Atlanta goalie collapses in Thrashers’ win

NHL: Atlanta Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec was in stable condition at a hospital Friday night after collapsing to the ice in the early minutes of a season- opening 4-2 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals.
There was a whistle at the opposite end when Pavelec tapped his stick on the ice a couple of times, looked toward the Atlanta bench and fell over backward just 2:25 into the game. His teammates rushed to his aid and immediately called for doctors and a stretcher to be brought to the ice.
Medical personnel worked over him for about 10 minutes before he was wheeled off the ice, appearing to still be unconscious.
The team released a statement, saying, “He’s awake, alert and asking about the score of the game, but will be kept overnight for observation.”
• Rookie Skinner leads Hurricanes past Wild: Rookie Jeff Skinner scored the only goal of the shootout to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild at Helsinki.
Skinner set up Carolina’s first goal from Tuomo Ruutu, which tied the game two minutes into the second period. The Wild had opened the scoring on a goal from Andrew Brunette.
• Eriksson leads Stars past Devils in OT: At Newark, N.J., Loui Eriksson scored two goals, including the winner 1:36 into overtime, to give the Dallas Stars a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils in the season opener for both teams. Brenden Morrow and Brad Richards scored for Dallas. Travis Zajac, Zach Parise and Jason Arnott netted New Jersey’s goals.
Cochrane takes lead at Senior Players
Golf: Buoyed by birdies on the first five holes, Russ Cochran shot a course-record 6-under-par 64 to take a one-shot lead at the Senior Players Championship at Potomac, Md.
Cochran is at 6 under for the tournament and is trying for his third win in his last four events on the Champions Tour.
Michael Allen (67) is one shot back, and Mark O’Meara shot another 68 to stand alone at 4 under. First-round leader Tom Kite followed his first-round 67 with an even-par 70.
• Toms goes low, takes McGladrey lead: At St. Simons Island, Ga., David Toms shot a 4-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Joe Durant in the McGladrey Classic, the second of the PGA Tour’s five Fall Series events.
The 43-year-old Toms, coming off a first-round 64, had a 10-under 130 total on the Sea Island Club’s Seaside Course. Durant followed his opening 65 with a 66 in perfect conditions.
Heath Slocum (66) and Rich Barcelo (67) were at 8 under, and Brian Gay (65) and Mathias Gronberg (67) followed at 7 under.
• Miyazato seizes share of Navistar LPGA Classic lead: Japan’s Mika Miyazato shot a 9-under 63 for a share of the second-round lead in the Navistar LPGA Classic at Parttville, Ala.
Miyazoto is tied with Na Yeon Choi (64) and Cristie Kerr (67) with a two-round total of 132.
Wendy Ward (Edwall, Wash.) shot a second-round 67 to give her a total of 137, five shots back of the leaders.
• Three tied for lead in Senior PGA Pro: Mike Lawrence shot a 5-under 67 at Toscana Country Club for a share of the second-round lead – with Mark Faulkner (69) and Jim Karr (67) – in the Senior PGA Professional National Championship at Indian Wells, Calif.
Mavericks’ Carlisle faints at practice
NBA: Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle collapsed at practice and was briefly taken to a Dallas-area hospital.
The 50-year-old Carlisle will not travel to the Mavericks’ outdoor exhibition game today in California against Phoenix, team president Donnie Nelson said. Carlisle is expected to return to the sidelines for a preseason game Monday in Dallas.
Team spokeswoman Sarah Melton said Carlisle was responding to questions as he was carried by stretcher to an ambulance and taken to Baylor University Medical Center.
Several Chase drivers well back in Fontana
NASCAR: Jamie McMurray and Elliott Sadler will start up front in Fontana, Calif., after a rough day of qualifying for several Chase contenders.
McMurray had a fast lap of 185.285 mph at Auto Club Speedway’s two-mile oval, just ahead of Sadler, another non-qualifier in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson will start eighth Sunday, while fellow Chasers Matt Kenseth (third) and Greg Biffle (seventh) also made it into the top 10.
Five Chase drivers qualified 20th or worse, including Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch, who will start 34th and 38th, respectively.
Contador threatens lawsuit for defamation
Miscellany: Tour de France winner Alberto Contador threatened to sue various media and websites for defamation after reports that his urine sample showed indications of possible blood doping.
In a statement issued by his press officer Jacinto Vidarte, the rider said he will “take legal actions against defamatory information published so far by various media and websites, due to their absolute lack of veracity.”
He did not specify which media outlets or specify the allegations.
• U.S. men’s volleyball in fifth-place playoff: The United States will play Russia for fifth place at the men’s volleyball world championships after cruising past Germany in Milan.
The U.S. won 25-22, 25-20, 25-23, taking advantage of a 15-6 advantage in net points. The third-ranked U.S. and Russia meet today in Modena, Italy.
• Monfils makes final: Frenchman Gael Monfils advanced to the Japan Open final, beating the Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 today.
The fifth-seeded Monfils will face top-ranked Rafael Nadal or Viktor Troicki on Sunday.