.

The Division I baseball championship has been in Omaha every year since 1950.