Nelson, U.S. ice Italy
Brock Nelson scored twice as the United States cruised to its third win of the ice hockey world championship with a 3-0 defeat of Italy yesterday in Cologne, Germany.
Nelson broke the deadlock with a wrist shot to the top right corner early on, then scored another in the second period, shorthanded, minutes before Anders Lee completed the scoring on a power play. Dylan Larkin had two assists, and Jimmy Howard only had to make nine saves to earn the shutout.
The Americans moved second in Group A behind Latvia, also on nine points but having played a game less.
Novak, Rafa stay on track
Defending champion Novak Djokovic recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the third set to defeat Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 and reach the third round at the Madrid Open.
The victory left Djokovic on track to play a semifinal against four-time Madrid champion and home-crowd favorite Rafael Nadal, who struggled in a 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4 win over Fabio Fognini in just under three hours.
Nadal will play Nick Kyrgios, who defeated American Ryan Harrison 6-3, 6-3. The second-seeded Djokovic will play veteran Feliciano Lopez, who got past Gilles Simon 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3).
In the women’s draw, Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the quarterfinals after top-seeded Angelique Kerber retired with a left thigh injury in the second set. Bouchard was leading 6-3, 5-0 when her German opponent pulled out.
Third-seeded Simona Halep beat 16 seed Samantha Stosur 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Boston City FC advances
Despite having three men sent off with straight red cards in extra time, Boston City FC won its first ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match by winning a penalty shootout, 5-4, to edge the Western Mass. Pioneers at Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow.
Victor Scariot saved the Pioneers’ third penalty try, and the Lions made all their penalty tries to make that one save stand up, with Kevin Herrera scoring the last penalty.
The game was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, as Jhonata Batista tied the game in the 77th minute. Western Mass. retook the lead one minute into extra time thanks to Evan Burokas, but Kamali Webson put home a Herrera cross to re-tie the game in the 106th minute.
In the next round, the Lions will host Boston amateur side GPS Omens on Tuesday night at Malden Catholic High School. . . .
Defending champion Real Madrid withstood an early onslaught by Atletico Madrid to reach a third Champions League final in four years despite a 2-1 loss to its city rival.
Atletico, which trailed 3-0 after the first leg, scored twice in the first 16 minutes at the Vicente Calderon Stadium to move within a goal of sending the semifinal second-leg into extra time. But Isco Alarcon netted a crucial away goal for Real Madrid before halftime to secure a 4-2 victory on aggregate and a spot in the final against Juventus on June 3 in Cardiff. . . .
The U.S. women’s national team will host Brazil, Australia and Japan in the Tournament of Nations to be played in three West Coast cities this summer.
The round-robin tournament will begin when Brazil plays Japan and the U.S. will face Australia in Seattle on July 27. Japan will play Australia and the U.S. plays Brazil in San Diego on July 30. The tournament ends in Carson on Aug. 3 with Australia facing Brazil and the U.S. against Japan.
Misc.: TaylorMade sold
TaylorMade Golf Co., which has signed Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to equipment deals this year, has been sold to a private equity firm after being shopped for a year by parent company Adidas.
The agreement announced means KPS Capital Partners will acquire TaylorMade for $425 million, about half of that paid in cash. . . .
Drew Blickensderfer, the crew chief for Aric Almirola, is the latest to earn a NASCAR suspension for a failed inspection. He was suspended three races because Almirola’s fourth-place car at Talladega Superspeedway had too much rear skew. He was also fined $65,000 and Almirola was docked 35 points. . . .
Guard Shembari Phillips is leaving Tennessee after spending two seasons with the Volunteers, as he was granted his request for a release from his scholarship.
The 6-foot-3 guard from Atlanta made 13 starts as a sophomore this past season, averaging 6.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 20.9 minutes this past season. . . .
UNLV junior forward Dwayne Morgan was suspended indefinitely from the team following his arrest last weekend on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge in a dispute with a taxi driver over cab fare.
Associate athletic director Andy Grossman said the team is still collecting information about the arrest on Saturday. . . .
Colombia’s Fernando Gaviria won a bunch sprint at the end of the fifth stage of the Giro d’Italia in Messina, Sicily, to claim his second victory of this year’s race, while Quick-Step teammate Bob Jungels remained in the overall lead.