Penalties Are Lessened for Italian Soccer Teams

A sports court allowed Fiorentina and Lazio to rejoin Italy’s top soccer division and reduced the points penalty against Juventus in Serie B after successful appeals Tuesday in a match-fixing scandal.

Juventus’ penalty was cut from 30 points to 17. Fiorentina will have 19 points docked next season and Lazio will be deducted 11. The court also cut AC Milan’s points penalty in Serie A from 15 to eight.

A July 14 ruling stripping Juventus of its last two Serie A titles was upheld, though Milan will be allowed to play in the Champions League preliminary rounds this season.

TENNIS

Jankovic Wins Opener, Will Play No. 2 Clijsters

Jelena Jankovic beat Lilia Osterloh, 7-5, 6-3, to earn a spot in the second round and a match against world No. 2 Kim Clijsters at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

Sixth-seeded Ai Sugiyama defeated Kveta Peschke, 6-3, 6-4, and Samantha Stosur topped Olga Savchuk, 6-1, 6-3.

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Robin Vik beat defending champion Guillermo Coria in the first round and David Ferrer withdrew, completing the elimination of the top three seeded players in the first two days of the Croatia Open at Umag, Croatia.

Vik dispatched third-seeded Coria, 6-2, 6-3, and No. 1 Ferrer pulled out citing exhaustion after prevailing in a five-hour final Sunday in Stuttgart, Germany. Their eliminations followed Albert Portas’ three-set victory over second-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero on Monday.

HOCKEY

Devils’ Gomez Awarded $5 Million in Arbitration

New Jersey Devils forward Scott Gomez was awarded a $5-million, one-year contract by an arbitrator.

Gomez posted career highs in goals (33) and points (84) with the Devils last season, when he made $2.204 million.

New Jersey has 48 hours to accept the arbitrator’s ruling and sign Gomez or let him become an unrestricted free agent.

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Mark Recchi returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the third time in his career, signing a one-year deal for $2.28 million.

Recchi played 63 games for the Penguins last season, scoring 24 goals and 33 assists, before he was traded to the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. He became a free agent when the Hurricanes opted not to pick up a one-year option on his contract.

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Ed Belfour, whose 457 victories rank second on the NHL list, signed a one-year deal with the Florida Panthers and will likely serve as the backup goalie to newly acquired Alex Auld.

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The Vancouver Canucks signed free-agent forward Jan Bulis to a one-year, $1.3-million contract. He played last season for Montreal.

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Ales Hemsky, Edmonton’s leading scorer, avoided a salary arbitration hearing by signing a six-year deal worth $24.6 million with Edmonton.

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Nashville goalie Tomas Vokoun was cleared to return to the team after a blood disorder forced him to miss last season’s playoffs.

MISCELLANY

Basketball Center Says He Will Attend UCLA

Kevin Love, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound center from Lake Oswego High in Oregon, announced that he has made a non-binding commitment to attend UCLA.

Love, who is entering his senior year at Lake Oswego, cannot sign a letter of intent until November. He is one of the top prospects in the nation.

“It’s just a feeling I had,” said Love, in explaining why he chose the Bruins after narrowing his options to UCLA and North Carolina. “They have been interested in me since I was in the eighth grade.”

-- Steve Springer

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Seventeen-year-old Vania King of Long Beach has turned professional, opting for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour instead of going to college in the fall.

King, who is a career-high No. 78 in this week’s rankings, made her pro debut this month in the Fed Cup matches between the United States and Belgium.

-- Lisa Dillman

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ESPN confirmed a New York Post report that baseball studio analyst Harold Reynolds has been fired. No reason for the firing was given.

Reynolds, 45, a major league second baseman for 12 seasons, mostly with the Seattle Mariners, has been part of ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” for more than 10 years.

-- Larry Stewart

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Former Utah basketball coach Rick Majerus turned down an offer to become an assistant to Denver Nuggets Coach George Karl, the team said.

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Jason Terry signed a six-year contract worth about $50 million with the Dallas Mavericks. Terry was the team’s second-leading scorer last season.

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Philadelphia 76ers President Billy King said he had no plans to trade All-Star guard Allen Iverson.

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A man who threw purple dye on the 18th green at the British Open was sentenced to eight weeks in jail. Paul Addison, 40, pleaded guilty to five counts of criminal damage.

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Texas running back Ramonce Taylor, who has struggled with academic and legal problems, said he would transfer.

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Former world champion Sunny Garcia opened quickly with a 6.17 and followed with a 5.83 -- his only waves -- for a score of 12 in the opening round of the U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach.