Sports Briefs January 24, 2011
Jhonattan Vegas made a 13-foot par putt on the second playoff hole to win the Bob Hope Classic on Sunday in La Quinta, Calif., holding off Gary Woodland for his first PGA Tour victory.
The first Venezuelan to win a PGA Tour event, the rookie won in just his fifth tour start despite hitting his tee shot in the water on the 92nd hole of the five-day tournament. Vegas capitalized when Woodland made two poor chip shots, pumping his fist in celebration after his putt fell.
Vegas and Woodland eliminated defending champion Bill Haas with birdies on the first playoff hole after all three finished the final round at 27-under 333. Vegas is the third straight player to get his first PGA Tour victory at the Hope, joining Pat Perez and Haas.
• John Cook birdied five straight holes after the turn to win the Champions Tour's season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii, shooting a second straight 8-under 64 for a two-stroke victory over Tom Lehman.
The 53-year-old Cook had eight birdies in his bogey-free round for a 22-under 194 total and his second straight victory. He finished last season with a successful title defense in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Nuggets 121, Pacers 107: Carmelo Anthony finished with 36 points, 23 coming in the third quarter, to help host Denver past Indiana, which lost its fifth straight.
Flyers 4, Blackhawks 1: Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist, rookie Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves and visiting Philadelphia beat Chicago.
Lightning 7, Thrashers 1: At Tampa, Fla., Steven Stamkos notched his NHL-best 38th goal to take over sole possession of the league scoring lead and help Tampa Bay win its fourth straight game.
Devils 5, Panthers 2: At Newark, N.J., Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists, Jason Arnott scored twice and Martin Brodeur made 24 saves to help resurgent New Jersey beat Carolina and extend its winning streak to four.
Sabres 5, Islanders 3: At Uniondale, N.Y., Nathan Gerbe snapped a tie early in the third period with a power-play goal, and Buffalo salvaged a split of the home-and-home series with New York.
Predators 3, Oilers 2, SO: Cody Franson scored the lone shootout goal and Pekka Rinne turned aside all three Edmonton shooters in visiting Nashville's win over the Oilers.
Top 25 Men
No. 18 Wisconsin 78, Northwestern 46: Wisconsin freshman Josh Gasser had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the first triple-double in school history, leading the Badgers (15-4, 5-2 Big Ten) over the Wildcats (13-6, 3-5) in Evanston, Ill.
Jon Leuer scored 19 points, Keaton Nankivil had 16 and Jordan Taylor 14 as Wisconsin won its third straight game.
John Shurna and Luka Mirkovic scored 13 points apiece for Northwestern.
No. 21 West Virginia 56, South Florida 46: At Morgantown, W.Va., Casey Mitchell had 13 points and 14 rebounds to power the Mountaineers (13-5, 4-2 Big East) over South Florida (7-14, 1-7).
John Flowers and Kevin Jones added 13 points apiece for West Virginia.
Cycling
Lance Armstrong accepted a gift on stage and thanked the cheering fans for an "unbelievable event."
But after finishing 67th in the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, Australia, in what he says is his final race outside the United States, Armstrong again had nothing to say about the latest round of drug allegations.
The seven-time Tour de France champion rode in the back half of the main pack for most of the last stage. He crossed the line as the 103rd rider and wound up more than six minutes behind overall winner Cameron Meyer.
Skiing
Jean-Baptiste Grange of France won a World Cup slalom event, edging Ivica Kostelic of Croatia by .28 seconds, in Kitzbuehel, Austria.
• Lindsey Vonn skied through pain in her left knee to win another World Cup super-G race, claiming her sixth victory of the season by a small margin over German rival Maria Riesch in Cortina d'Ampezzpo, Italy.
- The Associated Press