Briefs | Hockey: U.S. loses to Finland at world championships

Hockey

U.S. falls to Finland in overtime: Sami Lepisto's goal at 3:59 of overtime led Finland to a 3-2 victory over the United States on Wednesday night in the world hockey championship quarterfinals in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Lepisto took a pass from Saku Koivu at the point and fired the puck through a crowd and past U.S. goalie Robert Esche for the win. Finland advanced to play Russia in the semifinals Friday in Quebec City, where Russia won its quarterfinal over Switzerland 6-0.

In the other quarterfinals, Mattias Weinhandl scored 3:15 into overtime to give Sweden a 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic in Quebec City. Sweden will play Canada, an 8-2 winner over Norway in Halifax.

Derek Roy scored three goals and added an assist to help defending champion Canada prevail.

College football

USC, L.A. Coliseum sign lease: USC has signed a 25-year lease that will keep the Trojans in the Los Angeles Coliseum and include improvements in the stadium. USC has played in the 85-year-old facility since it was built in 1923.

Ex-LSU QB signs with Jacksonville State: Quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, kicked off LSU's national-title team after repeated off-the-field problems, signed with Jacksonville State.

Soccer

Zenit wins UEFA Cup: Zenit St. Petersburg became the second Russia team in four seasons to win the UEFA Cup, beating Scotland's Glasgow Rangers 2-0 in the final in Manchester, England.

Igor Denisov scored in the 72nd minute after an exchange with Andrei Arshavin, cutting through the defense and beating goalkeeper Neil Alexander. Konstantin Zyryanov got the second goal in injury time, tapping the ball in off a pass from Fatih Tekke.

CONCACAF Champions League announced: Chivas USA, D.C. United, Houston and New England will be the United States' representatives in the initial CONCACAF Champions League.

The 24-team tournament, modeled after the highly successful European Champions League, replaces the CONCACAF Champions Cup as the club competition of North and Central America and the Caribbean region.

U.S. sets World Cup qualifying sites: The United States plans to play its home games in the semifinals of World Cup qualifying in Washington and suburban Chicago and Denver in October.

Auto racing

Rain limits track time at Indy: Less than one frantic hour of track time was all the frustrated teams at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway got Wednesday, yet another in a series of wet Indiana days so far this month.

With the final weekend of qualifications for the May 25 Indianapolis 500 coming up quickly, qualified and nonqualified teams and drivers waited all day hoping to get in some work on the historic 2 ½-mile Indy oval. The track was finally dry enough to allow some running with just over an hour left in the scheduled six-hour session.

When the green flag finally flew, 30 cars made it onto the track before rain began falling again, ending the day 10 minutes early.

Track and field

Collins reinstated by IAAF: American sprinter Michelle Collins, 37, was reinstated by track and field's governing body, the IAAF, after serving three-plus years of a BALCO-related suspension.

WNBA

Sun extends Thibault's contract: The Connecticut Sun has given contract extensions to coach Mike Thibault and his two assistants.

Crossley to miss season: San Antonio Silver Stars guard Shanna Crossley will miss the season after tearing a knee ligament in an exhibition game.

Pro football

Court upholds conviction of ex-CFL player: The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of a former Canadian Football League player who knowingly exposed two women to HIV.

Trevis Smith, a linebacker from Alabama who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, is serving a six-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault.

Cycling

Brutt wins fifth Giro stage: Pavel Brutt won the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia in Contursi Terme, Italy, while Franco Pellizotti retained the overall lead for a fourth day.

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