Avalanche post victory in Roy debut

NHL: Semyon Varlamov was sharp in making 35 saves, and Jamie McGinn scored two goals, leading Colorado to a 6-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night in Denver in Patrick Roy’s coaching debut with the Avalanche.

Ryan O’Reilly, John Mitchell, Matt Duchene and Steve Downie added goals for the Avalanche, who improved to 19-8-7 on opening night. Top pick Nathan MacKinnon set up both of McGinn’s goals with no-look passes. Alex Tanguay, back with Colorado for the first time since the 2005-06 season, had three assists.

• Bolland powers Maple Leafs: Dave Bolland scored twice and Phil Kessel added a goal to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Philadelphia.

The Maple Leafs are off to a 2-0 start and spoiled Philadelphia’s season opener one night after ruining Montreal’s.

Jonathan Bernier stopped 31 shots for the Leafs.

• Red Wings edge Sabres: Pavel Datsyuk and Mikael Samuelsson scored 36 seconds apart midway through the first period and the Detroit Red Wings held on to beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in Detroit.

Forty-niners sign quarterback Skelton

Football: The San Francisco 49ers signed quarterback John Skelton to a one-year contract, giving them a strong-armed third-stringer under center.

Skelton signed a day after the reigning NFC champions waived rookie B.J. Daniels, who still could be an option to join the practice squad.

Skelton was cut by the Bengals on Aug. 31 when they set their 53-man roster.

• Ogletree joins Lions: Wide receiver Kevin Ogletree signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions.

Ogletree was cut by Tampa Bay on Tuesday after signing with the Buccaneers as a free agent in March.

• Titans’ Griffin fined: Titans safety Michael Griffin said the NFL fined him $21,000 for his hit on New York Jets receiver Stephen Hill, which Griffin calls the consequence of going high. Griffin said he appealed the fine as soon as he received it.

• Blackmon back from suspension: Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon returned from a four-game suspension. Blackmon was suspended for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

• Several Chiefs ailing: The Kansas City Chiefs were missing several key players, including Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles, as they began preparing for Sunday’s game at Tennessee.

Charles missed a workout because of blisters on his feet. Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he believes Charles will be ready to go against the Titans.

Also ailing are cornerback Brandon Flowers, safety Kendrick Lewis, tackle Eric Fisher and punter Dustin Colquitt.

• Steelers acquire Brown: The Pittsburgh Steelers acquired tackle Levi Brown from the Arizona Cardinals for a conditional draft pick.

The deal is pending the 29-year-old Brown passing a physical.

• Air Force, Navy still on: The Air Force-Navy football game will be played Saturday in Annapolis, Md., after receiving the approval of the Department of Defense.

The Department of Defense suspended sports competition at the service academies due to a partial government shutdown. But funding for the football game on Navy’s home field is provided by nongovernment funding.

A decision on Army’s game at Boston College on Saturday will be made by 9 a.m. PDT today.

The Coast Guard Academy will play its game against Western New England on Saturday.

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid dominate foes

Soccer: Bayern Munich and Real Madrid produced dominant performances in the Champions League as the likes of Arjen Robben and Cristiano Ronaldo found the net on a good night for Europe’s top forwards.

Robben helped Bayern top Manchester City 3-1 away and the defending champs are off to a 2-0-0 start.

Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria scored two goals each for Real Madrid in a 4-0 rout of Copenhagen.

They were all outdone by Kostas Mitroglou, who scored a hat trick to lead Olympiakos to a 3-0 victory at Anderlecht.

Manchester United was held to a 1-1 draw at Shakhtar Donetsk.

• Brazilian judge orders work stoppage: A Brazilian labor judge has ordered the suspension of construction work at the World Cup stadium in Curitiba because of concerns related to workers’ safety.

The judge ruled that safety improvements must be implemented before the work can continue at Arena da Baixada.

The stadium is one of the six trying to make the December deadline established by FIFA for all 12 World Cup venues.

Biles, Ross lead U.S. in world gymnastics

Miscellany: The United States is still dominating all-around qualifying at the world gymnastics championships in Antwerp, Belgium, even without its defending champion or Olympic gold medalist.

U.S. champion Simone Biles used superb floor and vault exercises to pass teammate Kyla Ross and clinch a 1-2 finish ahead of Friday’s all-around.

• Penske signs Keselowski, Miller Lite: Penske Racing signed Brad Keselowski and Miller Lite to contract extensions through the 2017 season.