Webb Simpson ties for lead in Hawaii

Webb Simpson wanted to give his caddie something good to see on television. He delivered a five-under-par 68 that gave Simpson a three-way tie for the lead with Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth going into the final round of the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Hawaii.

Simpson said he played with a heavy heart Sunday upon learning that the newborn son of his caddie, Paul Tesori, was in intensive care. He said that players and caddies are sending along their best to Tesori, and that Simpson rarely went a hole without thinking about him. But he played some good golf on a beautiful day, getting into the mix of a wild tournament.

Johnson and Spieth each had a 69 to join Simpson at 14-under 205.

Zach Johnson stumbled to a 74 and was two back.

ETC.

Celski wins the 1,000 in speedskating trials

J.R. Celski won the 1,000 meters in the U.S. Olympic short-track speedskating trials at Kearns, Utah, giving him three individual events to compete in at the Sochi Games.

Celski heads to his second Olympics as the dominant American short-track skater. He lost only one race during the four-day trials at the Utah Olympic Oval, finishing second by half a blade length to Chris Creveling in the first 1,000 final.

Celski came back to easily win the second 1,000 final of the day.

::

American teenager Mikaela Shiffrin fought through snow, rain and deep ruts to win her second World Cup slalom of the season, displaying her ability to deal with all types of conditions a month before the Sochi Olympics.

The 18-year-old Shiffrin led by .03 of a second after the opening run at Bormio, Italy, and ending up winning by 0.13 ahead of Maria Pietilae-Holmner of Sweden for the sixth victory of her career.

:;

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen scored at 9:42 of overtime to give Finland its third junior hockey world title, 3-2 over Sweden at Malmo, Sweden.

In the third-place game, Russia beat Canada, 2-1.

San Antonio Spurs center Tiago Splitter will sit out three to five weeks after spraining his right shoulder against the Clippers on Saturday night.

::

The Golden State Warriors have expressed interest in taking over the Sparks.

“At this point, our dialogue remains in the exploratory stage as we evaluate the complexities of any such acquisition at this particular time,” Warriors spokesman Raymond Ridder said in a statement.

The Warriors said that since 2010 they have had “several” talks with the WNBA about operating a WNBA team in the Bay Area.

The WNBA is searching for new ownership for the Sparks after the team’s chairwoman, Paula Williams Madison, told the league before Christmas that her family-owned company could no longer afford to invest in the team.

—Melissa Rohlin

::

Lleyton Hewitt won a title for the first time since 2010 with an upset 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win at the Brisbane International in Australia over Roger Federer, his longest-standing rival on tour.

::

Top-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka regained the Chennai Open title in India without dropping a set in the tournament when he defeated Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France, 7-5, 6-2.

::

Pontchatrain won the $200,000 Monrovia Stakes for older fillies and mares by three-quarters of a length at Santa Anita.

Ridden by Gary Stevens, Pontchatrain ran 6 1/2 furlongs on the downhill turf course in 1:11.14 and paid $4.20, $2.40 and $2.10 as the even-money favorite. It was the 4-year-old filly’s third straight stakes win on the turf under Stevens.