In Brief

UNLV

Koelbaek ties for second to pace UNLV women's golf

UNLV women's golfer Therese Koelbaek tied for second in the Battle at Rancho Bernardo in San Diego.

Koelbaek shot 1-over-par 73 Tuesday in the third round for a 1-under 215 total, tied with Southern California's Lizette Salas. Purdue's Laura Gonzalez pulled away with a 68 on the final day to win at 7-under 209.

Purdue also took the team title with a 15-over 879 total. The Rebels shot 20-over 308 in the final round and finished 36 shots back at 51-over 915, falling from sixth to 10th in the 17-team event.

Also: Kevin Penner tied for fourth in the National Invitational Tournament, helping the UNLV men's golf team to a sixth-place finish at the 15-team event in Tucson, Ariz.

Penner shot 1-under 71 in the third round for a 1-under 213 total, three strokes behind winner Jonathan Khan of Arizona.

The Rebels shot 3-over 291 in the final round for a 28-over 884 total. Tulsa took the title at 11-over 867.

HOCKEY

Blackhawks lose top scorer Sharp to injured left knee

Patrick Sharp, the Chicago Blackhawks' leading scorer, is expected to miss at least the next two weeks with an injured left knee, hindering the defending Stanley Cup champions' effort to reach the playoffs.

"We hope to have him back before the end of the regular season," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "It's where he's at right now."

Sharp has recently played left wing on Chicago's top line with center Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. He has 34 goals and 34 assists and ranks second on the Blackhawks and 11th in the NHL with 68 points.

Also: Pittsburgh Penguins veteran Matt Cooke apologized for an illegal hit that earned him the stiffest suspension of his NHL career, telling local reporters he needs to change the way he plays the game.

Cooke told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he "made a mistake" when he landed an elbow to the head of New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh. The oft-penalized left wing was suspended by the NHL for the remainder of the regular season and the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, which means he'll sit a minimum of 14 games.

Los Angeles right wing Justin Williams will miss at least three to four weeks with a dislocated shoulder, leaving the Kings without their second-leading scorer in the midst of the playoff race. Kings coach Terry Murray announced Williams' diagnosis but stopped short of saying Williams (22 goals, 35 assists) was done for the season.

MISCELLANEOUS

Six countries bid on displaced figure skating championships

Six countries put in bids to replace Japan as host of the world figure skating championships following the earthquake and tsunami that killed an estimated 18,000 people.

International Skating Union president Ottavio Cinquanta told The Associated Press that the bids are from Russia (Moscow), Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia), the United States (Colorado Springs, Colo., or Lake Placid, N.Y.), Finland (Turku), Croatia and Austria.

Russia appears to be the leading candidate, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin having spoken in favor of the bid, saying "this is not a very expensive event, and we are capable of taking care of all the expenses."

The ISU council will vote today or Thursday. The worlds were scheduled to begin Monday in Tokyo but were postponed due to the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Also: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will lead a group of top tennis players in a charity soccer match to benefit the relief effort in Japan. Nadal and Djokovic are in the Miami area to compete in the Sony Ericsson Open, which began Tuesday.

Andy Murray and David Ferrer are among those planning to play in the soccer match against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers professional team at a Miami high school tonight.

John Terry is back as captain of England's soccer team and acknowledges he's not "everybody's cup of tea."

The Chelsea defender was stripped of the captaincy in February 2010 after allegations he had an affair with teammate Wayne Bridge's former girlfriend. Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand took over as captain. Bridge wound up quitting international soccer.

With Ferdinand injured, England coach Fabio Capello appointed Terry captain for Saturday's European championship qualifier against Wales.

Russian gymnast Nikolai Andrianov, whose 15 medals made him the most-decorated male athlete in Olympic history at the time, died at age 58. The International Gymnastics Federation said he died Monday in his hometown of Vladimir, 120 miles east of Moscow.

American swimmer Michael Phelps (16) has since surpassed Andrianov's record.