National briefs: Redskins cap memorable weekend with win

Published 12:00 am Monday, August 4, 2008

Associated Press
CANTON, Ohio ó Rookie Colt Brennan threw two touchdown passes in the second half for Washington, and Matterral Richardson returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown to rally the Redskins for a 30-16 victory against the Indianapolis Colts in Sundayís Hall of Fame Game.
The win capped a three-day celebration in which two of the Redskins most revered players, Art Monk and Darrell Green, were inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Redskins assistant coach Emmitt Thomas.
For Jim Zorn, it gave him a victory in his debut as Washingtonís head coach.
The Colts played without seven starters, including Peyton Manning, Bob Sanders, Dwight Freeney and Marvin Harrison.
* WESTMINSTER, Md. ó Ravens running back Willis McGahee might miss Thursdayís preseason opener against the Patriots because of an ailing left knee,
* ALBANY, N.Y. ó Receiver Plaxico Burress did some light running Sunday night for the first time since the Giants opened training camp more than a week ago.
* GREEN BAY, Wis. ó The Packers announced the signing of Ryan Grant one day after he and team agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $30 million.
BASKETBALL
SHANGHAI, China ó Kobe Bryant scored 19 points, Carmelo Anthony added 17 and the U.S. Olympic basketball team beat Russia 89-68 in what was the Americansí most competitive tuneup yet for the Beijing Games.
Dwyane Wade continued his strong play off the bench with 16 points for the Americans, who play their final exhibition game here Tuesday against Australia.
LeBron James finished with 10 points, and Deron Williams had nine assists. Williams and Chris Paul got extended minutes in the second half, with Jason Kidd not playing at all after halftime.
GOLF
SUNNINGDALE, England ó Ji-Yai Shin won the Womenís British Open by three strokes after shooting a 6-under 66 in the final round.
The 20-year-old South Korean, whose 21 previous victories were all in her homeland or Japan, captured her first major with an 18-under score of 270. Taiwanís Yani Tseng, winner of the LPGA Championship, was second with a 66 and a 15-under total of 273.
The leading American was Cristie Kerr, who placed sixth at 12 under after a 70. Lorena Ochoa tied for seventh with a 69 for an 11-under 277.
Annika Sorenstam finished with a birdie for a 68 and a 6-under 282, which left her tied for 24th.
* COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ó Eduardo Romero won the 29th U.S. Senior Open, carding a 3-over 73 in the final round to become the second Argentine golfer to claim the trophy.
Romero finished at 6-under 274 for the tournament, beating Fred Funk (75) by four strokes. Funk, who began the day two strokes back, saw his bid to win end with a triple-bogey on the 13th hole.
* AKRON, Ohio ó Vijay Singh made a 3 1/2-foot par putt on the 18th hole to close with a 2-under 68 and claim a one-shot victory in the Bridgestone Invitational.
Singh won his first World Golf Championship and ended an 0-for-34 drought on the PGA Tour that dated to the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2007, his longest stretch without winning in six years.
Singh, whose final putt swirled into the cup, avoided a playoff with Lee Westwood and Stuart Appleby.
Phil Mickelson (70) and Retief Goosen (67) tied for fourth. Mickelson played bogey-free through the first 14 holes to build a one-shot lead, then made three bogeys on the final four holes.
* RENO, Nev. ó Parker McLachlin shot a 2-over 74 and still cruised to his first PGA Tour victory by seven strokes at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. Brian Davis and John Rollins tied for second at 11-under 277.
TENNIS
MASON, Ohio ó One point away from his first Masters series championship, Andy Murray wasted four match points in the second set. Forced to play another tiebreaker, he came through and collected a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) win over Novak Djokovic for the Cincinnati title.
Serving with a 5-3 lead in the second set, Murray allowed Djokovic to break at the end of a lengthy game.
Rafael Nadal lost in the semis but piled up enough rankings points during the week to finally wrest the No. 1 spot from Roger Federer in two weeks.
* MONTREAL ó Dinara Safina defeated Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-1 to win the Rogers Cup and improve her record since May to 27-3.