Sports Briefs November 7, 2011
Golf
Jay Don Blake won the Charles Schwab Championship on Sunday in San Francisco for his second victory of the season following a 20-year drought, and Tom Lehman took the season points title and $1 million annuity.
Blake closed with an even-par 71 for a two-stroke victory in the Champions Tour's season finale. He finished at 8-under 276 at TPC Harding Park.
• Martin Kaymer was five shots behind, but holed a sand shot on No. 7 for the first of nine birdies over the last 12 holes to blow past Fredrik Jacobson and a host of stars on his way to a 9-under 63 and a three-shot victory at Sheshan International in Shanghai.
Kaymer wound up setting two World Golf Championship records that showed just how well the "Germanator" played on a cool, overcast day in Shanghai. It was the largest comeback (five shots) in the final round, and his 63 was the lowest final round by a winner since this series began in 1999.
Football
LSU put a lock on the top spot, Oklahoma State moved up to No. 2 for the best ranking in school history, and Alabama slipped to No. 4 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll after losing a 1 vs. 2 showdown against the Tigers.
LSU received 59 out of 60 first-place votes after beating the Crimson Tide 9-6 in overtime in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the night before.
Boise State, fifth in the poll, received the other No. 1 vote.
• Missouri is moving to the Southeastern Conference, as the conference's presidents and chancellors unanimously agreed to welcome them into the league effective July 1, 2012.
• Robert Turbin scored on a 1-yard run with 14 seconds left to complete a second-half rally that gave Utah State (3-5, 1-2 Western Athletic Conference) a 35-31 win over Hawaii (5-4, 3-2) late Saturday night in Honolulu.
Hockey
The St. Louis Blues changed coaches after a disappointing 6-7 start, firing Davis Payne and hiring Ken Hitchcock to a contract through next season.
The 59-year-old Hitchcock is 534-350-88-70, winning a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999-2000 and also coaching at Philadelphia and Columbus.
Lightning 4, Panthers 3, SO: At Sunrise, Fla., Dominic Moore scored the shootout winner to lift Tampa Bay over Florida.
Stars 5, Hurricanes 2: At Raleigh, N.C., Jamie Benn scored twice, including a shorthanded goal, to lead Dallas past Carolina.
Canucks 6, Blackhawks 2: Henrik Sedin had a goal and three assists and to lead Vancouver at Chicago.
Rangers 3, Jets 0: Derek Stepan had a goal and an assist to help host New York Rangers beat Winnipeg.
Flames 2, Avalanche 1: At Denver, Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 32 shots to lead Calgary past Colorado.
Basketball
NBA Commissioner David Stern said the league is prepared to offer a deal that could give players up to 51 percent of basketball revenue.
If the players don't take the deal by the close of business Wednesday, the league will drop the revenue split to 47 percent, plus add a flex cap - a deal the players would certainly reject thereby risking the season.
Tennis
The Czech Republic won its first Fed Cup title in 23 years in Moscow after Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke beat Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-2 in the decisive doubles match to secure a 3-2 win over Russia in the final.
• Defending champion Roger Federer beat Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-3 in the Swiss Indoors final in Basel, Switzerland, to win his first title in 10 months.
Running
Geoffrey Mutai finished the New York City Marathon in 2 hours, 5 minutes, 6 seconds, crushing the previous mark of 2:07:43 set by Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia a decade earlier.
Ethiopian Firehiwot Dado rallied for her first major marathon title.
- The Associated Press