In Brief

TENNIS

Nadal, other high seeds
advance in Cincinnati

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal beat American Taylor Dent 6-2, 7-5 on Wednesday in his opening match at the Cincinnati Masters in Mason, Ohio. Nadal took control by dominating the first four games, setting up his 35th victory in his last 37 matches.

Second-ranked Roger Federer, third-ranked Novak Djokovic, fourth-ranked Andy Murray and No. 13 Andy Roddick -- the top-rated American -- also advanced.

Roddick never faced a break point during a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Thiemo de Bakker.

Also: Kim Clijsters rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the second round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

Second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki edged Patty Schnyder, 7-5, 7-5.

Justine Henin will miss the rest of the season as she recovers from an elbow injury. The 28-year-old former No. 1 sustained the injury at Wimbledon in July and said on her website she would not be able to practice again until October.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

USC freshman standout
unlikely to play opener

Southern California freshman running back Dillon Baxter will not travel with the team to Hawaii for the season opener Sept. 2 after being suspended last week by coach Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin said Baxter would not make the trip because it would be a distraction to the other players. Baxter has continued to practice with the rest of the team.

Also: Connecticut indefinitely suspended backup quarterback Cody Endres and guard Erik Kuraczea. The school would only say that Endres, a junior, and Kuraczea, a sophomore, violated school policies.

Endres started six games last season, throwing for 1,354 yards and six touchdowns after starting quarterback Zach Frazer went down with a knee injury.

MISCELLANEOUS

Kyle Busch claims win
in NASCAR Truck race

For the third straight year, Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Truck race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn.

Busch, who won the pole position for the O'Reilly 200, was relegated to 35th at the start because of an engine change after qualifying. It took him 91 laps to power his way from the back of the field to the race lead.

With his fuel level low, the Las Vegas native was able to hold off Aric Almirola for his 19th Truck Series victory in 77 career starts.

Also: The Wranglers agreed to terms with defensemen Aaron Power and Sean McMonagle for the ECHL season.

Power, who played two seasons for Las Vegas from 2006 to 2008, returns after playing the past two years in Germany and Italy. McMonagle played three games for Las Vegas last season on an amateur tryout agreement.

The Wranglers also recently agreed to terms with veteran centers Vince Bellisimo and Ryan Huddy and acquired the rights to defenseman Jamie Fritsch from the Gwinnett Gladiators for considerations.

Michael Phelps led all the way in winning the 200-meter butterfly at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, Calif., extending his eight-year dominance in the event. Phelps clocked 1 minute, 54.11 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year.

Fellow American Ryan Lochte cruised to victory in the 200 freestyle in 1:45.30, the fastest time in the world this year.

Vitali Klitschko will defend his WBC heavyweight title against Shannon Briggs of the United States on Oct. 16 in Hamburg, Germany. The 39-year-old Ukrainian has a 40-2 record, and the 38-year-old Briggs is 51-5 with one draw.

The agent for Rudy Fernandez said the Portland Trail Blazers swingman does not want to return to the NBA.

Agent Andy Miller told media outlets that Fernandez, who averaged 8.1 points last season, wants to play in Europe and is willing to sit out the next two seasons, the time left on his Portland contract.