Briefs | Soccer: Chelsea advances to Champions League final

Soccer

Chelsea advances to first Champions League final: Frank Lampard converted the penalty kick that put Chelsea ahead to stay, then ran to a corner flag and kneeled. The 29-year-old midfielder took off his black armband, looked to the sky and kissed it.

Returning to the team following the death of his mother, he helped put the Blues in the European Champions League final for the first time.

Lampard scored eight minutes into overtime to help Chelsea defeat Liverpool 3-2 and win the home-and-home semifinal on 4-3 aggregate. The Blues meet Manchester United at Moscow on May 21 in the first all-English final in the competition's 52-year history.

"He's a brave man. He was very close to his mother, and what has happened in the last days to him wasn't easy," manager Avram Grant said. "It was his decision, but he played well, and it has been a little bit tough on him."

Lampard missed last weekend's Premier League win over Manchester United after his mother died of pneumonia at age 58 last Thursday.

Golf

Woods' recovery going well: After a two-week checkup on his surgically repaired left knee, Tiger Woods said that his doctors believed the arthroscopic surgery was successful and he should be able to return to competition within the four- to six-week timetable that was set immediately after the April 15 operation.

"It went great," Woods, 32, told Golf Digest. "Everything is right on schedule."

Woods said he was ready to begin rehabilitating the knee but was not certain when he would return to competition. He said he would like to play in a tournament before the U.S. Open, June 12 to 15 at Torrey Pines Golf Course near San Diego, possibly two weeks earlier at the Memorial Tournament.

"The doctors said I should be able to play in four to six weeks after the surgery, but there are no guarantees about anything right now," Woods said. "I'm just going to work hard and do what they tell me to do."

College baseball

Omaha, NCAA reach CWS deal: The College World Series will be played in Omaha, Neb., at least through 2030, under an agreement reached by the city and NCAA.

A long-term contract has been in the works for months, with much of the discussion centered on the construction of a new downtown ballpark to replace 60-year-old Rosenblatt Stadium.

Plans for a stadium adjacent to the Qwest Center have been moving forward for weeks, and Wednesday's "memorandum of understanding" promises a commitment of at least 20 years once the current contract expires in 2010.

"It's a huge day," Mayor Mike Fahey said. "We've been working very hard to get to this day."

The Division I baseball championship has been held in Omaha every year since 1950.

Fahey said he hoped a contract would be signed by June 10, four days before the start of this year's CWS.

College basketball

UCLA freshman will transfer: UCLA swingman Chace Stanback, a freshman reserve who played in 25 games this season, will leave the program and transfer to another school.

The 6-foot-8 Stanback, a former California high-school player of the year, averaged 1.0 point, 0.7 rebounds and 5.8 minutes for the Bruins, who advanced to the Final Four for the third straight season. He hasn't decided where he's going to transfer.

Tennis

Sharapova, Hantuchova out of German Open: Maria Sharapova pulled out of next week's German Open in Berlin because of an unspecified injury, and Daniela Hantuchova (stress fracture in right foot) also withdrew from the clay-court tournament.

Nadal starts defense with win: Rafael Nadal eased into the third round of the Barcelona Open in Spain by defeating Potito Starace 6-4, 6-2. Nadal is seeking his fourth straight title in Barcelona.

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