Sports briefs: Florida’s Meyer backs suspension of officials

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Meyer backs officials' suspension

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida coach Urban Meyer says the Southeastern Conference did the right thing in suspending an officiating crew after its second controversial call of the year.

Meyer said yesterday he has great confidence in SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and the system, but he also questioned why the SEC made its decision public.

Referee Marc Curles' crew called a personal foul on Arkansas defensive lineman Malcolm Sheppard in the fourth quarter as the Gators were rallying for a 23-20 victory last weekend. The league said there was no video evidence to support the call.

The same group of officials called the LSU-Georgia game earlier this month, which included a late unsportsmanlike conduct penalty the league said shouldn't have been called.

• The players who were with Jasper Howard when the Connecticut cornerback was fatally stabbed Sunday are ready to play this weekend against West Virginia, coach Randy Edsall said. On a weekly conference call with reporters, Edsall said that he had been concerned about the mental state of sophomore receivers Kashif Moore and Mike Smith.

GOLF

O'Hern cards opening-round 63

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Brandishing a hot putter on a warm afternoon, Australian Nick O'Hern cruised to a career-low 63 and the first-round lead in the Frys.com Open. O'Hern, who finished at 7 under, putted only nine times while posting a 28 on the par-35 back nine at Grayhawk Golf Club. Eight of O'Hern's nine birdies came in that stretch. Bob Heintz and Heath Slocum were one stroke back at 64, and D.A. Points, Rory Sabbatini, Greg Owen and Rickie Fowler shot 65s.

TENNIS

Schnyder deals Clijsters defeat

LUXEMBOURG - Patty Schnyder beat U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6) to reach the quarterfinals of the Luxembourg Open. The Swiss outsider punished Clijsters for her 11 double faults in the two-hour match and handed the Belgian her first loss since she won the Grand Slam tournament last month. The second-seeded Clijsters struggled throughout with her service, landing only 58 percent of first serves.

• Robin Soderling defeated Andreas Seppi 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals at the Stockholm Open. The top-seeded Swede has not lost a set in his two first matches. Soderling, a surprise finalist in the French Open this year, will play Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. A two-time finalist in the Swedish capital, Soderling is the only seeded player left in the tournament.

• Qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova upset top-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-2 in the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, sending Jelena Jankovic to the season-ending WTA Championships. Jankovic, who is five points ahead of Zvonareva, will fill the final spot at the tournament in Doha, Qatar, regardless of how she finishes at the Kremlin Cup.

• U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer is unlikely to face a suspension for allegedly failing to report her whereabouts to anti-doping officials three times. The prosecutor at an anti-doping tribunal in Brussels called only for a warning in principle. The tribunal will rule on the case on Nov. 5.

SOCCER

U.S. defender Onyewu out 6 months

CHICAGO - American defender Oguchi Onyewu will be sidelined for six months following surgery to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee, a layoff that could jeopardize his appearance in next year's World Cup. Onyewu was injured in last week's World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica. His recovery time of six months gives him little time to regain his form ahead of the World Cup, which opens June 11 in South Africa.

NHL

Blackhawks' Toews sits out practice

CHICAGO - Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews did not practice one day after being knocked out of the game by a hard hit. Coach Joel Quenneville said Toews had progressed overnight and it was still possible he could play tomorrow night against Nashville. Vancouver's Willie Mitchell was coming out of the penalty box and leveled the unsuspecting Toews in the third period Wednesday night.

• Anaheim Ducks right wing Evgeny Artyukhin has been suspended three games for a slew-footing incident in Wednesday night's game against the Dallas Stars. Stars defenseman Matt Niskanen was injured on the play at 4:23 of the second period, though no penalty was called on the play.

ELSEWHERE

• A Nevada judge denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of raping a woman at a hotel-casino in Lake Tahoe. Washoe District Court Judge Brent Adams also refused a request by a lawyer for the two-time Super Bowl champ to sanction the woman's attorney for pursuing the case without sufficient evidence.

AROUND THE STATE

University of Virginia wrestler Chris Henrich has been selected to participate in the 44th annual National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic on Nov. 22 on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. Henrich wrestles at 174 pounds. - From Staff and Wire Reports