Heatley Gets Wish in Trade to the Senators

The Atlanta Thrashers traded former NHL rookie of the year Dany Heatley to the Ottawa Senators for Marian Hossa on Tuesday, a deal requested by Heatley less than two years after he was blamed for a car wreck that killed a teammate.

Heatley, 24, combined with Ilya Kovalchuk to give the Thrashers two of the NHL’s most prized young players. Hossa led the Senators with 36 goals and 46 assists in 2003-04, the last season before the lockout.

The Thrashers also received defenseman Greg de Vries.

Heatley was driving a car involved in a high-speed crash that killed teammate Dan Snyder in September 2003.

Thrasher General Manager Don Waddell said he understood.

“The emotions that went with the accident ... driving by the place where the accident happened and being reminded of it,” Waddell said. “Obviously we have 37, Dan Snyder’s number, in our building. All of that led to Dany believing he needed a fresh start.”

Stacey McAlpine, Heatley’s agent, said: “Ultimately, this decision for us wasn’t so much of a business decision. It was more of a life decision.”

The trade was completed on the same day Hossa agreed to a three-year, $1-million contract with the Senators, avoiding salary arbitration.

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Center Petr Sykora signed a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals. ... The Chicago Blackhawks signed free-agent defenseman Todd Simpson to a one-year contract. ... The Kings and right wing Lauri Tukonen, 18, agreed to a multi-year entry-level contract.

Soccer

Ronaldo scored twice and David Beckham once to lead Real Madrid over a Major League Soccer all-star team, 5-0, in an exhibition in Madrid.

Latvia captain Vitalijs Astafjevs said players and team officials were offered large amounts of money to throw last week’s World Cup qualifier against Russia, which ended in a 1-1 tie.

Latvian and Russian team officials denied Astafjevs’ allegations, published Tuesday in the Latvian newspaper Sporta Avize.

Astafjevs scored Latvia’s goal in the game, which left both teams with difficult paths to qualify for next year’s World Cup.

Little League

Kalen Pimentel hit his second grand slam in two games to lead undefeated Rancho Buena Vista of Vista, Calif., to a 9-3 victory over Lafayette, La., in the Little League World Series at South Williamsport, Pa.

In other games, Westbrook, Maine, defeated winless Owensboro, Ky., 3-2; Venezuela beat Saudi Arabia, 4-0; Canada was a 2-1 winner over Moscow, and Guam defeated Mexico, 5-3.

Japan will play Canada in the International semifinals today, and Rancho Buena Vista will face Maitland, Fla., in the United States semis. In the other semifinal games Thursday, Guam will play defending series champion Willemstad, Curacao, and West Oahu of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, will face Lafayette.

Tennis

Lindsay Davenport easily won her first full match since losing to Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final, beating the Czech Republic’s Kveta Peschke, 6-4, 6-1, in the Pilot Pen tournament at New Haven, Conn.

Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva defeated fellow Russian Vera Douchevina, 6-2, 6-4, to reach the third round.

Defending champion Roger Federer and new women’s No. 1 Maria Sharapova are the top-seeded players for next week’s U.S. Open.

French Open champion Rafael Nadal was seeded second on the men’s side, followed by Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin. Andre Agassi was seeded seventh.

Sharapova is followed by Davenport, Amelie Mauresmo, Kim Clijsters and Svetlana Kuznetsova, the defending champion. French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne was seeded seventh. Serena Williams was seeded eighth and Venus 10th.

Jurisprudence

Former Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden was being sought by police in Tampa, Fla., on a felony warrant after he allegedly drove away Monday from an officer who had stopped him on suspicion of drunk driving.

A Miami judge revoked the $51,000 bail for former Oakland Raider center Barret Robbins on charges of attempted murder stemming from a January brawl with police officers because of his recent arrest in Texas on a drug charge.

Robbins has been in a Houston psychiatric hospital since his arrest Aug. 13 in San Antonio on a marijuana possession charge.

Pro Basketball

Free-agent forward Dale Davis signed a two-year, $7-million contract with the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons were interested in signing free-agent Michael Finley, but he made it clear he didn’t want to join them and they appear to have decided not to sign Latrell Sprewell in giving Davis part of their mid-level exception.

The Seattle SuperSonics re-signed center Vitaly Potapenko, filling a void left when Jerome James signed with the New York Knicks. ... As expected, free-agent guard Derek Anderson signed with the Houston Rockets. ... Dirk Nowitzki received permission from the Dallas Mavericks to join the German national team for warmup games before next month’s European championship.

Miscellany

World champion Dwight Phillips won the long jump at a meet in Linz, Austria, leaping 28 feet 1 1/2 inches to beat fellow American Miguel Pate.

Lingering questions about the death of Mexican boxer Martin Sanchez after a July 1 bout in Las Vegas have prompted the World Boxing Council to launch an investigation, said Jose Sulaiman, the governing body’s president.

Ken Schrader’s Nextel Cup team and the Busch series operation owned by Rusty Wallace were punished by NASCAR for infractions Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Schrader and car owner Beth Ann Morgenthau lost 25 points apiece, and crew chief David Hyder was fined $25,000 and put on probation until Dec. 31 for having the roof of the No. 49 Chevrolet too low.

Wallace, owner of the No. 64 Dodge in the Busch series, and his driver, Jeremy Mayfield, were penalized 25 points each, and crew chief Blake Bainbridge was fined $10,000 for having unapproved jacking bolts on the car during opening-day inspection.

Canadian James Lepp led stroke-play qualifying for the U.S. Amateur, following an opening even-par 70 at Merion Golf Club with a five-under 65 in Ardmore, Pa.

Lepp, the NCAA individual champion this year as a junior at Washington, and Eastern Michigan senior Korey Mahoney were the only players to break par.