No. 4 Panthers claw way over No. 1 Huskies

DeJuan Blair had 22 points and 23 rebounds and Levance Fields scored all 10 of his points in the final 3:09 as No. 4 Pittsburgh beat No. 1 Connecticut 76-68 on Monday night in Hartford, Conn., the Panthers’ first win over a top-ranked team.

Fields missed his first seven shots from the field but the senior guard gave the Panthers (24-2, 11-2 Big East) the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 3:09 left that made it 64-61. He added another 3 with 2:21 left to make it 67-61, and he added four free throws in the final minute.

A.J. Price had 18 points for the Huskies (24-2, 12-2), who started their third week at No. 1 earlier Monday and had their 13-game winning streak ended.

Sam Young had 25 points for Pittsburgh, which lost all 13 games it had played against No. 1 teams, the last three against Connecticut.

•CS Northridge guard injured: Cal State Northridge guard Josh Jenkins was hospitalized after being injured in a weekend car accident in Los Angeles.

Jenkins was a passenger in the vehicle whose driver was killed in the single-car accident Saturday night, hours after he scored 19 points in a win over UC Riverside.

The senior from Albuquerque was in stable condition and will remain hospitalized for several more days, the school said in a statement.

Hockey

Blysma loses debut

Dan Bylsma’s first game behind the Pittsburgh Penguins’ bench ended like so many under former coach Michel Therrien, with a loss.

Frans Nielsen and Jeff Tambellini scored shootout goals, and Joey MacDonald turned aside Penguins stars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in the tiebreaker to lift the lowly New York Islanders to a 3-2 victory in Uniondale, N.Y.

Chris Campoli and Frans Nielsen scored for New York, which owns the NHL’s worst record (17-33-6).

Stars outshine Blue Jackets: James Neal scored the only goal in the shootout and Marty Turco had 41 saves to lead the Dallas Stars past the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in Columbus, Ohio.

Neal slipped the puck past Steve Mason on the glove side. Turco, tested all night, then made a blocker save on Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash to preserve the victory.

•Canadiens pick up Schneider: The Montreal Canadiens have acquired defenseman Mathieu Schneider from the Atlanta Thrashers.

It wasn’t immediately clear what the Thrashers received for the 39-year-old Schneider.

Baseball

Pujols declines WBC

St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols says he will not play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic because of insurance issues.

Pujols, who hit .357 with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs for the Cardinals, says he regrets not being able to represent his native country in this year’s WBC. He played for the Dominican team in 2006.

Pujols says he is 100 percent physically, “but the insurance does not want to cover” him to play, leaving the Dominican Republic without one of its biggest stars.

Pujols had elbow surgery in October.

•Ortiz calls for season-long ban: David Ortiz says players who test positive for steroids should be suspended from baseball for the whole season.

The Red Sox designated hitter says the way to clean up the game is through testing and not by taking players to court. Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada pleaded guilty last Wednesday to misleading Congress about performance- enhancing drug use in baseball.

•Maddux returns as instructor: Greg Maddux, who retired in December after winning 355 games and 18 Gold Gloves during a 23-year career, has agreed to become a spring training instructor for the San Diego Padres. He’s scheduled to arrive in camp on Wednesday.

•Astros’ Hampton sent home: Astros left-hander Mike Hampton returned to Houston after a routine physical turned up a minor irregularity in his heartbeat.

Hampton was to be examined by team physician Dr. Jim Muntz before undergoing a procedure to correct the heartbeat with an electrical current. The Astros hope to have him back in camp Thursday.

Football

Pro-Bowl veterans cut

Fred Taylor and Chris McAlister, two former Pro Bowlers, fell victim to the NFL’s annual purge of high-salaried veterans.

The 33-year-old Taylor, Jacksonville’s all-time leading rusher, was cut after 11 seasons as the team continued its off-season makeover. The running back was due to make $6 million next season.

The 31-year-old McAlister, a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback, was cut by Baltimore after 10 seasons. He was scheduled to make $8 million in 2009.

•Bengals tag Graham: The Bengals have tagged kicker Shayne Graham as their franchise player, a move that gives the eight-year veteran the option to sign a one-year deal for a salary equal to the average of the five highest-paid kickers from last season.

Miscellany

Armstrong survives spill

Lance Armstrong took a spill when he got tangled with a motorcycle, and still moved up a spot in the overall standings at the Tour of California after a rainy and crash-filled second stage in Santa Cruz, Calif.

Two-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa, Calif., became the third different race leader. He emerged from a chasing group on the final climb with about 17 miles left before finishing a close second to stage winner Thomas Peterson of North Bend, Wash.

Armstrong, who began the day in fifth place, is fourth, 30 seconds behind. He finished 13th in the stage.