MVP Charles leads Sun’s win over Fever
WNBA: Tina Charles scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half to lead the Connecticut Sun to a 76-64 win over the Indiana Fever on Friday night in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals.
The WNBA’s MVP added 15 rebounds and blocked four shots for Connecticut, which used a 14-2 second-half run to break open what had been a tie game at halftime. Kara Lawson had 16 points and Tan White added 13 for the Sun, who swept New York in the opening round and have now won eight of their last nine games.
Charles had just four first-half points but came alive in the third quarter, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds as the Sun broke open a 30-30 game. She brought the crowd into the contest with an offensive rebound, putback and free throw that highlighted the Sun’s big run. Connecticut led 54-43 after three quarters and by as many as 16 in the fourth.
Katie Douglas had 27 points to lead the Fever. Spokane native Briann January added seven points and two assists for the Fever.
Blixt blitzes to share of Shriners lead
Golf: Jonas Blixt shot his second straight 7-under-par 64 for a share of the second-round lead with Brendon de Jonge in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
De Jonge followed his opening 62 with a 66 to match Blixt at 14-under 128 after two rounds in perfect conditions in the Fall Series opener. Ryan Moore of Puyallup, Wash., who matched the TPC Summerlin record Thursday with a 61, was a stroke back after a 68.
• Former champ Cochran leads SAS: Russ Cochran topped the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship leaderboard in his return from a back injury, hitting all 18 greens in regulation and shooting a 6-under 66.
Cochran, the 2010 winner, is making his first start since the U.S. Senior Open in July.
Steve Pate, Andrew Magee, Fred Funk and Jay Don Blake were a stroke back. Funk, missed a birdie putt on 18. Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett opened with a 72.
NHL and union meet sooner than expected
NHL: The NHL and the players’ association resumed collective bargaining talks and expect to be in contact again in the upcoming days.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly met with union head Donald Fehr and special counsel Steve Fehr in the NHLPA office on the 20th day of the NHL lockout. The meeting marked the first negotiating session since talks broke off Tuesday in New York.
The sides hadn’t been expected to get together before next week, and the meeting didn’t become public until it was over. It took place one day after the NHL canceled the first two weeks of the regular season, wiping out 82 games from Oct. 11-24.
Jobless Allmendinger returns to the oval
Auto Racing: AJ Allmendinger upped his effort to find a new job by making his first appearance at a NASCAR event since his suspension for failing a drug test.
The visit to Talladega Superspeedway is the first since Allmendinger’s July 7 suspension. He was reinstated by NASCAR last month and is looking for a job for 2013 after being dropped by Penske Racing three months ago.
• Montreal drops NASCAR: NASCAR will not race in Montreal next season after the promoter pulled the plug on the six-year relationship when he couldn’t secure a Sprint Cup event.
The official announcement by promoter Francois Dumontier ended a surprising turn of events for NASCAR, which wanted to continue running the Nationwide Series at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Dumontier said he needed a Sprint Cup event to make the Montreal race profitable.
• Top seeds set for NHRA: Jack Beckman topped Funny Car qualifying in the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals, the fourth event in the six-race NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. Morgan Lucas led the Top Fuel field, V. Gaines topped the Pro Stock competition and Eddie Krawiec led Pro Stock Motorcycle.
U.S. Speedskater admits to tampering
MISCELLANY: Reigning national short-track champion Simon Cho faces a disciplinary hearing after confessing that he tampered with a Canadian rival’s skate at the 2011 World Team Championship.
Short track interim coach, Jun Hyung Yeo was suspended Friday by the U.S. Speedskating federation for failing to report that tampering. And the man at the center of the scandal, head coach Jae Su Chun, remains suspended and also could be disciplined for not reporting the tampering.