In Brief

UNLV

Volleyball team drops TCU to reach MWC title game

The UNLV volleyball team, coming off a first-round upset of second-seeded San Diego State, beat third-seeded Texas Christian 3-1 in the Mountain West Conference tournament semifinals Saturday at Albuquerque, N.M.

UNLV lost the first game 25-22, then rallied for three straight wins, 25-14, 25-23 and 25-19. The Rebels (14-16), seeded seventh, will face top-seeded Colorado State today at 5 p.m. for the title.

Sekola Falemaka led UNLV with 16 kills and 14 digs, Candice Thomas had a career-best 20 kills, Makensie Moea'i had 16 kills, and Madeline Westman had 13 kills. Stephanie Thelen tied her career best with 56 assists.

The Rebels finished with 71 kills, compared with 49 for TCU (23-7).

BASEBALL

New labor deal expected to include testing for HGH

Baseball's new labor contract will include blood testing for human growth hormone, a rise in the minimum salary to $480,000, and luxury taxes on both amateur draft signings and international free agents coming to the major leagues.

Lawyers for players and owners are working to complete a memorandum of understanding on changes to the collective bargaining agreement and hope to sign the deal by Tuesday. A person familiar with the negotiations disclosed some of the agreed-upon provisions to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been announced.

The blood testing provision was first reported by The New York Times.

Blood testing for human growth hormone will start when players report to spring training in February, putting MLB ahead of the NFL. The NFL wanted to start HGH testing this season, following that league's new labor contract, but the NFL Players Association has not agreed to it yet.

Also: Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano is on the mend after being hit in the face by a line drive during a game in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Zambrano was hit during a game Friday night and was removed from play. He got stitches at a local hospital, and the Chicago Tribune reported that he told friends he was fine and plans to make his next start.

PRO FOOTBALL

Panthers tight end Shockey won't suit up against Lions

Carolina Panthers tight end Jeremy Shockey did not make the trip to Detroit due to a rib injury and won't play in today's game against the Lions.

Shockey has 24 receptions for 311 yards and one touchdown this season. This is the first game he's missed.

Greg Olsen will start for the Panthers, and Ben Hartsock is expected to see more playing time with Shockey out of the lineup.

Also: Veteran kicker Shayne Graham signed with the Miami Dolphins, and he'll be active today against Buffalo if ailing kicker Dan Carpenter is unavailable. Carpenter was listed as questionable after straining his right groin in practice Thursday.

HORSE RACING

Sabercat wins Delta Downs, gets leg up on Derby chase

Sabercat surged from the middle of the pack on the final turn to edge Basmati by a head in the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot in Vinton, La., giving the 2-year-old an early edge in Kentucky Derby qualifying.

Sabercat ran 1 1/16 miles in 1 minute, 46.620 seconds and paid $18, $8.20 and $5.60 in the field of 10 2-year-olds. Basmati returned $7.80 and $5.40, and Longview Drive paid $7.80 to show.

Sabercat earned $600,000. Kentucky Derby entries are decided by purse money in graded races, which means the Jackpot puts the Steven Asmussen-trained Sabercat on solid footing to gain a spot in the May race.

Also: Sanagas defeated Bourbon Bay by 3 1/4 lengths to win the $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup in his Grade 1 debut at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.

Sanagas ran 1½ miles in 2:27.53 and paid $5.20, $3.20 and $2.60 as the 8-5 favorite. Bourbon Bay returned $3.20 and $2.80, and Falcon Rock was another length back in third and paid $4.60 to show.

MISCELLANEOUS

Grant rallies, knocks out Botha to claim WBF heavyweight title

American Michael Grant stopped South Africa's Francois Botha in the 12th round of their heavyweight fight to claim the vacant WBF title in Johannesburg.

Grant dropped Botha with a right hand with 37 seconds left in a bout that the 43-year-old Botha (48-6-3) dominated from the start. Botha nearly finished off the 39-year-old Grant in the seventh and 11th rounds.

But Grant (48-4, 36 knockouts) rallied at the end for a dramatic win.

Also: The Wranglers quickly erased an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Utah Grizzlies 5-3 in an ECHL game at West Valley City, Utah.

Utah got two Paul McIlveen goals in the first 8:26, but Las Vegas (9-4-3) got three goals in the next six minutes to take control, from Jeff May, Judd Blackwater and Adam Miller.

The Grizzlies tied it at 3 later in the first, and after a scoreless second period, Geoff Paukovich and Miller scored for the Wranglers in the third period.

South Korea's Hee Young Park birdied three of the final four holes for a 3-under 69 and a share of the third-round lead with Sandra Gal at the LPGA Tour's season-ending Titleholders in Orlando, Fla.

Gal, from Germany, shot 71 in tricky wind conditions to match Park at 7-under 209. Suzann Pettersen was a stroke back after a 68, and Paula Creamer (71) was at 211.

Manchester City sent Newcastle to its first defeat of the season, a 3-1 victory at home that left first-place City as the only team in the English Premier League without a loss.

Second-place Manchester United edged Swansea, 1-0.

Tobin Heath scored off a rebound in the 81st minute to help the United States women's soccer team tie Sweden 1-1 in an exhibition at Glendale, Ariz. The Americans outplayed the Swedes, getting 19 shots to the European team's seven, but hit the posts or crossbar three times before Heath's goal.