In Brief

WINTER SPORTS

Penguins' Crosby out until
concussion symptoms subside

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby remains bothered by a concussion and will not resume practicing or playing until he is symptom-free.

Crosby was held out of the pregame skate before the Penguins' Saturday night 4-0 home loss against Minnesota, the second straight game he has missed. The NHL's leading scorer also isn't expected to play Monday against Boston or Wednesday at Montreal.

Crosby absorbed a blind side hit to the head from the Capitals' David Steckel during the Winter Classic outdoor game on Jan. 1, but initially felt only neck soreness. He began feeling worse Wednesday, but played that night against Tampa Bay and was driven into the boards headfirst by the Lightning's Victor Hedman.

"You're hit a lot in hockey, and you have neck soreness. That's pretty typical," Crosby said Saturday. "Wednesday, when it started to get more in my head and I felt a little off, that's when I saw the red flag."

Crosby finished that game and flew to Montreal with the team that night. When his condition did not improve, he returned to Pittsburgh on Thursday for further tests.

Also: Jiri Hudler scored the only goal of the shootout, and the Detroit Red Wings beat host Vancouver 2-1, ending the Cancucks' eight-game winning streak in a matchup of Western Conference powerhouses.

Johan Franzen tied it for Detroit on a power-play breakaway 42 seconds into the third period, and Hudler sent a low slap shot past Roberto Luongo's blocker on the first shootout attempt.

Atlanta Thrashers forward Ben Eager was suspended without pay for four games for punching Toronto's Colby Armstrong during a 9-3 blowout loss to the Maple Leafs on Friday.

Eager was ejected and given a match penalty for intent to injure after punching Armstrong, a former Atlanta player.

The Wranglers gave up three first-period goals and couldn't recover, losing to the Alaska Aces 5-3 in an ECHL game in Anchorage, Alaska. Ryan Huddy, Justin Bernhardt and Jamie Bates scored for Las Vegas (18-9-3).

Lindsey Vonn won a World Cup women's downhill in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, earning her fourth victory of the season and moving within four victories of Anja Paerson's record of 41 World Cup titles.

Vonn, the three-time defending overall champion, skied well off course in a sharp right turn but recovered to finish the 3-kilometer Kaelberloch course in 1 minute, 46.39 seconds.

Sweden's Paerson placed second, 0.43 seconds behind the American, to earn her first podium finish of the season.

American Ted Ligety's winning streak in World Cup giant slaloms ended at four after he skied off course during the second run in Adelboden, Switzerland. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway and Cyprien Richard of France tied for the victory.

MISCELLANEOUS

Seton Hall basketball standout
eyes return after being shot

Seton Hall basketball player Jeremy Hazell will see a doctor Monday, and there is a possibility he could return to the Pirates this season.

The 6-foot-5-inch Hazell, a senior guard, was averaging 24 points per game when he injured his left (non-shooting) wrist in a win over Alabama on Nov. 19, a game in which he scored 27 points.

Hazell had surgery Dec. 2, and at the time the doctors said he should be out eight to 12 weeks.

Hazell was then shot under his right arm on Christmas when someone tried to rob him while he was home in New York City for the holiday weekend. He spent a night in the hospital for observation and was released.

Also: Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said David Beckham's potential two-month loan move to the English Premier League club could become a permanent arrangement.

Tottenham was negotiating a loan deal for the Los Angeles Galaxy this weekend.

While the 35-year-old English midfielder would be due back with the Galaxy in March for their season, he would be available on a full-time basis when his Major League Soccer contract expires in November.

James Wilder Jr. scored on a 3-yard run with 4:14 left in the game to give the East a 13-10 victory over the West in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl high school football all-star game in San Antonio.

Wilder is the son of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back James Wilder. He has committed to play next year at Florida State.

Ian Thorpe is back training in the pool and hasn't ruled out a return to competition in time for the London 2012 Olympics.

Dave Flaskas, manager for the 28-year-old five-time Olympic gold medalist from Australia, told The Associated Press that while "it's a long way from here to London," Thorpe is enjoying swimming again and "never say never."