Sports

The Columbus Blue Jackets were supposed to have learned something from their first playoff experience—a first-round sweep at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings.
They still have a long way to go.
Detroit scored four times early in the first period, and Niklas Kronwall had two power-play goals and an assist, to lift the Red Wings past the Blue Jackets 9-1 last night.

DENVER—Safety Ryan Clark got his wish: replacement Tyrone Carter took one to the house and Clark got to fly home with his teammates this time.

SAN ANTONIO—With Tim Duncan and Tony Parker out, the San Antonio Spurs needed scoring.
They did better against Toronto than just keep up.
Manu Ginobili scored 36 points and the Spurs beat the Raptors 131-124 last night in a shootout despite San Antonio’s two leading scorers sitting out with sore ankles.

TORONTO—Steve Yzerman probably should have entered the Hockey Hall of Fame long before now.
The former Detroit Red Wings’ captain didn’t mind waiting out the mandatory three-year period before last night’s induction ceremony, he just thinks the clock should have started ticking a little sooner.

TORONTO—After years of disappointments, Toronto finally has landed a major international sporting event, beating two South American cities to host the 2015 Pan Am Games.
The decision came down Friday in Guadalajara, Mexico, where a team including Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller made their last pitch to host the games.

PHILADELPHIA—Miles Austin punctuated his touchdown catch by emphatically firing the ball into the stands.
Take that, Philadelphia.
Tony Romo threw a 49-yard TD pass to Austin midway through the fourth quarter as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Eagles 20-16 last night in the 100th meeting between the division rivals.

DENVER—The Edmonton Oilers went back to basics after losing five-straight on the road and three in a row overall.
“Keep things simple,” said Oilers’ right-winger Dustin Penner.
Ryan Potulny and Penner scored two of Edmonton’s four power-play goals as the Oilers beat Colorado 5-3 last night to hand the Avalanche their first home loss of the season.

Jason Spezza’s early scoring drought appears to be over.
Spezza got his first goal of the season on a power play 4:17 into overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning last night.

SHANGHAI, China—Tiger Woods realized that no one was pulling away at the HSBC Champions today, so he settled into a good groove with the putter and made sure he caught them.

NEW YORK—Pitcher John Lackey and outfielder Matt Holliday were among 79 players who filed for free agency yesterday—the first possible day.
Outfielder Jason Bay of Trail, B.C., first baseman Carlos Delgado, pitcher John Smoltz, and reliever Billy Wagner also filed, as did pitcher Jon Garland after the L.A. Dodgers declined his $10-million (U.S.) option.