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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Couples extends lead at Cup Championship

Fred Couples chips onto the 18th green in the third round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

Golf: Fred Couples shot a 3-under-par 68 to reach 15-under 198 and extend his lead to five strokes Saturday after the third round of the Champions Tour’s season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in San Francisco.

Mark O’Meara was second after a 67.

Charles Schwab Cup points leader Kenny Perry was tied for seventh at 7 under after a 67.

Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett shot a 70 for a 3-under 210 total after three rounds.

• Johnson holds lead at HSBC: Dustin Johnson made two double bogeys in his 6-under 66 and saw his lead cut in half to three shots going into the final round of this World Golf Championship in Shanghai.

Johnson ran off five straight birdies on the front nine, and then four straight birdies on the back nine to lead by six shots over Ian Poulter.

Russian claims Cup of China title

Figure skating: Anna Pogorilaya, a 15-year-old from Russia competing in her first senior Grand Prix, hit seven triple jumps to win the Cup of China in Beijing with a total score of 178.62. Adelina Sotnikova of Russia was second with 174.70. Carolina Kostner of Italy finished third with 173.40 total.

In the men’s event, 17-year-old Han Yan of China won his first senior Grand Prix by topping Russia’s Maxim Kovtun by nearly seven points. Takahiko Kozuka of Japan was third.

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France came from behind to post a victory in ice dance with an overall total of 165.68.

Italy leads Russia for Fed Cup

Tennis: Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani prevailed in the opening singles in Cagliari, Italy, for a 2-0 lead against Russia to put Italy on the brink of a fourth Fed Cup title.

Vinci rallied from 5-2 down in the second set and saved four match points to beat Alexandra Panova 5-7, 7-5, 8-6 in 3 hours, 13 minutes.

Errani overcame Irina Khromacheva 6-1, 6-4.

The reverse singles are today with Errani taking on Panova and Vinci facing Khromacheva.

• Ferrer stuns Nadal in Paris: David Ferrer stunned top-seeded Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-5 to set up a showdown with Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Masters.

Earlier, Djokovic won his 16th straight match by rallying from a set and a break down to defeat Roger Federer 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

• Halep, Stosur to meet in Tournament of Champions final: Simona Halep and Samantha Stosur will meet in a WTA final for the second time in three weeks at the season-ending Tournament of Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Top-seeded Halep rallied from a set down to beat Ana Ivanovic 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, and fourth-seeded Stosur outlasted Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in the semifinals.

Keselowski wins Nationwide race

Auto racing: Brad Keselowski led 105 of 200 laps at Fort Worth, Texas to win his sixth of the last eight Nationwide Series starts.

With the win in the No. 22 Ford, Keselowski put Roger Penske back in the lead for owner points. Keselowski finished nearly a second ahead of Denny Hamilin.

• Webber earns pole at Abu Dhabi: Mark Webber beat Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel’s time at the end of qualifying to take pole position for the Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) Grand Prix.

Vettel has clinched his fourth straight F1 title.

Undefeated Sixers top Bulls

NBA: Rookie Michael Carter-Williams had 26 points and 10 assists and Spencer Hawes added 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers (3-0) continued their stunning start to the season, beating the visiting Chicago Bulls 107-104.

After trailing by as many as 18 points in the second half, the Sixers took a 100-99 lead with 3:29 left when Carter-Williams picked up a loose ball and calmly laid it in.

• New Orleans finds first win as Pelicans: Anthony Davis had 25 points, eight rebounds, a career-high six blocks and five assists to lead New Orleans (1-2) to a 105-84 home win over the Charlotte Bobcats, its first win since changing its nickname to Pelicans.

Tyreke Evans added 15 points, Jrue Holiday had 14 and Brian Roberts 13 for New Orleans.

Capitals slip past Panthers in SO

Miscellany: Nicklas Backstrom scored in the first period and added the winning goal in the shootout to lift the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Florida Panthers.

The Capitals won their second game in a row without Alex Ovechkin, who is out with an unspecified upper-body injury.

Tomas Fleishmann tied the game for Florida on a power-play goal with 2:38 left in the third.

The Capitals also got shootout tallies from Mikhail Grabovski and Brooks Laich.

• Luongo, Canucks blank Leafs: Roberto Luongo made 21 saves for his second shutout of the season, leading the Canucks to a 4-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Before the game, Vancouver retired former star winger Pavel Bure’s No. 10.

• Giants officially split with Zito: The Giants formally parted ways with left-hander Barry Zito, declining to exercise his $18 million contract option for next season and instead owing him a $7 million buyout. Zito had a 63-80 record with a 4.62 ERA in 197 starts and 208 appearances with San Francisco.