Murray poses no problem for Djokovic

Novak Djokovic ran 12th-seeded Andy Murray off the court Friday in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open at Key Biscayne, Fla.

The 10th-seeded Djokovic kept Murray scrambling after drop shots, swept the final 11 games and won, 6-1, 6-0.

The 19-year-old Djokovic won at least 10 points with the tactic, repeatedly drawing Murray out of position and then hitting into an open court for a winner.

Djokovic will bid for his first ATP Masters Series title Sunday when he plays Guillermo Canas, who defeated seventh-seeded Ivan Ljubicic, 7-5, 6-2.

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Pete Sampras, winner of a record 14 Grand Slam tournaments, has formed a management company to be run by his brother, Gus, a longtime sports marketing executive. Pure Sports Management, LLC, will oversee Sampras’ business opportunities and venture into managing other athletes.

SOCCER

Colorado trades Mathis to New York

Colorado Rapids forward Clint Mathis wanted to start. Rapids Coach Fernando Clavijo couldn’t guarantee that.

So the two sides reached an amicable resolution, and Mathis was traded to the New York Red Bulls for a fourth-round draft pick in 2008 and a conditional pick in 2009.

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The Galaxy will play perennial Scottish Premier League champion Rangers Football Club in an exhibition May 23 at the Home Depot Center. It will be the Galaxy’s first match against international competition this year.

MOTOR RACING

Hamlin wins pole at Martinsville

Denny Hamlin bounced back from a 14th-place run at Bristol, Tenn., last week to win the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Goody’s 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

Hamlin’s lap at 95.103 mph in a Chevrolet Impala knocked Jeff Gordon off the top spot early in the qualifying session, and Jamie McMurray later bumped him off the front row with a lap at 94.955 mph in a Ford Fusion.

WINTER SPORTS

Richardson takes U.S. downhill title

Kaylin Richardson won the women’s downhill on the opening day of the U.S. Alpine Championships at Girdwood, Alaska. She finished in 1 minute 48.34 seconds. Julia Littman was second (1:50.04) and Chelsea Marshall third (1:50.14).

Julia Mancuso, who won the 2006 Olympic gold medal in the giant slalom and placed third in this season’s World Cup overall standings, finished sixth (1:51.20).

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Bluffton plays first game since bus crash

Bluffton University of Ohio played its first game since five of its players were killed in a bus crash last month, losing, 10-5, to the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati. The Beavers had been headed to Florida for a tournament when their bus plunged off an overpass March 2 in Atlanta.

TELEVISION

Baseball cable deal faces deadline today

As today’s deadline approached, Major League Baseball officials continued negotiations with In Demand and EchoStar, the parent company of the Dish Network, regarding the Extra Innings out-of-market pay package.

If an 11th-hour agreement cannot be reached, DirecTV will take over exclusive control of the package. The first full schedule of the regular season is Monday.

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Another cable television problem is developing between Charter Communications and the Golf Channel. Charter, which services 530,000 homes in the Los Angeles market, may lose the Golf Channel if an agreement can’t be reached by Wednesday.

The Golf Channel has begun notifying customers of the situation. A source said that Charter wants to put the Golf Channel on a digital pay tier rather than its expanded basic tier.

-- Larry Stewart

MISCELLANY

Greece suspends all team-sport games

Greece’s government suspended all team-sport matches, and police raided dozens of homes and supporters’ clubs after a fan was killed Thursday during clashes before a women’s volleyball match.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis ordered the two-week suspension, which covers soccer, basketball, volleyball and other sports, and will last until April 13.

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Sarah Hammer of Temecula retained her title in the 3,000-meter individual pursuit at cycling’s world track championships in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Hammer finished in 3 minutes 30.213 seconds -- 3.196 seconds ahead of Rebecca Romero.

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Matt Nagy threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Knight with 14 seconds left and the two combined again on a two-point conversion to give the Columbus Destroyers a 62-61 victory over the Georgia Force in an Arena League game at Columbus, Ohio. Chris Greisen threw seven touchdown passes and scored twice for the Force.

Raymond Philyaw threw a 35-yard touchdown passes to Boo Williams on the first play from scrimmage in overtime to help the Kansas City Brigade beat the Arizona Rattlers, 62-61, at Kansas City, Mo.

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The Kings assigned forward Noah Clarke to Manchester (N.H.), their American Hockey League team. They also signed University of Massachusetts goaltender Jon Quick to a three-year contract.

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England beat Ireland by 48 runs in the second round of the Cricket World Cup at Guyana. Chasing 267, Ireland lost two early wickets, rallied to 139-4 and then fell to 218 with 11 balls remaining.