Connecticut player fatally stabbed

A University of Connecticut football player was stabbed to death early Sunday after an on-campus dance, hours after the team’s homecoming weekend victory over Louisville.

Jasper Howard, 20, of Miami, a junior and starting cornerback, and a second person were stabbed during a fight after someone pulled a fire alarm during a dance at the UConn Student Union, police said. The dance was not related to the game, police said.

“We’re actively following investigative leads,” said Major Ronald Blicher of the UConn Police, when asked if authorities have a suspect.

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GOLF

Laird wins first PGA Tour event

Scotland’s Martin Laird won the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at Las Vegas for his first PGA Tour title, beating George McNeill with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff.

Laird closed with a three-under-par 68 to match McNeill (67) and former Nevada Las Vegas player Chad Campbell (69) at 19-under 265. Campbell was eliminated on the second extra hole.

John Cook won his third career Champions Tour title and first of the season, closing with a four-under 68 to hold off Jay Haas and Bob Tway by two strokes in the Administaff Small Business Classic at The Woodlands, Texas.

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MOTOR RACING

Button clinches first F1 title

Britain’s Jenson Button clinched his first Formula One title by capitalizing on his rivals’ miscues to finish fifth in a Brazilian Grand Prix won by Mark Webber.

The fifth-place finish gave Button an insurmountable 15-point lead in the drivers’ standings ahead of the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 1.

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TENNIS

Davydenko beats Nadal for title

Nikolay Davydenko upset top-seeded Rafael Nadal, 7-6 (3), 6-3, to win the Shanghai Masters for his fourth title of the year. The sixth-seeded Davydenko broke in the sixth game of the second set to win his 18th career title.

Third-seeded Samantha Stosur earned her first WTA singles title with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Francesca Schiavone at the Japan Women’s Open in Osaka. . . . Yanina Wickmayer won her second career WTA title, defeating Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 6-4, in the Generali Ladies final at Linz, Austria.

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COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Heart condition to sideline player

Santa Clara center Scott Thompson will miss the season because of a heart condition.

The school said the 7-foot, 245-pound Thompson will take a medical leave of absence this season. It’s unclear whether his career might be over altogether.

USC wrapped up its first weekend of practice and two players are already nursing minor injuries. Freshman forward Evan Smith missed practice Sunday because of a sprained left knee suffered a day earlier. Junior guard Donte Smith missed half of Sunday’s practice for precautionary reasons after suffering a sprained left ankle Friday night.

-- Pete Thomas

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GYMNASTICS

China wins three more titles

China won three more titles at the world gymnastics championships in London, giving it a total of six. That’s as many as the other 70 countries won -- combined. Their total of nine medals was tops too.

Deng Linlin took the title on balance beam, Wang Guanyin won the gold on parallel bars, and Zou Kai added a world title to his Olympic gold medal on high bar.

The Americans won only one medal Sunday, a bronze on balance beam by Ivana Hong.