In brief: L.A. Galaxy advance to MLS Cup final
Soccer: Mike Magee scored the go-ahead goal on a pass from David Beckham in the 58th minute, and Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane also scored as the Los Angeles Galaxy advanced to the MLS Cup with a 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake on Sunday night in Carson, Calif., in the Western Conference final.
With spectacular plays from their trio of superstars, Los Angeles advanced to face the Houston Dynamo in the MLS title game Nov. 20 at the Home Depot Center, where the Galaxy haven’t lost all year.
• Dynamo reach MLS Cup final: Andre Hainault scored his second goal of the postseason, and the Houston Dynamo reached the MLS Cup final by beating Sporting Kansas City 2-0 in the Eastern Conference title game in Kansas City, Kan.
Carlo Costly added a late insurance goal as Houston extended its unbeaten streak to nine and reached its first league final since winning back-to-back championships in 2006 and 2007.
The win also puts the Dynamo in the CONCACAF Champions League for the 2012-13 season.
Moore lifts Lightning over Panthers in SO
NHL: Dominic Moore scored the shootout winner to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla.
Ryan Malone, Steven Stamkos, and Teddy Purcell also scored for the Lightning. Dwayne Roloson stopped all 28 shots he faced after coming in late in the first period in relief of Mathieu Garon.
The Panthers squandered a 3-0 lead and suffered their third straight shootout loss, all at home. Jose Theodore made 34 saves for Florida.
• Blues fire Payne: The St. Louis Blues have changed coaches after a disappointing 6-7 start, firing Davis Payne and hiring Ken Hitchcock to a contract through next season.
The team called a news conference this morning and Hitchcock will be on the bench for practice in the afternoon.
Stoner ends title year on a high note
Motorsports: Australian Casey Stoner finished his championship-winning year by overtaking Ben Spies down the final straight to win the season-ending Valencia MotoGP in Valencia, Spain.
The world champion, who clinched the title on Oct. 16, finished in 48 minutes, 18.645 seconds. Spies, an American, was only 0.015 seconds behind in light rain on the 2.5-mile Comunitat Valenciana Circuit.
Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso was third.
• Motorcycle stunt rider dies from injuries: A motorcycle stunt rider died from injuries suffered during practice for an exhibition at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
Jim McNeil was taken by helicopter to a Fort Worth hospital, where he was pronounced dead, track spokesman Mike Zizzo said.
McNeil was practicing in a souvenir area outside the TMS gates when he got hurt. He was preparing to do an exhibition for a sponsor and wasn’t part of the track’s official program of events before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Czech Republic tops Russia for Fed Cup
Tennis: The Czech Republic won its first Fed Cup title in 23 years after Lucie Hradecka and Kveta Peschke beat Maria Kirilenko and Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-2 in the decisive doubles match in Moscow to secure a 3-2 win over Russia in the final.
The victory also caps a breakthrough season for second-ranked Petra Kvitova, who won both of her singles matches for the Czechs. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova then beat No. 2 Lucie Safarova to pull Russia even and set up the decisive doubles.
Earlier on Sunday, Kvitova rallied to beat Kuznetsova 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Pavlyuchenkova then replaced Kirilenko and kept the Russians’ hopes alive by beating Safarova 6-2, 6-4.
• Ivanovic wins Tournament of Champions: Ana Ivanovic successfully defended her WTA Tournament of Champions title with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Anabel Medina-Garigues in Nuas Dua, Indonesia.
Ivanovic celebrated her 24th birthday with the $210,000 prize and is now looking for a better start to next season.
Nadia Petrova of Russia took third place by defeating Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0.
• Federer ends 10-month drought: 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.
Federer had a complete game on display to dominate the 32nd-ranked Japanese, who stunned top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
• Granollers wins Valencia Open: Marcel Granollers defeated Juan Monaco 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3) in the Valencia (Spain) Open final for his third career title.
Missouri to SEC deal made official
College football: After weeks of waiting, Missouri’s move to the Southeastern Conference became official on Sunday.
The SEC released a statement saying the conference’s presidents and chancellors acted unanimously, and Missouri will join the league effective July 1, 2012.
Missouri will be leaving the Big 12, a conference it has been a part of since 1907, including its days as the Big Eight.
The addition of Missouri will increase SEC membership to 14 schools, including Texas A&M, which announced last month that it was also leaving the Big 12 for the SEC.
World Series of Poker down to four finalists
Poker: Five rapid-fire eliminations – including two players bounced on consecutive hands – brought the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas one bust away from a Tuesday night showdown and guaranteed each of the top four finishers at least $3 million each.
Eoghan O’Dea, the 26-year-old son of an Irish poker professional, was eliminated in sixth after losing most of his chips in earlier hands and collapsing from a start at second in chips. He earned $1.7 million.
O’Dea was then followed by 26-year-old Las Vegas professional Phil Collins, who moved in against chip leader Pius Heinz with an ace-seven but found Heinz with pocket nines. Collins won $2.3 million for fifth place.
“I’m happy with the money, but not with the result,” said Collins, who started the day fourth in chips.
Four players – 26-year-old Las Vegas poker pros Ben Lamb and Matt Giannetti, plus the 22-year-old Heinz and 35-year-old Martin Staszko of the Czech Republic – were each guaranteed at least $3 million each.
Horse collapses, dies at equestrian event
Miscellany: Olympic show jumping champion Eric Lamaze’s horse Hickstead died during a World Cup event in Verona, Italy.
The International Equestrian Federation says that the Canadian partnership had just completed the 13-fence course with a single rail down in the middle of the combination when Hickstead collapsed and died.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
Lamaze rode Hickstead to individual gold and team silver for Canada at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
• Orioles hire Duquette: Dan Duquette signed a three-year contract to become the Baltimore Orioles’ president of baseball operations.
The 53-year-old Duquette, who interviewed with the Orioles over the weekend, was farm director of the Montreal Expos from 1987-1991 and their general manager from 1991-94. He then served as general manager of the Boston Red Sox from 1994-2002.