Asada takes free skate title at Skate America
Figure skating: Japan’s Mao Asada beat American Ashley Wagner at Skate America in Detroit on Sunday.
Asada, the leader going into the free skate, won despite a fall on her triple axel and a two-footed landing on her triple lutz. She scored 204.55 points, thanks to her elevated technical difficulty. Wagner, the 2012 Skate America champion, finished with 193.81.
Russia’s Elena Radionova finished third at 183.95 in her first ISU Grand Prix event.
In pairs, Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia set a world record in their successful defense of their Skate America title, finishing with 237.71 points.
Volosozhar and Trankov, the reigning world champions, easily won the free skate with powerful lifts and near-perfect spin synchronization.
Canada’s Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch were second at 208.45, followed by Russia’s Knesia Stobova and Fedor Klimov at 187.35.
Blue Jackets end skid by beating Canucks
NHL: R.J. Umberger scored his first goal of the season with 8:46 left and the Blue Jackets ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in Columbus, Ohio.
Curtis McElhinney, making his first appearance for the Blue Jackets in place of Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky, had 37 saves.
Marian Gaborik and Ryan Johansen also scored for the Blue Jackets, who won for the first time at home this season after losing their first two.
• Ducks earn seventh straight win: Emerson Etem got his first career short-handed goal late in the second period after Corey Perry scored twice to tie the game, and the Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars in Anaheim, Calif.
Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and three assists, and Teemu Selanne extended his goal streak to three games.
Jack Campbell made 41 saves in his NHL debut for Dallas.
• Predators down Jets for Hutton’s first win: Carter Hutton, starting in place of resting Pekka Rinne, made 37 saves for his first NHL win, leading the Nashville Predators past the Jets 3-1 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Eric Nystrom, Patric Hornqvist and Matt Cullen scored for Nashville.
Evander Kane had the lone goal for Winnipeg.
Dutch crew wins at Head of Charles
Rowing: OTC Amsterdam has become the first Dutch crew to win the men’s eights title at the Head of the Charles.
It won the event at the 49th annual regatta on the Charles River between Cambridge, Mass., and Boston.
OTC Amsterdam edged the entry from the U.S. Rowing Center by 1.48 seconds while Harvard finished third.
In the women’s eights, The Cambridge Boat Club’s “Super Eight” entry edged the U.S. Rowing Center team by .80 of a second. The winning entry was composed of some of the world’s best single scullers rowing as a team.
The second day of the regatta included strong swirling winds on the 3-mile course. On Saturday, 20 course records were set in 29 events.
Gasquet, Halep claim Kremlin Cup titles
Tennis: Top-seeded Richard Gasquet of France won the 10th title of his career by rallying to beat qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
With the victory, Gasquet overtakes fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quest for the eighth spot in the season-ending ATP Tour Final in London next month.
Simona Halep of Romania claimed the fifth title of her career by beating Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the women’s final.
With the victory, Halep is projected to rise to a career-high 15th in the WTA Tour rankings today.
• Haas tops Haas in Vienna: Second-seeded German Tommy Haas won his 15th career title and second this season, defeating Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
The 35-year-old Haas maintained his slim chance of qualifying for next month’s ATP finals in London.
• Wozniacki earns first title of season: Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark won her first tournament of the year, beating German teenager Annika Beck 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Luxembourg Open.
Wozniacki, ranked ninth in the world, lost one set in the tournament. She dominated her 19-year-old opponent and completed the match in 1 hour, 14 minutes. The 57th-ranked Beck was playing in her first WTA tournament final.
• Dimitrov wins Stockholm Open: Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria secured his first ATP tour title at the Stockholm Open, beating top-seeded David Ferrer of Spain 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The 22-year-old Dimitrov broke the No. 3-ranked Ferrer’s serve three times to end the match in just over two hours.
• WTA Championships draw revealed: Top-ranked titleholder Serena Williams will face former winner Petra Kvitova in her group at the WTA Championships, which start Tuesday in Istanbul.
Sunday’s draw for the event that brings together the top eight players in the world also put Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber in Williams’ Red Group.
Second-ranked Victoria Azarenka heads the White Group, which also includes Li Na, Sara Errani and Jelena Jankovic. Third-ranked Maria Sharapova pulled out of the event because of a shoulder injury.
U.S. gives Sermanni win over former club
Miscellany: Lauren Holiday and Carli Lloyd scored in the first half and the U.S. women’s national soccer team overpowered Australia 4-0 in San Antonio, giving coach Tom Sermanni a victory in his first match against his former team.
Abby Wambach scored her 162nd career international goal for the U.S. with a delicate flick off the outside of her right foot that trickled into the corner. Christen Press scored in stoppage time.
Hope Solo made three big saves in the first half for the United States.
The win extends the Americans’ unbeaten streak to 36 games and pushed Sermanni’s record with the U.S. to 11-0-2 in his first year. Sermanni led Australia to two World Cup appearances and an Asian Cup title, before taking the U.S. job in late 2012.
• Spurrier says Shaw likely out at Missouri: South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier says quarterback Connor Shaw won’t need surgery for his sprained left knee.
But Shaw is unlikely to play when the 20th-ranked Gamecocks travel to No. 5 Missouri Saturday.
Spurrier said that Shaw had on a knee brace and was walking some just a day after injuring the knee in a loss at Tennessee. However, Spurrier adds Shaw wouldn’t practice for two to three days.