Sports in brief: Fever even series with Mercury
WNBA: Tamika Catchings fell one rebound shy of the first triple-double in WNBA finals history and the Indiana Fever beat the Phoenix Mercury 93-84 on Thursday night in Phoenix, to square the best-of-5 series 1-1.
Catchings had 19 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to help the Fever steal home-court advantage in the series with the next two games in Indianapolis, beginning with Game 3 on Sunday.
The WNBA defensive player of the year for the third time, Catchings also harassed league MVP Diana Taurasi into a 7-for-22 shooting night. Taurasi finished with 20 points.
The cold-shooting Mercury were without supersub Penny Taylor most of the second half. The Aussie, who scored all 14 of her points in the first half, left with a cut lip with 3:33 to play in the third quarter.
Taurasi was 2 of 10 on 3-pointers and teammate Cappie Pondexter 0 of 4.
The Mercury struggled on offense two nights after a 120-116 overtime victory in Game 1, the highest-scoring contest in WNBA history. Phoenix shot 39.7 percent for the game and was just 5 of 20 in the third quarter, when the Fever built a 17-point lead.
Catchings led six Indiana players in double figures. Rookie Briann January (Lewis and Clark High) added 16 points, hitting 3 of 4 3-pointers, and Katie Douglas scored 14.
•McCoughtry honored as rookie of year: Atlanta Dream forward Angel McCoughtry is the WNBA’s rookie of the year.
McCoughtry was the No. 1 overall draft pick this past season.
•Atlanta’s Meadors named coach of year: Marynell Meadors was honored as the WNBA coach of the year after leading the Dream to a remarkable turnaround in the franchise’s second season.
Atlanta went from 4-30 in 2008 to 18-16 this season to earn a playoff berth.
Olson, Petrovic tied for first-round lead
Golf: Overcoming adverse conditions on a blustery day, Leif Olson shot a 6-under-par 66 to tie Tim Petrovic for the first-round lead at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in Verona, N.Y.
Olson, a 28-year-old rookie from Denver, had to advance through all three stages of Qualifying School to earn his 2009 card on the cut line.
“I consider it really my first main year playing as a professional,” said Olson, who played only the 2004 U.S. Open on the tour prior to this year. “I played pro just for like a summer and then I stopped. I just kind of started up last summer.”
Petrovic chipped in twice during his round, posting seven birdies and one bogey.
One shot behind were Matt Kuchar, John Senden, and Vaughn Taylor.
•Watson tied for second: Tom Watson credited skillful iron play for his efficient 4-under 66 in the opening round of the Senior Players Championship at Timonium, Md. It was his putter, however, that set the tone.
Watson saved par with an 8-footer on the first hole, then dropped in a 25-foot downhill birdie putt on No. 2. He made his only bogey on 13 and finished tied with Jay Haas in second place behind unheralded Lonnie Nielsen, who had an up-and-down 65.
Sandy Lyle shot a 67, and four golfers, including Bob Tway and Dan Forsman, were tied for fifth at 68.
Watson stepped back into prominence last July when he finished second in the British Open. That proved he still had the talent to compete with golfers half his age, but the 60-year-old hasn’t won on the Champions Tour this season.
Calgary downs Canucks in opener
NHL: Miikka Kiprusoff made 39 saves and the Calgary Flames opened their season with a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Calgary, Alberta.
Kevin Bieksa, Alex Burrows, and Mikael Samuelsson had goals for Vancouver.
•Canadiens edge Leafs: Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges scored with only 12.8 seconds left on the overtime clock, and Carey Price made 43 saves in the Canadiens’ season-opening 4-3 victory over the Maple Leafs at Toronto.
U.S. men’s soccer makes few changes
Miscellany: Defender Jimmy Conard and forward Kenny Cooper were picked for a largely unchanged U.S. roster for World Cup qualifiers at Honduras on Oct. 10 and against Costa Rica four days later at Washington, D.C.
Defenders Jay DeMerit (eye infection) and Chad Marshall (sprained left knee ligament) were dropped along with midfielder Kyle Beckerman and forward Robbie Findley (coach’s decision).
•NCAA ordered to release documents: The NCAA must release documents on Florida State University’s appeal of an academic cheating penalty because they are public records, a state appellate court in Tallahassee, Fla., ruled.
•Cal freshman has heart condition: Highly touted California freshman Tierra Rogers will not play for the Golden Bears women’s basketball team after she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition and had a defibrillator implanted.