Lynx top Dream to lock up WNBA title

WNBA: Maya Moore scored 23 points, Rebekkah Brunson had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Atlanta Dream 86-77 on Thursday night in Duluth, Ga., to win their second WNBA title in three years.

Tiffany Hayes finished with 20 points and Alex Bentley had 18 for Atlanta, which was swept in the best-of-5 finals for the third time in four years.

The Dream cut the lead to three points early in the third quarter, but Moore came off a screen on the next possession and hit a 3-pointer to make it 45-39. She and Brunson combined for 19 of Minnesota’s 26 points in the third.

Avalanche top Bruins to remain perfect

NHL: Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 39 saves in his 37th NHL shutout, and the Colorado Avalanche stayed perfect with a 2-0 victory at Boston.

The Avalanche are 4-0 under new coach Patrick Roy, their best mark since relocating from Quebec to Colorado for the 1995-96 season.

• Columbus keeps Buffalo winless: Marian Gaborik had a goal and two assists, and the Columbus Blue Jackets kept the Sabres winless with a victory in Buffalo, N.Y.

It’s the Sabres (0-4-1) worst start since they went 0-5-2 to open the 1999-2000 season.

Monfils ousts Federer from Shanghai

Tennis: Roger Federer fell to Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the third round of the Shanghai Masters.

Monfils next plays top-seeded Novak Djokovic, the defending champion.

Djokovic and top-ranked Rafael Nadal moved into the quarters with straight-set wins.

Two other top seeded players were ousted: No. 3 David Ferrer lost to Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-3, and No. 4 Tomas Berdych was beaten by Nicolas Almagro 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (4).

Ko asks LPGA to waive age limit

Golf: Amateur sensation Lydia Ko is turning pro and has asked the LPGA Tour to waive its age limit of 18.

The 16-year-old from New Zealand already has won twice on the LPGA Tour – both times at the Canadian Women’s Open. She also contended at the Evian Championship in the fifth and final major of the year.

The LPGA Tour says commissioner Mike Whan will review the petition and decide whether to waive the tour’s minimum age requirement.

• Overton opens new season strong: Jeff Overton made three birdie putts over 25 feet and finished with a tap-in birdie for a 7-under 64 at the Frys.com Open in San Martin, Calif. That gave him a two-shot lead over Kyle Stanley at the PGA Tour’s season opening event at Corde Valle.

The PGA Tour season is starting in October instead of January for the first time in history. The official season ends next September at the Tour Championship with a six-week break until January.

• Lee leads LPGA Malaysia: South Korea’s Ilhee Lee shot a 7-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Brittany Lang after the opening round of the LPGA Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Lee had four birdies on the back nine and another three on the front to overtake Lang.

• McCoy wins men’s U.S. Mid-Amateur title: Michael McCoy won the U.S. Mid-Amateur for his first USGA title, routing Bill Williamson 8 and 6 in the 36-hole final at the Country Club of Birmingham in Birmingham, Ala.

• Potter claims women’s Mid-Amateur title: Julia Potter won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Biltmore Forest in Asheville, N.C., beating Margaret Shirley in 19 holes to become the USGA’s first female left-handed champion.

Gordon earns ninth pole in Charlotte

Auto racing: Jeff Gordon won the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Gordon turned a lap at 194.308 mph to edge Kevin Harvick for his ninth pole at Charlotte, the second-most in track history.

Greg Biffle qualified third, Jimmie Johnson was fourth, and Kasey Kahne was fifth.

• Kvapil cleared to race: Travis Kvapil will compete in Saturday night’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway despite his arrest on misdemeanor assault on a female and false imprisonment.

According to court records reviewed by The Sporting News, Kvapil allegedly pulled his wife into a bedroom by her hair and struck her in the head.

He was released from police custody on $2,000 bond on Wednesday morning. He faces a Nov. 19 court date.

• Franchitti released from Houston hospital: Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti has been released from a Houston hospital, four days after fracturing his spine and breaking his right ankle in an IndyCar Series crash.

Franchitti is headed back to Indianapolis for further evaluation and will eventually have a second surgery on his ankle. He underwent surgery Sunday night to stabilize his ankle.

Gophers’ Kill takes open-ended leave

College football: Minnesota coach Jerry Kill has taken an open-ended leave of absence from the team to focus on treatment and management of his epilepsy.

Kill had to miss the last game at Michigan when he suffered a seizure, his fifth game-day seizure, at home that morning and was unable to travel with the team. The Gophers don’t play this week, but his availability for the Oct. 19 game at Northwestern is in doubt. Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys is the acting head coach.

• Clowney to start for South Carolina: South Carolina All-American Jadeveon Clowney will start Saturday when the 14th-ranked Gamecocks travel to Arkansas.

Gamecocks defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said that Clowney, who pulled himself out of last Saturday’s game against Kentucky, will start after successfully finishing a second straight day of practice after missing workouts earlier with a strained muscle near his ribcage.