In brief: Chicago takes over top spot in conference

NHL: Antti Niemi made 28 saves for his sixth shutout and the Chicago Blackhawks took over the points lead in the Western Conference by ending the Phoenix Coyotes’ nine-game winning streak with a 2-0 victory in Chicago.

Chicago moved closer to clinching its second straight playoff berth and now has 99 points, two more than the surprising Coyotes and one more than San Jose.

Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa scored second-period goals for Chicago, which beat the Coyotes for the first time in four meetings this season. Phoenix’ nine-game winning streak had tied a franchise record and included a shootout win over the Blackhawks.

Kane scored what proved to be the game-winner on a high shot from the left circle that eluded Ilya Bryzgalov’s glove, 1:45 into the second.

•NHL hones in on head shot rule: The league’s board of governors has unanimously approved the proposed penalty that would ban hits to the head against on an unsuspecting player.

The timing and details of implementation are being worked on by the league’s hockey operations department and the players’ Association.

•Tucker gets ban: Colorado Avalanche forward Darcy Tucker has been suspended one game by the NHL for making “excessive physical contact” on an icing play in Monday night’s game against the Kings.

Hawkins leads OK Baptist to NAIA title

College men: Marshall Johnson’s 15-footer for Azusa Pacific (28-10) was waved off after the shot was ruled after the buzzer, giving Oklahoma Baptist (33-3) an 84-83 victory in a hard-fought NAIA championship game at Kansas City, Mo.

Azusa Pacific, trying to be the first 13 seed to win this tournament since Grambling in 1961, took an 83-78 lead with 1:50 left on two free throws by Mike Danielian.

A.J. Hawkins, who scored a game-high 21, drilled an uncontested 3-pointer, putting the Bison on top 84-83 with 31 seconds left.

Metal bat debate renewed after injury

Prep baseball: As a Northern California high school baseball player clung to life after he was hit in the head by a line drive during a practice game, educators at his school questioned whether metal bats are more dangerous than wooden ones.

Gunnar Sandberg, 16, a student at Marin Catholic High School in San Francisco, remained in critical condition at Marin General Hospital. Sandberg was struck by a sharply hit baseball on March 11 while pitching during a practice game against Concord’s De La Salle High School.

The hitter used a metal bat in which the weight is distributed more evenly than it is in wooden bats, so it’s easier to swing faster.

Mancuso breaks record with 11th title

Skiing: Julia Mancuso won the giant slalom in the U.S. alpine skiing championships in Wilmington, N.Y., becoming the most accomplished skier at nationals and taking her fourth title in the discipline.

Mancuso beat Laurenne Ross to take her 11th national title in all. That moved her ahead of Andrea Mead Lawrence for the most titles of any American and broke a record that stood for 55 years.

Silver medalists Qing, Jian lead at worlds

Figure skating: Olympic silver medalists Pang Qing and Tong Jian skated a flawless and elegant short program to take the lead in the pairs competition at the world figure skating championships in Turin, Italy.

The 2006 world champions are two points ahead of Russia’s Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov.Earlier in the day, Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada won what might be the last ice dance compulsories at the worlds.

Bad back forces Singh out of Bay Hill

Golf: Vijay Singh has withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla., because of a back injury. This is the second straight week the three-time major champion has had to pull out.

NCAA brushes off Alabama’s appeal

College football: The NCAA has denied Alabama’s appeal of a ruling vacating 21 football victories from 2005-07 and records from three other sports for widespread violations involving free textbooks.

The NCAA Division I Infractions Appeals Committee announced that the Committee on Infractions’ ruling in June 2009 stands. The Alabama case involved 201 athletes in 16 sports.