In brief: American skaters suffer poor start at Worlds

All three American men fell or stumbled. Rena Inoue hit the ice three times in her performance with John Baldwin. The American pairs champions looked, well, sick.

It was that kind of day for the United States at the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo.

Ryan Bradley was the first American to compete Wednesday in the men’s short program. He went to the ice on a triple axel jump and placed 19th.

Evan Lysacek, the American champion for the first time, soon followed. He put his hand on the ice on his quad attempt and lost points for the combination when he waited too long for the second jump.

He ended up fifth but almost 11 points behind the leader, Brian Joubert of France.

Johnny Weir started with a smooth triple axel and a triple-triple combination but then stumbled on a triple flip and finished fourth entering the free skate tonight.

In the evening, China took first and second in the pairs final.

Inoue and Baldwin were eighth after a trio of miscues.

Today, it’s the original dance in ice dancing, with Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto in contention.

Tennis

Mauresmo out a month

Amelie Mauresmo had an appendectomy in Paris and is expected to be sidelined a month.

The fourth-ranked Frenchwoman underwent surgery in Paris.

“Andy Roddick and James Blake were selected for the U.S. Davis Cup team that will face Rafael Nadal and Spain on an indoor hardcourt in next month’s quarterfinal.

Captain Patrick McEnroe will also go with the world’s top-ranked doubles team of brothers Bob and Mike Bryan in the best-of-5 event in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Racing

Ravel off Derby trail

Sham Stakes winner Ravel has an injured left front leg and is off the Kentucky Derby trail.

Ravel, a winner in two of three career starts under trainer Todd Pletcher, injured his left front cannon bone, which lies between the knee and the fetlock joint.

“The Jockeys’ Guild and Churchill Downs Inc. have settled a lawsuit stemming from two jockey boycotts of the historic track.

The settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in Louisville, Ky., bars the jockeys from walking out or going on strike until 2011 and forbids the track from taking disciplinary action against the riders, except under normal circumstances.

Miscellany

Japan downs U.S.

The United States lost to Japan today in its final round-robin match in the women’s world curling championship at Aomori, Japan.

The American team had already wrapped up a place in the playoffs before the 7-1 loss.

“Sarah Merritt, a 20-year-old Ohio University women’s soccer player on spring break in Hilton Head Island, S.C., fell from a fifth-floor balcony at her hotel and died.

“Michigan football players Carson Butler and Christian Richards III were arraigned on assault charges after police say they attacked a fellow student in a residence hall on St. Patrick’s Day.

“The United States men will open qualifying for the 2008 Olympics against Venezuela in the FIBA Americas tournament.

“The LPGA Tour announced that it will begin testing for 33 anabolic steroids, 29 stimulants and 20 beta-blockers, among other substances next year.

“NHRA driver Eric Medlen remained in critical condition, days after a test-session crash at Gainesville Raceway. Doctors at the University of Florida medical center performed a three-hour brain surgery Tuesday to relieve pressure and hemorrhaging.

“Tom Jones, the longtime Florida women’s track and field died in Gainesville, Fla., after battling cancer. He was 62.