Louisville makes easy work of UConn

Men’s Basketball: Peyton Siva scored 15 points, freshman center Gorgui Dieng posted his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds and No. 16 Louisville (20-7, 9-5 Big East) rolled by No. 13 Connecticut 71-58 Friday in Louisville, Ky.

Kemba Walker finished with 16 points on 3-of-10 shooting for the Huskies (20-6, 8-6) and received a technical foul late in the second half after venting his frustrations at officials.

Kovalchuk’s goal gives Devils win

NHL: In Newark, N.J., Ilya Kovalchuk scored for the fourth straight game, breaking up a scoreless contest in the second period, and Johan Hedberg made 15 saves to give the New Jersey Devils a 1-0 victory over the New York Rangers.

• Bertuzzi lifts Red Wings past Panthers: Todd Bertuzzi had two goals, including the tiebreaker with 7:32 remaining, to lift the Detroit Red Wings to a 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla..

• Marchand’s pair leads Bruins over Senators: Brad Marchand scored twice and Nathan Horton had a goal and an assist to lead the visiting Boston Bruins to a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.

• Source: NHL approves Sabres sale to Pegula: A person familiar with the vote tells The Associated Press the NHL board of governors has approved the sale of the Buffalo Sabres to Terry Pegula.

The NHL’s approval clears the way for the Pennsylvania billionaire to close the $189 million deal with Tom Golisano next week.

Colts release injury- prone safety Sanders

NFL: The Indianapolis Colts have released 2007 NFL defensive player of the year Bob Sanders.

Team owner Jim Irsay announced the move on Twitter, thanking Sanders for his contributions.

Injuries limited him to only nine regular-season games over the past three seasons.

• League, union hold first session with mediator: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and union head DeMaurice Smith met in front of a federal mediator in Washington for about six hours, a bid to jump-start labor negotiations two weeks before owners could lock out players and threaten the 2011 season.

The session was the sides’ first with George Cohen, the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, a U.S. government agency.

The league and the Players’ Association released a joint statement saying the mediation had started and that both parties agreed to adhere to Cohen’s request that they not speak publicly the matter.

• NFL says Lions committed tampering violations: The NFL says the Detroit Lions have violated the league’s policy against tampering and ruled they must forfeit their upcoming seventh-round draft pick and exchange fifth-round picks with the Kansas City Chiefs.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued the ruling for violations last year involving players under contract with the Chiefs.

Judge asks sides in Bonds trial to resolve

Miscellany: A federal judge in the perjury case against Barry Bonds has asked the sides to find a way to resolve the charges before the trial next month.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston made the request during a hearing in San Francisco and prosecutors said they would discuss a plea agreement with Bonds’ lawyers. But an attorney representing the home run king told The New York Times and other media outlets he believes the case will go to trial.

• Ligety wins giant slalom title at worlds: Ted Ligety gave the United States its first gold medal of the world championships when he won the giant slalom title in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

• Wozniacki reclaims No. 1 ranking: In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Caroline Wozniacki regained the No. 1 ranking after beating Shahar Peer of Israel to reach the semifinals of the Dubai Championships.

• Cousins, Wall lead All-Star rookies past sophs: Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins had 33 points and 14 rebounds, Washington’s John Wall racked up 22 assists, and the rookies rallied to beat the sophomores 148-140 in the NBA All-Star weekend’s Rookie Challenge in Los Angeles.

• Cochran, Langer share first-round lead: In Naples, Fla., Russ Cochran and Bernhard Langer shot 8-under-par 64s to share the lead after the first round of the ACE Group Classic.

• Couples holds lead at Riviera: Despite a bad back that hurts when he stoops over a short iron, Fred Couples navigated around his favorite tour course without a bogey for a 5-under 66 that gave him a two-shot lead in the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.

Alex Prugh (Ferris, UW) shot a 2-over 73 for a two-day total of 153, leaving him 19 shots back.

• Contador in contention at Tour of the Algarve: In Malhao, Portugal, Alberto Contador moved into position to win the Tour of the Algarve for the third straight time.

The Tour de France champion advanced to second in the overall standings, six seconds behind Stephen Cummings, after placing third in third stage.

• Sablikova breaks world record: Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic broke her world record in winning the women’s 5,000 meters at a speedskating World Cup event at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah.

Sablikova finished in 6 minutes, 42.66 seconds, lowering the mark of 6:45.61 she set at the 2007 world championships.