Sun Devils take crown

Kaitlin Cochran hit a three-run home run, Katie Burkhart pitched a four-hitter and Arizona State routed Texas A&M, 11-0, last night to win its first college softball title.

Cochran slammed the first pitch from Megan Gibson over the left field fence in the fifth inning to give the sixth-seeded Sun Devils a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning.

Arizona State then started its celebration early with a seven-run seventh inning highlighted by a two-run single by Caylyn Carlson and a three-run home run by Mindy Cowles.

The margin ended up matching the second-most lopsided game in Women's College World Series history. Only Arizona's 12-0 defeat of Fresno State in the first round of the 1989 World Series was a bigger blowout.

Hockey

John Tortorella was fired as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, four years after leading the team to its only Stanley Cup title.

He had one season remaining on his contract.

The Lightning were 239-222-36-38 and made the playoffs four times in 6 1/2 seasons under Tortorella, who took over a perennial last-place team in January 2001 and -- along with stars Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards -- helped transform it into a championship contender in three years.

• Philadelphia Flyers right wing Sami Kapanen retired from the NHL and plans to return to Finland and play for a team he owns there.

• Swedish defenseman Dennis Persson, the Buffalo Sabres' 2006 first-round pick, signed a three-year entry-level contract with the team.

College football

The renewal of the Penn State-Syracuse rivalry will air on WTAE at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 13 from the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

The Nittany Lions and Orange will be meeting for the first time since Penn State captured a 27-21 decision in Beaver Stadium in 1990.

• Syracuse's top receiver Mike Williams was suspended for academic reasons and is no longer enrolled at the school.

College baseball

Five college players expected to go in the top of the major league baseball draft were chosen as finalists for the Golden Spikes award, which goes to the nation's best amateur player.

The five are Gordon Beckham, a shortstop from Georgia; pitchers Aaron Crow of Missouri and Brian Matusz of San Diego; catcher Buster Posey of Florida State; and third baseman Brett Wallace of Arizona State.

Pro basketball

Charde Houston hit two free throws with 38 seconds left to help the visiting Minnesota Lynx (5-0) beat the winless Atlanta Dream (0-5), 85-81. The Lynx continued the longest undefeated start in franchise history, winning their fifth consecutive game.

• Shameka Christon matched a career high with 25 points and led the New York Liberty (2-3) to a 77-63 victory against the visiting Seattle Storm (5-2).

Olympics

Dr. Heather Stone has been selected by the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to serve on the equine vet team for the Beijing Olympics.

Stone, a Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission veterinarian who works at The Meadows, is a resident of Bethany, W.Va.

• Antonio Pettigrew gave up his Olympic gold medal two weeks after the sprinter admitted in court that he cheated to win at Sydney in 2000.

• Ashley Harkleroad will turn down a berth on the U.S. Olympic tennis team to focus on improving her ranking during the summer hard-court season.

• The United States and Lithuania men's basketball teams will play each other as part of their preparations for Beijing Games. The exhibition will be Aug. 1 at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macau, China.

Riverhounds

Pittsburgh will face the AAC Eagles in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament June 10 at Benedictine University in Chicago.

The Riverhounds edged out Wilmington for the final United Soccer League second division spot when the Hammerheads lost to Real Maryland last week.