Briefly

Wayne Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, will be the new coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, the Arizona Republic reported on its Web site Sunday.

Gretzky, the team’s managing partner, is expected to be introduced as coach today, multiple NHL sources told the paper.

Team spokesman Rich Nairn told the Associated Press he could not confirm the story. He said the team had no events scheduled for today.

There had been speculation for several months that Gretzky would move from the Coyotes’ front office to their bench. But the nine-time MVP had said he would wait until a new collective bargaining agreement was in place before deciding whether to coach.

•Former Spokane Chief Ray Whitney signed a two-year contract with Carolina, giving the Hurricanes a two-time All-Star who has topped 60 points in five of his last seven seasons.

Tennis

Roddick sweeps Blake

Top-seeded Andy Roddick defeated James Blake 7-5, 6-3 to win the Legg Mason Tennis Classic championship in Washington.

Roddick, who also won in Washington in 2001, took advantage of costly errors by Blake in the clinching game of the first set, then rode the momentum to his fourth title of the year.

•Mary Pierce routed Ai Sugiyama 6-0, 6-3 in Carlsbad, Calif., in the finals of the Acura Classic to win her first tournament in over a year.

•France’s Gael Monfils won his first ATP title, capturing the Idea Prokom Open in Sopot, Poland, by defeating Germany’s Florian Mayer 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-5.

Horse racing

Roman Ruler tops Haskell field

Trainer Bob Baffert won the Haskell Invitational in Oceanport, N.J., for the third time in five years, when Roman Ruler took the lead from Sun King in the stretch and ran off to a 1 1/4 -length victory in the showcase event at Monmouth Park.

•Two sons of SJ’s Photo finished 1-2 in The Hambletonian in East Rutherford, N.J., harness racing’s biggest event, with Vivid Photo surprising favorite Classic Photo by rallying for a 2 3/4 -length victory at Meadowlands Racetrack.

Volleyball

U.S. men stun Brazil

The United States stunned world champion Brazil to win the America’s Cup of volleyball 3-2 in a five-set marathon.

The U.S. team grabbed an early lead and hung on to beat Brazil 27-25, 26-24, 21-25, 20-25 and 15-11 before a packed house of 6,000 fans in the southern Brazilian city of Sao Leopoldo, about 750 miles southwest of Rio de Janeiro.

It was the first loss since the 2003 Pan American games for the Brazilian men’s team, the defending Olympic and World League champions.

Cycling

Basso wins Tour of Denmark

Tour de France runner-up Ivan Basso of Italy won the Tour of Denmark, capturing four of the race’s six stages.

Germany’s Andre Greipel took the final stage, which finished in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Fifteen teams and 120 riders competed in the 527-mile race through Denmark.

Overall, Basso finished ahead of CSC teammate Kurt-Asle Arvesen and Rory Sutherland of Australia. Arvesen won last year’s race.