In Brief

GOLF

Toms takes two-stroke lead on
Durant at McGladrey Classic

David Toms shot a 4-under-par 66 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead over Joe Durant in the McGladrey Classic, the second of the PGA Tour's five Fall Series events.

The 43-year-old Toms had a 10-under 130 total on the Sea Island Club's Seaside Course in St. Simons Island, Ga. Durant followed his opening 65 with a 66 in perfect conditions.

Heath Slocum (66) and Rich Barcelo (67) were 8 under, and Brian Gay (65) and Mathias Gronberg (67) followed at 7 under.

Also: Buoyed by birdies on the first five holes, Russ Cochran shot a course-record 6-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Michael Allen (67) at the Senior Players Championship in Potomac, Md. The 51-year-old Cochran, at 6-under 134 after two rounds, is seeking his third win in his last four events on the Champions Tour.

Japan's Mika Miyazato shot a 9-under 63 for a share of the second-round lead with Na Yeon Choi and Cristie Kerr at the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville, Ala. Choi birdied the final four holes for a 64, and Kerr shot a 67 to match Miyazato at 12-under 132.

England's John Parry shot a 7-under 65 on the Old Course at St. Andrews to take a four-shot lead over Sweden's Martin Erlandsson (68) in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in St. Andrews, Scotland. Parry, coming off his first PGA European Tour victory two weeks ago in the Vivendi Cup in France, had a 12-under 132 total.

PRO HOCKEY

Thrashers goaltender Pavelec
stable after collapsing on ice

Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec was in stable condition at a hospital after collapsing to the ice in the early minutes of Atlanta's season opener against the visiting Washington Capitals.

Thrashers general manager Rick Dudley said during the game's second intermission that the 23-year-old Pavelec had regained consciousness. The team later released a statement saying preliminary tests failed to determine any serious health problems.

There was a whistle at the opposite end when Pavelec tapped his stick on the ice a couple of times, looked toward the Atlanta bench and fell over backward with no one around 2:25 into the game. His teammates rushed to his aid and immediately called for doctors and a stretcher to be brought to the ice.

Medical personnel worked over Pavelec for about 10 minutes before he was wheeled off the ice, appearing to be unconscious.

Also: Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton will undergo back surgery and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Leighton has a bulging disk in his back, and it was originally thought he could return by the end of the month. General manager Paul Holmgren said Leighton will have surgery Monday.

MISCELLANEOUS

Premier League gives approval to proposed sale of Liverpool

The Premier League approved the proposed sale of Liverpool to the owners of the Boston Red Sox but could end up docking the soccer club nine points if the takeover falls through.

The league said in a statement that executives from New England Sports Ventures, which runs the Boston baseball club, met the requirements for owning the storied English club.

The 300 million-pound ($476 million) takeover is not final and is set to be settled in court.

Also: AC Milan star Ronaldinho said he has no plans to leave the club during the January transfer window. The Brazilian's contract runs out at the end of June, and there has been speculation the Italian club might try to cash in on him when it can.

Jonny Espinoza scored in the 73rd minute, and the UNLV men's soccer team held off visiting Air Force 1-0 despite playing the final 30 minutes short-handed after a red card. The Rebels improved to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.

Ashleigh Shoughro scored her Mountain West Conference-leading 10th goal, but the UNLV women's soccer team (8-5, 0-2 MWC) suffered a 3-1 loss to Texas Christian in Fort Worth, Texas.

Frenchman Gael Monfils advanced to the final of the Japan Open tennis tournament, beating the Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 6-3. The fifth-seeded Monfils, who outlasted No. 2 seed Andy Roddick 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarterfinals, will face top-ranked Rafael Nadal or Viktor Troicki for the title.

Top seeds Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark powered into the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing, and second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain lost in his first tournament since the U.S. Open. Murray fell to Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, 6-3, 6-2.

Wickedly Perfect earned a spot in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, winning the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. The Doug O'Neil-trained filly, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, completed the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:40.14, leading wire to wire and beating Harlan's Ruby by two lengths.