Will Power wins IndyCar race at Alabama

Will Power started up front and never relinquished his spot to win the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday, capturing a race that escaped him last year and doing so without a misstep.

“I can’t think of a race where I’ve been so cool, so physically fine and where I had everything go so right,” Power said.

Power extended his wire-to-wire lead enough for some comfort in the final laps and finished 3.38 seconds ahead of Scott Dixon, and Dario Franchitti was third on the 2.38-mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham.

Power became the first IndyCar driver to stay up front for the distance since Franchitti did it at Sonoma in California in 2009.

Sebastian Vettel extended his perfect start to the Formula One season by winning the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, earning his second straight victory as he begins defending his world title.

The Red Bull driver started from the pole and led throughout to beat McLaren’s Jenson Button by 3.2 seconds. Renault’s Nick Heidfeld hung on for third.

ETC.

Wozniacki takes Family Circle Cup

Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki defeated Elena Vesnina, 6-2, 6-3, to take the Family Circle Cup at Charleston, S.C., winning her third title this season.

The unseeded Vesnina, ranked 56th in the world, attempted to break Wozniacki’s rhythm by going for the midcourt sidelines instead of hitting deep into the corners. But Wozniacki had little problem with that, easily chasing most of them down. The victory confirmed Wozniacki’s place as one of the favorites when the clay-court season ends in less than two months at the French Open.

Kim Clijsters can’t seem to escape bad luck with injuries, with Belgian media reporting that the world’s No. 2-ranked woman could miss the French Open after seriously injuring her ankle while dancing.

Belgian television reported on its website that the 27-year-old Clijsters dislocated her ankle while dancing at the wedding of a nephew and could be out for six weeks.

Pablo Andujar of Spain won the first title of his career by beating Potito Starace of Italy, 6-1, 6-2, in the Grand Prix Hassan II final at Casablanca, Morocco.

Ernests Gulbis beat 14th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, 6-1, 6-4, in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Nevada Las Vegas hired Brigham Young associate coach Dave Rice as its head basketball coach, picking him to return to the school where he was an assistant under four head coaches for 11 seasons.

The move, pending the approval of the Nevada Board of Regents, came a little more than a week after Lon Kruger left after seven seasons to become Oklahoma’s new coach.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Nevada Las Vegas Athletic Director Jim Livengood, in a statement, said no further information would be available until a news conference scheduled for Monday.

Hall of Fame Coach Jacques Lemaire of the New Jersey Devils announced after the Devils’ 3-2 season-ending win over the Boston Bruins that he is bringing his coaching career to a close again.

The 65-year-old Lemaire, who retired after last season, said he made his decision about two days ago and told his team about it before the game. He added that his love of the game hasn’t diminished, but it is time for him to leave.

Lemaire came out of retirement before Christmas after rookie coach John MacLean was fired with the Devils stunningly at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

The Florida Panthers fired Coach Peter DeBoer, one day after the team finished its 10th straight season without a playoff appearance. Florida’s 72 points were worst in the Eastern Conference and the third-fewest in the NHL.